SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - View Single Post - U-2 War Journal

Bosje · 05-14-09, 05:10 PM

well I was going to give it my best shot to write things down in the way which you have become accustomed to and which many of you seemed to like. life got in the way though. so here it is.

Two months ago I continued the patrol into the med, we sank two ships without bother from the escorting corvette and we received a contact report on a convoy. interception was expected and acquired just south of Sicily. We engaged at night, some torpedo hits were observed and we went down into the deep. As I was anticipating an exciting cat and mouse game which would no doubt give ample writing material I watched the depth gauge creep down. At around 120 meters the boat took a terrible blow and everything stopped. Nothing vital was destroyed and the crew soon got all the holes plugged but we had hit the ocean floor. Two hours of terrible struggle followed, trying to keep the depthcharges as far away as possible but in the end, I was not up to the task, 120 meters was not enough for me.

As the boat slowly filled up with water from endless leaks caused by both depthcharges and collisions with the ocean floor I realised what was happening: Freiherr Beckman was about to meet his maker.

Thus it ended, death by stupidity. I failed to check the depth before engaging the convoy and I paid a price. I would say the ultimate price except, as I said, life got in the way.

The next day, while I was contemplating fitting words to end the story, my brother in law (this is real life) lost his life in a tragic accident, leaving my sister a widow after having been married for only 8 months. both of them not even thirty years old.

Needless to say, things like computer games and related forum tales become instantly irrelevant and I haven't been around since. I always wanted to pick this up again and finish it in style but I just realised, after an evening of drinking and contemplation, that I can't be arsed.

And so this is where I regret to leave you all. Freiherr Beckman is dead but I fail to care all that much and thus this forum thread comes to a brutal and sloppy end.

Some parting words are in order though, for I wish to dedicate the tale to this amazing community. Special thanks go the the modding community for improving an already immersive game. GWX deserve a distinct appreciation because they made me physically sweat, swear and cheer as I commanded my boat throughout the war years. You people really are something special.

Those who followed this story, supplying me with positive comments, are the ones who kept it going by inspiring me to write the next chapter. I thank you all for your support.

It is easy and tempting to say: dedicated to those who lost their lives in the real thing but I feel I dont have any right to go there. You may disagree but this is all entertainment based on their suffering. My character died and I have the luxury to proceed on to the pub with my mates. I get my kicks from wargames but something happened to me during the events described in this journal. I felt increasing guilt when sinking ships, increasing pain when losing men. In short, it got personal.

This made the gaming experience that much more intense but it also made me realise, and the real life events since then have only made me realise this even more; young people losing their lives is something awful. war really does suck. badly.
It is this highly personal emotional lesson which I dedicate or even owe to those who lost their lives at sea.

All events described in the journal are pretty much exactly as they happened in-game, bar some errors which I probably made in the dates and names and worldly events. The conversations, crewmember character traits and other peripherals are obviously fictional but I hope I did a decent enough job with them. Sailing the boat, playing the parts of both Kaleuns and then writing about it has been a great experience overall but for now, I am thorougly done with it.

Again, thank you all and maybe, some day, we'll see another Journal as GWX meets SH4. For I still find myself drawn to this community.

Bosje

05-14-09, 05:10 PM	#112
Bosje Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 732 Downloads: 89 Uploads: 0	spoiled well I was going to give it my best shot to write things down in the way which you have become accustomed to and which many of you seemed to like. life got in the way though. so here it is. Two months ago I continued the patrol into the med, we sank two ships without bother from the escorting corvette and we received a contact report on a convoy. interception was expected and acquired just south of Sicily. We engaged at night, some torpedo hits were observed and we went down into the deep. As I was anticipating an exciting cat and mouse game which would no doubt give ample writing material I watched the depth gauge creep down. At around 120 meters the boat took a terrible blow and everything stopped. Nothing vital was destroyed and the crew soon got all the holes plugged but we had hit the ocean floor. Two hours of terrible struggle followed, trying to keep the depthcharges as far away as possible but in the end, I was not up to the task, 120 meters was not enough for me. As the boat slowly filled up with water from endless leaks caused by both depthcharges and collisions with the ocean floor I realised what was happening: Freiherr Beckman was about to meet his maker. Thus it ended, death by stupidity. I failed to check the depth before engaging the convoy and I paid a price. I would say the ultimate price except, as I said, life got in the way. The next day, while I was contemplating fitting words to end the story, my brother in law (this is real life) lost his life in a tragic accident, leaving my sister a widow after having been married for only 8 months. both of them not even thirty years old. Needless to say, things like computer games and related forum tales become instantly irrelevant and I haven't been around since. I always wanted to pick this up again and finish it in style but I just realised, after an evening of drinking and contemplation, that I can't be arsed. And so this is where I regret to leave you all. Freiherr Beckman is dead but I fail to care all that much and thus this forum thread comes to a brutal and sloppy end. Some parting words are in order though, for I wish to dedicate the tale to this amazing community. Special thanks go the the modding community for improving an already immersive game. GWX deserve a distinct appreciation because they made me physically sweat, swear and cheer as I commanded my boat throughout the war years. You people really are something special. Those who followed this story, supplying me with positive comments, are the ones who kept it going by inspiring me to write the next chapter. I thank you all for your support. It is easy and tempting to say: dedicated to those who lost their lives in the real thing but I feel I dont have any right to go there. You may disagree but this is all entertainment based on their suffering. My character died and I have the luxury to proceed on to the pub with my mates. I get my kicks from wargames but something happened to me during the events described in this journal. I felt increasing guilt when sinking ships, increasing pain when losing men. In short, it got personal. This made the gaming experience that much more intense but it also made me realise, and the real life events since then have only made me realise this even more; young people losing their lives is something awful. war really does suck. badly. It is this highly personal emotional lesson which I dedicate or even owe to those who lost their lives at sea. All events described in the journal are pretty much exactly as they happened in-game, bar some errors which I probably made in the dates and names and worldly events. The conversations, crewmember character traits and other peripherals are obviously fictional but I hope I did a decent enough job with them. Sailing the boat, playing the parts of both Kaleuns and then writing about it has been a great experience overall but for now, I am thorougly done with it. Again, thank you all and maybe, some day, we'll see another Journal as GWX meets SH4. For I still find myself drawn to this community. Bosje __________________ And when an 800-ton Uboat has you by the tits... you listen! Last edited by Bosje; 05-14-09 at 05:40 PM.