Chapter 34: The Sea of Freedom

  May 13, 1917 was a very ordinary day in the war, but for Zhang Hainuo, it was a brand new beginning. Because on this day, he saw the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean.

  Since crossing over to this era, Zhang Hainuo had never been to the Atlantic Ocean, whether on the Sedlitz or U21. Compared to the calmness of the Mediterranean and the turbulent North Sea, this vast ocean was a completely different landscape.

  On the night that had just passed, Zhang Hainuo was sleepless. The British blockade line in the North Sea was their last line of defense to prevent German warships from entering the Atlantic, and at the same time, it was also called the last gate to the free sea by the German naval officers and soldiers. In order to guard this important passage, the British not only stationed the main force of the fleet in Pas-de-Calais, but also deployed a large number of cruisers, destroyers, and flying boats in the nearby waters, and even laid minefields in some important areas.

  Therefore, any German submarine commander dared not be careless when passing through this sea area.

  From 2 am to dawn, Zhang Hainuo remained on the submarine's command tower as they entered the North Atlantic Ocean, accompanied by Edwin and Simon. Fortunately, the northern exit of the North Sea was much wider than the English Channel, making it impossible for the British to deploy comprehensively across an area spanning over 200 nautical miles. Although they encountered two patrolling British warships during this time, they managed to avoid them successfully.

  Simon, who had been to the Atlantic Ocean three times with his submarine, told Zhang Hainuo that as long as the submarine left the North Sea, the threat it faced would be much smaller and there would be many more targets. Those lone merchant ships or armed merchant ships were the favorite targets of German U-boat captains. Attacking those escorted by warships was more difficult, but they were often large-tonnage or carrying important supplies. Moreover, sinking a Canadian or American troopship was equivalent to killing at least one battalion of enemy troops on land, which was also a remarkable achievement worth boasting about!

  At 10:00, Zhang Haino and others received a telegram from U-89, which said that they had safely passed through the British warning line and entered the Atlantic Ocean, and wished others "bon appétit".

  After the battle that nearly cost him his life, Zhang Hainuo no longer felt as much resentment towards U-89's captain, that stubborn gentleman; perhaps his decision was made solely from his own perspective, just like what von Lauertz said, everyone has their own responsibilities.

  Zhang Haino politely replied with a telegram, informing the other party that his submarine had also safely passed through the British naval blockade line and reminding them to beware of the British underwater positioning instruments and underwater bombs.

  Exiting the North Sea does not mean that they can immediately enter the Atlantic "hunting ground". According to the confidential instructions sent from the submarine command before departure, Zhang Haino and his U171 were deployed in the waters 200-300 miles northwest of Scotland and 150-250 miles southwest of Iceland. There is one of the British Liverpool North American routes, but the command also reminded that the British and the recently joined Americans have strengthened their convoy forces on this route. As the commander of U171, Zhang Haino has the right to decide whether to launch an attack when discovering British or American cargo ships or merchant fleets.

  A few centimeters on the navigation chart often represent a very long distance, until May 14th at noon, Zhang Haino and his U171 arrived at the designated combat sea area.

  The life of a sea hunter sounds exciting, but in fact most of the time is dull, with long waits testing people's patience. On the other hand, the innate shortcomings of submarines in terms of visibility forced submarine captains to have their submarines cruise back and forth near shipping lanes in order to expand their observation range.

  The waves in the North Atlantic near Iceland are not as fierce as those in the northern part of the North Sea, but at least much stronger than those in the Mediterranean, and the temperature here is also relatively low. Even in late spring and early summer, the sea surface temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius.

  Zhang Haino's first target appeared on the evening of May 14th at 9:22, a cargo ship of unknown nationality sailing under blackout conditions. If it were before the German Supreme Command issued the order for unrestricted submarine warfare, Zhang Haino would have had to confirm the identity of the opponent before taking action, but from February 4, 1917, "German submarines can arbitrarily sink any merchant ship heading to British waters without prior warning".

  Unfortunately, the merchant ship Zhang Haino encountered this time was almost a rabbit escaping for its life. It didn't give U-171 any chance to take up shooting positions at all, but instead quickly crossed through this sea area and disappeared into the night.

  Six hours later, at dawn on the second day, U-171 spotted another steamer traveling from east to west. Its speed was not particularly fast, and its tonnage was less than 4,000 tons, but it kept changing its course. Zhang Haino tried twice to take up a torpedo firing position, but failed both times. Considering the high possibility of missing the target if he forced a torpedo launch, and also suspecting that it might be a British Q-ship, a disguised submarine hunter, Zhang Haino did not attack rashly, but instead watched as the ship sailed away.

  The third freighter that appeared in Zhang Haino's line of sight had a conspicuous rice-character flag hanging from its mast, but what made him feel suffocated was that the guy was actually running faster than the first two ships, with an attitude as if he was rushing to win the Blue Ribbon prize!

  The Blue Riband, awarded since 1833 to the fastest transatlantic steamship, is an honorary title rather than an annual award, and is given at any time to the holder of the record.

  At this time, Zhang Haino thought he had figured out one thing: after Germany declared unrestricted submarine warfare, merchant ships that still sailed to Britain in single-ship convoys would always have their own ways to avoid German submarines. To catch these wild rabbits, you need to have the wisdom of a fox!

  On the fourth day, Zhang Hainuo's line of sight finally appeared a ship that was not fast in speed and extremely stable in route, and there were more than one. However, around these ships, cruisers and destroyers were like a group of fierce bodyguards, making people want to avoid them far away. Simon and Edwin's suggestions were best not to provoke this merchant fleet escorted by warships, but Zhang Hainuo didn't think so in his heart.

  "Send a coded telegram to headquarters, we have discovered a large British fleet in area 52, with about 15-20 merchant ships and 8-10 escort warships. Have them dispatch nearby submarines for support as soon as possible!"

  After saying this, Zhang Hainuo quickly calculated the position, speed and location of U171 again.

  "Maintain one-third speed ahead, turn 2 degrees to 350, all hands prepare for diving!"

  Edwin and Simon exchanged a look with each other, didn't say much, and went to execute the order seriously.