Although fewer than the losses during the 1917 campaign of the First World War, those of this period equaled roughly one quarter of all ships sunk by U-boats during the entire Second World War. This led to the loss of thousands of lives, mainly those of merchant mariners, against a loss of only 22 U-boats. During this period, Axis submarines sank 609 ships totaling 3.1 million tons. German submariners named it the "Happy Time" or the "Golden Time," as defense measures were weak and disorganized, : p292 and the U-boats were able to inflict massive damage with little risk. The Second Happy Time lasted from January 1942 to about August of that year and involved several German naval operations, including Operation Neuland. Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini declared war on the United States on 11 December 1941, and as a result their navies could begin the Second Happy Time. The First Happy Time was in 1940–1941 in the North Atlantic and North Sea. ![]() The Second Happy Time ( German: Zweite glückliche Zeit officially Operation Paukenschlag (" Operation Drumbeat"), and also known among German submarine commanders as the "American Shooting Season" ) was a phase in the Battle of the Atlantic during which Axis submarines attacked merchant shipping and Allied naval vessels along the east coast of North America.
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