Chapter 745: Elegy at the Pier

“Attention!” On the pier, a group of soldiers in Wehrmacht naval uniforms, shouldering rifles, brought their feet together with a crisp, unified snap at their officer’s command.

The long, greatcoat-style naval dress uniforms swayed in the cold wind on the pier, the hems of the coats revealing the soldiers’ crisp trousers. On their shoulders, they all carried freshly polished Mauser 98k bolt-action rifles. Every man’s face was exceptionally solemn. The sharp, chiseled features of the Aryan race looked even more resolute and imposing at this moment.

Standing in front of these two rows of soldiers were young women with white flowers pinned to their chests. Their faces were covered with black veils, and they wore black dresses, with thick, flesh-colored stockings to ward off the cold. These young women stood in neat rows. Although not as perfectly aligned as the soldiers opposite them, they maintained their formation as best they could.

In their hands, these young women held piles of clothes of different styles; some were white summer shirts, others were winter cotton uniforms. They held these clothes silently, not saying a word.

Three priests stood at the end of the entire procession, continuously making the sign of the cross on their chests with their fingers. The words of salvation flowed from their mouths without end, as if praying for something. As they continued to chant, the entire scene became even more solemn and dignified.

“To all the esteemed officers and men of the U-boat U-513, may your souls go to the true and eternal heaven! For the everlasting strength of the Third Reich, you chose to sleep forever in the cold waters of the Atlantic. You are the greatest men of the Empire, you are the most loyal warriors of the Führer! Until your deaths, you never forgot your initial oath. The story of your battles is the poem that encourages us to continue fighting!” Standing in the howling sea breeze, the Commander-in-Chief of the German Submarine Force, Dönitz, stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the soldiers holding the memorial ceremony before him. He spoke the eulogy he had prepared all morning with a powerful and resonant voice.

The war had been going on for some time now. Germany had lost over 50 submarines, which made the average casualty figures terrifying. The submarine force had become the branch of the entire German military with the highest loss rate, to the point where with every departure, there were some who would never be able to return to their homeland.

But what was moving was that the recruitment office for the naval submarine force still had a long queue. Some retired naval soldiers in their thirties and forties were still eagerly signing up. They knew what it meant to board a submarine after training, and they knew very well that some of the submarines that went to sea would never be able to return to their own harbor. But they still stood outside the recruitment office, waiting quietly.

Thinking of this, Dönitz continued to recite: “The Führer is proud of the officers and men of the submarine force, and as one of the most powerful maritime combat forces of the Third Reich, the officers and men of the submarine force have never disappointed the Führer. We have always fought in the most dangerous places, and with the weapons in our hands, we have inflicted irreparable losses on our enemies!”

“It is because of you, because of soldiers like you who fight to the death for your country, that our future has hope, that the Third Reich can become the most powerful country in the world! I, Dönitz, am proud of you. The Führer is proud of you!”

He stood at attention, his left hand pressed against the seam of his trousers, his right hand raised high. He shouted into the microphone, “Heil Akado Rudolph, our Führer!”

“Heil Akado Rudolph, our Führer!” The young women shouted the slogan in their clear voices. The clothes they were holding were placed in the empty coffins behind them, and then the soldiers on either side of the coffins solemnly closed the lids. These soldiers all wore white gloves and used small hammers to securely nail the lids of the coffins one by one.

The priests at the side prayed with even more vigor. They piously prayed for these young men to have a chance to ascend to heaven. The family members who had been invited to attend the ceremony began to let out muffled sobs. This damn war had taken the lives of their loved ones and had left these vibrant lives without even a body to bury.

The soldiers of the German submarine force who were laid to rest under the water could only have a coffin filled with their clothes. Their empty coffins were buried in the naval martyrs’ cemetery, and every year, there were designated personnel to pay tribute and clean the graves. But ironically, next to these martyrs’ graves was the resting place of the fallen Dutch soldiers. In life, they had been at each other’s throats; in death, they had become peaceful neighbors, without even a single quarrel.

“Present arms!” At the officer’s command, the naval soldiers, as one man, worked the bolts of their rifles, producing a metallic clatter. The bullets were chambered, and the preparation was complete. They raised their rifles almost simultaneously, took half a step forward, and then these soldiers uniformly pointed their muzzles at the sky and pulled their triggers.

Crack! After the first volley, they lowered their rifles, worked the bolts again, and chambered another round. No one spoke, and there were no superfluous movements, as if they were precision machines repeating the same steps. The only difference was that a mournful atmosphere lingered, making these actions exude not coldness, but sorrow.

Crack! With the second gunshot, the soldiers who had been nailing the coffins opened the neatly folded flags of the Third Reich and draped them over the coffins. They were solemn and dignified, as if tucking in their sleeping comrades.

Crack! The third gunshot rang out. The soldiers who had fired the volley shouldered their rifles again. Their movements were uniform. Then, at the command, they turned to the right, began to march, and headed forward. And the soldiers who had been nailing the coffins shouldered the coffins one by one and followed behind these soldiers, heading towards the cemetery by the port. They were going to bury their comrades there, next to the comrades who were already inside.

A major general of the German SS stood not far away, smoking with an SS major. They were also wearing dress uniforms, the handsome dress uniform of the SS. Medals were pinned to their chests, their belts were worn impeccably, and the holsters of the pistols at their waists had clearly been recently oiled.

The major general wore an armband made from a national flag on his arm, while the major wore his peaked cap at a slight angle. They saw Dönitz leave the pier, and the memorial ceremony came to an end.

The leading major general threw the cigarette butt he was holding to the ground, then exhaled a puff of smoke. He glanced at the major beside him, gave a bitter smile, and then tilted his head and said, “Their side is finished. It’s our turn. To be honest, I really don’t like this job. It makes me feel that this damn war has no hope of ending.”

“General, we are the Führer’s soldiers. If the war really has to be fought until the end of time, then we must fight bravely until the moment the Führer wants us to fight,” the major said, also dropping the cigarette butt from his mouth. He straightened his attire and then spoke respectfully to his superior.

The major general nodded, then gave a wave of his hand and ordered, “Let’s begin!”

The two of them began to walk towards the pier. Not far behind them, SS soldiers carrying rifles stood in four neat rows. Unlike the navy, these SS soldiers were wearing army-style greatcoats and M35 steel helmets, dressed as if they were from the Waffen-SS.

Behind these soldiers, there were also SS soldiers carrying coffins, one after another, several dozen of them. The difference was that these coffins were already adorned with wreaths. There were no girls in black veils, and no praying priests. Because the SS had only one faith: the Greater German Party and the leader of Greater Germany, Führer Akado Rudolph.

On one side, the funeral procession of the Wehrmacht navy was walking out of the pier. On the other side, the funeral procession of the SS was carrying coffins towards the pier. The two processions passed each other, but the atmosphere of grief seemed to have grown even heavier. There was no band playing, no prayers or crying. The SS funeral was simple and full of details that violated tradition.

“Long live the great Führer Akado Rudolph! We die here today, and we will be resurrected here tomorrow. Even if we are left with only our humble souls, we will fight for the Führer to the end! The Empire is with us! The Führer is with us! We are the most resilient warriors in the world. As long as the Führer gives an order, we will carry it out without wavering!” the major general stood before a microphone, raised his right hand, and roared in the wind.

A submarine supply ship had been caught by a British cruiser fleet on its return journey. Unfortunately, it had not been able to pass the final test. This supply ship had fought heroically for a few minutes before sinking. All 94 young SS soldiers on board had died for their country, including a young SS officer who had just celebrated his 22nd birthday the day before. The last telegram they had sent back was very short, only one sentence: “The ship is sinking, but we have decided to fight back until the last moment. Heil Führer.”

Rustle! At his voice, all the SS soldiers participating in the funeral raised their right hands. They had sworn to fight for the Führer. They had sworn to never repeat the last defeat. The souls in these empty coffins they were carrying today had already fulfilled their oath with their actions. So at this moment, they would receive eternal life.

Another round of gunshots echoed over the empty harbor. Seagulls cried out, it was hard to tell if it was in sorrow or joy. Such ceremonies were held here almost every day, one after another, one after another. Some were for submarine crews, some were for the crews of submarine supply ships, some were for the crews of transport ships. And of course, there were some souls who, until the end of the war, never got their own funeral.

Advance chapters at Nightjar Reads · nightjarreads.com