Six Hundred and Ninety-Nine Everything Has a Beginning

"I am the commander of the British destroyer fleet. We are not here to ask for help. We are ordered to help you fight back against the Japanese." The middle-aged man wearing a German hat but wearing a British navy uniform said solemnly.

"If you don't mind, we have 8 submarines outside the port, and another one needs to be repaired." The German military officer smiled and said in fluent English: "Our great head of state hopes that you can believe that even if the whole world abandons Australia, the Führer and the German people stand with you."

"God bless! It's great that you are here." The Australian officer excitedly held the German general's hand: "After they left, you are the first army to come back to help us fight the Japanese!"

These days, as long as it is a ship flying the flag of the United States, it is only to transport people and supplies. These Americans even took away barges and fishing boats, so as not to leave them for the coming Japanese. Sydney Harbor is like a pool of stagnant water. The locals feel that they have been completely abandoned. They did not expect that at such a time, they could still wait for reinforcements from afar.

The Germans did not have smooth sailing in the Pacific Ocean. Several of them had adverse reactions due to acclimatization, and a submarine was forced to return home due to mechanical failure. The sub that went wrong carried the sick, unloaded all the ammunition it could, and even unloaded some spare parts for the rest of the subs, and it did what it could.

Immediately afterwards, when approaching Australia, another submarine had a problem and had to be dragged by a destroyer to Australia to see if there was a chance to repair it. If it can't be repaired, then it can only be dropped in Australia as a spare part to provide other submarine repairs. No one thought that two of the 10 submarines had problems when they only traveled to Australia.

This distance is still too far for the German Navy, which seldom deploys to the ocean. Fortunately, they arrived in Australia, and here they were not disgusted, on the contrary, they were well received.

The Germans did not venture close to the Australian port, they remained anchored on the surface, and only one malfunctioning submarine sailed into Sydney, where it was repaired. Moreover, according to the order, the submarine did not carry a cipher machine, and used the radio on the accompanying northern British destroyer to keep in touch with the distant fleet.

The Australians held an impromptu meeting for this fleet, including soldiers and some patriotic politicians who stayed. Many people are hostile to the coming of the Germans, because after all, the German army killed an Australian division in North Africa. But this voice was immediately suppressed by military representatives who urgently needed support, especially naval support. They hoped to unite all available forces to defend Australia.

Things were quickly settled, and Australian officials remained neutral to the fleet from Europe: neither interfered with any non-destructive activities of the fleet in the port, nor offered to provide strong official support.

To put it simply-it's none of my business if you hit the Japanese, and I don't see you when you dock to repair the submarine.

This attitude is a good interpretation of the mentality of the leaders in Australia at this stage. They are afraid that the Americans will liquidate their cooperation with the Germans after they fight back, and they hope that the Germans will stay and help them resist the vicious Japanese. In the end, they chose the attitude of not helping and not destroying. Although there are hidden worries of being unflattering on both sides, it can be said that it is a safe choice that leaves room for several aspects.

"If you need anything, you can contact me." It was no longer a high-ranking military official who appeared in front of the Germans again, but a young Australian major. If the Japanese come or the Americans return, he can only follow the Germans and leave.

"I'm already with you, and any help I provide to you is ultimately my own behavior and has nothing to do with Australia." He sat helplessly on the sofa, obviously not yet out of the shadow of being blatantly betrayed by his compatriots : "My grandmother is a German, so I have a quarter of German blood."

The German military officer took out a French cigarette and handed it to the young man with a smile. He had a lot of medals on him, including the Submarine Service Medal, the enviable Iron Cross and the Outstanding Contribution Medal: "My name is Gott? Lien, is a colonel, the commander of the German Navy's Pacific Submarine Squadron. You haven't introduced yourself yet."

Akado asked Doenitz to find a suitable candidate to serve as the commander of the entire German ocean-going submarine fleet. Denitz searched for a long time, but couldn't find anyone who would convince the crowd. As a result, Prien, who happened to come back from hunting on the northern coast of the Soviet Union, applied for a vacation, and Dönitz gave the German submarine warfare number one ace a hole. It’s a good thing to make your boss remember you. The good thing is that you will be promoted and raise your salary after he remembers you. The bad thing is that you will become the best choice for him to deal with difficult problems. .

So poor Prien had just gotten used to the icy arctic waters, and before he had time to catch his breath, he was sent to lead the fleet across the equator to enjoy the hot southern country. However, compared to the rough waves in the North Atlantic Ocean and the cold and bleak Arctic Ocean, Prien still prefers the calm ocean comparable to the Baltic Sea.

"My name is Williams." The young officer was obviously infected by the experienced and energetic German officer Prien, took the cigarette and put it in his mouth, and replied softly.

"William, may I call you that?" Prien struck a match, helped Williams light a cigarette, and continued to ask.

"Yes, of course." The young Australian officer Williams was obviously flattered and replied immediately.

Prien nodded, and then said all the things he wanted: "Some car workers, and qualified raw materials. I need to make some simple parts as spare parts. Of course, we have most of the spare parts ourselves. In addition You also need to prepare food for our fleet, bread, vegetables, meat, fresh water, etc."

"So anxious?" William was taken aback and asked casually.

"Everything has a beginning, child. We need to choose an island to build a base. After all, I know you don't welcome us, and then there are oil and various supplementary materials, houses, tents, and even medicines... We need a lot of things." Prien was not much older than William in front of him, but he was already an old soldier who could not grow old after many battles. The dangers he has experienced in commanding operations may be more than the legends of the entire Australian Navy, and his record alone seems to be more than the sum of the entire Australian Navy. So when he called out the children, no one was surprised, because compared with a submarine commander who sank a battleship with a gross tonnage of more than 100,000 tons, everyone seemed to be very young.

"I need you to prepare these things within 4 hours, because after 4 hours, I will lead a part of my submarine force in good condition to go north, and the driver will look for Japanese targets to attack." When Prien mentioned the battle, his eyes widened. Become extremely solemn. He took out a small notebook of his own, glanced at it again and said, "By the way, I still need a chart of the entire sea area around Australia, the most detailed military chart, the more accurate the better."

He looked at William while talking, finally stopped his chatter, pointed to William who was empty-handed and asked, "You don't record?"

"I can remember what you said." William replied a little proudly.

Prien frowned, and finally said what was in his heart: "Find a notebook and record all the important things, and don't forget any small details. When you are busy, you will definitely forget something, and these things are forgotten What is forgotten can often make the difference between victory and defeat.”

He is a typical German military officer, meticulous in training and meticulous in combat, so he and his soldiers were able to escape from death again and again in the cruelest naval battles, and he was able to stand here alive and enjoy the beauty of the sun. Because of his own personal experience, he is sure that everything needs to be confirmed repeatedly. For himself, this is definitely a good habit.

He firmly believes that in everything, don't steal and play tricks, and you can save yourself when you need it. As a German submarine commander, he knew that every detail would eventually affect the battle. He tried his best, so he was always able to complete the mission in key battles, and brought his men back to the port alive, accepted The cheers and worship of the people.

"Okay, Colonel Prien." William had already obeyed Prien's orders. After all, he was still young and had no combat experience. And he himself clearly knew that he and the German officer in front of him were already grasshoppers on the same rope, and they had to work together in order to survive the cruel war.

"The action plan has been postponed for two hours." Prien nodded, then turned around and explained to the adjutant following him: "The preparations here are too late, call some people to help with the preparations, help Major William Get what we need urgently, including oil and medicine and food."

As Colonel Prien said, everything has a beginning. As soon as the Germans arrived in Australia, they began to prepare their own simple offensive base, preparing to launch their first attack on the arrogant Japanese navy.

For the many battleships of the Japanese Navy, this is definitely unfortunate news, because there are hundreds of German submarine commanders, but there is only one Prien, and there is only one Prien nicknamed "Battleship Killer".