flipper,
in jan 1942 german u-boats savaged merchant ships along the east coast of america leading to what they called their "second happy time". the British had already warned the americans of the u-boat threat as they had broken the german codes, but the american cic of the atlantic fleet,admiral e.king, ignored the warnings as he had a known dislike for the brits. Many lives and ships were lost.
american pride ?
my point is that top brass, whatever nationality usually put their own interests above the troops under their command.