A clear night, with the moon shining brightly and stars sparsely scattered.
It was late spring and early summer, and the North Atlantic sea surface was sparkling with waves, accompanied by cool breezes. The sailors on duty kept their eyes wide open, vigilant of the sea, for though the night seemed calm, danger lurked everywhere.
Suddenly, a deafening explosion echoed across the horizon, as if an invisible hand had seized people's hearts. Immediately, the alarm bells rang loudly, and the sailors hurriedly returned to their respective stations. On the sea surface, thick smoke and flames billowed up from the starboard side of a large cargo ship, while the escorting warships ahead opened their searchlights, sweeping the sea surface back and forth.
Before long, several warships accelerated away from the convoy under the guidance of the leading destroyer. Within minutes, explosions from shells and depth charges resounded one after another. Yet, before the sailors could even rejoice, another large cargo ship in the convoy shuddered violently, engulfed in a massive fireball, illuminating the vast expanse of the sea...
Sitting in a large tin can being continuously rocked, Zhang Hainuo and his crew were already accustomed to this sensation. Everyone remained calmly at their posts, knowing that soon the British destroyers would be scrambling on the sea surface, but even if they ended up exhausted, they couldn't protect those precious yet fragile cargo ships.
The battle ended before dawn, with all four German submarines involved in the attack unscathed. However, the British convoy, comprising 36 assorted vessels, suffered a loss of a quarter of its ships. The survivors could only drift helplessly on the sea surface until rescued by passing ships or the arrival of rescue vessels from Britain.
Five days later, after two successful ambushes by the "experimental wolf pack" of four submarines, sinking three British cargo ships and damaging one, along with sinking one British destroyer, boasting an impressive record of 13 British ships sunk or damaged, they set out on their return journey.
However, just as in some movie scripts, misfortune always strikes when the story is about to reach its climax. Zhang Hainuo's joyful mood suddenly turned incredibly heavy, but what he didn't expect was that worse things were yet to come.
While passing through the British sea minefield in the northern North Sea, Roland von Seckendorff's U167 triggered a British-laid mine. With a deafening blast, twenty-six young lives sank with the boat to the seabed...
Zhang Hainuo immediately reported the situation to the Naval Submarine Command through radio after U167 sank due to mine explosion.
One day later, Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Before U171 had even reached the submarine dock, Zhang Hainuo saw a group of heavily armed naval provosts standing menacingly on the dock. He immediately had a very bad feeling.
As the crew was just finishing setting up the gangplank, a naval lieutenant with a stern expression jumped onto the submarine deck and shouted, "Who is Lieutenant Zhang Hainuo?!"
His tone quickly drew the disapproving glances of the crew. Normally, hardly anyone dared to provoke these provosts in Wilhelmshaven Harbor, but this guy still acted arrogantly.
Zhang Hainuo calmly climbed down from the conning tower and walked up to him. "I am Lieutenant Zhang Hainuo, the captain of this submarine. What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"
The guy glanced at the row of decorations on Zhang Hainuo's chest—a First Class Iron Cross, a Fourth Class Red Eagle Order, and a Narvik Campaign Medal. Though reluctant, his tone softened slightly:
"Lieutenant, I'm here just to execute orders from the Naval Provost Marshal's Office. Don't ask me why, just come with me now!"
Zhang Hainuo didn't ask, nor did he care why this guy was here. He gave Edwin behind him a look that said, "Don't worry about me," and followed the provost lieutenant off the submarine.
Before long, "Pig Dad" Gaenir and ace captain Vogt were also taken away by the provosts' truck. The three submarine captains, who had recently been dominating the Atlantic, now found themselves sitting together in such a situation.
"Pig Dad" looked dejected, but it was evident that his dismay was not because he was brought in for questioning. The unfortunate fate of U167 had left everyone in this makeshift combat team with the same feeling.
With a total tonnage exceeding 100,000 tons sunk, Vogt's expression remained unchanged, or rather, his coldness remained the same.
Throughout the journey, the three of them exchanged no words, nor did they complain.
As Zhang Hainuo watched the passing scenery outside the window, many thoughts raced through his mind. He felt that his intentions were not wrong, yet there was a lingering sense of guilt. If he hadn't proposed the wolf pack experiment plan, perhaps the tragedy wouldn't have occurred.
Upon arriving at the Military Police Headquarters, Zhang Hainuo was surprised to find Colonel Georg there. Despite his neat appearance, the Colonel's gaze was dim and his complexion pallid. Upon seeing the three men, the Colonel let out a helpless sigh.
Soon, Zhang Hainuo, Ganeer, and Ogwei were each led to separate rooms by the military police.
The one in charge of interrogating Zhang Hainuo was a military police captain, approximately forty-five or forty-six years old. Although referred to as an interrogation, Zhang Hainuo felt it was no different from being questioned as a criminal. It was his first experience in such a situation, yet he remained remarkably calm, almost as serene as still water.
"Tell me everything about the design of that plan, from beginning to end, in as much detail as possible!" The voice was chilly but not icy enough to freeze the speaker.
"I commanded U171 in the attack on the British convoy NY22 on May 19th. Based on that battle experience, I drafted a report on a multi-submarine joint operation. That report should still be in the cabinet of a staff officer at the Navy Department!"
"Don't talk to me about the Navy Department. Tell me, who led this plan, and who were the participants?" The voice sounded impatient.
"I was the one who drafted the plan. Since the Navy Department's approval hadn't been given yet..." Zhang Hainuo was cut off abruptly by the interrogator.
"Who was the mastermind?"
In the past, when Zhang Hainuo saw descriptions of military police in movies and novels, he didn't think much of their behavior. Now, however, he deeply understood it. These people seemed to think they needed to be menacing to extract information.
"Captain, you can understand that I was the one who led this plan!"
Zhang Hainuo's intention was clear. What Colonel Georg did had already helped him greatly, and he couldn't let him bear this unjustifiable blame.
"You led this plan? Hmph!" The military police captain gave Zhang Hainuo a scrutinizing look before reluctantly jotting down everything in his notebook.