Author notes:
Hello there~! Next chapter is up, and it was written when I was overdosed on coffee! Hot damn, I'm a caffeine addict already, I think. I will work in an interlude next, which will tie heavily into the Sardegna situation down the line. Stay tune!
Tea House Yuki :D
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"The fog is thickening, skipper." Said Hinsch's XO, Anders Moegreen. The man was seen scanning the horizon with his binoculars. "You reckon the Bismarck will use the forecasted fog to wrap everything up in one go?"
Hinsch, now a bonafide Captain after receiving his new Nassau-class submarine, replies. "That's the plan, no? I will be laughing my ass off if Bismarck fails to sink the Home Fleet with this Yggdrasil's given chance."
"The chance is slim, but it still exists." Said Anders. "If they drop the ball at the last second, maybe we can take dibs before the air wings step in." The XO smirked, clearly knowing that it would have been impossible.
Hinsch still opts to say while taking in the sight of the Atlantic sea. "We're halfway across the Atlantic, and our U-boats can go 18 knots max underwater, it will either be a miracle or a serious fuck up if we are to be called in to finish the job. I am very much leaned on the latter, but it's a thing I sincerely hope to never happen."
"With that said," Hinsch discarded his half-burned cigarette. "We can still sink a few ships at the end of the day. A west-bound convoy carrying precious trade goods of the Erusean Kingdom..."
Anders finishes the sentence for Hinsch. "One that is lacking defensive strength when the Royal Navy pulled out almost all of their escorts."
"Just to search for our Bismarck." Hinsch added. "They practically serve that convoy to us on a silver platter. Seriously, only two destroyers to guard a convoy of thirty ships?"
Anders laughs at that information while placing down his binoculars. "If they're that desperate right now, gods know what they will do when 1940 rounds the corner."
Hinsch smirks. "Probably sending all of their golds out to Canada or something. By that time, Erusean may already be falling to even think about holding onto their treasury."
Anders licks his lips. "Then at that time, we will be on for a feast."
The pair of officers then turns the conversation to something else. "Say, what do you think about earlier?" Anders asked suddenly. Hinsch doesn't take long to know what Anders is going on about.
"You mean our foray with Section Zero."
Anders nods. "Those that didn't exist, yeah."
Hinsch shrugs. "Well, it was an experience and a half, to say the least. I mean, did you ever wake up in the morning, go to work, only to realize that said work involves blowing up a damn Kraken of all things?"
"Touche. Now we know just what lurks beneath us and who has been keeping us from meeting Neptune too early."
"I can drink to that." Hinsch said humorously.
Anders raises a knuckle at Hinsch. "Drink's on me when dock."
The Captain of the vessel fistbumps his XO. "Amen."
Hinsch then says. "Let's go down under, it's about time we lie in wait for that convoy."
The pair then get down the ladder leading below the deck of U-569, second bearer of her name, while closing the hatch above them. On the way to their command station, Hinsch asks Anders. "You think 406 has fixed their error yet?"
Anders replies while nodding at an Ensign walking past them. "With the damage they have taken to their bow? Maybe two, or four tubes at the maximum."
Hinsch snickers. "That was one tough eggshell to knock the wind out of 406's sail. Can you imagine your ship is disabled by an egg of all things?"
"Not a story I would tell my kid, I'll give you that much... Or I would tell it anyway because it's so stupid."
When they make it into the command center of the submarine, Hinsch immediately says. "Take us under, helms."
"Aye aye, boss. Going down~!" Accompanying the sudden shift of the submarine is an announcement to the entire vessel.
"Attention all crew, we're diving."
Hinsch and Anders then gather around the digital display of the surrounding water and their underwater topography. "So, how should we do this?"
Hinsch says his mind. "We have more than enough time to set up a multi-fronts attack by the time the convoy gets here. Naval intelligence prospects that our ambush site will be far away from their anti-sub aircraft. Nonetheless, I want the entire pack to stay under from this moment onward."
Hinsch then takes a moment to add. "We are going to do this loosely, improvising as we go as 406 has unreliable firepower value at the moment. For starters, we, U-569, and U-124 will take care of the escorting pair of destroyers. After that, it's a free buffet. If 406 can, then she will be able to join in the all-you-can-eat. If additional threats arise, we retreat back and reassess the risk and reward while sounding off to command. Though from what ONI has given us, enemy reinforcement is highly unlikely."
Anders speaks up. "Playing it safe, I can respect that."
Hinsch nods. "Better safe than sorry, you may never know if they can get a lucky shot on us. And speaking of shots, if my fellow Captain Jesse isn't able to bring 406's torpedo room online, we may not have enough torpedoes to sink the entire convoy."
Anders sighs. "Yeah, due to this convoy being a target of opportunity, Naval HQ was pressed for a task group nearby to engage it without pulling assets around Bismarck. And that means us, with a half-depleted arsenal and a submarine with wonky fire control."
"The top brass knows about this so they are expecting us to cause as much damage as we can before getting out. Knowing this, I am more inclined for us to cross-reference the actual convoy ships with our database so that we can determine the most valuable targets. And after that, sink them."
Anders then asks. "Ok, then you want us to save a few torps as insurance per usual right?"
Hinsch nods. "Always. You have no idea what you will run into on the return trip after all."
Anders smiles, clapping his hands together. "Then that sounds like a good enough of a plan to me!"
"Then transmit this to U-94, U-124, and U-406... Tell them to start setting up and run silently according to the general plan. When combat is started, be ready to sync their targeting data to us when I say so. Just so that we won't be wasting our fishes onto a single target."
Anders salutes. "You got it, skipper."
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Convoy OA 12, carrying precious exported goods from the Erusean Colonies, is sailing at a calm pace. This is much unlike their armed brethren merely half a sea away from there. Even though 2/3 of their escorts were called away on short notice, vessels of the OA 12 are confident that they're in safe water. They have traversed this water many times before, and knowing that Belkan U-Boats have never reached this far out to intercept both Ustian or Erusean shipping has boosted their confidence by a huge margin.
It was why the head honchos of the Erusean Admiralty deemed it fit to strip OA 12 off their guards. In their heads, Belkan U-Boats apparently didn't have the range to operate far West. Hence, it was more important to have more vessels in hunting down Bismarck than guarding against a non-existent threat. The current Head of the Admiralty even considering permanently reducing the number of convoy escorts in the future if no harm has befallen the OA 12 convoy. In typical Erusean hubris, they still think that their navy is still the best in the world. That Belka can't possibly have the mightiest of battleships and the stealthiest of long-range submarines already available.
They will be proven wrong.
It's 18:00 hour. Convoy OA 12, consisting of thirty Erusean and Canadian merchantmen and escorted by destroyers Griffin and Hyperion, reports possible unknown contacts. Destroyers Griffin and Hyperion divert to intercept, believing it to be a U-Boat and eager to score first blood. Their chase continues until 23:00 due to constant failed attempts at gaining any identification of the target.
Then, all contacts cease.
At 23:49 hour, the commodore in charge of OA 12 orders evasive maneuvers, just to be on the safe side while Griffin and Hyperion steam back directly for the convoy after their failed venture. Exactly midnight, the commodore's ship is in visual range with Griffin and Hyperion, with both vessels still sailing straight without any preemptive evasive attempt. It's noted that the commodore is just about to raise a cautious warning to the leader of the escort vessels but the sudden explosions of both Griffin and Hyperion cancel any thought of such.
The bright flashes of fire, coming from the detonation of U-569 and U-124 torpedoes hitting the two destroyers, immediately catch the attention of every single sailor of convoy OA 12. A swath of the ocean seems to be burning brightly due to the detonation of oil and munition stored on the destroyers as crew members of both Griffin and Hyperion struggle to keep their ship afloat or stay alive. Though since destroyers are rarely built to tank modern 533mm torpedoes, Griffin and Hyperion are quickly deemed lost causes as the sailors start jumping ships. This prompts the commodore to instantly dispatch the rescue ship Bury and sound a general alert across the entire convoy of an impending threat that is, by now, confirmed to be a submarine attack.
Despite their prior evasive maneuvering, convoy OA 12 proper is still struck by two big explosions. At 24:08, U-94 sinks the convoy ship Empire Dell and heavily damages Llanover. And U-569 joins her shortly for a second attack, employing all six of her bow tubes hitting Clear Pool, Crystales, and British Power while sinking Elisabeth Lensen, Dorcasia, and Gazcon.
Not willing to be outdone by her sister, U-124 swoops in, launching three of her bow tubes at the most valuable targets in the convoy, the Portsea, Selvistan, and Southern Princess. Each of these vessels supposedly carried expensive jewelry and monetary objects that the Erusean Kingdom would use to expand its influence on the American continent. Understandably, two of the attacked vessels are sunk immediately while the last one is struggling to stay afloat like the others.
Empowering the leaders of the pack, U-94 reengages with two more of her bow tubes, sinking convoy ships Alex and Fort Binger.
At this point in time, the commodore's vessel, Errington Court, can only watch helplessly as the entire fleet of merchantmen is dismantled one by one. Even without the star shells in the air, the burning transports provide more than enough illumination to see the disastrous state of OA 12. Despite an obvious cry for help having been made, not a single word has been heard from the Admiralty nor any nearby Erusean naval presence. The commodore curses the Belkan submarine crews for this textbook attack. With their escorts sank minutes ago, what can these convoy ships do? At this point in time, couldn't the Belkans have surfaced and engaged them in a gun duel or something? At least that way, the few merchantmen armed with defensive cannons can retaliate and not just wait for their death.
But unfortunately for the Erusean sailors, the wolfpack isn't stupid to do that. This is not World War 1, after all.
U-406, although suffering from a bad stroke of luck earlier in their hunt for the Kraken, has finally made her presence known on the battlefield. Due to the dented bow platings, 406 failed to make two attacks prior, having been unable to open her front tubes. Instead, Captain Jesse of U-406 opts to use the pair of aft launchers, sending out two fish in the middle of the burning convoy. One scored squarely on the commodore's vessel, Errington Court, while the other hit Empire Antelope. Both vessels immediately take seriously damages that cause them to start sinking immediately. Despite constant attempts at saving both his vessel and the convoy, the commodore can only begrudgingly admit that all hope in keeping OA 12 afloat is lost at this point. Giving out the order for the remaining vessels to survive and rescue the bailing survivors if they can, the commodore also makes a break for the lifeboat alongside his crew. It's a bit too stuffy and soggy for his liking but it would have to make do.
He just hopes that the Belkans are feeling merciful and let them have a ship to chart home with.
At 24:30 hours, the wolfpack has ceased its attack. Of the 30 convoy ships, 7 are spared watery graves. After picking up the survivors including the commodore himself, what's left of OA 12 is to immediately sail full ahead to the North American continent as the commodore has a damn good reason not to do otherwise.
"Going back the way we came from is no different than suicide!"