Chapter 181: Big Ships and Giant Guns

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Compared to the army and the air force, the German Navy had always been in a very awkward position. On the one hand, they were highly valued by the Führer; on the other, they were on a path of development that even they themselves did not quite believe in.

On September 13, as soon as the war began, the German Navy’s command headquarters was in a state of chaos. Compared to the army’s anticipation for the war and the air force’s confidence in the future, the German Navy’s deep-seated inferiority complex, buried in its bones under the shadow of the British Royal Navy, filled them with fear of the coming conflict.

“We strongly advised the Führer to start the war next year, but those bastards in the army and air force still made the Führer make an unwise choice,” Raeder said, looking at a complex naval chart and complaining to the commander of the submarine force, Dönitz.

Dönitz sighed helplessly. He had been working overtime to supervise the construction of submarines, frantically producing them in the hope that the German Navy could restore the scale of its former U-boat force, but the sudden outbreak of war had disrupted his plans.

He glanced at the map, pointed to the North Sea, and said, “I suggest the surface fleet put to sea immediately! We cannot let the British Navy blockade us in our naval port. That would make the aircraft carriers even more vulnerable.”

Raeder frowned and said, “You think I don’t want to go out? The two new carriers are still being fitted out. If I don’t wait for these two carriers to join the combat forces, I won’t have the strength to face the British Royal Navy at sea! Are you asking me to send my fleet out to die?”

“I have already deployed forty submarines, forming ten search groups, to provide you with intelligence reconnaissance in the North Sea,” Dönitz said. “We can’t defeat the British Royal Navy, but we can at least try to evade the main British fleet on the high seas.”

“Sometimes I really envy you submarine guys,” Raeder said, glancing at Dönitz and sighing. “Sigh… if you can’t win, you can just dive underwater.”

“Complaining is useless,” Dönitz said with a smile. “Give the order for the fleet to set sail! If you can play for time with the British for a month, you will have additional reinforcements!”

“What about the Danzig Corridor?” Raeder asked. “In the established plan, the navy must support the combat operations in the coastal areas of the Danzig Corridor. We’ve only sent such a small force there. Will it be enough?”

“The Führer will understand us!” Dönitz said, tapping the map. “In order not to let the British army cut off the import of Swedish iron ore, our main fleet must maintain its deterrent power. Therefore, we cannot allocate more forces to participate in any covering actions.”

“Mm. Then I’ll send a telegram to the task force,” Raeder said with a nod. “Order them to cover the army’s actions! We have to make some superficial gestures to shut those gossiping mouths.”

“When I lead the fleet out to sea, I’ll be relying on you to command the base,” Raeder said, standing up. “I will lead the fleet to evade the British fleet based on intelligence. I hope that on our first sortie in a state of war, there won’t be any mishaps.”

“There probably won’t be,” Dönitz said. “Although our navy lacks training and combat readiness, there shouldn’t be any problem escaping under the cover of our naval air arm, right?”

Dönitz looked at Raeder, then remembered what the Führer had said to him: Do not underestimate the British Royal Navy. It is a truly global navy, with an absolute advantage in both quality and quantity. The best strategy is to avoid a decisive battle in the early stages, to buy enough development space for the German Navy, and to look for an opportunity to surpass and crush it in one fell swoop.

“Do as the Führer instructed,” Dönitz said after some thought. “Send out the naval air arm to scout the surroundings. If you encounter lone British ships, devour them! If you encounter the main Royal Navy fleet, then retreat!”

“Fight a naval guerrilla war!” he said, pointing to the North Sea. “If we can’t manage here, then retreat back into the operational radius of our land-based air force! Kesselring and Dick will absolutely not stand by and watch the navy suffer!”

“General! The naval escort fleet has assembled outside the port,” an adjutant reported, walking over. “We should be setting off! The carrier Bismarck has already set sail. The Graf Zeppelin will be leaving the port in fifteen minutes.”

“Rest assured! I’m not seeking glory, just to avoid mistakes! I hold the entire foundation of the German Navy in my hands. I won’t send it to its doom so easily,” Raeder said solemnly to Dönitz as he motioned for his adjutant to follow him out. “It’s your side that’s more worrying! The Führer doesn’t seem to pay much attention to the conventions of international law regarding submarine warfare. You should try to persuade him more, to avoid provoking the Americans.”

After speaking, he walked out.

On the afternoon of September 13, 1937, two hours after France declared war on Germany, the German Navy’s High Seas Fleet, including 14 warships with two aircraft carriers, left its naval port and sailed into the cold North Sea.

“Heil Führer! Report to the Captain! A message from the High Command!” a first mate said, walking up to the captain of a German Navy destroyer, who was wearing a white peaked cap. He stood at attention, saluted, and then handed the telegram to the captain.

The captain took the telegram, glanced down at it, and immediately gave the order. “Ready ammunition for all guns! Hoist the battle ensign! Aim for the Polish coast! Full speed ahead!”

“Captain, the intelligence we got from the transport fleet a few days ago said that the Poles have laid new mines in the nearby waters… shouldn’t we, shouldn’t we hold off on accelerating for now?” the first mate asked, taken aback.

“You have a point. Then let’s not accelerate for now. Proceed slowly along the coast. Be careful to adjust our course and not enter the firing range of the Polish coastal artillery,” the captain said with a nod.

This was a German Navy special task force, with only three warships: one cruiser and two destroyers. It had been deployed to the coast of Poland to support operations in the Danzig Corridor region. But given the current state of the German Navy, without sending aircraft carriers as support, the rest of the warships seemed ill-suited for this traditional naval role.

This was because in the traditional naval role, shore bombardment was a task for battleships or heavy cruisers with large-caliber naval guns. Those giant cannons, often 381mm or 280mm in caliber, could of course calmly face the enemy’s coastal defense batteries.

But now, apart from the ultimate weapon of the aircraft carrier, the German Navy only had light cruisers and destroyers. Both of these small ships were primarily equipped with dual-purpose guns for anti-aircraft defense, with the largest caliber being only 150mm and most being only 88mm. This caliber was a bit too small to deal with coastal artillery. That was why Raeder, although he could have spared at least ten warships, had only sent a pitiful three.

The caliber of their guns was already at a disadvantage. If the warships wanted to attack the coastal artillery, they could only rely on speed and evasion to fight a running battle, using high-speed zigzagging to minimize their own losses (of course, this was not a very reliable method, and it also affected their own firing accuracy). But the Poles had laid mines in the nearby waters to coordinate with their coastal artillery, which created a very tricky problem for the German fleet.

“Open fire! Attack the port facilities!” Seeing the fleet’s command flag being hoisted on the cruiser and the two destroyers being notified by signal lamp to attack, all the guns on the lead destroyer pointed to starboard. The captain took a deep breath and gave the order.

“Boom!” The 88mm guns spat fire. One destroyer had five single-barreled 88mm guns, so two had ten. Combined with the three single-barreled 150mm guns on the cruiser, the scene of thirteen cannons firing in unison was still quite grand.

But the other side was surprisingly quiet. The black smoke rising from the impact of the shells could already be seen with binoculars, but the return fire from the coastal artillery still had not come. So the three warships continued to approach the coast along their course.

“Let’s just hope the Poles don’t fire back,” the captain muttered, lowering his binoculars. He clearly felt uneasy about his warship performing a task for which it was not well-suited. If his ship were tasked with anti-aircraft defense, he would feel much more at ease.

The Poles clearly did not want his wish to come true. Soon, waterspouts several stories high splashed up around the warship, accompanied by huge explosions that made the entire ship shake. In the fortifications near the port, the large-caliber Polish coastal artillery had begun to fire back. Judging from the fact that the first attack was a near miss, the quality of the defenders was clearly very high.

“Enemy artillery fire!” the lookout reported loudly. “Near miss!”

“Accelerate and evade!” The young captain, still lacking composure, lost his nerve. “Begin evasive maneuvers immediately! If the hull is hit by one of these large-caliber shells, we’re finished.”

“Signal the command ship! Tell them to leave the channel at once! The enemy fire is very fierce! It’s not suitable for destroyers like us to attack!” the captain thought for a moment and then added, “We’ll find a chance to disengage as well.”

“Full left rudder! Course due north!” the first mate shouted the captain’s command. “Aft guns maintain fire! Lookouts to your stations! Watch the water surface! Avoid the mines!”

“Attention! Enemy artillery fire!” the lookout reported again. “Near miss!”

“Captain! A signal from the command ship! They have begun to disengage. They wish us good luck,” the first mate reported, looking at the telegram handed to him by the signalman. Perhaps because of the attack from the Polish coastal artillery, the flag and lamp signals from the flagship had been a chaotic mess since the start, so they had to rely on the slowest method of telegrams to communicate.

“Suspected mine ahead!” a lookout reported loudly.

“Slow down! Engines reverse!” the captain commanded loudly. “Which side?”

“Starboard side!” the lookout replied loudly. “Can be avoided!”

“Continue full left rudder,” the captain ordered.

The ship’s speed dropped at once. It seemed the engine room had begun to reverse. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed they had avoided this mine.

“Shell!” the lookout shouted.

With this shout, the ship’s hull suddenly shuddered, and then a huge explosion followed. As the ship rocked back and forth, the captain’s last conscious thought was clearly imprinted in his mind: It’s over! We’ve been hit!