Chapter 57: Laying Mines

  A German G7e torpedo, carrying 195 kg of TNT explosive, was enough to send a trawler or patrol boat sky-high, but the first freighter attacked by Zhang Hai No on the US East Coast not only had a larger tonnage, and it was likely that there were no heavy goods on board, so after being hit by the torpedo, it slowly capsized more than two hours later.

  Zhang Haino and his U-148 did not go far after completing the attack, but quietly lurked under the sea surface not far from that American freighter, watching everything that was happening there.

  This is the best way to know about the vigilance of Americans in this sea area.

  What Zhang Hainuo observed was good news for the German Navy's ocean-going U-boats. The long-standing isolationism, absolute military superiority in the Americas and geographical distance from Europe meant that Americans were still lax in defending their coastal areas a year after entering the war. Almost an hour after this freighter was torpedoed, two small-tonnage near-shore patrol boats finally arrived from the port, with their searchlights on but not scanning the sea surface, instead focusing on the stricken freighter. Then came two unarmed barges, whose role was not to rescue people, but to receive things thrown down by sailors from the ship!

  Another hour and twenty minutes passed before a slightly larger American destroyer came slowly from the north. By this time, the large fire on the freighter had basically been extinguished, but the sea water pouring in from the huge hole caused by the torpedo was too much, and the freighter had already tilted more than 30 degrees to its right side. Just as it was about to capsize, the sailors hastily evacuated.

  In the process of the freighter tilting severely and finally capsizing, the last arriving US destroyer neither rescued people nor searched for the perpetrators, but instead played a faithful spectator at a distance like U148. The floating state of U148 was still understandable, but the behavior of that destroyer cruising in circles at low speed in an area where enemies might appear was really amateurish. It entered U148's firing position more than once, and if Zhang Haino hadn't been reluctant to use his precious torpedoes on such a thousand-ton destroyer, he would have sent it to the bottom of the sea with one torpedo!

  As the cargo ship finally disappeared from view, the sky gradually brightened, but the light rain did not stop. The sea surface was still gray and misty, allowing U-148 to continue watching those American warships depart before calmly rising to the surface.

  This was perhaps the cleanest battlefield Zhang Hainuo had ever seen, apart from some floating debris and oil stains produced by the explosion. The two American ships had taken away everything of value before leaving. However, this also led Zhang Hainuo to speculate that there might be another possibility besides German submarines laying mines or using torpedoes to attack American warships - that is, the US Navy had also laid mines in this sea area!

  As he thought of this, he began to congratulate himself on not having approached the harbor the night before, and by now he could see the coastline more than ten miles away. The tall lighthouse still stood at the intersection of land and sea, and behind it, a large port city was vaguely visible.

  When Zhang Haino saw the order from the Navy Department and that terrible nautical chart, he thought of a way out. He had two radios with him, and when the crew was on high alert for the sea, he turned on the radio to medium wave band.

  After a burst of static, a relatively clear voice came from the radio.

  Most of the German sailors had no idea what the "bird language" was talking about, fortunately Zhang Haino, staff officer Otto von Grenzbach and first mate Simon all understood some English, so they huddled together to listen and identify. American English and British English have differences in pronunciation and habits, and some slang is even more difficult for people who haven't studied American English to understand. Fortunately, radio announcers, especially those of news programs, speak more standardly, and finally Zhang Haino and the others locked onto a station with relatively good volume in the medium wave band. At noon, the news began to play inside.

  The US did not pass the Radio Act until 1927 and established corresponding management organizations. Although there was some news censorship during wartime, radio stations could still broadcast news with government permission.

  After skipping through news about economics and politics as well as the European war situation, Zhang Hainuo and his group finally heard a piece of extremely valuable news:

  "At around 3 am this morning, the US-registered cargo ship 'Owl' carrying textiles to Brazil sank after hitting a mine several miles outside Boston Harbor. A preliminary investigation by the Navy Department shows that the 'Owl' accidentally struck a naval mine previously laid by the Navy. The public is advised not to panic and not to believe rumors about German submarines. All ships entering and leaving the port should follow the designated channel set by the Navy Department to avoid entering the naval minefield. Fortunately, all crew members of the 'Owl' have been rescued. A Navy spokesperson said that they will determine whether to compensate the shipowner and crew after further investigation."

  "Boston, ahead of us is Boston, the largest trading port in Northeastern United States!"

  Young Glenburnie shouted with joy, and the surrounding sailors rushed over.

  "We sank a cargo ship carrying burlap to Brazil this morning!"

  Zhang Hainuo's voice was obviously more calm, although his face didn't have too many pessimistic elements. After all, in the extreme lack of intelligence, it was difficult for him to infer what kind of cargo was on board and where the ship would go based on its appearance alone. A torpedo for a 10,000-ton ship was a good deal from any angle.

  What's more, this brick has really brought out a series of valuable information worth more than a city.

  "Captain, what's next?" As soon as Simon spoke up, everyone turned their eyes to Zhang Hainuo.

  "We'll continue to lurk here during the day, trying to get a clear idea of the routes American merchant ships take in and out of port. Then at night, we'll lay mines along their route! And then..." Zhang Haino furrowed his brow, staring intently at the incomplete sea chart as he pondered for a moment, mentally calculating distances, courses, and times before speaking up:

  "We're going to New York to try our luck!"

  New York's position in the United States is equivalent to Hamburg in Germany and Liverpool in England, all of which are important economic centers and commercial ports in their respective countries. After entering the 20th century, New York's level of economic development was unmatched by Hamburg and Liverpool. Just thinking about those massive ships that seemed like mountains, the sailors seemed to have already seen the medals they would wear on their chests.

  In the next two days, U-148 surfaced only 2 to 3 times during the day to ventilate and recharge its batteries, but at night it snuck into the approaches of Boston Harbor under the "guidance" of that lighthouse and laid mines. Zhang Haino used the boat's 12 torpedoes to form two small minefields, one about 9 nautical miles from the lighthouse, and another further away, both deployed near but not directly in the middle of the shipping lane.

  After that, Zhang Hainuo commanded U-148 to head southwest. He didn't need to continue waiting outside Boston Harbor because the American radio station would "send" him battle reports in a timely manner.