Chapter 992 Wooden Captain

It was a sunny day in the port of Emden. The sun shone through the sparse clouds, casting warm rays of light, illuminating several rusty minelayers in the port.

As usual, Major Bernhard quickly finished his breakfast and took the minelayer out to sea to lay mines.

The Port of Emden was originally one of the busiest ports in Germany, with merchant ships trading with countries such as Britain, the Netherlands, and France. They brought goods ashore and then transported them to all parts of Germany by rail and road.

But after the war, the port declined at a precipitous rate due to the blockade by the British. Merchant ships disappeared and the merchants who gathered around the port moved away one after another. Only a dilapidated and depressed town was left. It was rare to see people on the streets, and only a few fishing boats could be seen on the sea that was once full of huge ships.

Hermann, a subordinate, shouted to Bernhard over the sound of another minelayer's engine: "Major, in which area are we going to lay eggs today?"

"Laying eggs" is a nickname given by the crew.

The 29th Minelaying Squadron in Emden Port had only five old ships that were of retirement age and were called "turtles" by the crew because of their slow speed.

Their mine-laying mission is naturally referred to as "laying eggs".

Only turtles don't lay their eggs in the sea, Major Bernhard thought, they crawl onto the beach to lay their eggs, so the metaphor isn't quite right at all.

But Bernhard certainly would not argue with his men about this. He took out the Brett map from his pocket, looked at it, and answered loudly: "Go to area E, Hermann. That may be the main attack direction of the British."

Hermann laughed. "The enemy has already entered Germany, Major!"

Bernhard knew what Hermann meant.

The British captured Frankfurt, and the French even occupied the Ruhr industrial area. They only needed to move one step forward to reach the port of Emden, and there was no need to attack from the sea.

Therefore, the mine-laying mission was no longer meaningful.

but……

"This is our mission," Major Bernhard replied, "as long as our superiors do not change the order, we must complete it."

"Okay, Major." Hermann saluted him and said helplessly: "As you wish!"

Major Bernhard is a stubborn man. In the eyes of his subordinates, he is a piece of wood that will not adapt.

Suddenly, several shadows appeared on the other side of the sea.

"What's that?" Major Bernhard shouted, looking back toward the lookout on top of the ship, but no one was there.

They all thought that the war was about to end and there was no point in continuing to work, so they gave up and waited for that moment to come.

The first mate heard the noise and ran out of the wheelhouse. He raised his telescope and looked through it. He said, "I'm not sure, Major. Maybe it's a few fishing boats. They probably didn't know about the minefield we set and broke in!"

This kind of thing happens from time to time, and there have even been landmine incidents.

Major Bernhard raised his binoculars and looked through them, then denied the claim: "No, that's not a fishing boat. Fishing boats don't go that fast."

He took another closer look, turned his head and shouted, "Prepare for battle, that's a British minesweeper!"

The crew members who were originally lying flat in the cabin were called to their respective posts upon command.

As they got closer and closer to the target, the first mate could see it clearly. He said nervously, "You are right, Major. It is indeed a minesweeper. The British are planning to attack from this direction."

Then he added: "I think we should retreat immediately and report to our superiors!"

Major Bernhard only agreed with the second half of his suggestion: "Report to your superiors!"

The first mate was not surprised at the major's reaction. He was just that kind of person and always needed orders from his superiors for everything.

The first mate ran to the communications room as fast as he could. He thought his superiors would also agree to the retreat, and then the major would have nothing to say.

But the result disappointed the first mate.

Their superiors did not believe what they saw and gave the order: "Keep monitoring, we will send out aircraft for reconnaissance."

The first mate was a little nervous. After he conveyed the order, he added: "Retreat, Major, we can't do anything!"

"Don't worry, Thomas." Major Bernhard showed extraordinary calmness. He held up a telescope and observed the target on the heaving deck. He answered confidently: "That is the British Racecourse-class minesweeper. They are converted from civilian ships and only have a 12-pound gun with a range of about 5 nautical miles."

(The picture above is a model of a British racecourse-class minesweeper during World War I, which was converted from a civilian Ascot paddle steamer. Initially, the British used fishing boats to perform minesweeping tasks, but they had a deep draft and many had sharp bottoms that were easy to hit mines. Then they found that this flat-bottomed steamer used to transport tourists was superior to fishing boats in terms of speed and draft, so they requisitioned them in large numbers.)

"But it's enough to crush us to pieces," the first mate replied. "Besides, it's a minesweeper, which means the British have other ships nearby, probably battleships."

The first mate was almost begging, saying that if they encountered a battleship, they would have no chance of survival.

"Besides, what can we do?" the first mate continued to persuade: "Should we lay more mines for them to clear? Or fight them?"

Small boats like the 29th Mine-laying Squadron are equipped with 20mm machine guns with a range of only 1,500 meters, and cannot even hit the enemy's minesweepers!

Major Bernhard did not answer. He took off his telescope and looked thoughtfully in the direction of the minesweeper, saying to himself: "We can't let them continue like this, otherwise, they will clear a path through this minefield tomorrow."

"But what can we do?" asked the first mate.

He looked to both sides and saw other ships waving flags towards this side to inquire about the situation.

In fact, it is not asking about the situation, but asking why you haven't retreated yet.

The first mate spread his hands towards them, and then they understood everything; it was because of that wooden major!

Major Bernhard ignored them. He stood on the side of the ship, looked at the direction of the ocean current, then compared it with the target direction, and ordered in a cold voice: "Get closer to them!"

"What?" The first mate's eyes widened: "You are crazy, Major..."

"Follow the order!" Bernhard said expressionlessly and firmly, "If you don't want to be court-martialed."

The first mate was speechless, and after a while he responded, "Yes, Major!"

Getting closer and closer, already within 10 kilometers of the target, the enemy even fired a few shots in our direction as if as a warning.

At this time, Major Bernhard gave the order: "Hang the No. 3 counterweight on the mines and throw them all into the sea."

Only then did the first mate realize what Major Bernhard was going to do.

The No. 3 counterweight is the weight calculated by Major Bernhard, which is just enough to allow only the top of the mine to be exposed, and it is in a semi-suspended state most of the time.

In this way, enemy ships will not be able to detect them at all, but there will be many more uncertain dangers in the water.

(End of this chapter)