Heart and Soul (Balz)

Brag · 05-07-08, 10:04 AM

14 Oktober 1939
Lt. Kalb writes:

On the warm night of 10 October, U-45 left its Wilhelmhaven slip with destination AN13 just west of the Fair Isle Passage. Enroute, we saw a Dutch merchant and experienced benign sailing conditions. Approaching Fair Isle, a stiff NW breeze kicked up lively seas. The sighting of a British destroyer forced us to dive and Balz cancelled choir practice. In the early afternoon we surfaced, but not for long. Another destroyer appeared.

At periscope depth we listened to three destroyers and a freighter. Pressing a headset against his ear Balz mumbled. "Ooh, you hoochie woochie, relative bearing steady at 003, ooh ah. You sweet shippie coming straight toward the great hero of the Kriegsmarine, oooh, I have a stiff present for you. This demonstrates the greatness of my calculations as to where we will find shipping."

A large freighter loomed out of the light haze and Balz positioned U-45 for a stern shot. Half an hour later, the great ship sunk after being struck by one torpedo. Balz was busy plotting the movements of the destroyers and another freighter. He tossed his pencil on the chart table. "Bastards, bastards, bastards. That ship is heading northeast, we'll never catch it submerged." After banging the table with his fist, he said. "This is a moment that requires the great Balz panache. Auftauchen. New heading 075. "

I gulped. We would be in sight of at least two destroyers once we surfaced.

The sun had already set when we manned the bridge. Astern, a destroyer headed south. Ahead, on a relative bearing of 330 and a distance of 4,000 meters, a large freighter steamed at about 6 knots. We couldn't see the other two destroyers.

The destroyer we had first spotted, vanished in the growing murk. We raced the freighter, got ahead of it, and dived. Apparently the British crew never saw us. After a four hundred meter run, a torpedo from tube one finished the merchant.

Balz read the message the Funker was about to send: U-45. AN1441, 2 ships sunk 21,000 BRT, remaining torpedoes 12. "This is junk. You write like a third class hack.."
"But this is standard, Herr Kaleun."
"Standard? Mediocre Kwatch! You are our communicator to the world. You must put your heart and soul into what you write--and don't forget to describe my greatness."

#

Our great commander held the floating leviathan in the periscope's crosshairs and ordered feur! The torpedo, a superior example of German engineering ran true and delivered a mortal wound. This was confirmed shortly after by the screeching of tortured Britsh metal and the wounded ship slipping below the hungry waves to find eternal peace in the arms of Poseidon. Then, our great commander, with panache . . .

Admiral Doenitz put down the message flimsy and asked Captain Eckelbach, "Are you sure this is not some sort of British provocation?"

"It's Balz, Herr Admiral. We must relieve him of his command and send him and his twirling sweepers to Warsaw."

msalama · 05-07-08, 12:38 PM

ROTFLMAO

Yah, Balz rocks

Balz's character, BTW, seems to be based on Commander Wolfgang Lüth, at least partly... correctamundo?

Brag · 05-07-08, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msalama

ROTFLMAO

Yah, Balz rocks

Balz's character, BTW, seems to be based on Commander Wolfgang Lüth, at least partly... correctamundo?

Sorry, not familiar with Luth.

U56 · 05-07-08, 04:21 PM

Bravo!!

Ever read Conan-Doyle's Brigadier Gerard stories? Gerard pales in comparison to Balz!!

Regards

Brag · 05-07-08, 07:13 PM

U56 and msalama!

You guys are tossing stuff for me to read. Great! Thank you.

msalama · 05-07-08, 11:34 PM

S! Brag. Here's a highly interesting lecture concerning leadership, etc. Lüth gave in 1943:

http://www.uboatarchive.net/LuethLecture.htm

Be warned, though, that he was a vehement Nazi, and the lecture thus makes for somewhat uncomfortable reading in places...

Brag · 05-08-08, 07:41 AM

Thanks, msalama!

An excellent presentation and very revealing as to life in a U-boat. I guess, some of Luth's character traits can be found in Balz. They are a basic requirement of any naval officer in wartime.

I try to make Balz reasonably credible to at least steal chuckles.

It also is a break for me as when I'm not writing Balz stories, I'm engaged in writing serious life drama. Or revising drafts over and over.

Jimbuna · 05-08-08, 07:47 AM

As a small sidenote.....Luth probably had the highest recorded number of 10.5cm shells carried on a U-boat (U-181) on a patrol (355).

Source: Clay Blair, 2nd volume, The Hunted.

Bosje · 05-08-08, 08:13 AM

/me takes his hat off to the great Balz and his bearded band of lethal entertainers

there should be a mod to enable picking up choir practise on the hydrophones

05-07-08, 10:04 AM	#1
Brag Navy Seal Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Docked on a Russian pond Posts: 7,072 Downloads: 2 Uploads: 0	Heart and Soul (Balz) 14 Oktober 1939 Lt. Kalb writes: On the warm night of 10 October, U-45 left its Wilhelmhaven slip with destination AN13 just west of the Fair Isle Passage. Enroute, we saw a Dutch merchant and experienced benign sailing conditions. Approaching Fair Isle, a stiff NW breeze kicked up lively seas. The sighting of a British destroyer forced us to dive and Balz cancelled choir practice. In the early afternoon we surfaced, but not for long. Another destroyer appeared. At periscope depth we listened to three destroyers and a freighter. Pressing a headset against his ear Balz mumbled. "Ooh, you hoochie woochie, relative bearing steady at 003, ooh ah. You sweet shippie coming straight toward the great hero of the Kriegsmarine, oooh, I have a stiff present for you. This demonstrates the greatness of my calculations as to where we will find shipping." A large freighter loomed out of the light haze and Balz positioned U-45 for a stern shot. Half an hour later, the great ship sunk after being struck by one torpedo. Balz was busy plotting the movements of the destroyers and another freighter. He tossed his pencil on the chart table. "Bastards, bastards, bastards. That ship is heading northeast, we'll never catch it submerged." After banging the table with his fist, he said. "This is a moment that requires the great Balz panache. Auftauchen. New heading 075. " I gulped. We would be in sight of at least two destroyers once we surfaced. The sun had already set when we manned the bridge. Astern, a destroyer headed south. Ahead, on a relative bearing of 330 and a distance of 4,000 meters, a large freighter steamed at about 6 knots. We couldn't see the other two destroyers. The destroyer we had first spotted, vanished in the growing murk. We raced the freighter, got ahead of it, and dived. Apparently the British crew never saw us. After a four hundred meter run, a torpedo from tube one finished the merchant. Balz read the message the Funker was about to send: U-45. AN1441, 2 ships sunk 21,000 BRT, remaining torpedoes 12. "This is junk. You write like a third class hack.." "But this is standard, Herr Kaleun." "Standard? Mediocre Kwatch! You are our communicator to the world. You must put your heart and soul into what you write--and don't forget to describe my greatness." # Our great commander held the floating leviathan in the periscope's crosshairs and ordered feur! The torpedo, a superior example of German engineering ran true and delivered a mortal wound. This was confirmed shortly after by the screeching of tortured Britsh metal and the wounded ship slipping below the hungry waves to find eternal peace in the arms of Poseidon. Then, our great commander, with panache . . . Admiral Doenitz put down the message flimsy and asked Captain Eckelbach, "Are you sure this is not some sort of British provocation?" "It's Balz, Herr Admiral. We must relieve him of his command and send him and his twirling sweepers to Warsaw." __________________ Espionage, adventure, suspense, are just a click away Click here to look inside Brag's book: Amazon.com: Kingmaker: Alexey Braguine: Books Order Kingmaker here: http://www.subsim.com/store.html For Tactics visit:http://www.freewebs.com/kielman/

05-07-08, 07:13 PM	#5
Brag Navy Seal Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Docked on a Russian pond Posts: 7,072 Downloads: 2 Uploads: 0	U56 and msalama! You guys are tossing stuff for me to read. Great! Thank you. __________________ Espionage, adventure, suspense, are just a click away Click here to look inside Brag's book: Amazon.com: Kingmaker: Alexey Braguine: Books Order Kingmaker here: http://www.subsim.com/store.html For Tactics visit:http://www.freewebs.com/kielman/

05-08-08, 07:41 AM	#7
Brag Navy Seal Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Docked on a Russian pond Posts: 7,072 Downloads: 2 Uploads: 0	Thanks, msalama! An excellent presentation and very revealing as to life in a U-boat. I guess, some of Luth's character traits can be found in Balz. They are a basic requirement of any naval officer in wartime. I try to make Balz reasonably credible to at least steal chuckles. It also is a break for me as when I'm not writing Balz stories, I'm engaged in writing serious life drama. Or revising drafts over and over. __________________ Espionage, adventure, suspense, are just a click away Click here to look inside Brag's book: Amazon.com: Kingmaker: Alexey Braguine: Books Order Kingmaker here: http://www.subsim.com/store.html For Tactics visit:http://www.freewebs.com/kielman/

05-08-08, 07:47 AM	#8
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,476 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	As a small sidenote.....Luth probably had the highest recorded number of 10.5cm shells carried on a U-boat (U-181) on a patrol (355). Source: Clay Blair, 2nd volume, The Hunted. __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!

05-08-08, 08:13 AM	#9
Bosje Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 732 Downloads: 89 Uploads: 0	/me takes his hat off to the great Balz and his bearded band of lethal entertainers there should be a mod to enable picking up choir practise on the hydrophones __________________ And when an 800-ton Uboat has you by the tits... you listen!

05-07-08, 12:38 PM	#2
msalama Samurai Navy Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: In an octopus's garden Posts: 565 Downloads: 99 Uploads: 0	ROTFLMAO Yah, Balz rocks Balz's character, BTW, seems to be based on Commander Wolfgang Lüth, at least partly... correctamundo?

05-07-08, 04:21 PM	#4
U56 Helmsman Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Rockall Posts: 109 Downloads: 129 Uploads: 0	Bravo!! Ever read Conan-Doyle's Brigadier Gerard stories? Gerard pales in comparison to Balz!! Regards

05-07-08, 11:34 PM	#6
msalama Samurai Navy Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: In an octopus's garden Posts: 565 Downloads: 99 Uploads: 0	S! Brag. Here's a highly interesting lecture concerning leadership, etc. Lüth gave in 1943: http://www.uboatarchive.net/LuethLecture.htm Be warned, though, that he was a vehement Nazi, and the lecture thus makes for somewhat uncomfortable reading in places...