Tom Hanks' new World War II film is called Greyhound, after the ship it's set on. Is it based on a true story? No, Hanks' character, Commander Ernest Krause, is fictional, as is his ship and his story. But the naval campaign at the heart of the movie was real, and it lasted six years. That may be the reason you didn't study the Battle of the Atlantic in school.
Greyhound takes place at a critical moment in the Battle of the Atlantic, which began in September 1939 and only ended with the Germans’ surrender on May 8, 1945. As Blazich explains, the conflict was centered chiefly on supplies: An island nation, the United Kingdom required a steady flow of imported goods and raw materials, many of which originated in the U.S. The Soviet Union, besieged by the Nazis’ Operation Barbarossa, was also in dire need of food, oil and other essential supplies, which arrived via seaports on the Arctic Ocean.
“Had the Atlantic been lost, so too would have Britain,” writes historian James Holland for History Extra. “There would have been no Mediterranean campaign, no D-Day, no VE or VJ Days. The vast, global supply chain upon which the Allies depended … would have been cut, and with it the lifeline.”
The Allies sent supplies by convoy, merchants ships protected by navy destroyers and air cover. This added security made the convoys large and difficult to maneuver, all the easier for German U-boats to find and attack. Read about the Battle of the Atlantic and what it was like for those who participated at Smithsonian.
After its theatrical released was delayed several times, Greyhound moved to streaming television. Its debut on Apple TV+ has been moved to July 10.