{"id":351,"date":"2013-04-23T01:29:00","date_gmt":"2013-04-23T06:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/?p=351"},"modified":"2013-04-23T01:35:40","modified_gmt":"2013-04-23T06:35:40","slug":"what-would-you-do-to-protect-your-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/what-would-you-do-to-protect-your-business\/","title":{"rendered":"What Would You Do to Protect your Business?"},"content":{"rendered":"

This month marks the 70th<\/sup> anniversary of the last major U-boat \u201cwolf pack\u201d battle in the North Atlantic of World War II.\u00a0 Both sides realised the strategic importance of dominating the sea lanes between America and England.<\/p>\n

The victor on the sea would ultimately win the war.\u00a0 If the English supply lines were cut, they would simply run out of materials and food; forcing them to surrender.\u00a0 If the English succeeded, then the industrial muscle of America would ultimately lead them to victory. In a pitched battle that lasted the entire length of the war; over 100,000 lives and nearly 4,500 vessels were lost in this struggle in one of the most inhospitable oceans in the world.<\/p>\n

In April 1943, convoy \u201cONS 5\u201d \u2013 a group of 43 merchant ships was dispatched from Liverpool, UK bound for Halifax, Canada where they were scheduled to bring vital supplies to the allied war effort.\u00a0 They were escorted by 16 naval ships of varying size and capacity.<\/p>\n

The voyage was nothing less than remarkable.\u00a0 Firstly, the weather in the North Atlantic was so foul; it made many hardened sailors question their sanity.<\/p>\n

In a storm that lasted for several days, their ships were battered by 12 meter waves and winds blowing a brisk 100km\/hr.\u00a0 In fact, the weather was so bad early on in the voyage, 2 of the merchant ships collided, forcing their withdrawal to Iceland for repairs.<\/p>\n

The rest of the convoy scattered over nearly 2,500 square kilometers of inhospitable ocean and the \u00a0naval escort was forced to act like a sheep-dog on the high seas; rounding up stragglers in an amazingly inhospitable environment. However, the weather was the least of their concerns given what was waiting for them in the mid-Atlantic.<\/p>\n

Far from the protective gaze and relative safety of the English or Canadian coast was no less than 3 strategic groupings (or wolf packs) of U-boats lined up to intercept the convoy.\u00a0 Covering the north, mid, and south routes to Canada was no less than 58 German U-boats.\u00a0 They simply couldn\u2019t help but find the convoy and wreak havoc on it.<\/p>\n

After about 10-days of sailing with a few minor skirmishes with solitary U-boats; contact was then made with the southernmost wolf pack lying in wait for them.\u00a0 In a desperate battle over just 48 hours, 13 of the merchant convoy or 63,000 tonnes of shipping was sent to the bottom of the Atlantic.<\/p>\n

Their escort however had sunk 7 U-boats and had badly damaged 6 more.\u00a0 By the time the U-boat admiral called off the attack, over 480 lives on both sides of the conflict had been lost.<\/p>\n

Somewhat remarkably, despite the losses of nearly 30% of the merchant ships en-route to Canada, this was seen as a significant victory by the Allies.\u00a0 They had taken a \u201cwhatever it takes\u201d approach to protect the convoy, and as a result they were never again to see the same concentrated attacks on convoys throughout the remainder of the war.<\/p>\n

When your business is under attack how should you respond?\u00a0 Many businesses can follow a simple 4-step process to identify and respond to competitive threats.<\/p>\n