Atlantic War, Feb. 15th & 16th

Feb. 15: Hitler gives orders for unlimited U-boat action. Commanders are ordered to stop supplies of food and war materials to Great Britain from the United States. Any ship which is likely to come under British control can now be torpedoed without warning. The policy was already in effect, evidenced by the sinking of Danish, Dutch, Norwegian and Swedish ships for a few days preceding the order.

This action was a direct result of a change in the U.S. Neutrality Act back in November which allowed countries to purchase arms from private suppliers on a 'cash-and-carry' basis, where they pay for any weapons and then transport them using their own vessels. Given Britain's command of the Atlantic sea-lanes, this act is clearly intended to benefit the Allied nations.

Feb.16: The British destroyer HMS Cossack rescues 299 British seamen held prisoner on the Altmark, a supply ship for the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee sunk some weeks earlier. The prisoners had been taken from captured merchant ships. After the sinking of the Graf Spee, the Altmark sailed for Europe, taking a route near the Artic to avoid detection. Incredibly, the Norwegians who stopped and searched her, found neither the concealed guns nor the prisoners. Two British destroyers then chased her into Jossing Fjord. The Altmark attempted to ram the Cossack, allowing several members of a British boarding party to leap aboard. The Altmark then ran aground and the rest of the Royal Navy party joined them. Four German crewman were killed in the following firefight. One prisoner said, "It was a hit-and-run affair along the decks and round corners. You can imagine our joy when we heard an English voice shouting down 'The Navy's here!'"

Since the Cossack violated Norway's neutrality, Germany accelerates its invasion preparations, believing that Britain is planning more military actions in Norway.