Looking at the horrifying scene on the sea surface, Zhang Hainuo felt that the sinking of the Titanic was not as tragic as this.
Two 450mm T-shaped torpedoes struck the bow of the American liner, with each containing over 100 kilograms of explosive, 7% more powerful than pure TNT. Instantly, they blasted a hole several meters wide in the unarmored hull, but this was not the most deadly—the second torpedo of the same type struck the midsection of the ship, and the violent explosion actually broke the ship's backbone. Like an animal paralyzed without its spine, the liner broke in half from the middle seconds later, greatly accelerating its sinking process.
When U171 surfaced, the last section of the liner's mast also disappeared beneath the surface.
The German attack was so sudden and fierce that the people on the liner didn't even have time to lower a lifeboat. Some died in the explosion, some were trapped in the cabins and sank with the wreckage, while others were sucked away by the whirlpool caused by the sinking ship. Only a few dozen survivors, including women and children, remained, most of them without life jackets. Some had followed their companions into the depths, some were on the brink of death, some clung to floating debris for survival, while others continued to struggle in the cold seawater.
The joy of sinking the enemy ship vanished at this moment, and the German sailors fell silent.
Zhang Hainuo suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of guilt. War was indeed the most terrible thing for humanity, an indelible shadow.
But war was not something one person could stop!
"Edwin, is this the cruelest aspect of war?" Zhang Hainuo stared at the sea.
"They are all innocent civilians!" Edwin standing beside him was equally despondent.
"Let's do something!"
"I agree!"
"Good!" Zhang Hainuo immediately turned his gaze back to the deck of the submarine and shouted loudly, "Everyone, our duty was to sink that freighter, and we have fulfilled the responsibility entrusted to us by the country! Now, let's save these poor people!"
The crew members on the deck turned their heads to look at Zhang Hainuo one by one. Instead of surprise, their faces showed a sense of relief. It seemed that they had just been struggling internally. In battle, they were the strongest warriors, but now, their honor, their spirit, all called out to them: save these poor civilians!
Under Zhang Hainuo's command, the crew members quickly sprang into action. Those who were good swimmers put on life jackets and tied themselves with ropes, while others on the deck were responsible for pulling the ropes. Soon, people began to jump into the water.
Zhang Hainuo, standing on the conning tower, guided the submarine closer to where the survivors were hit, while also avoiding the vortex created by the propeller that could pull them under.
The crew members in life jackets continued to search for survivors on the sea surface. After pulling them up, they were pulled back together with ropes by the crew on the submarine. The process seemed simple, but in practice, it was time-consuming and laborious. Yet, not a single German sailor complained. Some who had exhausted their strength still swam to the next survivor, gritting their teeth...
Two hours later, the last survivor was finally rescued onto the submarine.
Zhang Hainuo believed that U171 had never carried so many people since it was launched. Looking around, the entire forward and aft decks were filled with people—men, women, and children. Due to the limited space on the deck, many of them had to stand, while the extra space was given to the elderly, women, and children to sit.
Without exception, all these people were soaked through, but fortunately, it was June now, and the afternoon sun brought some warmth to these unfortunate souls. The few children and elderly were wrapped in clean blankets.
Watching his crew busy settling the survivors rescued from the water on the deck, Zhang Hainuo felt a deep sense of relief. Despite being brave lions in battle, these German sailors showed their simplicity and kindness when dealing with these hostile civilians.
"Make way! Make way!"
Following the sound, a burly man wearing only a vest climbed up from the watertight compartment on the deck, carrying a small bucket in his hand, from which hot steam was emanating. This was the strongest man on U171, Blatz of the "Fire Brigade". Despite his large stature, he climbed the ladder without clumsiness. It's just that the small bucket in his hand seemed disproportionate to his size, looking like a toy bucket held by a child.
Following behind Blatz was Warner Stald, holding another small bucket containing cups and lunch boxes used by the crew themselves. These were now also contributed for the survivors to drink soup.
The people on the deck consciously made way, although it was still crowded when Blatz passed by, but there was no chaos in the crowd. Blatz quickly stopped in the middle of the crowd, took a lunch box from Warner, scooped some soup from the bucket with a big spoon, and then handed it to the nearest man.
The man hesitated for a moment and handed the lunch box to a woman sitting nearby. The woman looked confused, apparently still not recovered from the previous shock. When she saw the hot soup handed over by others, she took it without hesitation and choked as she gulped it down.
"Slow down, it's hot!" Blatz kindly reminded the woman, not knowing if she understood or not, but she stared at Blatz for a long time, then looked at the lunch box in her hand before finally sipping it slowly.
At this time, Edwin climbed up the ladder following the command tower.
"There are a total of 41 people, 9 women, 29 men, and 3 children! These should be all the survivors!" Edwin reported.
Zhang Hainuo looked at the sea, and indeed, there was no one in sight anymore. A medium-sized ocean liner capable of carrying three to four hundred passengers and crew, now only had less than fifty survivors left.
"After Blatz finishes his work, let him check the food supply on our boat to see how many meals we can provide for these people!"
Zhang Hainuo had a rough idea of the situation, but he still wanted an exact number.
"Okay!" Edwin said, "Hainuo, while I was down there, I noticed that several men seemed a little suspicious. I suspect they may still be carrying weapons. Should I let Moret check them later?"
Zhang Hainuo thought for a moment, "Let me handle this!"
After this, Zhang Hainuo had the steward, Stald, fetch him a simple megaphone made of tinplate. This thing was not only available in Hesse's place, but Zhang Hainuo found that almost every German submarine was equipped with this most primitive and simple tool.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please be quiet!" Zhang Hainuo spoke English, although not very fluently, but the people on the deck all looked up at him.
"For the two torpedoes that sank your liner,
I personally feel very sorry. But this is still a time of war, and our duty as soldiers is to follow orders from our superiors to attack enemy targets! Out of humanitarian spirit, my crew and I rescued you. Before you are transferred to another ship, we will provide you with food, fresh water, and medicine as much as possible. But all of you must obey our orders and arrangements! I don't want any unpleasantness between us, let alone see more people bleeding or dying!"
The people below had different expressions. In the end, a gentlemanly man asked loudly:
"German officer, where are you going to take us? Are you going to take us back to Germany as prisoners of war?"
"No, we will take you to a neutral country's ship, or directly to a neutral country's port, and then you can find your own way back to Britain or the United States!"
What Zhang Hainuo said was the most appropriate solution he could think of at the moment. Obviously, U171 had no possibility of taking these people through the British naval blockade back to Germany, and it was not realistic to hand them over to the British navy in person—neither the British nor Zhang Hainuo himself would risk being accused of treason for transferring these civilians.
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Here is a reprint of some relatively rare information:
Submarines are not advocated to rescue enemy personnel in combat, which also complies with the provisions of the Geneva Convention of 1907. However, in the Atlantic Ocean, the German Navy initially maintained a considerable level of gentility. They would spare no effort to rescue personnel from the sunken ships, treat them with courtesy, and safely send them to a neutral country's port. However, this courteous practice was later destroyed by the barbaric actions of the United States.
At that time, after a German submarine sank an Allied ship and found too many survivors in the water, they called for help from two other submarines. Suddenly, an American plane discovered the rescue operation of the German submarine. Ignoring the prominent Red Cross flag hanging on the submarine and the survivors struggling in the water, it crazily strafed the surface. Forced to do so, the German submarine had to dive to avoid the attack.
This was the famous "Laconia Incident" in World War II.
After this incident, Hitler ordered the immediate cessation of this gentlemanly behavior at sea, and Dönitz subsequently issued an order known as the "Laconia Order" by later generations, which stated that any submarine must not participate in rescue operations, and any survivors could only stay at sea. Nevertheless, sometimes the German Navy still disregarded Hitler and Dönitz's strict orders and continued their humanitarian rescue operations.