"Ah, the sunset... how it inspires me... Ah... you are so beautiful..."
Under the setting sun, a young man with golden hair leaned against the door leading to the gangway, passionately praising the greatness of the Creator. Over the rippling sea, a golden-red sun was slowly sinking to the west. Soon, he would be praising the beauty of the stars.
"Enough, my poetic friend, can't you give everyone's ears a rest?" the captain, wearing his captain's hat and holding a large pipe, grumbled unceremoniously.
The young man with golden hair looked dismayed at having his train of thought interrupted. He turned to his father, "Come on, Dad, I'm hosting a poetry recital for everyone for free! Do you know how much it costs to attend such a level of poetry recital in London?"
The old man glanced at him, then asked his first mate— a strong black young man who was steering the ship, "Parker, if I were to offer you 1 pound to attend such a recital, would you consider it?"
The black youth, still staring ahead, replied almost without hesitation, "No, sir, I'd rather get a good sleep in my hammock!"
"Hehehe... Parker, you're just jealous, pure jealousy. You must be jealous that I can write poetry while you can't even read a single letter!" the young man with golden hair chuckled awkwardly.
"No, I can read, Mr. Wright has taught me to write my own name and recognize the names of other ships, which is quite good for a black man!" the strong black first mate turned his head, replying calmly.
"Oh... well, that's good. So, even buffaloes can read!" The young man with golden hair looked defeated, but it was evident that his words carried a discriminatory tone. Yet, the targeted black first mate just looked disappointedly at the old captain and then resumed his serious steering. In this era, both in Britain and America, racial discrimination was prevalent and severe. For Parker, landing the position of first mate on a freighter was already quite challenging, and having an experienced and kind-hearted captain made it even better. So, he prayed every day, hoping that his captain, Mr. Patrick Wright, would live a long life. As for the captain's son, Joseph Wright, the unruly and self-righteous young man with golden hair, he would be better off returning to London to continue being a man of culture.
But Joseph, with his beautiful golden hair, didn't think so. He planned to captivate the hearts of beauties with his miraculous sea adventures and beautiful poems— something his competitors, the mere talkers, lacked. Unfortunately, after leaving London for over three months, he had been to Portugal and Africa and was soon heading to distant South America. Besides occasional storms, there was nothing "miraculous" happening, and the long sea life was far more boring than he had imagined. He had praised the sea, the wind, the fish and birds, the Yankees flying overhead, and now even the sunset. He began to worry about his material for tomorrow. Maybe it would rain!
"Hey, Jeff, do you want to join me for a drink before dinner?"
"No, thank you, Master Joseph, I have to finish this navigation chart before dinner!" the small white youth who had been busy with the navigation chart bluntly refused Joseph's invitation.
"All right, all right, take your time! Parker, remember to call me to the captain's cabin at dinner time!"
No one paid attention, which made Joseph feel embarrassed. He shook his head and was about to go down to the deck along the gangway when the lookout screamed at the top of his lungs, "Ship! Ship! A fast ship is coming towards us from the south!"
The old captain quickly walked to the south-facing window, raised his telescope, and after a moment, he calmly said, "Seems to be a warship!"
Second mate Jeff also grabbed the telescope and walked over, but before he could take a look, Joseph snatched the telescope from his hand.
"A warship? Royal Navy warship of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?"
Joseph suddenly became interested. Not being selected for the Royal Navy had bothered him for quite a while. Those big warships flying the Union Jack and the British naval officers in their pristine uniforms were forever the favorites of British girls and the aspiration of young British men like him.
"Everyone here knows the full name of Britain, you don't have to repeat it every day!" the old captain grumbled, "Let's hope it's not Germans!"
"I always thought Germans only had submarines, Mr. Wright!"
Parker, the robust black first mate, said from afar. In the first month after Britain declared war on Germany, German submarines sank a large number of British merchant ships, leading the British government to reinstate the convoy system used during the previous world war. However, despite these measures, the number of ships sunk around the British Isles and in the eastern Atlantic continued to increase.
The old captain put down the telescope, turned his head, and said gravely, "No, they not only have submarines, but also several beautiful warships, those damn ships are much faster than their predecessors in the last war!"
"Hey, don't worry, Dad! I saw a French flag flying on its mast!"
Joseph said triumphantly. Having been rejected by the Royal Navy made him hold a grudge for a long time. Those ships flying the tricolor flag and the French naval officers were just as popular among British girls and young British men his age.
"Everyone knows the full name of France, too. You don't have to repeat it every day!" the old captain grumbled, "Thank God the Royal Navy didn't take you in! French ships don't have that kind of design! Jeff, go get the Jane's Fighting Ships from my room!"
The short white man ran out of the helm room.
Joseph was puzzled, "But Dad, is there another country in the world whose ships fly the blue, white, and red tricolor flag?"
"This is a tactic used by pirates, my boy!" the old captain said, his chin trembling, "If you ever become a captain one day, don't be fooled by such tricks!"
In the gaze of this British father and son, the terrifying warship was approaching at full speed, raising waves of white foam. Although the European war had broken out, they never thought they would be involved in it so soon. There wasn't even a cannon on their cargo ship.
Inside the command tower of the opposite warship, officers wearing German naval uniforms were all busy at their posts. Among them, a tall, thin colonel with a cigar in his mouth and another young naval officer, not very old but dressed in the coveted naval officer uniform, had piercing eyes.
"Colonel, it's time to change our flag!" he said coldly.
"All right, General!" The colonel walked to the microphone, "Signalman, raise the flag of the Imperial German Navy!"
The tricolor flag on the mast of the warship quickly descended, and then a conspicuous red-bottomed white circle cross flag was hoisted and unfurled in the wind. In the middle of this flag, an enlarged swastika was particularly eye-catching. It reminded everyone that this was a powerful warship from the German Empire!
"Stop— advance— I want to board your ship
When the old captain quietly read out the international code, the second mate rushed in, panting, and handed him the latest edition of the Ship Annual.
The old captain flipped through a few pages by memory, finally stopping at a page marked "German Navy: Deutschland-Class Pocket Battleships" – their square command towers, compact hulls, and high speeds were their defining features. The old captain raised his telescope for a closer look, and by then, the other ship was already quite close.
"That must be the German pocket battleship, no doubt!" The old captain glanced painfully at his first mate, second mate, and his own son. "It's armed with six 283mm guns and can reach speeds over 25 knots, while we're lucky to make 14 knots!"
The blond youth was dumbfounded, but the sturdy black first mate, still calmly at the helm, asked, "Mr. Kreiter, what do we do now?"
"What do we do now?" The old captain repeated softly, turning around. He could almost read the signals without the telescope: "Forbid - your - ship - to - use - wireless - radio!"
This British cargo ship, the first prey of the German naval raider "Admiral Graf Spee" since the war began, quickly slowed down. It was a wise choice because at less than 5000 meters, the 150mm guns on the German warship could easily cripple it. Because of the sea breeze, the British ensign on the mast did not droop, but compared to the towering German naval ensign, it seemed droopy and lifeless.
"Lower the motorboat, keep the starboard guns on alert!"
In the command tower of the ship, Hans Langsdorf was directing his crew through the microphone to occupy the freighter, while Zhang Hainuo, standing outside the bridge, watched the other ship. At such close range, one could easily make out its name: "Single Hump Camel."
For the usually conservative Germans, it was a ridiculous ship name, but the British loved giving their ships such peculiar names, though a single-humped camel might not run faster than a double-humped one.
On the starboard side of the battleship, a large crane swung outwards, carrying a motorboat. The sailors lowered it slowly and steadily until it touched the water safely. All these actions were done without verbal commands, but rather by the naval whistle signals.
From above, the motorboat looked so small next to the battleship's hull, like a child's toy. In fact, the battleship's towering steel hull was thirty feet higher than the motorboat!
Under the guns of the German battleship, the British neither sent out distress signals through their wireless nor made any hostile moves. After the ship stopped, everyone, including the chef and stoker, came up on deck. People were also stationed on the bridge, all of them looking at the powerful German warship with curiosity and fear in their eyes, including the captain, who stood by with his hands raised, accepting the inspection.
Through his binoculars, Zhang Hainuo saw the commandos board the bridge, where the neatly dressed British captain politely received them. It all looked like a football game without a referee, so smooth that one could forget they were in wartime. For Zhang Hainuo, it was somewhat disappointing – it seemed no more challenging than taking candy from a child's hand!
In less than ten minutes, the boarding commandos signaled with flags: they had completely taken over the sugar and flour-laden freighter, and its official registration documents and captain would be sent over!
"Sugar and flour, not a bad haul! Sergeant, ask Captain Langsdorf how much more sugar and flour the ship can hold?"
"We'll need to ask our chef!"
As Zhang Hainuo spoke, Langsdorf's voice came from a few steps away.
"Oh, Colonel, come and see our first catch! How many tons do you reckon?"
"Well... I guess it's between 1400 and 1500 tons!"
"1600 tons, I guess!" Zhang Hainuo said with interest. "Shall we bet? Whoever guesses further off has to give the other a cigar!"
"Agreed!" Langsdorf had been eyeing the box of premium Danemann cigars in Zhang Hainuo's drawer.
Under their gaze, some of the commandos escorted a few crew members onto the motorboat, while others, guarded by two rifle-bearing commandos, sat on the deck, holding their heads. The rest of the commandos continued to inspect the freighter, taking anything valuable, destroying anything necessary, and planting bombs in the hull, to be detonated once everyone had evacuated – the "Admiral Graf Spee" had to conserve its ammunition as much as possible during the long voyage.
A few minutes later, when the documents proving the freighter's identity and tonnage were brought to the bridge, Zhang Hainuo lost a cigar, and Langsdorf could record their first capture in his logbook: October 1st, 1939, the British bulk carrier "Single Hump Camel," registered tonnage 1,410 tons.
At this moment, a commando who spoke English reported, "General, Colonel, the British captain wishes to see the commander of this warship!"
Zhang Hainuo looked at Langsdorf, asking, "Shall you go or shall I? My English is rather poor!"
"I'll go! Let's see what this British man knows!"
"Agreed!" Zhang Hainuo nodded, then watched as Langsdorf left, instructing his subordinates, "Air Officer Third Class, bring the captured British sailors out, and ask our chef if forty bags of flour and two bags of sugar are enough to satisfy their appetite!"
Before long, the sun had completely disappeared below the horizon, and the light on the sea was gradually dimming. Zhang Hainuo looked up, and the radar antenna on the mast was still rotating. This German raider had two sets of radar installed – one was the Seetakt-39, the newest model, with a surface detection range of 20 nautical miles and an air detection range of 120 kilometers, which they were currently using. The other was the backup Seetakt-37, with slightly shorter detection ranges but more reliable performance.
With the radar and the U-131 and U-132 on watch nearby, along with the merchant ship "Antonio" equipped with Curtis seaplanes operating within 200 nautical miles, Zhang Hainuo didn't need to send out his seaplanes, and the British didn't usually send their submarines into this distant part of the Atlantic either – they were more focused on protecting their coastline, just as the German Navy was near theirs.
Since the German High Command's directive to the Navy to send surface vessels to attack British shipping, delayed information had been reaching Zhang Hainuo: throughout September, the German Navy had sunk 79 British and French ships at the cost of 3 submarines (historically 41 ships sunk, 2 submarines lost, totaling 153,000 tons). The most exhilarating achievement was when the 7th U-boat Flotilla sank the Royal Navy aircraft carrier "HMS Courageous" off the northwest coast of Britain. This glorious victory not only shook the reputation of the German Navy but also forced
the British to adopt a more cautious strategy. They immediately recalled their other two aircraft carriers deployed in the Atlantic, significantly reducing the chances of detection and attack by German submarines and raiders.
With a more formidable submarine fleet achieving prominent successes, Zhang Hainuo had expected this. However, this was only during the initial phase of the war when the British had not yet fully mobilized. With the reestablishment of convoy systems and the deployment of more escort vessels, the threat faced by the German submarine fleet would increase.
The inherent strengths and weaknesses of submarines meant they couldn't directly confront enemy anti-submarine vessels. Instead, attacking vessels like the battleship Bismarck were the preferred choice against heavily armed destroyers and escort ships. As long as these raiders operated in the Atlantic, the British wouldn't dare send their surface ships, with weak firepower, to escort merchant convoys individually. If battleships, battle cruisers, or aircraft carriers were dispatched for convoy escort duty, it would not only disperse the already limited main force of the British Navy but also increase the likelihood of them being sunk by German submarines – the sinking of HMS Courageous being a prime example.
As the shipborne traffic boats shuttled back and forth, eventually transporting the crew and several sacks of flour and sugar from the cargo ship to the warship, shortly after the last batch of raiders left the ship, three muffled explosions were heard from inside the cargo ship. Before long, it began to sink and list to one side. At this moment, Lansdorff returned to the bridge with a look of resignation.
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"That British captain is quite cunning, revealing nothing, just repeatedly demanding that we take them to a neutral country or neutral ship! I told him, he and his crew would have to wait until the end of the war to return home!"
"Of course! Does he know the identity of our warship?"
"No, he thinks we're the 'Admiral Scheer'!"
Following Lansdorff's gaze, an officer was painting letters on a metal plaque about fifteen feet long and one foot wide. They were painting the ship's name "Deutschland," while the other side of the metal plaque read "Admiral Scheer" – this plaque was used for neutral countries. Sometimes, the crew would hang one side as ordered, sometimes the other, or sometimes simply reveal the true name of the warship. Neutral country sailors often reported what they saw intuitively, leaving the British Navy unsure of how many Deutschland-class ships were active in the Atlantic, and which one appeared in a particular area.
Zhang Hainuo chuckled, "The game has just begun. We'll leave the British dizzy!"
On the starboard side of the warship, the large crane began working again. With another blast of the whistle, the traffic boat, along with the raiders and cargo on board, was hoisted off the water's surface. Gradually, the boat rose to the level of the main deck, then a few seconds later, it rose above the deck and swayed to the middle of the ship, moving horizontally for a distance before descending into the open hatch of the boat bay. Finally, with a heavy thud, the boat stopped on the blocks in the boat bay.
"Speed up to 18 knots, heading due south!"
With Lansdorff's command, the ten-thousand-ton German raider began to vibrate slightly, quickly carving out an arc and sailing away without looking back in the direction it came. Now, only the last bit of the British cargo ship's mast remained above the water, while the Royal Navy remained clueless about it all!