It was the "Second Happy Time" or more ominously the "American Shooting Season"...
At the beginning of 1942 during World War II, the German Navy ushered in a new phase of the Battle of the Atlantic with Operation Paukenschlag, or “Drumbeat.” Axis naval forces were given free rein to harass and destroy all Allied vessels, military or otherwise, along the East Coast of the United States. German U-boats did the heaviest lifting, ravaging mostly merchant ships early in the campaign.
During this operation, the Axis powers sank a total of 3.1 million tons of Allied hardware, or 609 ships, while only losing 22 U-boats. Historians criticized the Allied response to the attacks, with Historian Michael Gannon describing it as "America's Second Pearl Harbor"...
Yet, many reports at the time failed to mention this German attack due to U.S. efforts at the time to hide the truth from the public to prevent widespread panic...
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Dark Docs brings you cinematic short military history documentaries featuring the greatest battles and most heroic stories of modern warfare, covering World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and special forces operations in between.
As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Docs sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.
All content on Dark Docs is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.
