What were Germany's advantages and disadvantages at sea warfare?

Answer 1

first answer:

The main advantage German had is that they had a large, advanced, and well-trained submarine force, which allowed them to take a heavy toll in merchant ships. The main disadvantage is that that's all they had. Their surface fleet was really forced to stay in the harbor after 1942 or so, and that made it an easy target for allied planes.

My answer:

I agree with the above information and would add several points.

1. Disadvantage-The geography hindered German access to the North Atlantic with either submarines or surface ships. Any German vessel built (in Germany) would have to steam around the British Isles to get from the North Sea to the North Atlantic Ocean. Of course, then the ships would have to return back to Germany or occupied Norway or France. This was dangerous because the British Royal Navy & British RAF could intercept & sink the German vessels. This was a fundamental problem because the primary purpose of the German Navy was offensive and aimed at British shipping, mainly in the Atlantic Ocean.

The other adverse impact that geography had was on weather forecasting for military purposes. Most future weather comes from the west, out of reach of the German military's normal ability to collect relevant weather data. The British & Americans would be able to predict future weather with much more accuracy than the Germans. The Germans established secret weather collection stations across the North Atlantic on various occasions.

2. Disadvantage-The German Naval Doctrine & Strategy for the the use of surface warships in the interdiction mission was flawed. The German naval leadership continued this doctrine from the First World War without much thought to it real practical application in an era of improved communications and air-power.

It was very expensive & inefficient to build and use battleships or battlecruisers (Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Bismarck, Tirpitz, etc.) to hunt down enemy merchant ships in the Atlantic Ocean. They can not hide like a submarine, cost in money & steel exceeds that of a hundred submarines, and they require much more money, time & effort to repair, refuel & rearm. They would be out-numbered when facing the British Royal Navy (or French Navy earlier & the US Navy later). They are vulnerable to air or submarine attack. If their mobility at sea was ever reduced because of damage, then it would be almost impossible for these ships to escape back to a safe base before they were intercepted & sunk by the enemy.

The Germans did not have any light cruisers or destroyers capable of the long ranges & speed necessary for escorting these battleships & battle cruisers into the North Atlantic. The Germans had no capability of rearming or refueling these ships at sea or in any other location besides their established bases in Germany, Norway or France.

The navies of Britain, France & the United States were each much more capable of fighting a sustained campaign involving surface combat in the Atlantic Ocean. So the Germans were at severe disadvantage in this type of naval warfare.