Battle of the Caribbean facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of the Caribbean
Part of World War II, Battle of the Atlantic
The Antilles, Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico
Date 1941–1945 Location Antilles, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico Result Allied victory
Belligerents
Allies:  United States  United Kingdom  Canada  Netherlands  Free France  Cuba  Panama  Venezuela  Mexico  Colombia  Peru other allies	Axis:  Germany  Italy  Vichy France
Commanders and leaders
Ernest J. King Jesse Oldendorf Sir Percy Noble Sir Max K. Horton Wolfgang Larrazábal Francisco de Menocal Roldán	Erich Raeder Karl Dönitz
Casualties and losses
400 merchant ships sunk	17 submarines

The Battle of the Caribbean was a naval fight during World War II, lasting from 1941 to 1945. It was part of the larger Battle of the Atlantic. During this time, German and Italian submarines, called U-boats, tried to stop the Allied supply of oil and other important materials. They sank ships in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. They also attacked places along the coast in the Antilles. Over time, the Allies got better at finding and destroying submarines, which eventually forced the Axis U-boats out of the Caribbean.

Why Was the Caribbean Important?

The Caribbean was a very important area during the war. This was mainly because of the huge oil fields in Venezuela and the Panama Canal in the southwest.

Oil Refineries and Fuel Supplies

Large oil refineries were located on islands like Curaçao and Aruba, which were owned by the Dutch. The refinery on Curaçao processed a huge amount of oil each month. The refinery on Trinidad was also very big. Great Britain needed a lot of oil every day, and most of it came from Venezuela through Curaçao. This route became even more important after Italy blocked the usual shipping lanes through the Mediterranean Sea from the Middle East.

Protecting the United States and Panama Canal

The Caribbean was also vital for the United States. It helped protect the U.S. coastline in the Gulf of Mexico. The Panama Canal was also very important for moving ships between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The U.S. military protected the canal with many bomber and fighter planes.

Another key reason was bauxite, a material needed to make aluminum. Aluminum was essential for building military aircraft. Most of the bauxite came from South America, along shipping routes near the Lesser Antilles. The U.S. Navy also set up patrols and upgraded bases in places like Puerto Rico and Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.

Allied Defenses and Bases

The United Kingdom also had air squadrons based in Trinidad. British troops took control of Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire after Nazi Germany captured the Netherlands. The U.S. also gained permission to build airfields in British territories like Trinidad and Antigua. By February 1942, U.S. forces took over from British soldiers on the Dutch refinery islands to help protect them.

Axis Attacks in the Caribbean

German and Italian submarines launched many attacks to disrupt Allied shipping and oil supplies.

Operation Neuland: The First Big Attack

The first major attack on the Caribbean oil refineries was called Operation Neuland. It began on February 16, 1942. Several German U-boats attacked at the same time.

• One U-boat, U-502, sank oil tankers near Aruba.
• Another, U-67, entered Willemstad harbor in Curaçao and torpedoed three oil tankers. Some of its torpedoes didn't work, but it still sank one ship.
• U-156 attacked San Nicolas harbor in Aruba, torpedoing more oil tankers. It then tried to shell the refinery with its deck gun, but the gun broke.
• A Venezuelan gunboat helped rescue sailors from the sunken ships. American planes tried to attack the U-boats but didn't succeed.

After these initial attacks, the U-boats continued their patrols. They sank many more ships, mostly oil tankers. For example, U-161 entered the harbor at Castries, Saint Lucia, and sank two ships.

Italian Submarines and Other Attacks

Five Italian submarines also patrolled the Atlantic side of the Lesser Antilles during this time. They sank several ships, including oil tankers. For example, Morosini sank three ships, and Enrico Tazzoli sank two.

A German submarine even shelled the small island of Mona on March 3, 1942, but caused no damage. Another German U-boat, U-130, shelled an oil refinery on Curaçao on April 19, 1942. It fired only a few shots before Dutch shore batteries fired back, forcing the submarine to leave.

German submarines also sank two ships from the Dominican Republic in May 1942, after that country joined the Allies.

Attacks on Allied Merchant Ships

German U-boats continued to sink many Allied merchant ships.

• On May 13, 1942, U-69 sank the American cargo ship Norlantic east of Bonaire. The U-boat first fired torpedoes, then used its deck gun. Six men were lost.
• Two Mexican oil tankers, Potrero del Llano and Faja de Oro, were sunk in May 1942. Sixteen men died in these attacks. This led Mexico to declare war on Germany on May 22, 1942.
• The tanker Sylvan Arrow was torpedoed by U-155 near Grenada on May 20. It sank a week later.
• On June 11, U-157 sank the tanker Hagan off the Cuban coast. Six men were killed.
• On September 4, U-171 sank the Mexican tanker Amatlan, killing 10 men.
• On September 11, U-514 torpedoed the Canadian ship Cornwallis off Bridgetown. The ship was later repaired but was sunk again in 1944.
• In July 1943, U-759 sank the American ship Maltran and the Dutch ship Poelau Roebiah. All of Maltran's crew survived, but two men from Poelau Roebiah were lost.

Losses During the Battle

Both sides lost ships and submarines during the Battle of the Caribbean.

Axis Submarines Lost

The Allies worked hard to find and sink Axis submarines.

• U-157 was sunk on June 13, 1942, by the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Thetis near Key West.
• U-158 was sunk off Bermuda on June 30, 1942, by an American patrol plane.
• U-166 was sunk on July 30, 1942, by the American patrol ship PC-566 south of the Mississippi River Delta.
• On August 28, U-94 was attacked by American and Canadian ships off Haiti. A Canadian corvette, HMCS Oakville, rammed the U-boat twice. Canadian sailors boarded the submarine, but the Germans had already started sinking it. U-94 sank with 19 of its crew, and 26 were rescued.
• U-162 was sunk northeast of Trinidad on September 3, 1942, by three British destroyers. Forty-nine German sailors were captured.
• On May 15, 1943, the Cuban submarine chaser CS-13 sank U-176 in the Gulf of Mexico, killing all its crew.
• U-759 was sunk by an American patrol plane on July 23, 1943.

Allied Ships Lost

The Allies lost many merchant ships, but also some military vessels.

• The French submarine Surcouf, which was the largest submarine in the world at the time, sank on February 18, 1942, near the Panama Canal after being hit by a freighter. No one survived.
• The American cargo ship George Calvert was sunk by U-753 off eastern Cuba on May 20, 1942. Ten men died.
• On June 23, 1942, the American ship Major General Henry Gibbins was sunk by U-158 west of Key West, Florida. All 68 people on board were rescued.
• The American cargo ship Stephen Hopkins fought a German auxiliary cruiser called Stier on September 27, 1942. Both ships were badly damaged and sank after a fierce battle.
• The American gunboat USS Erie was attacked by U-163 near Curaçao in November 1942. It was badly damaged and later sank. Seven Americans were killed.

The table below shows the number of Allied ships and their total weight lost each year:

The Battle in Stories

The Battle of the Caribbean is featured in the novel Sharks and Little Fish. It also appears in the Howard Hawks film To Have and Have Not, which is set in Martinique during the war.

Images for kids

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  SS Sylvan Arrow in 1917

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  Canadian poster showing the boarding of U-94

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  USAT Major General Henry Gibbins before World War II

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  USS Erie during the Battle of the Caribbean