Quote:
Originally Posted by Sailor Steve
U-boats were ordered never to use the Channel, under any circumstances. This included pre-war patrols.
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Thats not 100% true, as it turns out in 1944 with the D-Day invasion looming the Bdu issued the most bizzare orders since trying to get U-Boats into the Med. A quote from the book
Iron Coffins "The group grew quiet. Kaptiaen Roesing patted his silvery hair, which seemed to interfere with his thinking. Not until he had caressed it into submission was he ready to speak. "Gentlemen, as you know, the Allied invasion is expected momentarily. You must be in the postion to sail at any hour. Because our Intelligence has been unable to discover the exact date and location of the landing, I only have general instructions for you. We shall be prepared to counter the blow wherever it falls. In Norway we have twenty-two boats on alert. The Biscay ports of Lorient, Saint Nazaire, La Pallice, and Bordeaux are staffed with another twenty-one boats. Most likely, however, the invasion fleet will simply cross the Channel and try to land some twenty to fifty miles from England. This is where you gentlemen step in. Headquarters' directive is short and precise: ATTACK AND SINK INVASION FLEET WITH THE FINAL OBJECTIVE OF DESTORYING ENEMY SHIPS BY RAMMING." Sorry about the caps at the end but thats the way it was in the book, but later in the book when the D-Day landings happen the U-Boat are sent from their ports on the French coast but many never return because the Allies had used the Normandy landings as a trap to destory as many U-Boats as possible.
11-22-12, 10:00 AM
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