Chapter 50: Return to the Submarine Corps

  Repairing the wall, tidying up the cellar and milking cows were all things that Zhang Hainuo had never done before. Although sometimes he would appear clumsy, he was still enjoying a very comfortable life at Fink Manor, which was much more interesting than being stuck in the armory!

  In Finkley Manor, the only one who probably felt "uncomfortable" was old butler Hastings, because he had to worry about his master all day, afraid that he would be hit by a hammer or kicked by a cow. Fortunately, these unlucky things were unrelated to his Lordship.

  It was during the third week of the holiday that a telegram arrived. Zhang Hainuo was initially puzzled as to who would be sending him a telegram, but after reading the contents, he suddenly understood.

  "Hasten, I have to return to Kiel Port ahead of schedule! Everything in the manor is left to you, and when I have time, I will definitely come back to visit you all!"

  At the time of parting, Zhang Hainuo was somewhat reluctant to leave.

  As for Hastings, they also felt a warmth from their master. In their view, the war had made their master more mature, no longer as indifferent as before, and no longer obsessed with a woman rather than military merit.

  Zhang Haino returned to Kiel ahead of schedule for a simple reason: Germany indeed suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Tsushima, just as it had historically. It is said that Kaiser Wilhelm II was furious and replaced several high-ranking generals. Although his "uncle" did not explicitly state this in the telegram, Zhang Haino suspected that those high-ranking officials who looked down on him were probably out of favor.

  Not long after returning to Kiel port, Zhang Haino received a new appointment from the Navy Department. Under the activity of "Taboo", he finally returned to the submarine fleet as he wished. Unfortunately, the nest was occupied by the magpie, and he could no longer return to U171. The Navy Department assigned another submarine to him.

  When Zhang Haino saw the number on the order, he was very surprised. To know that the numbering of German submarines is usually arranged in the order of construction and service, which means that this submarine with the number 7 must be a veteran submarine in the German Navy.

  When Zhang Haino stood on the submarine dock in Wilhelmshaven again, the scene in front of him was even more surprising than when he received the transfer order. The so-called old man-class submarine was a UBI-type submarine with an underwater displacement of less than 300 tons, which is absolutely the most antique submarine in the German Navy's submarine fleet!

  In fact, what surprised Zhang Haino even more was yet to come. After the initial training camp in France, American soldiers were gradually deployed to the French front line, and Germany faced increasing pressure on land. The escort system and anti-submarine measures perfected by Britain, America, and Japan made German submarines' recent performance greatly reduced, and their casualties remained high. This led to Germany's originally insufficient submarine fleet becoming increasingly stretched, even U7, a coastal submarine with a range of only 950 nautical miles, had to be sent to the English Channel for combat. The previous captain had been transferred to the submarine school as an instructor due to heart disease caused by the intense stimulation of repeatedly crossing the death zone. Zhang Haino, who had led his boat into the North Atlantic several times and achieved a record of over 50,000 tons, naturally became the Navy Department's second choice.

  The U7 had a displacement nearly half that of the U171, yet still had a crew of 17 men, which meant that space on board would be even more cramped. The boat was also equipped with only three 350mm torpedo tubes and one 37mm deck gun, with only two spare torpedoes available. The only thing that could comfort Zhang Haino was that every single person in the submarine unit had been there longer than he had. In other words, they were all older birds than him!

  Zhang Hainuo's luggage was very simple, just a backpack could hold it, but on the second day after boarding, the Navy Department's attack order came down...

  Zhang Haino led the U-7's first combat, almost under the guidance of old birds, especially the chief mate Yogral, who was known as the first strong man to break through the British Dover blockade line.

  To prevent German U-boats from entering the strait, the British deployed large numbers of mines and anti-submarine nets between Dover and Calais, but this could not stop daring and skilled German submarine commanders from using their excellent abilities to penetrate the blockade line into the English Channel - after all, the British could not make the 34-kilometer-wide patrol line a watertight dam, and the gaps between the mines and anti-submarine nets were exploited by the German boat captains to pass through "Hell's Gorge"!

  One day, Zhang Haino also became a member of the many "Hell Runners". However, simply crossing the blockade line does not represent success. Every day, hundreds of ships transport troops and supplies from Britain to France and back with wounded soldiers, but wanting to sink them requires not only fighting against the turbulent tides of the strait but also being on guard against those anti-submarine vessels that may appear at any time.

  On his first outing, Zhang Haino expended four torpedoes, sinking a French trawler and a British gunboat converted from a trawler. He was chased by British warships three times, encountered danger once, and after two weeks at sea, he felt more exhausted than when he had spent two months at sea before returning to Wilhelmshaven.

  At this time, Zhang Haino finally understood why the former captain of U7 had a heart attack.

  On the other hand, Hersing wrote to Zhang Haino after each voyage. In his 9th letter, he told Zhang that his total score had reached 140,000 tons, but the situation in the Mediterranean was becoming increasingly unfavorable for Allied submarines - convoy systems, anti-submarine technology and even escort fleets from the Far East had increased the difficulty of hunting German and Austrian submarines in this sea area. Even a super ace like him had no good way to deal with the heavily guarded convoy ships and powerful anti-submarine weapons of the enemy.

  During World War I, Japan dispatched a batch of destroyers to the Mediterranean region to escort British and French ships.

  All this suggests that present-day Germany is developing along the lines of history. In Zhang Haini's view, the collapse of the empire is only a matter of time.

  Before Christmas, Zhang Haino and his U7 crossed the "Hell Channel" into the English Channel twice again. Although each time was not long, each time made him feel that death was near at hand. In the process of escaping from enemy anti-submarine ships' pursuit one after another, he felt more and more like a fox who used all kinds of means to survive, although he could only steal one or two small chickens when the hunter fell asleep from time to time, but always managed to escape from the hunter's crazy revenge.

  The high frequency of sorties left Zhang Haino feeling mentally tense and physically exhausted. Fortunately, Christmas 1917 was approaching, and despite the severe shortage of supplies in Germany that winter, the Navy Department gave each of them some smoked meat, bacon, canned fish, and a bottle of wine (Germany is famous for its white wine). They were also given a rare seven-day leave. Although Zhang Haino wanted to get drunk and sleep for seven days and nights, he decided to go on another trip to Lübeck.

  After all, some things should be prepared in advance!