Submarine warfare :: essays research papers

Submarine Warfare It took World War I to prove the worth of submarines. Prior to that time, submarines played only a small role in the plans of fleet commanders, serving primarily only as coastal defense units. For the most part, fleet commanders ridiculed the idea that the submarine had a place in naval strategy and tactics. They believed that the submarine was only a play thing. It diverted time and money from other more useful and dependable branches of the service. This view was to suddenly change when, on 17 September 1914, the German submarine force proved the importance of undersea warfare. On that day, the German submarine U-9 spotted a cloud of smoke and penetrating masts on the horizon. As they came closer, Otto Weddigen, commanding officer of the U-9, could make out three cruisers steaming abreast at a speed of about 10 knots. Each was seperated from the others by two miles. Weddigen gave the order to dive. At 6:20 a.m., he ordered the first torpedo fired. It hit the cruiser HMS ABOUKIR, which began to list heavily. Within 25 minutes, she had capsized and sunk. ABOUKIR had been cruising with her sisters HMS CRESSY and HMS HOUGE. When ABOUKIR was rent by an explosion and sank, the commanding officers of the CRESSY and HOUGE assumed that she had struck a mine. They closed in and began rescue operations. HMS HOUGE was next to go. Two torpedoes struck her hull --sinking her in less than 10 minutes. A glimpse of the U-9's periscope suddenly m ade CRESSY's captain aware of what had occured. CRESSY tried to make a run for it. It was too late. At 7:17 a.m., Widdigen fired two more torpedoes. CRESSY rolled over on to her beam ends. Fifteen minutes later, she joined her sisters at the bottom. The news that the German submarine U-9 had attacked and sunk three British armored cruisers in the North Sea caused the entire world to sit up and take notice. Submarines were immediately given more thoughtful consideration. Germany entered World War I with but 28 submarines.

Life Is Beautiful Essay

The movie â€Å"Life is Beautiful† is a pretty funny movie, but still very touching since it deals with the Holocaust and takes place in a concentration camp. The main message is still clear even though the Holocaust is being depicted in a comedic way, which is to â€Å"never give up†. Guido, a Jewish waiter in the WWII era, is going at all lengths to win the heart of Dora, a non-Jewish school teacher. Although polite about it, she does not welcome his attempts at first that is until she gets to know him. She soon realizes that she returns his love for her, and they get married. They soon have a son, Giosue. Throughout the movie, you can see how big the love between Guido, Dora and Joshua is. They would do anything for each other. For instance, Dora gets on the train to the concentration camp to be with her husband and son knowing that the destination is horrible. She uses her freedom of choice to follow her heart at any cost and displays bravery and determination. She does not see any sense in her life without her family even though she could be safe if she had not joined the train. Guido decides to do â€Å"bad† by lying to his son about the events that have been happening in the concentration camp. He is telling his son that those Holocaust events are some sort of games. The reason why he is lying is to protect his son. Telling him that the activities in the concentration camp are a game enables Giosue to survive and cope with a situation that he is too young to understand. He somehow teaches his son a lesson about finding a way to look at even the worst situations and make the best out of them. If Giosue knew that what was actually going on, he would be terrified, he would panic and might get killed soon. Another effect of Guido’s efforts and commitments to keep up his son’s spirit is that those actions even inspire the other prisoners in the camp. They see how he is trying to give his son hope, and they eventually find hope for themselves. Everything time when Guido feels anger, he tries to hide it and substitute it with something funny for his son’s sake. He is trying to make his family live in happiness even though they were being forced in this place. Guido did his best to save his son and wife and even gives his own life at the end for them. The moral of Guido character is that even if we face difficulties in our life, we should think for a way out of it and try to make it simple and make life beautiful.

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