Chapter 3 03. Gang fight "Earl Spey"

After the outbreak of World War II, the basic strategy of the German Navy was to use all means to destroy the British sea transport line.In the early days of the war, although the results of the German submarine force were remarkable, the number of submarines was very small and had not yet formed a scale.Therefore, at the beginning of the war, the main force of the Atlantic naval battle was still surface warships.But compared with submarines, the situation of German surface warships is not optimistic. When World War II broke out, two "Bismarck-class" battleships of the German Navy were still under construction; two "Scharnhorst-class" battlecruisers were being refitted; two "Hipper-class" heavy cruisers, one was in training , the other 1 ship will not be able to serve until 3 weeks after the outbreak of the war; 3 "Deutschland-class" armored ships, 1 of which is under overhaul and unable to operate.Only two pocket battleships "Deutschland" and "Graft Spey" were able to enter the battle immediately.On the eve of the war, in order to prevent the British Navy from blocking the estuary, the two pocket battleships were ordered to go to the predetermined coast to stand by. The "Deutschland" went to the North Atlantic, and the "Earl Spey" went to the South Atlantic.

The so-called pocket battleship is a great invention of the Germans. The "Versailles Peace Treaty" stipulates that the German Navy can only keep the old warships launched before 1910, and does not allow the construction of new battleships. If the warship is too old to serve, the replacement ship cannot exceed 10,000 tons.At that time, the displacement of battleships was about 30,000 to 40,000 tons, and the displacement of about 10,000 tons was heavy cruisers.However, the treaty did not stipulate the caliber of the new German warship's cannon. Therefore, under the limited displacement standard, the German warship designers tried to improve the firepower and protection of the warship as much as possible, and built a "small boat carrying a cannon". warship.

Although the tonnage of this pocket battleship is not large, its firepower is very fierce. It is not a problem to deal with old-fashioned battleships and cruisers. Although it is called "pocket", its firepower is much higher than that of ordinary heavy cruisers. bombardment.Once the battle is unfavorable, it can run at full power and slip away, which is very suitable for sabotage warfare.This warship is equipped with 6 main guns, 8 secondary guns, and many anti-aircraft weapons. For the allies, this kind of pocket battleship is like a fierce and flexible "sea crocodile", attacking the sea transportation line surreptitiously, it is almost impossible to guard against.

"Graf Spee" is a typical representative of the German pocket battleship.The warship was named after Count Spee, a famous German vice-admiral during World War I.Earl Spey once said a bold statement: "Fight heroically with the British navy on the seven seas, carry forward the spirit of Germany, and continue the glory to the end. For the benefit of the country and the dignity of Germany, we must shed the last drop of blood!" After the outbreak of World War II, under the command of Captain Langsdorf, the "Earl Spey" sailed to the mid-Atlantic without being noticed by the British Navy. On September 3, 1939, the "Earl Spey" received a combat order.However, Hitler hoped to negotiate with Britain, and on September 5 he ordered the Graf Spee to temporarily cease operations.It was not until September 25th, when the Polish campaign was coming to an end, and Britain had no intention of peace talks, that the "Earl Spey" received the order to officially start combat operations. On September 30, the "Earl Spey" captured the first "prey"-a British merchant ship near the coast of Brazil, and sank it without any effort. Earl Pey sank 4 merchant ships in a row.

After discovering the whereabouts of the "Earl Spey", the British and French navies formed 9 search fleets to search for the "Earl Spey".At this time, Langsdorf led the warship eastward to the Indian Ocean, temporarily avoiding the edge. The "Earl Spey" sank a merchant ship in the Indian Ocean, feeling that it could not get any oil and water, so it returned to the South Atlantic Ocean in early December. On December 2, 1939, the heavy bow of the "Earl Spey" cut across the waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, silently looking for the next prey.Soon, the pilot of the carrier-based reconnaissance plane discovered that the 10,000-ton freighter "Donic Star" was driving not far ahead!

The "Earl Spey" immediately entered the battle state and approached the target.More than ten minutes later, the "Earl Spey" had caught up with the "Dronic Star".Colonel Langsdorf ordered the signalmen to send out a signal, ordering the people on the "Donic Star" to abandon the ship immediately, and at the same time ordering his own soldiers to lower the lifeboats to rescue the people who abandoned the ship and escaped.The combat philosophy of the German Navy is very "gentlemanly": the target is the ship, and no human life is injured. Accompanied by the muffled firing sound, the triple 280mm main guns on the "Earl Spey" fired together and hit the "Donic Star" accurately.The huge explosion was deafening, and a few minutes later, the 10,000-ton ship sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

However, if you often walk by the river, how can you not get your shoes wet. The scenery of the "Earl Spey" came to an end soon. On December 13, 1939, the British Royal Navy, which had been searching for the "Earl Spey", finally surrounded it. Now it was the turn of the "Earl Spey" tragedy. At the mouth of the Prat River near Montevideo, Uruguay, the "Earl Spey" and the British fleet finally handed over. The heavy cruisers "Exeter", "Ajax" and "Achilles" formed a battle formation in the shape of a "pin" and ganged up on the "Earl Spey".

Facing a one-vs-three situation, the "Earl Spey" did not show any weakness. The six cannons in the front and rear main turrets and the eight secondary guns on the side of the ship fought back with all their strength. The two quadruple torpedo launch tubes on the stern deck also frequently fired at the The enemy fires torpedoes.There was a rumble of gunfire on the sea, and the water waves soared into the sky. Although the "Earl Spey" has strong firepower, after all, two fists are no match for four hands.Fortunately, the armor was very strong, and the "Earl Spey" managed to withstand a few shells that directly hit the hull. Although the hull was injured, the impact was not significant. The sailors fired desperately while rushing to repair it.

After more than an hour of fighting, three turrets on the "Exeter" were smashed, lost combat effectiveness, and had to withdraw from the battle, while the "Ajax" and "Achilles" were only lightly injured. hurt.The wounded "Earl Spey" gradually lost the wind. Seeing that the battle situation was becoming more and more unfavorable to him, Captain Langsdorf pinned his hopes on the coming night. The long-awaited night came, and Langsdorf ordered the "Earl Spey" to be strictly prohibited from lighting.On the dark sea, the British fleet lost its target and could only occasionally fire a few shots blindly. The "Earl Spey" pinpointed the gap in the British fleet and successfully drilled out of the encirclement.

However, the scarred "Earl Spey" moved slowly, and it was difficult to escape the pursuit of the British fleet.In the end, Langsdorf chose the port of Montevideo not far away. Montevideo is a neutral port.According to international law, the British fleet cannot enter the port and open fire.In Langsdorf's eyes, the port of Montevideo could serve as a refuge for the Count Spey. But the Germans rejoiced a little early.After an initial inspection by maintenance personnel, it was reported that it would take 2 weeks to repair the Earl of Spey.However, international law stipulates that the warships of the warring parties can only stay in neutral ports for a maximum of 72 hours!The warships of the Royal Navy are waiting outside the port. Once the "Earl Spey" sails out of the port, there will be more violent group fights.

In desperation, Langsdorf went to see the mayor of Montevideo, begging to extend the stay of the "Earl Spey", but was ruthlessly rejected. On December 17, the fourth day after the "Earl Spey" entered the port of Montevideo, Langsdorf called all the officers and men of the ship to the deck to make a final speech, and then held a funeral for the fallen soldiers.Facing the fallen soldiers wrapped in white cloth, Captain Langsdorf raised his right hand and saluted slowly.He did not perform the Nazi salute, but the traditional military salute of the German Navy. This was the last time he performed the German Navy military salute in his life. After the funeral, Captain Langsdorf ordered all officers and men to be dismissed on the spot.Except for the 38 officers and soldiers killed in battle, the remaining nearly 1,000 soldiers went ashore in small boats and scattered to Argentina and other places. Subsequently, the pocket battleship "Earl Spey" sailed out of the port of Montevideo, and Colonel Langsdorf, who was standing on the lifeboat, pressed the remote detonator with a heavy heart.With the deafening explosion, the jewel of the German navy, the Graf Spee, sank into the Atlantic Ocean. The next day, Colonel Langsdorf wrote a letter to the German ambassador to Argentina, asking him to properly accommodate the soldiers who had taken refuge in Argentina.After doing all this, Langsdorf calmly drew his pistol, shot himself, and was buried for his beloved ship. At Langsdorf's funeral, several British officers came to offer their condolences.This is because Langsdorf strictly followed chivalry in combat, never hurt innocent people, and did not let a British crew member die in the attack.He is a soldier who has earned the respect of his opponents!