Chapter 60: The Fork in History
After Hesen agreed with Zhang Hainuo's plan in principle, the two began to discuss and negotiate some details. For the next two days, they stayed in this study room to refine the plan except for eating, walking and sleeping. By the time they returned to the port separately, although there were still some uncertain minor issues, Zhang Hainuo felt much more settled in his heart.
Before leaving Fink's estate, Zhang Hainuo also entrusted Hastings with matters related to Anna and left a long letter for him, asking him to personally hand it over to her after Anna arrived at the estate.
Just in time for the last day of the holiday, Zhang Haino returned to Wilhelmshaven as scheduled. Nothing special happened when he was away, which made him breathe a sigh of relief - the fuse that led to the collapse of the German Empire in history was the Kiel sailor's rebellion, and he didn't want similar things to ruin his plan.
Over the next month, he deliberately strengthened his communication with each crew member, especially to understand their family situation and recent emotions, thoughts about the war. On the one hand, considering that he had not been with these young crew members for a long time, he hoped to use this to narrow the distance between himself and the crew members and eliminate potential estrangement. On the other hand, he hoped to find out through this method those crew members who might be unwilling to join his plan. If such people existed, it would be best to leave them in port before the submarine set off, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble after the plan was implemented.
What made Zhang Haino feel extremely pleased was that although these sailors were still relatively inexperienced, they were all very enthusiastic, and their morale was also high after returning from the Americas. They all looked forward to going out to sea again. To Zhang Haino, they showed an attitude of admiration and respect: admiring his calmness, composure and wisdom in commanding the submarine during battles, and respecting the fearless spirit he and Edwin had shown in that storm.
After talking to the boatmen, Zhang Hainuo felt relieved for the vast majority of people. For that small part with uncertain attitudes, he thought, and only then would he deal with them according to specific circumstances.
After this, the biggest problem Zhang Haino needed to solve was how to get his superiors to approve another combat mission for U-148. To this end, he spared no effort in lobbying high-ranking officers of the submarine command, "indoctrinating" them with the huge strategic deterrent that a voyage to America could bring - forcing the Americans to keep more ships and troops on the East Coast to strengthen their defenses, while also asking Raeder for help in creating momentum within the naval staff.
Zhang Hainuo had to admit that Riedel's connections in the navy were far beyond his own, and with the radio messages he recorded while sailing along the US coast and the intelligence transmitted back by German spies lurking in the US, the naval commanders gradually realized that continuing to send submarines to voyage off the east coast of the United States still had great military significance, which made them waver in their plan to put the U-139 submarine "in the safe".
However, while the Navy was still hesitating, the situation on land was developing further to Germany's disadvantage. On August 8th, a day known as "Germany's Black Day". On this day, the German army's front line in the Marne and Amiens area collapsed under the fierce attack of the Allied forces, marking the end of the stalemate on the Western Front. The remaining German troops were then forced to retreat back to the Hindenburg Line. Although that line, seen as the last bulwark on the Western Front, was defended by Germany's most combat-ready reserve units, the difference in numbers and equipment between the two sides, as well as the low morale of the German troops, made it only a matter of time before the line would be breached.
On August 14, Zhang Haino finally received an order from his superiors to prepare U-148 for another long voyage. Fuel, ammunition and food supplies were quickly loaded onto U-148, and the shark trapped in the cage for more than two months finally had the motivation to set sail again.
Immediately following, Zhang again cited the need for equipment repairs during long voyages as a reason to request additional personal diving gear - oxygen bottles, diving suits and breathing apparatus - from the submarine command. Initially, the logistics officer in charge refused his request on the grounds of no inventory, but through his good friendships with officers formed during his time at the armory, Zhang Hai was able to effortlessly find out that there were nearly 20 sets of such equipment left in storage. The facts were clear: although the military supply officers were very reluctant, under pressure from their superiors they still allocated three sets for U-148.
At this point, with the addition of air supply pipes, oxygen supply equipment and the original 4 sets of diving equipment on the boat, U148 is fully capable of meeting the requirements for searching for sunken ships and salvaging items from the ship at sea.
After everything was ready, Zhang Hainuo began to wait for the Navy Department's order to set sail. However, this simple command did not come down. Through Raeder, Zhang Hainuo learned that the two factions in the Navy Department, which advocated for going out to sea and fighting and those who advocated for preserving their strength, were still engaged in fierce debate. The pro-war faction believed that if the war was unfavorable to Germany, the navy should mobilize all its main forces to fight a "glorious battle" with the British. On the other hand, the faction that advocated for preserving their strength held an optimistic attitude towards the prospects of the war, believing that it would end in a ceasefire, and as long as the naval vessels were preserved, the German Navy would still be the world's second most powerful force!
Zhang Haino knew that when the news of Germany's impending surrender came, the pro-war faction would gain the upper hand, but before their glorious plan could be implemented, the Kiel sailors' uprising would become the direct fuse for the collapse of this empire, and the navy would also fall into a state of complete paralysis!
The disputes among the naval leaders were actually meaningless, as the powerful Allied armies had already dominated the land, constantly recovering territories occupied by Germans in 1914 and rapidly approaching the Hindenburg Line.
By August 27, U-148 finally received the order to set sail, but contrary to Zhang Haino's expectations, the command given to them was not to head to the eastern seaboard of the United States for combat, but rather to head to the coast of Belgium and France and launch nighttime artillery attacks on the ports and airfields of the Allied forces!
In the war, many German submarines, including U-21, had used deck guns to attack land targets, but this was the first time that a batch of submarines were dispatched in an organized and targeted manner to attack ports and airports along the coast. Under the cover of night, Zhang Haino's U-148 successfully broke through the British and French fleet's warning line with six other German submarines and approached the border area between France and Belgium, using the deck guns on board to bombard several land targets.
Although the action basically achieved its predetermined goals, Zhang Haino had no joy in his heart - not to mention that these deck guns were limited in power, even if they could destroy several British and French airports and cause some chaos in the port, the impact on the war situation was negligible!
For something so obvious, the German Navy's bigwigs didn't think so. From late August to mid-September, they frequently dispatched submarines that were not good at artillery battles to attack the French and Belgian coasts. Zhang Haino's U148 alone fired four salvoes of shells, although some results were achieved, but more often these submarines faced the danger of being discovered and sunk by British and French warships. In one battle where they bombarded Nieuport, 2 out of the 7 submarines that sailed with Zhang Haino were sunk. On their way back to port, he saw fear and worry on the faces of his young crew members for the first time.
On September 2, the British First Army and Canadian Corps launched an attack on the Drocourt-Quéant Line, which was a northern extension of the Hindenburg Line. By that afternoon, two main German defensive lines had been broken and the southern end of the Hindenburg Line had suffered severe destruction.
On September 12, the Americans launched an attack on the Saint-Mihiel salient and took it by evening, putting the Hindenburg line in a precarious position.
On September 26, the Allies launched their final assault on the Hindenburg Line, breaching it ten days later.
The German army, once invincible, was routed in the face of the enemy's fierce attack, and the empire's confidence and foundation were shaken to the core. At this time, the Kaiser and his ministers had reached the point of despair, and on the same day that the Hindenburg Line was breached, they made a painful decision: to request an armistice from the Allied Powers!
On September 29, Germany's ally Bulgaria announced its surrender and the Allied front finally reached a point of disintegration.
On October 4, the German government appointed Prince Maximilian of Baden as Chancellor and began to make contact with the United States about accepting Wilson's Fourteen Points and a ceasefire. However, just one week later, the passenger ship Leinster was torpedoed in the Irish Sea, killing over 400 people, including many Americans, and an outraged Wilson abruptly broke off negotiations.
The Allied forces continue to advance into Germany!
The German Empire had fallen into unprecedented dire straits, and the high-ranking naval leaders made a historically desperate decision: to sail out to engage in a mortal combat with the British, if necessary, "glorious sinking on the spot".
As the most ferocious sea weapon in the war, Germany's submarines were also on the list of sorties. One by one, the submarines hastily loaded with ammunition and fuel set sail from the port with infinite sadness. On October 19th, Zhang Haino and his U148 finally received the order to head towards the East Coast of the United States again, but what left him speechless was that this time the Navy had fully equipped his submarine with torpedoes, shells, fresh water, and food, but only loaded 75 tons of fuel!
That means U-148 will no longer be able to return to Germany after arriving on the East Coast of America!
On October 20th, just two weeks before the Kiel sailors' uprising, U-148 left Wilhelmshaven on an unknown voyage.
Two days later, German U-boat Command received a final plaintext message from U-148:
My boat is being attacked by a British warship, the submarine is about to sink, Long live Germany!
