Into The Great
White Open – Introduction - Part one, Two Oceans
A Letterstime side story
The
short sortie was coming to an end. Fregattenkapitaen
von Karpf was standing on the starboard bridge wing
looking west. Behind the Roon's four stacks and the
mainmast he saw the looming mass of SMS
Koenig, Leadship of High Seas Fleet's
Third Battlesquadron. Smoke reduced the already
limited view due to the foul
After
the battlecruiser clash at Doggerbank
back in January the fleet made more frequent sweeps. Yesterday they sortied into the southern
"Once
again an uneventful journey coming to an end, Paul“, he said to his XO. "I
wonder how long this is going on. Unlike First Scouting, our Big Units have not
seen any action yet”. Deep inside a voice asked whether he really want to see
the teeth of the Grand Fleet. Of course he would neglect the pure existence of
this voice to anyone. Another voice fought the first and said that he would
love to see those teeth.
"Just seen Schillig's lighthouse.
If we hurry we can complete passing third pathway and in about 90 minutes reach
our berth.“ his XO said.
February 23rd high noon, Noerenberg, Hinterpommern, Lange Strasse 5,
master tailor Adalbert Wudtke's
living room
Wilhelm
Wudtke was proudly looking at the evening suit he was
producing. He had started his journeyman years in September 1914 after
receiving his "Gesellenbrief“ (Note [1]),
so that he was a real tailor now and he could start to earn money and maybe
sometime raise a family. But first he would like to be a master tailor, like
his father, for whom he was working now.
"Wilhelm,
you have received a letter“, the concerned voice of his mother was heard
through the clattering of his sewing-machine. Wilhelm stopped pedaling and laid
down his sewing-thread. "Who is the consignor, mother?“
the eighteen year old boy asked. He was a friendly young man, well liked by
most inhabitants of this small town in Pommern. He
was not a large boy, in his 1meter 60ties. Most prominent where his friendly
looking green eyes and his ears, which some teased him about being good for
sailing.
April 14th Wilhelmshaven, SMS Roon's bridge
"Kapitaen von Karpf, look at this
message, bitte.“ Kontreadmiral von Rebeur-Paschwitz’
voice was strangely flat. Von Karpf took the message
and started to read. His heart suddenly pounds heavily.
"Von
Karpf, Third Scouting is no more“, von Rebeur-Paschwitz said to his flagcaptain.
"Together with the Prinz
Heinrich your ship is going to be transferred to the Baltic. It
appears we are not needed here anymore.
"Please
haul down my flag”. The admiral coughed, and then cleared his throat. “I wonder
if SMS Roon
is ever going to be a flagship again“, he added after a short hesitation, then
turned around and left for his stateroom.
"Tomorrow
we are transferring to
April 15th north of Memel, SMS Undine,
sunrise
"The
commander of
"AO,
you see Budendiekshof (Note [2])
off our port bow. Have you memorized those buildings we ought to destroy“?
"Yes
Sir“, Maier said.
"I
simply do not want to listen to these coastal battery talks. If there are some,
we destroy them. We do not have SMS
Ostfriesland available,“ Windmüller said, still very
angry.
His
ship, normally "Kuestenschutzverband Ostsee“(Note [3])
with its crew consisting mainly of reservists, had been sent east to replace
the SMS Luebeck, which was on a mine sortie. SMS
Undine was launched
Budendiekshof, about 5 nm north of
the border, had been developed as a Russian outpost.
"Feuererlaubnis (Note[4])
fuer die Zehnfuenf (Note[5])
erteilt“, Windmueller said
to Maier.
"All
guns, shooooot“, Maier commanded.
"Crack, Crack, Crackcrackcrack“, the port broadside
guns erupted to life. Windmueller was pleased with
these guns, they had a very heavy shell for their
bore.
The
range was about 40 hm (Note [6]),
so just seconds later the 17.4 kilogram shells arrived. The light had much
improved during the last minutes, so the erupting fountains could be seen. One
of the shells was on target, parts of a wall collapsed. "Have a nice wakeup, my
Russian friends, this is from the Kaiser with love“, Windmueller
thought grimly, calming down slowly.
"Take
aim piecewise, every gun commander knows his target“, Maier's very loud voice
as audible behind him.
"Crack, Crack, Crack, Crackcrack“, the second salvo
went out. This time all shells save one hit their destination.
"Training
has helped, Leutnant Maier, good shooting“,
complimented Windmueller. "Keep it up“.
Only
minutes later smoke from the burning buildings
hampered vision. Windmueller was pleased with their
success.
Later that day they opened fire again, this time at the very
long range of 120 hm at Russian lines southeast of Dorbjanny. That was close to
their range limit, which was just a few hundred meters more.
"This
was a good exercise for every one of us“, Korvettenkapitaen
Windmueller said after their return to
At
that time he did not know that he would have to return to the western Baltic
the next day. So it was up patrolling the western Baltic again, like all this long last winter and autumn.
May 07th,
"AO,
permission to open fire“, the loud voice of Fregattenkapitaen
Ziethen was heard on the bridge.
Just
some seconds earlier SMS
Prinz Adalbert,
Kontreadmiral Hopman's
flagship had opened fire on the russian
barbed wire factory at the northern part of the city. Directly in front of SMS Roon
was the former Third Scouting companion, the SMS Prinz Heinrich.
"At least we are not the trail snail“, thought Ziethen.
That position was occupied by SMS
Beowulf, one of the old Siegfried
- Class coastal
defence vessels, although she was more on the port
side then behind. Still further astern, much closer to the coast, was SMS Thetis,
one of the slower small cruisers.
Much
farther south both of "Aufklaerungsgruppe Ostsee“ (Note [7])
fast cruisers, the SMS
Augsburg and the SMS
Luebeck, where shooting
at Libau's southern defences,
where the German troops where advancing.
Ziethen had become Roon's
new CO after Fregattenkapitaen von Karpf had left upon Roon’s
arrival at
Ziethen's previous duty was XO
of the SMS Wittelsbach, one of those Fourth
Battlesquadron Predreadnoughts.
Originally Fregattenkapitaen Gygas
was to assume command, but that was suddenly changed and he was commanded to
report to the Blohm & Voss yard at
He
had not have had that much time to get acquainted to this ship, for Kontreadmiral Hopman on SMS Prinz
Adalbert gave the command to
leave Swinemuende, sailing east for Danzig. Together with SMS Prinz Heinrich
and 19th Half-Flotilla Roon,
they had exercised some days after leaving
Yesterday
with the whole fleet they had left
"Sighted two Armored cruisers with
four and two more with three stacks“.
they had hoped to meet the Russian
Baltic Fleet in battle. But those turned their tail and turned north. Not even
their smoke plume was sighted.
During
today's early hours some fighting took place in the vicinity of Libau, but the Armored Cruisers did not taken part in it.
Later, the big units took their place in the firing-line, ready to open fire. SMS
Roon's
task was to reduce the beach entrenchments.
"Artillery
Officer, I want some quick-firing salvos of heavy and medium Artillery after we
have found the range.
Let's train the men in quickly reloading. After some salvos, you are to switch
to slow, but well aimed fire“, Ziethen told his AO.
"KABOOOM“,
for the first time Ziethen heard his own artillery
fire in anger. The full, deep sound of Roon's
four 21,0 cm L/40 main guns was easy to distinguish from the loud, hard sound
of the 15cm L/40 medium guns. Of those Roon
had five on each side, two in turrets on the upper deck and three in casemates
on the main deck.
"Achtung, Aufschlag“, (Note[8])
his second artillery officer Oberleutnant zur See Christian Knothe said.
.
"Over,
reduce by 200. Medium Artillery, second salvo, shoooot“,
the gunners commando was given.
"CRUMP, CRUMMMMMMP“,
they shouted out their defiance.
This
time huge fountains erupted in the beach battery works. "You are on target,
quick-fire“, Kapitaenleutnant Hoehne's
commando was given. The good-looking "Erster Artillerieoffizier“ was well liked
by his fellow officers for being good humored and very reliable.
"CRRRRUUMMMP“,
the third salvo went out, seconds later. After the shells arrived, a huge
explosion took place. One gun's emplacements ready to use ammunition detonated.
.
"Brilliant
shooting, Michael“, Ziethen said. "By the way, do we
have big guns“? he asked, teasing his fellow officer.
"21iger,
Feuer“, Kapitaenleutnant Hoehne commanded, looked at Ziethen
and smiled. "If you want to see the result, look out the other direction“, he
teased back.
Ziethen had his binoculars
in front of his eyes already.
"KABOOOM“,
four heavy shells left Roon's muzzels.
Brilliant visible detonations lifted up dust, dirt and other parts of
something, some of which, he reminded himself, had once belonged to human
beings.
Some
minutes later, after they shifted to well aimed fire, Ziethen said "I want the eight-eight to be included as
well. Train those gunners, we might need them soon, as well.“
May 10th, Putlos, south of
"Sprung
auf, Marsch Marsch“, (Note[9])
Wilhelm Wudtke hears his corporal shout from behind.
Up and out of his covering he goes, his rifle, the "Gewehr
98“ in his right hand, dashing forward to that "enemy“
building.
He
recalled the 9th of March, his
nineteenth birthday ,when he had to follow the call to
duty. The LETTER(s) his mother had handed him back that winter day, described
the day and place where he was ordered to show up. He knew from that day, that
he has to fight for his "Fatherland“ as a sailor of
the "Kaiserliche Marine“. So he went to
"At
least it will be warm and I am not to stick in trenches”, he remembered
answering his parents. Now he wondered just how naive he was, back then. He was
a child of spring and loved warm day's and sunshine.
He had not much love for those quite long Pommern
winters.
His
days had a new meaning now, short nights, marching exercises, rifle exercises,
cleaning rooms, and a lot of other "senseless things“. Only when it came to
repairing clothes, he was clearly the best and fastest of his platoon.
"One
day this will have to end, and then we will have a calm live in one or the
other harbor”, he frequently told his comrades. That little what he had seen
from
May 11th,
Just
minutes before they had sighted smoke plumes to the north. Lieutenant Commander
Max R. Horton had ordered a course change and shortly thereafter he commanded:
“Diving”.
“Lieutenant,
bring her up to periscope depth”, Horton's voice was audible.
“Up
periscope”, he commanded. ”Slow ahead, Bosun, course
110.”
“Hmm....,
there they are. Seems to be a lot of ships”, he said.
Minutes later.
“Well,
definitively three really big units. And some destroyers.
There, this is a big one. Flood the tubes”. Seconds later:” Open the doors of
the bow tubes”.
“Bow
Torpedo Room, target is a big Cruiser with four stacks, estimated speed 15
knots, distance 600 yards”.
He
took a short round sweep with the periscope. No destroyer interfering.
“Tube One and Two ready to fire”.
The silence in the boat was “hurting”.
“Tube
One, ...Fire”.
“Tube
Two, ...Fire”.
Both
torpedoes sped off.
“Torpedoes
are running well”, the voice from the torpedo officer in the bow room reported.
“Down
Periscope”?, the voice of an NCO was heard.
“Keep
it up”.
“Captain,
screw sounds red 15”! the alarmed voice from the
hydrophone room.
Sweep
with the periscope. “Shit, destroyer combing the wakes, emergency dive”!
“Wumpf”.
May 11th,
“Torpedoes from starboard!
Two tracks fast approaching!!” cried the lookout.
Officer
of the watch was Kapitaenleutnant Jens Trapp, Roon's Second Officer.
“Emergency left rudder, full speed ahead!, Alle Schotten dicht”!
“Crack,
Wumpf”.
May 15th,
"Same
procedure as yesterday, Stephan“, the gun-commander of the port bow 10.5 cm gun
said to that one of the starboard. "Same procedure as every
day, Johannes“, that one replied in earnest.
Together
with the old destroyer D-9
and the Torpedo-Boats T-85
and T-87
SMS Arcona forms the "Kuestenschutzverband
Ems“ (Note[10])
and is the "flagship“ of Korvettenkapitaen Wilhelm
von Hippel.
SMS
Arcona was launched
Their
duty is to guard the mouth of the
Tristness as the best word to describe that situation.
Only
in last August, when the British attacked Heligoland
Bight, those units on duty back then could give battle. One of the attacking
cruisers, SMS Mainz,
which started from the
May 16th, CO's room, SMS Roon
Ziethen thought back of last
weeks "highlights“. Only with difficulty did they escape those torpedoes fired
at them in the early morning hours of May 11th.
The torpedoes passed Roon's
stern only by some meters. S 141,
one of their escorting torpedo boats had combed the tracks and fired with its
bow gun, but lost aim soon after. So
much for those who say older units to the Baltic. The danger of enemy
subs and mines was as great as in the north sea.
They
had fulfilled their duty, Libau
was in German hands now. Two firing periods took place, one from
"3rd
Cavalry-Brigade, thanks to the support of the fleet, is now completely in
control of Libau. Hope for future common successes.“
Ziethen was not totally
satisfied with his artillery, not that they had been bad, slow or inaccurate.
It was more the fact that the results were not excellent. He knew that one day
they would meet enemy units in anger, and that their Artillery would be their
live preserver, but only if they shot better with it. In fact, this had become
a common theme in his discussions with Kapitaenleutnant
Hoehne.
Roon was launched
Ziethen was Roon's CO a month time now.
Not much time, but an active one. Already he felt that the crew’s performance had shown good progress.
Another month or two and his goal to have an elite crew seems
to be achievable. "Armored Cruisers“ he said to
himself, "what have we achieved with those units“.
Now,
Kontreadmiral Hopman has
all three operational units of this type under his command. He never counted SMS Bluecher
a "true“ AC, more a hybrid battle cruiser, "She survived an
encounter with five British battle cruisers, three of them those dreaded
"Cats“, even though she was badly damaged. Same to be said of Hipper's battlecruisers.“ "Stop“, he corrected himself, "that are now Vice Admiral
Letters Battlecruisers“. He admired Letters greatly,
having won that battle. A brilliant success, and one
whose echoes were still reverberating all across the world. How he longed to
have been there! Ziethen was Bluecher's
artillery officer before he was assigned to be Wittelsbach's
XO when war broke out.
"What
are the results and what are the fates of these ships?“
Ziethen considered. The first loss, and the most
unnecessary one, was the loss of Roon's sister SMS Yorck.
After her shelling of
"How
can one lay mines that far inshore and how can one return home if one can not
see due to foggy conditions?“ Ziethen was speaking
nearly silently, a lonely figure sitting in his only chair in a nearly dark
room. He felt the responsibility of his command heavy on his shoulders and in
his stomach. He never imagined that Kapitaene were
that lonely.
Then
there was the loss of SMS
Eitel Friedrich, sinking
after striking two mines near
"So one of them survived two mines for hours and the other
capsized after only a few minutes”. And the types were
quite similar. After the loss of SMS Yorck
the yards cut a big door in the bulkhead in the middle of the boiler-rooms.
This door could be opened quickly in emergency to buy buoyancy for time.
Then
came the loss of SMS Scharnhorst
and SMS Gneisenau December 4th.
They fought gallantly against Sturdee's HMS Invincible
and HMS Inflexible,
trying to save their small cruiser companions. That outcome had been certain
from the start, but they had lasted for many hours. Not much was known how many
brave sailors demised, but lately the rumors told that Scharnhorst had
been lost with all hands. "Poor von Spee, he
definitely had deserved a better fate.“ Ziethen could not get rid of the feeling that "Ostasiengeschwader“ (Note [12])
did not receive the support they needed. Both big AC's definitely would make a
difference here.
His
thoughts went back to SMS
Bluecher. That one survived
heavy damage. "That makes four against one.“ He thought about good performance against
bad performance.
Not
that much seems wrong with German designs.
"So
what the hell are these valuable assets doing in the Baltic, where the war at
sea was won from the first second of the war? The Russians will never have a
chance to change their strategical situation, even
with their four Gangut-Class Dreadnoughts which
might enter service this year“! He was nearly shouting to himself by this time.
"Why
is it not obvious for the strategists to see, that efforts have to been taken
in the
Finally
he tried to find some rest, but the thoughts kept on coming.
Written for Letterstime by Uwe Ziethen.
Story is permitted to be placed on Jim Byrds “Thequickbluefox.com” server.
Uwe
likes to thank Jim very much for his encouragement and support.
Footnotes:
Note
1: Having finished his education and could start a work on his own
responsibility
Note
2: small village north of
Note
3: Coastal defense unit Baltic
Note
4: Permission to open fire
Note
Note
6: hm, Hektometer, 1 hm is 100 meter
Note
7: Scouting Group Baltic
Note 8: "Attention, here they come“.
Note
9: "Jump, to the attack“
Note
10: Coastal defence unit
Note
11: Coastal defence ships
Note
12:
Note 13: Sorry Jim :-)
[1] Having
finished his education and could start a work on his own responsibility.
[2] ) small village north of
[3] ) Coastal
defense unit Baltic
[4] )
Permission to open fire
[5] ) 10.5 cm,
4.1 inch
[6] ) hm, Hektometer, 1 hm is 100 meter
[7] ) Scouting
Group Baltic
[8] )
Attention, here they come.
[9] "Jump, to
the attack“
[10] )
Coastal defence unit
[11] )
Coastal defence ships
[12] )
[13] )
Sorry, Jim