Hitler’s Pre-Emptive War: The Battle for Norway, 1940 by Henrik Lunde (the reader ebook .TXT) 📕

useful purpose by shielding them from the three German destroyers approaching from the east. Hotspur fired torpedoes at Georg Thiele as the German ship passed to its starboard but both torpedoes missed their target. Two shells from Georg Thiele hit Hotspur.

The German shells caused total communications failure on Hotspur and put her hydraulic steering mechanism out of commission. The ship took an uncontrollable turn to starboard and sliced into Hunter’s amidships engine room. The result was devastating, adding significantly to the already existing carnage on that ship. The two ships were motionless and subjected to a withering fire from the two German destroyers. Hostile then took violent evasive action that prevented a further pile-up.

Hotspur was still pushing against Hunter with its 34,000 horsepower engines at full throttle. Lieutenant Commander Layman could not communicate with the engine room and left the bridge to establish verbal communications. He was successful in ordering the engines reversed, but in his absence a German shell struck the bridge and killed most of those present. Hunter righted itself as Hotspur backed away, but only for a moment. Hunter’s one remaining functioning gun was still firing as the ship slowly rolled over on its starboard side and sank.

Georg Thiele was forced to withdraw from the battle at this crucial moment. The ship had sustained at least seven major hits: she was ablaze, two magazines were flooded, and her fire fighting ability had been severely reduced. Commander Wolf had sighted the three destroyers from Herjangsfjord coming up fast behind the British column and he decided it was time to exit the battle to save his ship and leave the cleanup to others.

Bernd von Arnim tried to finish off Hotspur. Layman was able to establish a double human chain of communications between the shattered bridge and the engine room. With the ship’s communications system destroyed, the guns operated under local control to good effect. The gunners calmly kept up a relentless rapid fire directed at Bernd von Arnim as she passed to the north. The German destroyer sustained at least five hits, and as the three other German destroyers were approaching, she also left the battle to lick her wounds.

The two remaining British destroyers, Hostile and Havock, continued westward after their near collision with their stricken friends. From two miles to the west, they saw Hotspur, badly damaged from the collision and enemy fire, still making headway to the west. The two British destroyer captains decided instinctively, and independently, to turn around and help the stricken ship. At this critical moment, the initiative swung to the British.

The Germans, believing that the battle was over except for completing the destruction of Hotspur, were somewhat dismayed at the sight of the two British destroyers turning around and coming at them at high speed, firing as they came. Hostile and Havock reached Hotspur and took up protective positions to her rear. The three ships continued westward to safety.

The three ships of the 4th German Destroyer Flotilla were unable to prevent the British escape, and Bey appeared satisfied with having driven the enemy from the fjord. His ships were less than 5,000 meters off the British warships as Hostile and Havock swung in behind Hotspur. At that range, the Germans should have been able to bring a devastating fire to bear on their enemies. However, Bey approached the enemy while continually zigzagging across the fjord. The danger of British torpedoes was minimal if the Germans had pressed their attack directly, as they would have combed their tracks. The fuel levels in the German ships were dangerously low, but more fuel was expanded in the zigzag course than in a direct approach. The constant course changes delayed closing with the British and caused the German fire to be ineffective. Wolf and Rechel were probably dismayed at how the enemy escaped the battlefield they had prepared so well. Bey missed an opportunity to inflict a severe blow on the Royal Navy.

The beached Hardy fired at the German destroyers with its one remaining serviceable gun. Erich Giese fired a torpedo at Hardy but it malfunctioned. Erich Giese was so low on fuel that the fuel pumps were expected to start sucking air at any moment and the ship was in no position to continue the pursuit. Wolfgang Zenker, Bey’s flagship, also gave up the chase for unknown reasons, but probably because of dangerously low fuel levels. Erich Koellner continued as far as Djupvik before it also turned back. She joined Wolfgang Zenker and Erich Giese in searching for survivors in the area where Hunter had sunk. As Dickens writes, the 48 survivors (10 later died from wounds and exposure) bore testimony to the gallant help and care given them by the officers and men of the German destroyers.

The Germans suffered another mishap of considerable importance before the British warships cleared the fjord. Unknown to the Germans in Narvik, the supply ship Rauenfels entered Ofotfjord as the three British destroyers were exiting. The U25, which was patrolling east of Barøy, was the first warship to see Rauenfels. The submarine commander, Lieutenant Commander Viktor Schütze, had heard gunfire from the direction of Narvik and although not sure, considered it possible that the ship was a British transport. Despite his doubts, he decided to attack. One torpedo was fired at Rauenfels. Either it missed its target or, more probably, malfunctioned, as did so many German torpedoes during the Norwegian campaign.

The U46, commanded by Lieutenant Herbert Sohler, patrolled the waters near Ramnes and her crew also heard gunfire from the direction of Narvik. Sohler did not know what was happening until he saw three British destroyers heading directly towards him from the east. The U46 managed to dive before being spotted. Sohler tried to get into position to fire torpedoes, but before he could do so, the British destroyers had passed.

Lieutenant Commander Layman was the senior of the three British destroyer captains but since his communications were destroyed, he turned over tactical command to Lieutenant Commander Wright on Hostile. As