Chapter 557: The Arctic Ocean

Is there any seawater colder than the North Atlantic? The answer is the Arctic Ocean. Here, the water is even colder, the sea conditions are even worse, and any equipment brought here seems to be in danger of being frozen solid. This is an ocean of ice, a world of freezing cold.

Leaning against the mast and the retracted periscope, Prien looked out at the icy sea, smoking a cigarette in silence. Although it was already May, the seawater near the North Pole still held no trace of warmth. He did not wish to die in such an environment. In comparison, he missed the North Atlantic, the place that had made him a legend.

In the distance, large chunks of pack ice drifted by from time to time, and even further away, massive icebergs could be seen moving with the ocean currents. Prien’s assistants were scanning the surroundings with binoculars. Two sailors in trench coats stood by the 88mm cannon mounted on the submarine’s foredeck, talking softly about something.

When the surface of the Atlantic was no longer filled with cargo ships heading for Britain, when the once-mighty Royal Navy was cowering in Canada and no longer easily came out to challenge the German Navy, many German submarines began to find themselves with nothing to do. They could no longer sink British transport ships by the hundreds of thousands of tons, nor could they risk challenging the British escort fleets.

Thus, the good old days of drinking and feasting became cramped. The already dim life of the submarine crews became even more sunless. To wander the Atlantic for ten days and not find a single target, and for the shipping lanes between Iceland and Canada to be filled with patrolling anti-submarine vessels and aircraft—that was not a good hunting ground. After losing five submarines and over a hundred crewmen there, the German submarine force could only use this conclusion to console the heroic souls lying at the bottom of the sea.

The shipping lane between America, Canada, and Iceland was too dangerous. Most of it was within the range of land-based aircraft, and the Americans had many long-range patrol planes, which were deployed so frequently that they practically covered the sky. The German High Seas Fleet had already gone south to avoid a war of attrition with the enemy’s land-based fighters, and the German submarine force had also reduced its mission of blockading Iceland.

A hundred or so ocean-going submarines were, after all, a war resource and a deadly weapon. After summarizing his operational experience, Dönitz immediately cast his net, sending out his wolf packs. This time, they were not going hunting in Iceland, but to the Soviet waters, to hunt the Soviet fleet that was threatening the Norwegian coast.

Prien still remembered what Dönitz had said to him ten days ago when he had ordered him to the North Sea: “Prien, the battle in the Atlantic can no longer be continued. We are wasting personnel, equipment, and precious diesel fuel, and we can only complete a small number of harassment missions. This is not cost-effective.”

“So I am now ordering you to the Arctic theater. Using Norway as a base, you will attack Soviet shipping. That is a paradise for submarine warfare. When you get there, you will continue the glory of the North Atlantic.”

The main Soviet fleet, led by four Sovetsky Soyuz-class battleships and composed of 17 cruisers and 53 destroyers, was indeed a tempting piece of meat, a piece of meat that many German submarine commanders wanted to take a bite of. And this was indeed a new hunting ground, full of backwardness and primitiveness that could be exploited.

Swarms of Soviet transport ships had no anti-submarine experience. They followed their shipping lanes, continuously transporting supplies from the United States to the western front. A large amount of ammunition and medicine, shipload after shipload of soldiers and their weapons, and even a number of trucks and motorcycles provided as aid.

When a prairie is only filled with sheep, it is truly a tranquil and intoxicating scene. But one day, a pack of hungry wolves bursts into this scene, and the style of the painting immediately changes from pastoral landscape to a sea of blood and hell.

Near the long northern coastline of the Soviet Union, the German submarines had, in one go, sunk over 300 Soviet transport ships of various types. After that, these Soviet ships finally learned their lesson. They no longer dared to approach the northwestern waters of the Soviet Union. Most of the ships unloaded their cargo halfway and returned to the safer Far East.

Prien had already sunk a full 20 transport ships of various types here. The large ones were about 2,000 tons, and the small ones were perhaps only 300. He rampaged like a pirate, using his 88mm deck gun to sink the small boats, saving his torpedoes for the big ones.

To get as many kills as possible, submarines would, in most cases, conduct raids on specific targets. This was a dangerous activity, because you could never tell if it was an armed anti-submarine vessel disguised as a transport ship. The only difference between the two was whether the ship had been temporarily fitted with two large-caliber cannons.

And the British were more technologically advanced. Some of their large transport ships of over 8,000 tons were already equipped with catapults, on which were mounted planes that could drop depth charges. When they encountered a submarine attack, they would launch the plane to drive the submarine away. The plane would then ditch in the sea, and the pilot would be rescued by the transport ship. Compared to the loss of a large transport ship, the loss of one plane was almost negligible.

Of course, the transport ships on the Soviet side had no time to be fitted with cannons for a counter-attack, so the commanders of the German submarines became even more audacious. After all, the good days were numbered. After the best days were over, what awaited them would be an opponent who had learned a thousand times more.

And so, scenes that had been commonplace in the Atlantic six months ago, but had now disappeared, reappeared in the waters off the Soviet Union. A submarine would suddenly surface next to a Soviet ship, then point its dark cannon muzzle at the other, ordering them by loudspeaker to lay down their arms. Then, German sailors with rifles would charge onto the other’s deck and plunder all sorts of food.

The U-171 had once raided a grain ship and had called over three other wolf pack submarines to share in the spoils. Because of this one raid, they had stayed at sea for an extra 14 days and had achieved a greater number of sinkings.

The U-92 was the biggest beneficiary of this raiding campaign. The captain of this submarine, a man named Grahl, did not even know that he would become a real tycoon overnight. He had captured a Soviet transport ship that was originally bound for Canada. This was one of the important links in the Soviet Union’s introduction of British technology.

Well, to be honest, this Soviet transport ship was carrying a full 200 tons of gold, as well as precious metals worth 50 million marks. The Germans even found the training plans and personnel lists from the period of German-Soviet cooperation inside.

This submarine returned to its home country with its prize and caused a sensation when it arrived in Norway. Subsequently, they went to Wilhelmshaven and were received by the Führer of the Reich, Akado, and the Grand Admiral of the Navy, Raeder. They generously promised to give 20 tons of gold to the officers and men of the U-92, and another 20 tons as a reward to the entire submarine force of the navy.

Of course, all of this was now in the past. The waters of the Arctic Ocean had now also become perilous. The Soviets had dispatched all the naval forces they could find to deal with the German submarine crisis. They escorted their transport ships and laid mines in some sea areas to interfere with the operations of the German submarines.

Now, even the ace submarine commander, Prien, did not dare to risk plundering Soviet merchant ships and transports, because just a week ago, the German submarine force, in a moment of hubris, had needlessly lost a submarine. This German submarine had surfaced to rob a very dilapidated-looking “transport ship,” only to find that it was an “armed merchant cruiser” converted before the First World War. Although it only had four old 152mm cannons, it was more than enough to deal with the 88mm gun on a submarine. So this German submarine was sunk, and the 40 unfortunate surviving crew members were sent to a labor camp in Siberia.

Thinking of this, Prien held his cigarette between his fingers and blew out a thick cloud of smoke. He didn’t know if it was the water vapor he exhaled or the smoke from the cigarette. The conditions here were actually even worse than during the days of blockading the British mainland. Without reconnaissance planes to provide the general location of the targets, the wolf packs could only rely on their own constant patrolling.

And most of the Soviet transport ships were small vessels of 1,000 to 2,000 tons. It was naturally not as satisfying as sinking a giant ship of 5,000 or even 6,000 tons with two torpedoes. Sometimes, German submarines had to give up some targets because they were so small that they were not worth wasting a torpedo on.

“Captain! Port side, looks like a target!” the first officer said, lowering his high-power naval binoculars and quietly reminding Prien.

Prien immediately put the cigarette back in his mouth, grabbed the binoculars hanging from his chest with both hands, and looked towards the distant port side of the submarine. There was indeed a large ship there, and it looked really big.

“Battle stations! Check valves and hatches, begin dive!” Prien lowered his binoculars and immediately gave the combat order. The sailors on the deck quickly opened the hatch below their feet and scrambled inside the submarine. By the time they had closed their own hatches and tightened the locking levers, the waves were already washing over them, and the entire hull of the submarine had already submerged.

“A big one! Looks like a warship,” the first officer said, opening the hatch below his feet. In about a minute, the conning tower where they were would be submerged, and they also had to get back inside the boat as quickly as possible.

“Indeed. Probably a cruiser,” Prien nodded. In fact, he felt that the other ship should be even bigger, perhaps even a battleship. The waves churned, and in a short time, most of the German submarine’s hull had already disappeared beneath the surface.

Soon, the submarine was submerged. Prien used the periscope to confirm the target’s direction once more. The warship had not changed its course and was indeed heading towards their position. It seemed the opponent had not yet discovered that there was a German submarine here. As for why they hadn’t, only heaven knew.

Published: 2025-09-05T01:17:01.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2025-12-27T18:08:37.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c557-arctic-138142767

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