The convoy was a naval unit consisting of several dozen transport vessels (from 10 to 40 units) and three types of protection from warships. At first, the convoy tactics practiced by the Allies (the U.K., the U.S.A., and the Soviet Union) in the waters of the Atlantic did not give any failures (Weinberg 1994). The transports were built in short columns and dispersed in a wide front to hinder the actions of submarines and enemy aircraft. The Japanese did not quite understand the importance of using the sea, while the Italians rapidly recognized this need and launched sea communications (Weinberg 1994). The last year of the war accounted for 60% of the total volume of military supplies that passed along the path of the polar convoys (Weinberg 1994). These four years were tense, especially when fighting at sea.
Meanwhile, the Allies imposed concomitant blockades against the Axis to prevent goods from being sent to Germany. The implementation of the blocking was supposed to halt trade with Germany, even though traders smuggled items via neutral territories (Weinberg, 1994). The neutrals were constantly checked and attacked because the Allies did not want any countries to trade with Germany. Nonetheless, the blockade-breaker programs were launched regardless of the allies’ thorough planning and construction.
During the Second World War, the home fronts were located in several countries, and life in each was different. New Jersey refocused on the production of military products, including numerous warships. Training camps and airfields were located on the state’s territory, as well as an internment camp for Japanese Americans. Meanwhile, Birmingham was constantly bombed because of its military potential. Finally, in the U.S.S.R.’s Magnitogorsk shells, grenades and mines were manufactured at the metallurgical plant, and tank turrets were cast. These cities were of primary importance because they produced arms and warships.
Reference
Weinberg, Gerhard. 1994. The War at Sea, 1942-1944, and the Blockade. In A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II, 364-408. New York: Cambridge University Press.