During World War II, Fremantle was the home of the largest base for Allied submarines in the Southern Hemisphere. There were up to 125 US, 31 British and 11 Dutch submarines operating out of Fremantle but tensions between transient American and non-American soldiers often led to alcohol-fuelled violence. On 11 April 1944, an infamous brawl between US and New Zealand servicemen occurred at the National Hotel which resulted in the stab-wound deaths of two Maori soldiers.