GoldenRivet
04-09-08, 03:49 AM
started a new full real DiD career... here is my new "character"
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Erich Steinhaus was born in Bremen on St. Valentine’s Day in 1914 to Horst and Elizabeth Steinhaus. His father, Horst, was a builder and a proud descendant of several generations of stone masons, his mother was a school teacher. Erich often assisted his father with the masonry and construction trade but escaped from the back breaking labor by listening to tales of adventure from his maternal grandfather, a retired merchant seaman. Erich listened to the stories intently and decided to learn everything he could about the sea and sailing. By age 13, Erich was a competent sailor and at 15 had taken a job as a hand aboard a river tug pushing various cargos, including trash, along the River Weser. By age 18, Erich had worked his way through the ranks to become a navigator and a helmsman on a tramp steamer operating routinely into English ports along the Eastern British Coast. However, Erich received little of the sense of adventure he had hoped for by making short hauls throughout the North Sea, and, as political tensions began to rise in Europe he turned his attention to the Kriegsmarine. Erich served as a welder and fire fighter aboard the Auxiliary Cruiser Kurmark, there he was promoted to the rank of Leutnant Z.s. in 1937 and briefly served as the Kurmark’s Navigator before being reassigned a training position for U-boat commander school. Initially, Erich was to take a posting with U47 to serve as the boats navigator, but with the looming possibility of war, and with his flotilla under pressure to provide experienced and capable U-boat commanders, Erich was given command of U-33. Much to his liking, his orders placed him in Wilhelmshaven where he could easily travel home to Bremen.
Erich is an aggressive commander who frequently returns to port with virtually no ammunition remaining aboard the boat. Using his pre-war knowledge of the trade routes and waters along the British East Coast he is able to lay waste to many merchants in the region. Despite his aggression however, Erich regards discretion as the better part of valor, and on longer voyages to the western approaches has been known to save fuel and ammunition, masking his ravenous aggression with a calm and patient demeanor, letting some targets go untouched in order to do the “maximum damage to the enemy where it counts the most”. He is often been referred to by his peers as the perfect mix between aggression and precaution, “He sinks his teeth into his target like a shark, knowing when and how to bite hardest, yet he also knows when to let his prey go altogether if need be”.
His combative qualities could only be rivaled by his humble nature and skilled leadership. Erich frequently recognizes the contribution each man aboard the U-boat makes in order to produce a successful attack. Though it has been said of leadership that “familiarity breeds contempt” Erich chooses to fraternize with his officers and enlisted men alike. He argues; “The better I know each man aboard the boat, the better suited I will be to appropriately channel their individual skills in order to assure success in battle.”
So far Erich Steinhaus has been able to do just that. His maiden patrol produced just slightly fewer than 60,000 tones, including a Nelson class battleship sailing with a merchant convoy as protection against commerce raiders. Many U-boat commanders may span an entire career and never even see a battleship, let alone attack and sink one.
Prein, Kretschmer, Topp, Balz, Wintergarten and Steinhaus are quickly becoming legendary names within the ranks of the Kriegsmarine U-boat arm.
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Erich Steinhaus was born in Bremen on St. Valentine’s Day in 1914 to Horst and Elizabeth Steinhaus. His father, Horst, was a builder and a proud descendant of several generations of stone masons, his mother was a school teacher. Erich often assisted his father with the masonry and construction trade but escaped from the back breaking labor by listening to tales of adventure from his maternal grandfather, a retired merchant seaman. Erich listened to the stories intently and decided to learn everything he could about the sea and sailing. By age 13, Erich was a competent sailor and at 15 had taken a job as a hand aboard a river tug pushing various cargos, including trash, along the River Weser. By age 18, Erich had worked his way through the ranks to become a navigator and a helmsman on a tramp steamer operating routinely into English ports along the Eastern British Coast. However, Erich received little of the sense of adventure he had hoped for by making short hauls throughout the North Sea, and, as political tensions began to rise in Europe he turned his attention to the Kriegsmarine. Erich served as a welder and fire fighter aboard the Auxiliary Cruiser Kurmark, there he was promoted to the rank of Leutnant Z.s. in 1937 and briefly served as the Kurmark’s Navigator before being reassigned a training position for U-boat commander school. Initially, Erich was to take a posting with U47 to serve as the boats navigator, but with the looming possibility of war, and with his flotilla under pressure to provide experienced and capable U-boat commanders, Erich was given command of U-33. Much to his liking, his orders placed him in Wilhelmshaven where he could easily travel home to Bremen.
Erich is an aggressive commander who frequently returns to port with virtually no ammunition remaining aboard the boat. Using his pre-war knowledge of the trade routes and waters along the British East Coast he is able to lay waste to many merchants in the region. Despite his aggression however, Erich regards discretion as the better part of valor, and on longer voyages to the western approaches has been known to save fuel and ammunition, masking his ravenous aggression with a calm and patient demeanor, letting some targets go untouched in order to do the “maximum damage to the enemy where it counts the most”. He is often been referred to by his peers as the perfect mix between aggression and precaution, “He sinks his teeth into his target like a shark, knowing when and how to bite hardest, yet he also knows when to let his prey go altogether if need be”.
His combative qualities could only be rivaled by his humble nature and skilled leadership. Erich frequently recognizes the contribution each man aboard the U-boat makes in order to produce a successful attack. Though it has been said of leadership that “familiarity breeds contempt” Erich chooses to fraternize with his officers and enlisted men alike. He argues; “The better I know each man aboard the boat, the better suited I will be to appropriately channel their individual skills in order to assure success in battle.”
So far Erich Steinhaus has been able to do just that. His maiden patrol produced just slightly fewer than 60,000 tones, including a Nelson class battleship sailing with a merchant convoy as protection against commerce raiders. Many U-boat commanders may span an entire career and never even see a battleship, let alone attack and sink one.
Prein, Kretschmer, Topp, Balz, Wintergarten and Steinhaus are quickly becoming legendary names within the ranks of the Kriegsmarine U-boat arm.