Chapter 31 Volume 1, Chapter 27, The Battle Intensifies

Proposals for peace Britain and France reject Soviet annexation of the Baltic states My opinion on British military preparations Relations with Italy in the Mediterranean may improve the home front The sinking of the Royal Oak October 31st My second visit to Scapa Flow Regarding Decision of the main base of the fleet The Chamberlains were sunk at the Admiralty Dinner by a false alarm when the Rawalpindi was sunk. Hitler took advantage of his success and presented his peace proposal to the Allies.One of the many unfortunate consequences of our policy of appeasement, and our general attitude towards his rise to power, was to convince him that neither our country nor France could stand a fight.The declaration of war between Great Britain and France on September 3rd was an unpleasant surprise to him, but he firmly believed that the sight of Poland's rapid disintegration must be the day when decaying democracies realized that they could influence the fate of Eastern and Central Europe Gone forever.At this time, he was very comfortable with Russia, even though Russia was gobbling up Polish territories and the Baltic states.In fact, in the middle of October, he was able to drive the captured American merchant ship Flintstone into the Soviet port of Murmansk under the supervision of the escort of the German capture ship.He did not want to continue fighting with France and Britain at this stage.

He insisted that His Majesty's Government would be more than happy to accept his decision in Poland, and that a proposal for peace would surely enable Mr. Chamberlain and his old colleagues, after having proved their integrity by declaring war, to be able to withdraw from Parliament. The militants in the army force them to break free from the difficult situation they face. It never occurred to him for a moment that Mr. Chamberlain, and the rest of the Empire and Commonwealth, were now resolved either to his ruin, or to their own ruin in the endeavour. The second step taken by Russia and Germany after the partition of Poland was the conclusion of three agreements of mutual assistance with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.These Baltic countries all gained freedom from the fetters of the Soviet government in the Liberation Wars of 1918 and 1920.These small countries completed severe land reforms, mainly at the expense of the interests of the former Russian landowners, and then gradually formed a nationalist peasant way of life with strong anti-communist overtones.

Always fearful of their mighty neighbor, the Soviet Union, and eager to maintain their neutrality, they sought to avoid all provocations.But their daunting task is difficult to achieve because of their geographic location.Riga, for example, became a wiretapping station for Russian intelligence and a center for international anti-Bolsheviks.But Germany had gladly given them up in its dealings with the Soviet Union, and now the Soviet government flung itself upon its victim with long-stored hatred and eager greed.These three countries were once part of the Tsarist Empire and former conquests of Peter the Great.They were immediately occupied by the powerful Soviet army, against which they could not offer effective resistance.The Soviet Union used the usual methods to carry out a brutal liquidation of all anti-communist and anti-Soviet elements.Many individuals who have lived free in their native land for two decades and represent the vast majority of the people are now missing.Most of them were exiled to Siberia, and the rest were sent further afield.This is the so-called mutual aid process.

At home, we are busy building up our army and air force, and are doing everything we can to strengthen our navy.I continue to offer my views to the Prime Minister and try to lobby them for adoption. Secretary of the Navy to Prime Minister October 1, 1939 This weekend, I don't take the liberty to offer you my opinion on a number of important issues. (1) We must support France when the enemy launches a peaceful offensive against us.Although we have a combat-ready force approaching a million men, our contribution is, and must remain, insignificant for many months to come.We should tell the French that we are making a great wartime effort, in a different form but on the same scale as we did in 1918; A large army of fifteen divisions, as soon as it can be trained and equipped, will be sent to fight wherever it is needed.

At present we have a regular army of which four or five divisions are probably more powerful than any other.But do not imagine that the Home Guard, which has only been trained for six months or so, will be able to fight head-on against the German regular army, which has served at least two years and is better equipped, without causing unnecessary losses and bad results; Nor could it be imagined that they could fight alongside the French army, most of which had been in service for three years.The only way to rapidly increase our forces in France is to bring back the professional troops stationed in India and use them as a backbone to train and form a new army of Home Guards and conscripts.I am not going to go into details now, but in principle we should send 60,000 Home Guard troops to India to police the territory and complete their training, and likewise 40,000 or 45,000 regular troops stationed in India Transfer back to Europe.These troops should be transferred to camps in the south of France, where the winter climate is more suitable for training troops than here, and where there is a lot of military equipment; The core and foundation of the teacher.The quality of these troops, by the end of next spring, can be equal to the strength of the troops fighting against or alongside them.The fact that such a force is cultivated in France during the winter months will be a great encouragement and satisfaction to the French.

(2) I am very concerned about the figures put forward by the Ministry of Air Force regarding their combat effectiveness.At the outbreak of the war they had a total of one hundred and twenty squadrons, but this number had, in practice, been reduced to only ninety-six operational squadrons.It is often hoped that, once the mobilization order is issued, there will be a huge expansion.Here, however, there has been a serious downsizing.What actually happened in this respect was that in order to build up a fighting force, trained aircrews, mechanics, spare parts, etc., were taken away from many squadrons, and these crippled squadrons were merged together to become A huge so-called reserve force.If the winter months pass without major air raids, a large number of new aircraft and trained pilots may be added to this reserve force.Even after deducting various reasonable amounts from this total, we should be able to form at least six squadrons a month.Being able to form a squadron, as a reserve force, ready to go, is much better than just amalgamating a large number of remaining pilots, remaining aircraft and parts.The current gap between us and Germany is shocking.I daresay this expansion can be done if you command it.

(3) The defensive measures and expenditures for the Air Raid Preparedness and Warning Plan are determined according to the degree of danger encountered in the parts of the country covered by the plan, but the current perception of this degree of danger is completely wrong.We should list the target areas and the flight routes passed by the enemy's air strikes in a table, so as to use them as a basis for research on the plan.Within these areas, there must be a large number of full-time workers.London is of course the main (target) and other cities will soon become similar.In these target areas, with regard to the system of street lights, it is necessary to make it possible for the air defense personnel to control the air-raid warnings after they are sounded; at the same time, the construction and reinforcement of the air-raid shelters should be hastened day and night, but on the other hand, theaters and cinemas should remain open until the actual air raids. Stop at the beginning to keep the mood of the people.In large parts of the countryside, the restoration of restricted lighting and the opening of entertainment venues should be permitted immediately.In these areas there shall be no paid air defense personnel.Everything should be based on voluntary service, the central government is limited to giving advice and the rest is handled by local authorities.In these areas, which comprise at least seven-eighths of the United Kingdom, gas masks can be left at home and are only scheduled to be carried in targeted areas.There is really no reason why an order of this content should not be issued in the middle of the next week.

The disasters on the part of Poland and the Baltic States made it all the more urgent for me to try to prevent Italy from being involved in the war, and to establish, by various means, some common interest between the two countries.at the same time.The war is still going on and I am busy with some administrative matters. secretary of the navy to secretary of the home October 7, 1939 Although I tend to be busy with work all day here, I have to feel anxious about the home front.Unnecessarily severe blackouts and restrictions on entertainment, etc., have been implemented to an unreasonable degree in most parts of the country.You know my opinion on these matters. [1] But what about gasoline?Is the Navy not importing sufficient supplies?Is not the quantity of supplies being brought, or perhaps already arriving, by sea greater than would have been ordered had the peace not been broken?I have heard that many people and a large number of businesses in the country are hindered by this restriction.The most appropriate way to solve this problem is, of course, to implement rationing at standard prices and to allow free purchases with heavy taxes.In this way, the people will pay for transportation, the country will benefit from taxation, more vehicles will increase registration fees, and business across the country can also develop.

Now consider the various rationing schemes planned by the Food Department to win the war.Of course rationing is necessary anyway, but I have heard that in terms of meat rationing, the situation is not much better than in Germany.Is there any need for such an approach now that the sea routes have been opened? If we were to suffer a serious setback, by air or sea attack, it might be necessary to resort to such drastic measures.So far, however, there has been no reason why the Navy has failed, or will fail, in taking charge of importing supplies. Besides, what on earth do we do with all these middle-aged people listed below?Among them, many who served in the last war, full of energy and experience, are now telling tens of thousands of them that we don't need them any more. There is no other way out than registered.The present approach is, of course, foolish.Why don't we form the National Guard with half a million people over forty years of age (if they will take part voluntarily), and make all our elderly great men their leaders, and join this new organizational structure?Let these 500,000 people come out and encourage young and promising elements to leave their homes and go to the national disaster together.If uniforms are lacking, a armband will do, and I venture to assert that we have ample rifles anyway, and from your last conversation with me I take it that you approve of the idea.If so, let's implement it.

From all sides I heard complaints about the lack of organization on the home front.Can we try to remedy it? Whilst we were dealing with all these urgent business, something happened which touched the Admiralty where it was sore. I have mentioned that on October 17, 1914, the British Grand Fleet was hurriedly put out to sea due to an alert about a German submarine entering Scapa Flow.That alarm, turned out to be a false alarm.Now, exactly a quarter of a century later, on almost the exact same day, the alarm has become reality.At half past midnight on October 14, 1939, a German submarine broke through our defenses and sank the Royal Oak, which was moored in the bay.Initially, only one of the torpedoes in a salvo hit the bow, causing a muffled explosion.The admiral and captain of the ship believed that they were very safe anchored in Scapa Flow, and could not believe that their warship had been hit by a torpedo. Therefore, they believed that the sound of the explosion was due to something wrong with the warship itself.Twenty minutes later, it was indeed the submarine that reloaded its tubes and fired a second batch of torpedoes.As a result, three or four torpedoes hit the warship in rapid succession, blasting the bottom of the ship.Within ten minutes, the ship capsized and sank.Most of the personnel on the ship were in combat positions, but because the hull capsized so quickly, almost none of the personnel in the cabin could escape.

According to the records made by the Germans on the matter at that time, it can now be transcribed as follows. At 1:30 midnight on October 14, 1939, the British warship Royal Oak moored in Scapa Flow was torpedoed and sunk by submarine No. 47 (Captain Prien).This operation was carefully planned by the submarine commander, Admiral Dönitz himself.Prien passed the Kiel Canal on 8 October in clear weather, heading north-northwest towards Scapa Flow.At four o'clock in the morning on October 13, the submarine stopped off the Orkney Islands.At seven o'clock in the afternoon, rising to the surface of the sea, there was a fresh breeze blowing on the sea, and no target was found; in the half-dark night, the coastline in the distance was faintly visible; the narrow streamer of the northern lights flashed blue light , across the night sky.The submarine headed west.It quietly approached the Strait of Holm, the eastern entrance to Scapa Flow.Unfortunately, the channel of the gorge was not completely blocked.A narrow passage was left between the two sunken ships.Prien sailed through the churning and swirling water with great skill.The coast is near. Now a person can be seen on the shore, riding a bicycle along the shore road home. Suddenly the whole bay suddenly opened up.Kirk Strait has passed.They have entered the bay.On the north shore the shadow of a ship of the line could be seen reflected in the water, its huge masts raised like ornaments on black cloth.Approaching it, and a little closer all the torpedo tubes at the ready. No alarm, no sound of any kind but the slight lapping of the waves, the hissing of air pressure and the screeching of the launch tube levers.Launch the torpedo!Five seconds ten seconds twenty seconds.Then there was an earth-shattering explosion, stirring up a huge column of water in the darkness.Prien waited a few minutes before launching a second time.The launch tube is ready.emission!The torpedo hit the midship of the ship, causing a rumbling explosion.The British warship HMS Royal Oak sank along with 786 officers and men, including Rear Admiral Bligrove (commander of the Second Combat Fleet).Submarine No. 47 quietly retreated from the gap.Twenty-four hours later, an interceptor ship arrived. This episode, which should be regarded as a glorious achievement for the German submarine commander, has shaken British public opinion.This might well have been a fatal blow politically to any minister in charge of pre-war garrison.As a newcomer, I was immune to such accusations for the first few months, and the opposition did not capitalize on this unfortunate incident.On the contrary, Mr. A. V. Alexander [1] maintains a restrained and sympathetic attitude.I promise to make the strictest investigation. [1] Representative of the Labor Party.translator This time, the Prime Minister also made a report to the House of Commons regarding the German air raid on the Firth of Forth on October 16.This was the first attempt by the Germans to strike our fleet with air power.About a dozen German planes, two or three in batches, came to attack our cruisers parked in Forth Bay.The cruisers Southampton and Edinburgh and the destroyer Mohawk suffered minor damage. Twenty-five officers and sailors were killed or wounded; but four enemy bombers were shot down, three by fighter squadrons and one by anti-aircraft guns.Perhaps only half of the bombers made it back to Germany safely.This is an effective way to discourage them from trying again. The next day, on the morning of the 17th, enemy planes attacked Scapa Flow again.The Duke of Iron, an old warship that had been disarmed and stripped of its armor and used only as a mothership, was wounded by a bomb exploding nearby.It stranded on the bottom of the shallow sea and continued to do its work throughout the war.This time another enemy plane was shot down and burned.Fortunately the home fleet was out of the bay at the time.These events show how much it is necessary to improve the defenses of Scapa Flow against all kinds of attacks if it is to be used again.About six months passed before we could enjoy the principal conveniences of the bay. The attack on Scapa Flow and the sinking of the Royal Oak provoked an immediate Admiralty response.On the 31st of October I went to Scapa Flow, accompanied by the First Sea Lord, and held a second meeting on board Admiral Forbes' flagship to discuss these matters.With regard to the defense of Scapa Flow, the defensive measures we now agree on include the strengthening of booms and the addition of additional barricades in the undefended Eastern Channel, as well as the establishment of controlled minefields and other facilities.In addition to these powerful obstacle fortifications, patrol boats must be added, and artillery positions sufficient to control the entrances of various places must be set up.In order to defend against aerial attack, it is planned to install eighty-eight heavy and forty light anti-aircraft guns, plus many searchlights, and to increase the defensive balloon net.In addition, on land, the Orkney Islands and Wake form a strong fighter defense force.We hope that by March, 1940, all these deployments will be complete, or at least that enough progress will be made to enable the fleet to return to its old ground.During this period, Scapa Flow can be used as a refueling base for destroyers, but for the placement of heavy ships, another place needs to be found. Regarding the possible alternative bases, the reasons given by different parties are different, and the opinions of experts are also inconsistent.The opinion of the Admiralty was in favor of the Firth of Clyde, but Admiral Forbes dissented, on the grounds that, if this site were adopted, the fleet would add a day's voyage to and from its main theater of operations.This, in turn, necessitates an increase in the strength of the destroyer fleet, and will necessitate the division of heavy ships into two squadrons in their operations.Another alternative base is Rosyth, which was our main base during the latter part of the last war.Geographically, it is more convenient, but it is more vulnerable to air attack.The final decisions of this meeting were summarized in an abridgement which I drew up after my return to London. My relationship with Mr. Chamberlain grew closer, and on Friday, November 13th, he and his wife dined with us at the Admiralty House.On the top floor of the building, my husband and I had a comfortable room.Today we are a table of four. Although Mr. Chamberlain and I had worked together for five years in Mr. Baldwin's cabinet, my wife and I had never had such intercourse with Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlain before that. I happened to turn the subject on to his past life in the Bahamas, and I was delighted to find that my guest was plunged deeper into his personal memories than I had ever seen before.He told me the history of his six-year struggle to grow sisal on a deserted West Indian island near Nassau.For this story, I only knew the simplest outline.His father, the great Joseph Chamberlain, was firmly convinced that this was an opportunity to develop a new industry for the Empire and at the same time increase the family's fortune.His father and his brother Austin Chamberlain summoned him from Birmingham to Canada in 1890, and they worked on the planting plan for a long time.In the Gulf of the Caribbean, about forty miles from Nassau, there is a small deserted island. The island is rarely inhabited, but the soil is said to be suitable for growing sisal.After a detailed survey by his two sons, Mr. Joseph Chamberlain bought a piece of land in the Andros Islands and invested the funds necessary to develop it.Everything is ready, just waiting to plant sisal.Austin was determined to devote himself to a political career in the House of Commons, and so the difficult job fell on the shoulders of Mr. Neville Chamberlain. He accepted the job not only because of his filial piety, but also with faith and eagerness to try.For the next five years, he spent his life on this deserted island, trying to grow sisal.The desert island is often attacked by big storms. He lives an almost primitive life. At the same time, he must constantly struggle with the difficulties caused by the lack of labor and other obstacles. Only Nassau City is the only symbol of civilization.He told us that he was adamant about taking three months of vacation in England every year.He built a small harbor and barges, and a short stretch of railway or tramway. He used all the methods of fertilizing that were thought to be suitable for the soil; he generally lived in the open air in a completely primitive manner.But the sisal did not grow!Or at least there is no sisal available for the market.After five years he was convinced that the plan had no hope of success.He went home to meet his austere father, who was by no means satisfied with the outcome.As far as I know, his family felt that, though they loved him, they were also distressed at the loss of fifty thousand pounds. Chamberlain's eloquent, ecstatic expression, and the heroic effort the story itself represented, fascinated me.I couldn't help thinking: It's a pity that Hitler didn't know that the person he was talking to was actually a man who had been in the A tenacious figure who pioneered the wilderness in the far reaches of the British Empire.I have worked with Neville Chamberlain for about twenty years, but this intimate social conversation is really the only one, as far as I can remember. While we were at dinner, the fighting was still going on, and events were still happening. While drinking soup, an officer ran up from the war room below to report that a German submarine had been sunk.While eating dessert, he came up again to report that we had sunk a second U-boat; and when the ladies were leaving the dining room, he came up a third time to report that we had sunk a third U-boat.Three consecutive victories in one day have never been done before, and it took more than a year to have the same record again.When the ladies were about to leave us, Mrs. Chamberlain looked at me innocently and beautifully and said: Did you arrange this on purpose?I assured her that if she came again next time we would have the same result. 【１】 【1】According to post-war analysis, it is a pity that this hopeful report has not been confirmed. Our long and weak blockade north of the Orkney Islands was built largely of converted merchant ships and cruisers, sometimes with auxiliary battleships.Such a blockade would of course be vulnerable to a surprise attack by German capital ships, especially the two fastest and most powerful German battlecruisers, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.We can't prevent the enemy from carrying out such an attack. We hope to attract the enemy ships that specialize in sneak attacks to a decisive battle. On the evening of November 23, the merchant cruiser Rawalpindi, patrolling between Iceland and the Faroe Islands, spotted an enemy ship and was rapidly approaching it.It believed the unknown enemy ship to be the pocket battleship Deutschland, and reported accordingly.Its commander, Captain Kennedy, had no illusions about the outcome of such an encounter.His warship was originally converted from an ocean liner, with only four old six-inch guns on the side, while his imaginary enemy, in addition to a set of powerful auxiliary armament, was equipped with six eleven-inch cannons, but he Accepting this disparity in strength and weakness, he decided to use his warships to fight to the end.The enemy ship fired first at a distance of 10,000 yards, and the Rawalpindi immediately counterattacked.This kind of one-sided battle cannot last long, but the battle continued until the Rawalpindi's cannons were all destroyed, and the hull became a blazing fire.The whole ship sank shortly after dark, and the captain and 270 brave officers and soldiers died with the ship.Only thirty-eight survived, twenty-seven of whom were captured by the Germans, and the remaining eleven floated in the icy water for thirty-six hours before being rescued by another British ship. In fact, the opponent in the battle was not the Deutschland, but the two battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.These two warships, leaving Germany two days before, intended to attack our Atlantic convoy, but encountered and sank the Rawalpindi during their voyage.Fearful of being exposed, they abandoned their other missions and returned immediately to Germany.Therefore, the heroic battle of the Rawalpindi was not in vain.The cruiser Newcastle, patrolling nearby, saw the flash of gunfire and immediately responded to the first report from the Rawalpindi. When it and the cruiser Derry arrived at the battle site, the Rawalpindi was still burning and had not yet sunk.It pursued the enemy closely, and at 6:15 in the afternoon, it spotted two enemy ships in the twilight and torrential rain.It recognized one of them as a battlecruiser, but lost contact in the gloom of night, and the enemy ship finally escaped unscathed. At this time, the dominant idea of ​​the relevant parties was to draw these two important German warships out for a decisive battle.The Admiral-in-Chief of the Navy immediately sent his entire fleet to sea.When they were finally spotted, the enemy ships were retreating to the east, so we quickly formed a powerful fleet, including submarines, and prepared to intercept them in the North Sea.However, we cannot ignore another possibility, that is, after the enemy escapes our pursuit, he may turn back again, sail westward, and enter the Atlantic Ocean.We fear for our merchant fleet, and the situation compels us to use all available strength.In order to watch the various outlets of the North Sea, we formed a sea and air patrol, and a group of powerful cruisers extended this vigilance to the Norwegian coast. Go to the Denmark Strait to search, and after failing to find any traces, continue to go around the north of Iceland and join the surveillance ships in the North Sea.The Hood, the French battlecruiser Dunkirk, and two other French cruisers were ordered to sail to the Icelandic waters, while the Repulse and the Fury also set off from the port of Halifax to the same destination.On the 25th, a total of 14 British cruisers, accompanied by destroyers and submarines, and under the escort of battleships, carefully searched the surface of the North Sea.But bad luck, nothing was found, and there was no sign of enemy ships moving west.Although the weather is very cold, this kind of hard search lasted for seven days. On the fifth day, while we were anxiously waiting in the Admiralty, still hoping that we would be able to capture these glorious trophies, our radio direction-finding station heard the sound of a German U-boat.From this fact we concluded that one of our warships in the North Sea was attacked by the enemy.A short time later German radio reported that Captain Prien, who had previously sunk the Royal Oak, had sunk a cruiser with eight-inch guns east of the Shetlands.I was with Admiral Pound when the news came.British public opinion is very sensitive to the sinking of a British ship; the sinking of the Rawalpindi after a heroic fight and the resulting heavy loss of life must continue to have serious repercussions against the Admiralty if it continues to go unreported .One might ask: Such a weak warship, why not give it strong support and let it be exposed?Could it be that the German cruisers were able to move arbitrarily, and even broke into the blockade area defended by our main fleet?Did the attacking enemy ship escape unharmed? We immediately sent a cable inquiry to explain the mystery.An hour later, we reunited, but still no reply.At this time we are really on pins and needles.I recall this incident because it expresses the strong sense of camaraderie between me and Admiral Pound, and between us and Admiral Tom Phillips, who was also present.Based on my sense of responsibility, I say: I take full responsibility.Pound said: No, it is my responsibility.We were very troubled and shook hands tightly with each other.Though both of us had been hardened in the war to harden our hearts, we could not suffer such blows without feeling the most unbearable pain. But it turns out it wasn't anyone's fault.Eight hours later, it turned out that the warship attacked was HMS Norfolk, and that she was undamaged.It did not encounter any submarines, except that the enemy plane dropped a bomb near the stern.Captain Prien, however, was not one to exaggerate.What the Norfolk thought was a bomb dropped from a clouded sky was actually a German torpedo that missed its target and exploded aft of the ship.Peering through the periscope, Prien saw the waves rising, but they obscured the ships ahead.In order to avoid the expected shelling, he immediately dived to the bottom of the sea.Half an hour later, when he floated up the submarine for a second lookout, his vision was not very clear, and there was no sign of the cruiser anymore.So he made the above report.We were greatly relieved by this news, and somewhat less disappointed by the news that Scharnhorst and Gneisenau had safely returned to the Baltic.We now know that the two German warships crossed the blockade of our cruisers patrolling near the Norwegian coast on the morning of November 26.At that time, due to the heavy fog, neither side could find each other.If there were modern radars, contact would certainly be possible, but such radars did not exist then.The general impression was rather unfavorable to the Navy.The fact that the seas are very vast, or that the Navy is making very large efforts in many areas, all of these situations, we cannot make outsiders understand.After more than two months of war and some serious losses, we have nothing to show for it on the other hand, and we still cannot answer the question: What is the navy doing?