How the US Military Took Over the Caribbean in WW2

Описание: February 1942. A German submarine surfaces in the harbor of Aruba and opens fire on an oil refinery.

The war had come to America's doorstep.

This is the story of how the United States responded — by creating the Fourth Fleet and effectively occupying the Caribbean.

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📌 IN THIS VIDEO:

• Operation PAUKENSCHLAG ("Drumbeat") — Hitler's plan to cut Allied oil supplies
• The attack on Aruba — February 16, 1942
• Creation of the US Fourth Fleet — March 1942
• American occupation of Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire
• Venezuela's "neutrality" — and secret cooperation with the US
• 36% of all Allied shipping losses happened in the Caribbean
• The devastating ratio: 23 Allied ships sunk for every U-boat destroyed
• Why the Fourth Fleet was reactivated in 2008 (hint: Hugo Chávez)

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📊 KEY FACTS:

• December 1941 — Hitler approves Operation PAUKENSCHLAG
• January 1942 — First U-boats arrive off American coast
• February 16, 1942 — U-156 attacks Aruba refinery
• March 1942 — US Fourth Fleet established
• 70% of Allied aviation fuel came through the Caribbean
• 36% of all Allied shipping losses occurred in Caribbean waters
• 23:1 ratio — Allied ships lost per U-boat destroyed (at worst point)
• 1950 — Fourth Fleet deactivated
• 2008 — Fourth Fleet reactivated

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📚 SOURCES:

• US Naval History and Heritage Command
• "Operation Drumbeat" — Michael Gannon
• National Archives (NARA) — Fourth Fleet Records
• "The Battle of the Atlantic" — Jonathan Dimbleby
• Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Archives
• Dutch National Archives — Curaçao Occupation Records

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👈 Previous: "The Ships No Country Wanted (Except Venezuela)"
👈 Also: "Hitler Youth in Venezuela (The Nazi Party of Caracas)"

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#WW2 #FourthFleet #Caribbean #USNavy #History #Documentary #UBoats #Venezuela #Aruba #MilitaryHistory

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© All archival photographs are in the public domain or used under fair use for educational purposes. This video is intended for historical education.