Paukenschlag First Kill - WDS Wolfpack
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| Rating: | 0 (0) |
| Games Played: | 0 |
| SM: | 1 |
| Turns: | 1 |
| Type: | Stock |
| First Side: | Allied (NC_WP) |
| Second Side: | German (NC_WP) |
Paukenschlag!
Somewhat to the surprise of Admiral Doenitz and the German Naval Command, Adolf Hitler declared war upon the United States of America shortly after Japan's attack at Pearl Harbor. Similar to 1939, the U-boat arm was unprepared to begin offensive operations in this new theater. But Adm. Doenitz realized that this area was ripe for exploitation.
Doenitz quickly prepared to send boats to the Eastern seaboard of the USA. Due to the range and the lack of refueling ships in the North Atlantic (all had been destroyed or chased back into ports), only the long-range Type IX boats could spend any length of time on station. So Doenitz readied plans to deploy six Type IXs to begin offensive operations as soon as possible.
By the end of December, 1941, five boats were on their way as Operation Paukenschlag (Roll-of-the-drum) to execute anti-commerce attacks in the new areas along the North American eastern coastline from Cape Hatteras in the south to Nova Scotia in the north. As the boats transited the North Atlantic, Doenitz signaled that surprise attacks were to commence on a given day, January 13, 1942. These attacks proved devastatingly effective and commenced what the U-boat men came to call, "The Second Happy Time."
Why? Because the US failed to learn from either the experience of World War I or the experience of their Allies in the current struggle. More precisely, the US was completely unprepared to initiate a convoy system and had insufficient numbers of escort vessels. In view of this, the Naval command made the decision that a poorly escorted convoy ran greater risks than ships running independently. It was a costly error which plagued the US through the summer of 1942 leading to horrific losses of merchant vessels - especially in the waters off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
This scenario portrays the first kill of Operation Paukenschlag on January 12, 1942. Kplt Hardegan of U-123 came upon a hapless steamer approximately 150 miles SE of Nova Scotia. The steamer Cyclops would be the first casualty of this bloody new campaign in American waters. Note that the visibility range is greater than should be . . . this is because the ships in American waters were still steaming with running lights lit!
Somewhat to the surprise of Admiral Doenitz and the German Naval Command, Adolf Hitler declared war upon the United States of America shortly after Japan's attack at Pearl Harbor. Similar to 1939, the U-boat arm was unprepared to begin offensive operations in this new theater. But Adm. Doenitz realized that this area was ripe for exploitation.
Doenitz quickly prepared to send boats to the Eastern seaboard of the USA. Due to the range and the lack of refueling ships in the North Atlantic (all had been destroyed or chased back into ports), only the long-range Type IX boats could spend any length of time on station. So Doenitz readied plans to deploy six Type IXs to begin offensive operations as soon as possible.
By the end of December, 1941, five boats were on their way as Operation Paukenschlag (Roll-of-the-drum) to execute anti-commerce attacks in the new areas along the North American eastern coastline from Cape Hatteras in the south to Nova Scotia in the north. As the boats transited the North Atlantic, Doenitz signaled that surprise attacks were to commence on a given day, January 13, 1942. These attacks proved devastatingly effective and commenced what the U-boat men came to call, "The Second Happy Time."
Why? Because the US failed to learn from either the experience of World War I or the experience of their Allies in the current struggle. More precisely, the US was completely unprepared to initiate a convoy system and had insufficient numbers of escort vessels. In view of this, the Naval command made the decision that a poorly escorted convoy ran greater risks than ships running independently. It was a costly error which plagued the US through the summer of 1942 leading to horrific losses of merchant vessels - especially in the waters off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
This scenario portrays the first kill of Operation Paukenschlag on January 12, 1942. Kplt Hardegan of U-123 came upon a hapless steamer approximately 150 miles SE of Nova Scotia. The steamer Cyclops would be the first casualty of this bloody new campaign in American waters. Note that the visibility range is greater than should be . . . this is because the ships in American waters were still steaming with running lights lit!
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