La Belgique

tat501 · 03-11-14, 02:45 PM

These things happen. Technically you are in the wrong and you could expect a court martial - but historically the Kriegsmarine didn't like putting their own captains on trial for only doing their jobs. Exclusion zones were set up - and later in the war neutral nations (like America) were warned not to sail into certain areas - and that their safety could not be guaranteed if they did so. Legally - this isn't really enough to comply with the Geneva conventions and other rules of war - but that was what they had to go by - and U-boat commanders were told to sink darkened ships within the exlusion zone - or those zig-zagging for example.

What were the weather conditions/visibility? You should argue they were carrying contraband to an enemy power and were within the exclusion zone - and in poor weather you thought their flag to be that of an enemy nation!

sir_drinkalot · 03-11-14, 04:17 PM

As I mentioned in another topic: there was a case in which a German u-boat sunk an American destroyer or something of the sorts, before the US joined the war. As tat501, they were warned that such things could happen.

A lone merchant, carrying goods for the enemy is not such a big deal. Worse things have happened during the war. For example, the sinking of the Athenia (correct me if I got the name wrong). A civilian passenger ship got sunk by a u-boat. The captain thought it was carrying troops. And because the Kriegsmarine didn't like putting their own captains on trial, as tat501 said, they falsified reports and logs to cover it all up.

03-11-14, 02:45 PM	#1
tat501 Helmsman Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: London Posts: 108 Downloads: 275 Uploads: 0	These things happen. Technically you are in the wrong and you could expect a court martial - but historically the Kriegsmarine didn't like putting their own captains on trial for only doing their jobs. Exclusion zones were set up - and later in the war neutral nations (like America) were warned not to sail into certain areas - and that their safety could not be guaranteed if they did so. Legally - this isn't really enough to comply with the Geneva conventions and other rules of war - but that was what they had to go by - and U-boat commanders were told to sink darkened ships within the exlusion zone - or those zig-zagging for example. What were the weather conditions/visibility? You should argue they were carrying contraband to an enemy power and were within the exclusion zone - and in poor weather you thought their flag to be that of an enemy nation!

03-11-14, 04:17 PM	#2
sir_drinkalot Watch Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 15 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 0	As I mentioned in another topic: there was a case in which a German u-boat sunk an American destroyer or something of the sorts, before the US joined the war. As tat501, they were warned that such things could happen. A lone merchant, carrying goods for the enemy is not such a big deal. Worse things have happened during the war. For example, the sinking of the Athenia (correct me if I got the name wrong). A civilian passenger ship got sunk by a u-boat. The captain thought it was carrying troops. And because the Kriegsmarine didn't like putting their own captains on trial, as tat501 said, they falsified reports and logs to cover it all up.