Chapter 291 "U-21" Submarine

Finally, Lieutenant General Robeck brought in General Geprat to talk some good words, and Charles finally set the time for the attack.

"Tomorrow morning at five o'clock." Charles pointed to a location on the map: "Attack V Beach."

"What's the battle plan?" asked General Geprat.

"There is no battle plan." Charles replied: "We only need the fire support of the 6th Squadron of the battleship Gauloise!"

Lieutenant General Robeck reminded:

"I don't think that's wise, Colonel."

"As we all know, the Dignity was sunk by an enemy submarine in the early hours of the morning."

"In the early hours of the morning, it is difficult for us to spot the periscope protruding from the sea surface, which will put the Gauloise in danger!"

Charles asked coldly, "Otherwise, when do you think we should land? Only if we are ready at dawn, we will have a whole day to attack."

Lieutenant General Robeck was speechless.

There was indeed such a situation before, when the landing was about to succeed but it was getting dark, and they had to withdraw the troops that had already landed.

Otherwise, the understrength troops would likely be surrounded and annihilated by the enemy at night.

Finally, General Robeck left angrily, whispering in English on the way: "Let them suffer a little. After they suffer losses, they will know that war is not what they thought. They actually launched an attack without a battle plan!"

Robeck didn't know that Charles' landing plan the next day was not for landing at all, but to lure out the German submarines.

The battleship "Gaulic" was just a bait.

…

In the dark waters, the German U-21 submarine is sailing slowly in the Aegean Sea.

The captain, Colonel Hexing, had not shaved for nearly a month, and his beard had grown around his face like a broom. Colonel Hexing's tired look and prominent cheekbones seemed to be telling of the tremendous pressure of submarine operations.

For more than a month, the experience of the U-21 submarine is enough to write a legend.

She sailed from Wilhelmshaven, Germany, and resupplyed at Cape Finisterre, Spain.

For reasons of confidentiality, the superiors contacted German merchants in Spain to purchase fuel and lubricants, intending to continue to the Dardanelles without being noticed after resupplying at night.

However, He Xing discovered that the merchants had bought the wrong fuel, which was not suitable for use in submarines.

Helplessly, the submarine could only continue to move forward without refueling.

Along the way, Captain He Xing racked his brains to save every drop of oil, using the most economical speed to take the shortest route, and sometimes even had to rely on ocean currents. After 18 days of sailing, he finally reached his destination.

At this time, there were only 1.8 tons of fuel left on the boat.

He Xing later lamented to his subordinates: "Even if I forget other numbers, even my birthday or age, this number is indelibly engraved in my heart!"

It turned out that Captain Hexing's adventure was worth it.

After the U-21 submarine arrived at the Dardanelles, it sank the battleships "Triumph" and "Dignity" successively. Its existence even made the Allies dare not easily dispatch battleships to provide fire cover for the landing battle.

Ottoman Empire commander Sanders praised the U-21 submarine without hesitation: "You defeated the entire Allied fleet on your own!"

(Note: Sanders was a German officer who was responsible for commanding the defense of the Dardanelles, for which he became famous)

These days, He Xing's nerves were tense again.

Because he received a special telegram: "It is learned that Charles of France is leading a force to reinforce and the target fleet has arrived. If it can be sunk, it will be a heavy blow to the enemy's morale."

"Charles?" He Xing was stunned for a moment, then he raised the telegram in his hand to his subordinates nearby and said calmly: "Charles is here, right here."

The crew members were immediately excited when they heard the news:

"Really? He's here to inspect?"

"I really hope to see him. I heard that someone saw him on the battlefield on Christmas Day."

“Yes, my classmate Paul even got his autograph!”

…

This is an unprecedented phenomenon. Charles is the enemy of the Germans, but he has gained a large number of German fans, although he has never met them.

Colonel He Xing waited for them to finish speaking, then added coldly: "He is not here to inspect, he is here to fight! Our next mission is to sink him if possible!"

There was a moment of silence around them, and everyone looked at Colonel He Xing in shock.

Colonel Hexing nodded slightly and said in a resounding voice:

"I know what you're thinking, and I don't want to do that either."

"But this is war, gentlemen, a war of life and death!"

"I know you like Charles and his legendary life, but you must do your best. This is the duty of a soldier!"

There was a moment of silence, and then the crew seemed to have made up their minds. They answered one after another:

"Yes, Colonel, we will do that."

"If it was Ciel, he would sink us without hesitation!"

"Yes, this is where a soldier belongs!"

…

Colonel He Xing didn't say anything more. He believed in his men, who were professional soldiers.

He simply ordered an inspection of the submarine's equipment and torpedoes so that the submarine could be put into combat in the best condition when necessary.

However, after searching for several days, Colonel Hessing was unable to find a target worth attacking.

In fact, Colonel Hexing had encountered Charles' fleet at sea, and more than once.

But Colonel Hexing thought that they were just transport ships and a few escorting destroyers, and there was no need to let the submarine waste a precious torpedo, so he let them go easily.

If Colonel He Xing knew that his target was on one of the transport ships, he would probably regret it to death.

Soon, Colonel Hexing received another telegram: "According to reliable intelligence, Charles' fleet will organize a landing on V Beach tomorrow morning!"

Colonel Hexing was in high spirits and shouted to his men excitedly: "Gentlemen, the big fish is about to bite the hook. Get ready. The moment to change your destiny has come!"

What Colonel Hessing didn't know was that this was exactly the information Charles intended for him to know.

Charles asked Tijani to send a telegram to the Minister of the Navy: "We will launch an attack on V Beach tomorrow morning. Wait for our good news!"

The Minister of the Navy smiled and said, "What an arrogant fellow! He really thought he could win easily. That's a beach that even the British couldn't capture!"

(The picture above shows the German U19 submarine, and the U-21 is one of them. This type of submarine is the first submarine in Germany to use a diesel engine. Before that, it used kerosene, which would release a lot of white smoke on the sea surface, which could easily expose the target.)

(End of this chapter)