Chapter 691: Regret
A long, drawn-out blast from a steam whistle echoed across the sky. Staring at the turbulent sea, everyone on board felt a deep sense of powerlessness and fear for the future. The ship beneath their feet didn’t even have a name; the crew affectionately called it “No. 317.” And this was not a passenger liner, but a dilapidated vessel converted from a cargo ship.
As a German-American family that had lived in the United States for a long time, the Kohler family had their own small company in New York City. The outbreak of war had affected the American economy, but due to luck, their family had not been particularly impacted. So, it could be said that before November 20th, the world war had seemed very, very distant to the Kohler family.
However, just yesterday, the American authorities had begun to expel people of German descent. And as a temporary agreement for the declaration of war between the two countries, civilians would be allowed to leave port freely for one month, and neither side would attack the transport ships evacuating them. For several days in a row, the docks were crowded with German-Americans wanting to leave the United States, carrying large leather suitcases, waiting with their families for ships from their motherland.
The lucky ones, with some money, could board the American evacuation ships bound for Germany. Those ships were all passenger liners, looking high-class and powerful, so most of the wealthy and well-connected left the United States on those vessels. But if you were looking for a cheaper option and had no connections, you could only wait for the ships from Germany to come and pick you up.
The hasty declaration of war had disrupted the normal lives of German-Americans. They were required not to take more than ten thousand dollars in cash with them, and not to carry away any industrial equipment or blueprints. In the future, the patents of these German-Americans would no longer be protected by law. Those who were willing to stay in the United States had to live in designated areas and accept the supervision and inspection of American security departments.
This felt like a humiliation to the German-Americans who had lived in the United States for many years. Many more were also worried about their personal safety and their future social status. Therefore, many German-Americans ultimately chose to leave, lining up under the long rifles of American G.I.s to board the ships that would take them away from the place they had lived for decades.
Leaving their homes behind did not give these Germans a good impression of the great Führer of their motherland. They had lost their jobs, their income, and even a large part of their property, all because that distant Führer had gone mad for some unknown reason and insisted on declaring war on the United States. Most people didn’t care about things like the American bombing of Romania. It was easier for them to discuss what to eat for lunch than to understand the importance of the oil fields to Germany.
And when the transport ships from their motherland came to pick them up, everyone felt an even stronger sense of aversion towards this country they had no impression of. The spacious interior of the transport ship was clearly intended for carrying cargo. The temporarily installed hammocks were extremely crude, and there wasn’t even any private space partitioned off. Everyone’s luggage was just left at their feet, and if you didn’t watch it carefully, it would probably all be gone in a few hours.
Compared to the ships America was using to pick up its own citizens, these transport ships from Germany were no different from thatched huts. It had to be said that compared to the great maritime nations of America and Britain, the Germans had no advantage at sea. Their only strength had been poured into the navy. As for civilian ships, there really weren’t that many.
Because with the defeat of the British homeland, a large number of British civilian ships had fled to Canada. These ships were basically of little use and did not dare to head south into the German Navy’s control zone, so they could only be left idle or sold to the Americans. Therefore, the number of presentable passenger liners in American hands was unimaginably large.
On November 20th, the Axis powers, led by Germany, declared war on the United States in full. Just a dozen minutes later, the United States also declared war on the Axis powers. The transition from neutrality to a state of war for both sides had taken only a dozen or so hours, and this time had to be counted from the American sneak attack on the Romanian oil fields. Therefore, most of the citizens of both sides had not had time to evacuate, which was why the strange event of the warring parties exchanging citizens had occurred. As a result, later historians liked to set the actual date of the start of the war as December 20th, because on that day, both sides truly cut off the citizen exchange and officially began hostilities.
The big shots open their mouths, and the little people run their legs off. This saying is a very accurate description for any time. With Akado’s one word, “war,” Germany subsequently began to organize transport ships to go to the United States to exchange citizens. But compared to America’s huge fleet, the Germans were much shabbier. Most were older-model Hercules transport ships that had been temporarily requisitioned, with only a very small number of passenger liners.
Therefore, compared to the American evacuation fleet, which was mainly composed of ocean liners and passenger ships, Germany’s transport ships could only be called junk. And it was precisely because they had seen America’s luxury and Germany’s shabbiness that these German-Americans, who had not yet set foot on German soil, began to feel despair and pessimism, and some even began to regret their decision to leave the United States and return to their motherland.
The only comforting thing was that the hulls of the old German Hercules transport ships were relatively wide. Although their speed was average, their performance in rough seas was not bad. In addition, the tonnage of the Hercules was not small, so although the living conditions were very crude, it did somewhat alleviate the suffering of those who were prone to seasickness.
This old and slightly dilapidated Hercules transport ship, from the openwork metal stairs and the rust-mottled handrails, one could tell that from the moment it was born, it had been sailing the seas, doing its best to transport all kinds of production materials for its country. Some of the iron bars were already twisted and deformed, but one could still see the ship’s simple, practical, and sturdy design style.
“This is a good ship. If it weren’t for carrying people, I think it would be even more competent,” Kohler said. Even though the weather in the North Atlantic in November was already very cold, compared to the stuffy hold, he still preferred to stand on the deck and feel the cold sea breeze. Although it was also uncomfortable, it was more to his personal taste.
The German captain stood on a short deck outside the wheelhouse, one hand on his binoculars. He was clearly surprised to hear Kohler’s standard German and then replied very politely, “Your German is very good. Nowadays, few people are willing to feel the sea breeze and enjoy the pleasure of sailing. You were born to be an excellent sailor.”
Kohler really wanted to curse that bastard Führer and then tell the captain he was talking to that if it weren’t for that bastard declaring war on the United States, he would still be lying in his comfortable big bed, spending a happy weekend with his wife and children! But in order to keep the conversation going, he certainly wouldn’t say that. After all, he was a businessman, and the two men’s conversation quickly turned to the irrelevant topic of the weather.
While the two were chatting idly, on the distant horizon, an American destroyer was turning its bow and heading towards this German Hercules transport. The 127mm cannon on its bow looked imposing, and its sharp prow cut through the cold seawater, kicking up beautiful white waves.
On the bridge of the American destroyer, the captain was very satisfied with the prey he had discovered. He had been ordered to maintain order in the nearby peripheral waters, and he had interpreted this mission as being able to rob some unarmed German transport ships along the way. The ship was carrying thousands of German-American citizens. With a little threat, he could probably extort a hundred or two hundred thousand. This kind of job would definitely make his colleagues drool with envy.
And so, under the watchful eyes of the German captain, this American destroyer drew closer and closer to the course of the German Hercules. The distance between the two ships had already shortened to a few kilometers. The several gun turrets on the American destroyer had already turned, and their dark muzzles made the civilians on the German ship tremble with fear.
“Vessel ahead, listen up! We are a United States Navy destroyer! Please stop your ship immediately for our inspection!” Inside the bridge, on the public channel of the radio, the American destroyer’s broadcast was playing over and over again. Although it was in English, everyone on the ship clearly knew that after they stopped, they would more or less have to pay some “fees.”
“The contents of the agreement between our two sides do not require stopping for inspection! Ignore them, maintain course and speed! Continue to advance!” The captain ignored Kohler, who was watching him nervously, and said to the first officer who had come to ask for instructions, “German ships are not in the habit of taking orders from outsiders.”
BOOM! A few minutes later, the American destroyer, seeing that the German transport had no intention of stopping, finally lost its patience and opened fire. A shell flew past the bow of the German transport and exploded about a hundred meters away, throwing up a high column of water. Because the other side had opened fire, the German transport was forced to slow down.
Kohler saw the destroyer swaggering up and felt that his personal safety was no longer guaranteed. He really wanted to go back down to the cargo hold, to watch over the gold bars and dollars he had secretly brought with him. He also really wanted to stay with his family, because this might be his last day.
“A bunch of cheap bones!” the American captain said, proudly lowering his binoculars and smiling at his men. “They think we’re really giving them face if we don’t open fire! The German Navy may be powerful, but can a broken-down transport ship beat my destroyer? Have the sailors get their guns ready and prepare to board. Gentlemen, we’re about to get rich!”
Published: 2025-09-19T06:54:44.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-02-25T20:18:00.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c691-regret-139241760
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