The German Navy's sprint through the straits, escorted by the Luftwaffe.
The Führer's intuition
From the summer of 1941, Hitler became increasingly concerned about Norway, and he always feared that the British would retake Norway and thus threaten his empire from the flank. Despite the opposition of all the generals, the Führer believed in his instincts – and his instincts were always accurate.
Not only that, but Hitler noted that the U.S. Navy across the ocean had become more and more proactive in strengthening its armaments, and once the Americans entered the war, the Arctic route would become an important way for them to come to the aid of the Soviet Union.
Therefore, Hitler ordered the German High Seas Fleet to assemble in the fjords of Norway.
By this time, Bismarck's sister ship, the Tirpitz, had completed sea trials and officially joined the battle sequence of the High Seas Fleet, and the two remaining pocket battleships, the Lützov and the Admiral Hill, and the Count Hippel were also in place. The only difficulty was the best battle combination trapped in the French port of Brest - the Scharnhorst, Gneizenau and Prinz Eugen.
According to Raeder's original plan, he originally wanted to assemble a large surface fleet to carry out the battle, but with the sinking of the Bismarck, this "grandiose" plan was also dashed. Since May 1941, these three large ** have been idle in the French port of Brest.
If it has to be useful, it can attract the continuous attention of the British Navy and Air Force, and from time to time lie on the berth and be bombed.
The main forces of the Luftwaffe had begun to gradually shift to the eastern front, and there was no time to pay attention to the coastal ports of France, so Hitler ordered Raeder to quickly recall these surface ships to Germany.
Scharnhorst.
Raeder was glad to accept the order, and he was counting on them to make a big difference in the Arctic waters, so the Admiralty came up with an "ideal plan" to cross the "Faroe Islands-Iceland Channel" and then return home bypassing the northernmost tip of Scotland.
The Führer had other plans, and he ordered Raeder to let the large warships choose the nearest path - straight through the English Channel and then through the Strait of Dover.
Raeder and a group of officers spoke out against Hitler's "bad idea": "This will lead to the death of our ** in the sea." ”
Hitler's order was unquestionable, and his answer was unusually cold: Anyway, these large ** have never played a role, if they can't come back, then simply dismantle them on the spot, so that they can also ** some large artillery and armor plates to strengthen the coastal defense.
The Admiralty reluctantly began to work on the Führer's instructions, and the more Raeder and his party made plans along these lines, the more they felt that this method was "really good"—it really validated the old adage that "the most dangerous places are the safest".
And the most important thing to cross the strait is to keep it secret and take it by surprise.
Operation "Hades Guard Dog".
This time, the Germans kept it secretive to the extreme—only a few officers knew the truth about the operation until a few minutes before departure.
In order to cover up this bold operation, the German Admiralty made a lot of smoke and formulated six different operation code names to confuse the public, just to cover up the real operation code name, "Hades Keeper Dog". (Note 1).
The naval commander who commanded the strait sprint was Vice Admiral Otto Zilix (Note 2), a man in the German Navy who commanded surface warfare.
The Luftwaffe also fully cooperated, sending 250 Messerschmitt and Ford-Wolf 190 fighters, with Adolf Garland as operational commander, to assemble at the airfields along the way home.
According to the plan of action, Luftwaffe fighters were to provide an uninterrupted umbrella for the fleet along the way, ensuring that the fleet was protected from air raids by the RAF;The liaison officer of the Air Force will act with the fleet and command the fighters on the **.
In order to be sure, General Wolfgang Martini of Germany also developed a plan to jam the radar off the coast of Great Britain.
Raeder and others, taking it a step further, set the time of the operation across the English Channel during the day, this seemingly risky move could not only catch the British off guard, but also because there was plenty of light during the day, which was conducive to the escort of fighters, and at the same time convenient for the gunners on the ** anti-aircraft shooting.
Before departure, the sailors of the Prinz Eugen added 4 anti-aircraft guns on deck.
According to the plan, the three ** ships would complete the first leg of the journey the night before—from Brest to Cherbourg—and if the British were still unaware, the fleet would sprint at full speed, through the most dangerous 200 kilometers of the strait, and break through the Strait of Dover.
By that time, even if the British home fleet had been dispatched from Scarpa Bay to intercept it, the Germans would have had enough time to sail to the French coast and take refuge in harbor.
The operation began on the night of February 11, 1942, which happened to be a new moon, and the darkness of the night and the direction of the ocean currents were the perfect opportunity for the fleet to make a secret sortie.
Since the afternoon of February 11, the city where the port of Brest is located has been under total martial law, and the port is tightly sealed, which means that no one will be able to enter or leave the port, and no one will see ** leaving the port. Even the British spies, they can't know the movements of ** and send out a secret message at the first time.
At 9:45 p.m., three large ** ships sailed out of the harbor one after another, and as the Germans had hoped, the night was thick and a thin haze filled the sea, and the Scharnhorst took the lead, and Vice Admiral Zilix silently watched the trailing fleet at the stern.
In the darkness of the night, he could barely make out the silhouette of the Gneizenau that followed closely behind, and the only vague shadow of the Prinz Eugen at the back was left, and six destroyers were guarding all aroundThe fleet sailed along the cleared channel toward the English Channel, and along the way, several destroyers, minesweepers, and frigates sailed out of other ports to join the fleet. They will enhance its protective firepower.
Strait Rush
On 12 February, it was already dawn, and the German fleet had sailed nearly 400 kilometers and was still unnoticed, and the winter Atlantic sea was rough, the sea was still covered with fog, and the sky was stormy.
The British submarines were not encountered, and even the British planes, which had always patrolled back and forth over the strait, did not seem to notice the "steel dragon" traveling at a high speed of 27 knots on the sea.
Lieutenant Admiral Zilix had been on the bridge since entering the English Channel, curled up in his overcoat and sipping hot coffee — he hadn't closed his eyes since the operation began — and now he was waiting for Garland's squadron of fighters to take position.
According to the plan, the Luftwaffe carrying out the cover mission must ensure that at least 16 fighters are in the sky at all times, and the fighters flying from French airfields can combat and cruise over the strait for 20 minutes, so that a maximum of 32 fighters per hour can provide cover.
The action had begun, the dice had been dropped, and the German fleet navigating through the strait was now left to its fate.
Until dawn, the British were not aware of the German adventures. General Wolfgang Martini's radar jamming operation was so good that coastal radar listeners in Kent, England, mistakenly thought the shield was due to weather interference.
The movements of the German fleet would occasionally appear on the screens of other radar monitoring stations, but not for long, these monitoring stations did not pay enough attention, and these scattered reports were not reported to the British Admiralty, otherwise the aggregated scattered reports would inevitably reveal the movements of the German Navy.
Luck doesn't last long - at 10:42, two Spitfires chasing German fighters swooped down from the clouds, and an astonishing scene came into view - on the sea, a long Led** ship was passing through the English Channel at high speed!
A few minutes later, two planes on routine patrol also spotted the scene, and the British Channel defense system was finally alarmed.
One after another, sirens sounded in the command of the Royal Air Force's Channel Defense Unit, the military port near Dover, the Torpedo Boat Squadron, and the Coastal Artillery UnitBut the British, as in Hitler's **, were taken by surprise, all reactions were sporadic and lagged, and the enemy did not seem to have yet woken up from the shock of the news.
The first to act were the artillerymen stationed in the Strait of Dover, who, upon receiving the order, immediately rushed violently** into the sea that was heavily concealed by the fog. The heavy 228mm shore guns roared and the powerful shells blasted high columns of water above the sea – while the German fleet was unscathed, as the nearest shells landed 1,600 meters away.
By noon, the fleet had already crossed the narrowest part of the English Channel, the section between the Strait of Dover and Calais, France, and the officers and men of the fleet, who had been nervous, had risen a glimmer of hope that they might indeed be able to escape the pursuit of the British: they had already driven 600 kilometers in the waters controlled by the British Navy and Air Force, and there were less than 400 kilometers left to sail into the French coastline controlled by the Luftwaffe.
A formation of British torpedo boats pursuing at high speed rushed towards the fleet from the port of Dover, and before they could get closer, they were hit by a dense burst of shells, and the torpedo boats that dodged the shells desperately approached, and fired several torpedoes, but none of them hit.
Before the Germans could settle down, six "Swordfish" attack planes flew over with torpedoes on their loads, and the Bismarck was sent to the western sky by such planesBut this time, the Germans weren't going to let them succeed again.
Dozens of Garland's fighters were in the air, and even if the Swordfish were escorted by 10 Spitfires, it would be useless.
These slow-moving "Swordfish" are like prey surrounded by schools of sharks, with dense machine guns and 20mm cannon bullets shuttling through their fuselage: their wings are knocked out, their fuel tanks are blown out, the canvas skin on the fuselage is torn into strips of rags...
Several FW-190s also deliberately skimmed the tail of the British aircraft at high speed, and the violent air currents were enough to destroy its fragile fuselage.
"Swordfish" beaten by a group
The German fleet on the sea was also full of firepower, and before leaving, these large ** ships were equipped with 4 20mm anti-aircraft guns on the deck, and the main guns of destroyers and cruisers were also facing the sea**, trying to interfere with enemy planes with the blown water column to drop bombs.
All six "Swordfish" were shot down, 13 of the 18 crew members were killed on the spot, and the remaining 5 were rescued by the British ** ship that arrived - since then, the "Swordfish" has completely withdrawn from the attack sequence of the British Royal Navy.
The torpedoes they fired also all missed the target.
Lieutenant General Zilix, who had witnessed all this, secretly rejoiced in the clumsy and incompetent response of the always arrogant British. The fleet is already halfway through its journey, and the threat of air raids does not seem to be much under the protection of the Luftwaffe, and the only thing left to worry about is mines.
Since the beginning of the war, the two countries have spared no effort to lay mines on each other's ports and shipping lanes, and there are as many as 1,000 dense mines on the main shipping routes.
You must know that in some places, the width of the main channel swept out is less than 800 meters, not to mention the large **, and even the minesweeper is dangerous to drive into it by itself.
I was really afraid of something, the leading Scharnhorst suddenly shook its hull, accompanied by a sudden ** sound, and soon, the news was sent to the bridge: the engine had stopped, and this ** had anchored.
Upon further inspection, it was found that the mines had damaged the armor belt and propeller at the stern of the ship, and for fear of taking too long to repair the propellers, Vice Admiral Zilix immediately moved to the destroyer Z-29 and then pursued the large force at full speed.
The bewildered British have not organized a coordinated and effective interception until now:
Two squadrons of Bristol "Beaufort" torpedo bombers received an urgent order to take off to attack, which seemed to be huge, and who would have thought that a considerable part of the planes were not even loaded with torpedoes because they were in too haste;Most of the planes missed the rendezvous point and had to face the Luftwaffe without fighter escort, and only a few aircraft eventually found the German fleet accurately, but sporadic attacks were ineffective.
The British air raids were in vain, and the Scharnhorst, after emergency repairs, was able to maintain a high speed to catch up with the large force. The German fleet had sailed away from the narrowest part of the English Channel and approached the Belgian coast, where the Royal Navy's last chance to intercept was located.
The Gneizenau is crossing the strait under the escort of destroyers.
To the surprise of the Germans, the British sent a fleet of destroyers more than 20 years old, which were mainly used against German submarines in normal times, and occasionally to drive away German minesweepers close to the coast.
Before the destroyer could depart, two German bombers dropped a barrage of bombs on their heads, and as they sailed out of the Thames estuary, the bombers came again – this time by the Royal Air Force – but fortunately both air strikes missed.
Just after 3 p.m., six destroyers split into two groups and launched an attack on the huge Gnazenau and Prinz Eugen.
Although the Germans had expected it, they did not expect that it would be a group of "small points" to meet the battle - the British ** ship bravely rushed to the position parallel to the German ** ship, intending to launch a torpedo attack, but the prepared Gneizenau and the escorting destroyer both aimed their main guns at them fiercely.
Shells rained down, enveloping the destroyer USS Worcester in a column of smoke and water, the poor deck was blown up, the bridge was hit by a few shells, and the engine room was shattered by penetrating shells. When the Gneizenau turned its guns to bombard the other two British ships, the Worcester, which was paralyzed on the sea, was towed away by the rescue vessel.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the other two British ** ships quickly accelerated and turned in, hid in the dense fog on the sea, and escapedAnother group of destroyers attacking Prince Eugen was also repulsed, leaving the German fleet unscathed.
From the afternoon to the evening, the bombers of various types of the British Royal Air Force continued to roar over the fleet, and they were greeted by the fierce anti-air artillery fire of the two ** and the escort ships, and the Luftwaffe fighters swooped down from time to time, knocking one British plane after another into thick smoke.
The weather was getting worse and worse, and low rain clouds were obscuring the fleet. And Vice Admiral Zilix is about to change the flagship again - an anti-aircraft shell of the Z-29 destroyer spontaneously ignited during the battle**, blowing up an oil pipeline, and the speed of ** dropped to 25 knots.
The wind and waves were so strong that Vice Admiral Zilix could not transfer to another destroyer, so he had to have his transport barge down and sail to the Hermann Schönmann on the sea.
The lieutenant general, who was transferred by barge, saw a scene that made him extremely excited in the dim sea: the huge and majestic battleship Scharnhorst, coming from behind them at high speed, triumphantly converging.
After a day and a night of sailing, the last hurdle on the way home of the German fleet lay ahead, the narrow sea between the Frisian islands. At 8 p.m., a white light burst out on the surface of the sea -- the Gneizenau had struck a mine, and a large crack had been blown open in the armor near the stern. The damage management team quickly patched the crack with a large steel plate, and although the ship could continue to move forward, the speed was greatly slowed down.
In the early morning of 13 February, the Gneizenau passed through the Kiel Canal and approached the port of Kiel, where the bell sounded as a symbol of victory and the exhausted officers and men began to cheer and celebrate. Soon, the Prinz Eugen also arrived without incident, and the fleet began to celebrate again.
The Prinz Eugen in action.
The hapless Scharnhorst struck a mine again at half past nine in the evening of the 12th, and the maintenance crew fought for three hours on the icy sea, and finally let the giant ** start again, and the captain sent a half-joking telegram: "Our ship is barely moving at 12 knots." ”
The fleet commander, Vice Admiral Zilix, commanded the destroyer to turn halfway and guide the Scharnhorst into Wilhelmshaven, and the "Keeper of the Underworld" operation was a complete victory.
Afterwards, Vice Admiral Zilix sent a private telegram to Marshal Raeder, in which he excitedly said: "This is a unique adventure in the history of the Navy, we have made history, and people will sing our praises!"”
Postscript
The daring Channel Dash was a great success, and the British Navy and Air Force were swollen in the face. However, if we look at the overall situation of the war, it did not play a major role.
The Gneizenau was damaged by a mine, and was later severely damaged by British bombers, completely shattering the chance of returning to the battlefield, and finally sank outside the port of Goldhaven.
After more than six months of repairs, the Scharnhorst finally returned to the battlefield, but was caught by the mighty British Royal Navy, and on December 26, 1943, under the siege of the British fleet, it fought to the last moment.
Hitler's instincts were completely wrong this time, the British never attacked Norway, and the German High Seas Fleet, although it could contain the Royal Navy here, surrendered the Atlantic waters.
Despite Prime Minister Winston Churchill's claim that the retreat of the German Navy from the port of Brest had changed the military situation in our favour – and he was right – the prestige and morale of the Royal Navy had taken a heavy hit.
The Times spoke to the hearts of the people:
The successful German adventure in the waters where the Spanish Armada had been completely destroyed was "the most insulting to the pride of our fleet since the seventeenth century near the coast of England." ”
Note 1: Also translated as "Thurbrus-Thunder", Thurbrus is the name of the three-headed guard dog of Hades in Greek mythology, and "Thunder" refers to the cover operation of the Air Force.