Submarine warfare during the First World War. Underwater trump card

The submarines of the First World War, which celebrated their 15th anniversary in 1914, did not in any way influence the course of hostilities or the outcome of the war. But this is the time of the birth and formation of the most powerful type of troops. Submarines would play a significant role in World War II, demonstrating the importance and power of the submarine fleet.

The origins of the submarine fleet

By the beginning of the First World War, they represented a new, unknown means of conducting military operations on water. They were treated in the navy and in the highest levels of military leadership with misunderstanding and mistrust. Service on submarines was considered very unprestigious among them. However, the first submarines in the First World War passed baptism of fire and deservedly took their place in the Navy of the countries participating in the conflict.

IN Russian Empire The first submarine "Dolphin" appeared in 1903. But the development of the submarine fleet went slowly, because due to the reluctance to understand its full importance, funding was insignificant. Lack of understanding of how to use submarines on the part of the main maritime specialists not only in Russia, but also in other European countries sea ​​powers ah, led to the fact that by the time hostilities began, submarines practically did not play a significant role.

Anticipating future applications

By the beginning of the fighting of the First World War, the use of submarines had its supporters, one might say, who fanatically believed in the future. In Germany, a lieutenant commander of the navy sent a memo to the command, in which he gave a calculation of the use of submarines against England. The Commander-in-Chief of the English Navy, Lord Fisher, submitted his memoranda to the government, in which he indicated that submarines, in violation of maritime laws, would be used against both military and commercial ships of the enemy.

However, it should be emphasized that most military experts imagined the use of submarines, due to their specifics, only as a coastal positional guard. They were predicted to play the role of minelayers in the construction of mobile ships. Their attack on enemy ships was presented in the form special occasion at the time of anchorage of the ship.

Russia was no exception. Thus, I. G. Bubnov, the leading Russian designer of submarines, assigned them the role of “typical mine cans” in the First World War. The Russian Navy by that time was one of the few that had already used submarines in the war between Russia and Japan. It should be noted that the Russian high command gravitated more towards huge multi-gun ships and frankly did not attach any importance to of great importance underwater vessels.

Russian submarine fleet at the beginning of the First World War

Submarines in Russia were in three fleets, total they consisted of 24 combat and three training boats. A brigade consisting of 11 submarines was based in the Baltic Sea, of which 8 were combat boats and 3 were training boats. The Black Sea Fleet had 4 submarines. The Pacific Fleet was represented by a detachment consisting of 14 submarines.

Russian submarines in the First World War were assigned the role of coast guard, and the main burden fell on the Baltic Brigade, since the main naval power Germany participated in the war as the opposing side of Russia. The most important naval actions against Russia were planned in the Baltic. the main objective- ensure the protection of the Russian capital and prevent a breakthrough of the German fleet, which at that time was considered one of the most powerful and equipped in the world.

Black Sea Fleet

Before Turkey entered the war against the Entente, the command of the Black Sea Fleet pursued a policy of passively awaiting an attack by the Turkish fleet. Practically nothing had changed at the beginning of Turkey’s entry into the war. Open connivance and betrayal on the part of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Ebengard, brought big damage Russian forces during an attack first by a Turkish squadron, then in a collision with two German cruisers Goeben and Breslau. It became clear that the “honorable” Admiral Ebonhard was, to put it mildly, unfit for his position. During his command, submarines were not even mentioned.

New Russian submarines of the First World War appeared in the Black Sea Fleet only in the autumn of 1915, at the same time the minelayer “Crab” began to operate. The use of submarines was initially of a single (positional) nature. Subsequently, they already used the maneuverable method - cruising a certain water area. This method has received significant development.

The first campaigns of Russian submarines on the Black Sea

By the end of the winter of 1916, the tactics of using submarines had changed significantly; they became the main weapon in the fight against enemy communications. Cruising trips lasted ten days. Two for transition and eight for searching for the enemy. During the voyage, the submarines covered up to 1,200 miles on the surface, and more than 150 miles under water. The main area where submarines were used was the southwest of the maritime theater.

She especially distinguished herself in the First world war the submarine "Tyulen" under the command of Lieutenant Kititsyn, which met near the Bosphorus Strait the armed steamer "Rodosto", with a displacement of 6 thousand tons and equipped with two 88-mm and two 57-mm guns, under the command of a German commander and a mixed German-Turkish crew .

The "Seal", being on the surface due to a breakdown, entered the battle at a distance of 8 cables, and inflicted more than 10 hits on the steamer. The ship's crew raised a white flag and, under the escort of a submarine, were transported to Sevastopol. During the fighting, the Tyulen damaged or captured 20 enemy ships. In the Black Sea, for the first time, Russian submarines from the First World War began to go on cruises together with destroyers, which gave more significant results.

Disadvantages of using submarines

First of all, this is a short time spent under water, during which the boat could travel only 150 miles. The breakers during the dive made the boat vulnerable, and the trail from the fired torpedo gave away the attack and gave the enemy ship time to maneuver. A big difficulty was the control of submarines. They were equipped with radios whose range was limited to 100 miles. Therefore, it was impossible for the command to control them at a greater distance.

But in 1916, a solution was found, which consisted in the use of “rehearsal” ships, most of them were destroyers. They received the radio signal and transmitted it further. At that time, this was a way out of the current situation, which allowed the submarines to keep in touch with the command.

Russian submarines in the Baltic

The main center of naval operations unfolded in the Baltic Sea. The initial goal of the German fleet was to break into the Gulf of Finland, where they would defeat Russian ships and strike Petrograd from the sea. At the very beginning, the cruisers Magdeburg and Augsburg, which were accompanied by destroyers and submarines, attempted to break into the Gulf of Finland. But they failed to do this. For defense, the Russians created a mine and artillery position, which stretched between the Porkalla-Udd peninsula and the island of Nargen. The task of the submarines was to serve in front of the position in order to jointly fire with the cruisers.

The creation of mine and artillery positions was carried out before the start of the war. Since its inception, submarines have served at certain distances. Fighting in the Baltic were fundamentally different from the fighting in Black Sea coast. Most of the German ships were sunk or damaged by Russian mines. They were the ones who forced German command abandon attempts to break into the Gulf of Finland.

Russian legend

In May 1916, the Baltic Fleet received a new submarine, the Wolf. The First World War saw many examples of selfless courage and heroism of submarine sailors. But the crew of one of them became legendary. Legends were made up in the Baltic Fleet about the submarine "Wolf", commanded by Senior Lieutenant I. Messer, the son of Vice Admiral V.P. Messer.

I. Messer had many victories on his personal account before he took command of the Wolf. In 1915, as commander of the submarine Cayman, he and his crew captured the German steamer Stahleck in the Olandsgaf Strait. The submarine "Wolf" set up an ambush on 05/17/1916 in Norchepinskaya Bay, on the border with the Swedish territorial waters, where it sank three transport ships - “Hera”, “Kolga” and “Bianka”. Almost a month later, the military transport Dorita was sunk.

Features of the war in the Baltic

The German fleet was forced to fight on two fronts with England and Russia. The Gulf of Finland was reliably closed with mines. Great Britain had the most advanced fleet at that time, so all the main forces of Germany were diverted to it. She bought ore from neutral Sweden, so the war in the Baltic Sea was reduced mainly to the capture and sinking of German merchant ships carrying metal ore. The Russian command had a goal - to prevent the enemy from freely transporting raw materials. And it was achieved partly thanks to submarines.

German submarines

From the first moment of the war, the Entente, mainly the English fleet, began a siege of Germany. In response, Germany began to blockade Great Britain with submarines. By the way, during the war period the Germans launched 341 submarines, and 138 remained on the stocks. German submarines of the First World War were distinguished by their survivability and could go on cruises for up to 10 days.

It is worth mentioning separately about the submarine crews, who were particularly cruel. They never offered to surrender to the crews of transport ships and did not rescue crew members, but sank the ships in cold blood. For this, all ships of the British Navy were given an order, which ordered German submariners do not take prisoners.

German submarines of the First World War caused significant damage to England. In 1915 alone, the Entente countries lost 228 merchant ships. But they failed to defeat the English surface fleet; in addition, by 1918, Germany’s opponents had learned to fight submarines. During this year, 50 German submarines were sunk, which significantly exceeded the number launched from the stocks.

Submarine fleet of Austria-Hungary

The Austro-Hungarian submarines of the First World War could not have any influence on the course of naval combat clashes. Austria-Hungary had access to the small Adriatic Sea. But to maintain prestige long before the start submarine warfare, in 1906, purchased a submarine project from the American company S. Lake. By the beginning of the war, two submarines U-1 and U-2 had been built.

These were small-sized submarines with quiet running, a gasoline engine, ballast systems on a durable hull, and a steering wheel for controlling the boat on the surface was installed only after surfacing. They could hardly compete with any submarine of the countries participating in the war.

But it is worth noting that already in 1917, Austria-Hungary had 27 submarines that caused significant damage to the enemy, including to a greater extent Italians. The British also suffered from them. For an empire falling apart national reasons, this is a pretty good result.

The First World War radically changed attitudes towards submarines. It became clear that they were the future, when they would become a formidable force and be able to travel thousands of miles to strike the enemy.

In 2015, we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I. Unfortunately, this war has been forgotten.
By 1914, submarines represented a new means of warfare at sea. There was practically no practice of using them. All the warring countries could not adequately assess their significance at the beginning of the war.
The first combat submarine "Dolphin" appeared in the Russian Navy in 1903. Due to an incorrect assessment of the importance of Submarines, the allocation of money for their construction represented big problem. Many prominent naval specialists, such as Kolchak and Admiral N.O. Essen, were ardent opponents of the new cause. They revised their views during the 1st World War! Service on submarines was considered not prestigious, so few officers dreamed of serving on them.
By the beginning of World War 1, Russia had 8 combat and 3 training submarines, organized into a brigade in the Baltic Fleet, 4 submarines, organized into a separate division in the Black Sea Fleet and separate detachment of 12 submarines in the Pacific.
Baltic Fleet.
The Baltic Fleet was faced with the task of repelling the breakthrough of the German Fleet to Petrograd, preventing landings, and protecting the capital of the empire. To accomplish the task, a mine and artillery position was created between the island of Nargen and the Porkalla-Udd peninsula. The existing submarines were to be deployed in front of the mine and artillery position in order to deliver, together with the cruisers, weakening attacks on the ships of the German fleet.
The main forces of the Baltic Fleet, hiding behind a mine-artillery position, were supposed to prevent it from penetrating into eastern part Gulf of Finland.
Creating a mine and artillery position and deploying Fleet forces, at your own peril and risk (apparently taking into account the sad experience Russo-Japanese War), Admiral Essen began even before the mobilization and declaration of war.
With the outbreak of hostilities, submarines served in certain positions, ready to meet the enemy.
In August 1914, the submarine fleet of the Baltic Fleet was replenished with three submarines: N1, N2, and in September N3, manufactured by the Nevsky Plant. These newly built boats formed the Special Purpose Division.
After a month of waiting for the German fleet to appear, Russian command realized that for the Germans the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland are a secondary destination. The main forces of the German fleet are deployed against the British. In the Baltic german fleet demonstrative actions, using the fast cruisers Augsburg and Magdeburg, the Germans laid minefields, shelled ports, lighthouses and border posts and ensured the safety of maritime transport iron ore from Sweden to Germany.
After the German cruiser Magdeburg ran aground off the island of Odensholm on August 13, documents captured by Russian sailors made it possible to decipher German radiograms. Thus, the command was able to accurately determine the situation in the Baltic Sea.
As a result of these circumstances, the submarine positions were moved to the west.
On September 8, 1914, the first torpedo attack Russian submarine enemy ship. The Akula submarine, under the command of Lieutenant Gudima, attacked with one torpedo (although before the war, Russian submariners had already practiced firing three torpedoes, a prototype of fan firing), the escort destroyer German cruiser Amazon. Unfortunately, the trace of the torpedo was discovered and the destroyer managed to evade.

During the First World War, submarines began to be produced with a diesel engine for movement on the surface and an electric engine for movement under water. Even then they were extremely formidable weapons. The German submarine SM UB-110, which cost 3,714,000 marks, however, did not have time to show its power, having lived for only a couple of months.

SM UB-110 of the Type UB III class of coastal torpedo boats was built in the Hamburg docks of Blohm & Voss for the needs of the Kaiserlichmarine and launched on March 23, 1918. Four months later, on July 19, 1918, she was sunk by the British. H.M.S. ships Garry, HMS ML 49 and HMS ML 263. 23 crew were killed. The submarine was later taken ashore to be repaired at the Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson docks in Wallsend, but the project was not completed and she was sold as scrap.

Perhaps the most unique acquisition of the 20th century in terms of naval weapons steel submarines (submarines). Before they even appeared, they gave rise to a lot of fulfilled and unfulfilled hopes. It was believed that new combat weapons would revolutionize the war at sea, leveling the “old values” in the form of armadas battleships and armored (battle) cruisers; will nullify general battles as the main means of resolving military confrontation at sea. Now, more than 100 years later, it is interesting to evaluate to what extent such bold predictions were confirmed.

In fact, DPs were most effective in the fight against trafficking, where they achieved truly impressive results. From the standpoint of high strategy, this does not contradict the ideas about achieving the main goals in war. “Trade disruption” hits particularly hard on island, highly developed countries that are traditionally and heavily dependent on exports and imports; In addition, the very concept of “supremacy at sea,” which was considered the prerogative of great sea powers and great fleets, is discredited. First of all, we are talking about the confrontation between Germany and England and its allies in the world wars and about the United States against Japan. These largest and most instructive examples formed the basis for an extensive and in-depth analysis, search for patterns, up to the development of motivated views on the use of submarines in the future.

As for the capabilities of submarines against military fleets, their main forces, this section is covered in less detail and leaves many questions.

It is noteworthy that even today this is not some routine scholastic question. naval history or applied sections of the development of the combat use of torpedo weapons (BITO). It is relevant in determining the prospects for the construction and development of the fleet. Increased interest in it is aroused by the objectively existing national aspect of the problem. It is no secret that the Navy, especially in post-war period, had a clearly visible underwater orientation. And this despite the fact that both world wars ended with the official defeat of the idea of ​​submarine warfare. After the First World War - with the introduction of the convoy system and Asdikom, in the Second - the introduction of radar and aircraft. In general, following this logic, betting on submarines in the future seemed pointless. Nevertheless, we did it, just as the Germans did before us in World War II. Disputes about the legality of such a step and the actual appearance of the Navy in the years are still raging. cold war: How justified was such a step under the current conditions? The question is not simple, still awaiting its competent researcher.

The most “subtle” point in objective analysis, and therefore in the formation of a specific answer, is the lack of support from combat experience. Fortunately for humanity and inconvenient for specialists, there has been no opportunity to rely on one for 67 years. It's about about the axiom: only practice is the criterion of truth, in military affairs in any case. That is why the experience of the 1982 Falklands crisis between Great Britain and Argentina is considered so valuable and unique. But it only strengthens the confidence that, no matter how far submarines go in their development - right up to equipping them with nuclear power plants, space communications and navigation, advanced electronics and nuclear weapons, - they were not able to completely free themselves from the inherent burden of features and limitations of this type of force. The Falklands “underwater experience” turned out to be doubly interesting. This is the experience of combat operations against enemy surface ships (NS). However, we will stick to the chronology and start with the participation of submarines in world wars.

Submarines as a branch of the navy are just over 100 years old. The beginning of a wide combat use and their intensive development dates back to the period of the First World War. Overall this debut can be considered successful. About 600 submarines (372 of them were German submarines, but the Germans also lost the most - 178 submarines), then in service with the warring parties, sent to the bottom more than 55 large warships and hundreds of destroyers with a total displacement of more than 1 million tons and 19 million b.r.t. (gross register ton is a unit of volume equal to 2.83 cubic meters, not currently used) merchant tonnage. The Germans turned out to be the most numerous and productive, chalking up more than 5,860 sunk ships with a total displacement of 13.2 million b.p.t. trade tonnage. The blow mainly fell on English trade and was extremely effective.

The record of sunk tonnage will be repeated, but not surpassed, during the Second World War and, characteristically, much more big amount PL. But the personal record belonging to the German commander Arnaud de la Perriere is more than 440 thousand b.r.t. – not achieved by anyone. The best submariner of the Second World War, also German, Otto Kretschmer, will leave the arena with a score of 244 thousand b.r.t. and 44 sunk ships in the spring of 1941.

If we look at the effectiveness of submarines against the enemy navy, the successes are much more modest even where such actions were specifically planned. This is difficult to reconcile with the hopes and expectations from the first resounding successes of Otto Weddigen, who already in the first days of the war on the primitive U-9 sank three armored cruisers in just over an hour. Other high-profile achievements of German submariners in terms of defeating large enemy tanks are also known, but that will come later. In the meantime, “mobilization” of almost all available (about 20 units) submarines for combing North Sea, supposedly swarming with dreadnoughts, did not bring any results. Having learned about the operation in advance, the British removed all valuable oil and gas from the North Sea.

Participation of submarines in the Battle of Jutland, which was assigned big hopes- after all, by 1916, the submarines had already gradually managed to show themselves - they were generally discouraging. They didn't even find anyone there. The main forces of the fleets turned around and fought in the greatest naval battle in history without even being noticed. True, the death of the British Minister of War Field Marshal Lord Kitchener on the cruiser Hampshire, which was blown up by mines, is considered an indirect success of the submarine, but this is nothing more than a consoling “bonus”.

Strictly speaking, the goals in the fight against trade were also unachieved. The blockade of England, hastily declared by the German leadership at the beginning of the war, was not achieved, because it was not backed up by real forces. Then followed a series of bans due to the international scandal over the Lusitania, the accompanying declines in submarine warfare, and a return to the principle of prize law. The belated announcement of unlimited submarine warfare in 1917 did not help either: the enemy had time to prepare.

However, let’s return to unfulfilled hopes regarding the fight between submarines and NK. It should be noted that in the interwar period (1918-1939) there was no shortage of analysis, researchers and theories on this subject, more profound and interested than in Germany. If in all the variety of reasons and explanations we single out the main ones and discard the particular, biased and secondary ones, which, by the way, are widely used at the “school-cadet” level, the bottom line is that the actions of the German fleet in the First World War were based on the absence of a corresponding to its tasks and material strategy level.

For once, Germany, with a huge effort of all its strength, managed to build the world's second fleet. In combination with recognized the best army this gave rise to hopes of taking a dominant position in Europe, and not only in it. Moreover, such serious military preparations, according to the laws of strategy, are irreversible. But the military-political leadership and naval command of Germany did not have the appropriate strategic guidelines regarding the war at sea. This is recognized primarily by their own specialist researchers. Proceeding from the general to the specific, it is appropriate to extend this problem to the submarine fleet, then a very young branch of the force. This, apparently, is what we have to look for main reason failure to achieve goals in the war by the German submarine fleet.

One can also see in this quite profound general operational-strategic consequences. Let's not forget that the British Grand Fleet was almost a third stronger German Navy Open sea, and to enter into a general battle with such a balance of forces was, to say the least, reckless. Based on this, the idea of ​​the German naval command was to first weaken the Grand Fleet by luring the British into the sea with part of their forces and catching them there with superior forces, equalizing the forces for a future general battle. After Admiral Hugo von Pohl missed such a unique opportunity on December 14, 1914, hopes of equalizing forces centered primarily on the success of submarines. 200 of more than 5,000 transports were lost to mines (1.5 million tons) laid by submarines.

As for other reasons, it is customary to say: the Germans entered World War II with a strategy and a well-developed system for training and using submarine forces. Compared to the Second, the First World War, without exaggeration, was a battle of talented, daring and enterprising single submariners. This is understandable, the young branch of the force had few experienced specialists, submarines had limited numbers until the war performance characteristics. The fleet command itself lacked clear and distinct views on the use of submarines. Young submarine commanders with their modest captain-lieutenant stripes and sometimes valuable suggestions against the backdrop of the brilliant and venerable flagships and commanders of the ships of the High Seas Fleet, they were simply lost. Therefore, it is not surprising that the main decisions on the conduct of underwater warfare were made without taking into account and deep knowledge of the peculiarities of using submarines. Throughout the war, submarines for naval operators and high command so they remained a thing in itself.

The First World War was the first global conflict when your real strength showed submarines that over the years sank 30 times more transports and merchant ships than surface ships.

New weapons

On the eve of the First World War, opinions about the possible role of using submarines were very contradictory, and the creation of a submarine fleet was not given first place. Thus, in Germany on the eve of the war, only 28 submarines were built in the presence of 41 battleships.

Admiral Tirpitz pointed out that Germany, due to the configuration of the coast and the location of the ports, did not need submarines. It was assumed that the submarines would be used primarily for patrol and reconnaissance duties.

The disdain for submarines continued until September 22, 1914, when an event occurred that radically changed the understanding of the underwater threat. The German submarine U-9 sank three British armored cruisers - Abukir, Hog and Cressy. In total, the British lost 1,459 people as a result of the U-9 attack. dead, which is equivalent to losses in a major naval battle of that time.

Underestimating the underwater threat was costly and Baltic Fleet Russia, when on October 11, 1914, with its entire crew, the German submarine U-26 was sunk armored cruiser"Pallas". From this moment on, the accelerated construction of submarines begins.

During the First World War, 344 submarines were built in Germany alone, and Russian fleet increased from 28 to 52 submarines. At the same time, submarines from the First World War initially had very modest characteristics: the speed rarely exceeded 10 knots, and the diving range was 100-125 miles. True, by the end of the war, Germany began to build submarine cruisers with a displacement of up to 2000 tons and an endurance of up to 130 days.

The most productive submarine in military history In terms of the number of targets destroyed during the First World War, the German submarine U-35, operating in the Mediterranean Sea, became the leader. Unlike the North Sea, in the Mediterranean, German submarines could operate with almost impunity, destroying several dozen Entente transport and merchant ships in one campaign. U-35 alone, having completed 19 trips, sank 226 ships and damaged 10 ships. Moreover, the overwhelming number of victims of this German submarine were destroyed by prize law with artillery or explosive cartridges.

As part of the Russian fleet

During the First World War, submarines of the Baltic and Black Sea fleets sank or captured about 200 German and Turkish ships, and their own losses amounted to 12 submarines.

The main task of Russian submarines in the Black Sea was to disrupt enemy communications and prevent the delivery of strategic cargo to Istanbul. To destroy unguarded ships, boats used artillery and explosive cartridges, and to attack armed or escorted ships - torpedo weapons.

The submarine Tyulen became one of the most successful Russian submarines of the First World War in terms of the number of victories won. In 1915-1917, the Tyulen destroyed or captured 8 enemy steamships and 33 schooners.

After World War I, the fate of the boat, like many ships of the Russian fleet, was not easy. In 1920, during the Crimean evacuation of the White Army, the boat was taken to Tunisia. In 1924, an agreement was reached on the return of the boat to the USSR, but for a number of reasons the ship was not returned.

Included Black Sea Fleet During the First World War, the world's first underwater minelayer, the Crab, appeared. The ship could quietly lay mines on enemy communications, carrying a reserve of 60 mines and be used as a regular submarine (it had 1 torpedo tube).

The "Crab" entered service in 1915 and was actively used in combat operations in the Black Sea. Carried out a number of successful mine-layings, including near the Bosphorus. It is reliably known about the death of Turkish gunboat. In 1918, the minelayer was captured by interventionists and then scuttled in Sevastopol. It was raised in 1923, but was no longer put into operation.

An underestimated threat

During the war years of 1914-1918, submarines achieved significant success, primarily in the fight against transport and merchant shipping. While 217 transports were sunk by surface ships, submarines sank more than 6 thousand ships during the First World War.

About 5 thousand ships and vessels converted for special purposes were sent to fight German submarines; about 140 thousand mines were deployed in the North Sea alone. Oddly enough, the significant strength that submarines showed in the fight against communications during the First World War turned out to be underestimated in former countries Entente.

It was concluded that the presence of convoys makes submarine operations ineffective and the underwater threat is not so great. Therefore, the development of submarine forces and means of combating them in the interwar period was not given due attention, for which they had to pay very dearly during the Second World War.

Edwin Gray

German submarines in the First World War. 1914–1918

If a new weapon leads powerful empire on the brink of defeat, it’s always interesting to talk about it. In 1914, German submarines were just such a weapon. This book tells the story of the Kaiser's attempt to destroy British Empire, unleashing unlimited submarine warfare. The story begins with the first experiments with submarines, which began in Germany in the 19th century, and ends with revolutionary unrest and a military mutiny that led to the Kaiser's final defeat. In between these events there was a brutal military campaign that almost saw Britain surrender in April 1917. This book is a true story about people who are in the dark sea ​​depths fought to the death; about cruelty, piracy, murder. But at the same time it is a sincere tribute to courage, dedication and professional qualities people who proudly wore the insignia of the German U-boat fleet.

My attention was initially drawn to the human aspect of submarine warfare by a passage from William Guy Carr's book "At Random and by the Will of God": "The history of operations in the North Sea has been the history of men sealed in precarious tins, floundering in shallow waters, constantly in a state of war." with nature. But this is also a dramatic story of daring feats performed by the crews of the warring fleets. In this respect, the experience of German submariners is similar to our own.” The idea that the submariners of the warring parties experienced the same difficulties, the joy of victory and the bitterness of defeat, forced me to begin describing the actions of the German submarine fleet. This was a logical continuation of my previous book, dedicated to the operations of British submariners during the First World War, “The Damned Un-English Weapon.” And I tried very hard to maintain objectivity and impartiality.

After the war, the American writer and journalist Lowell Thomas visited Germany, where he talked with many former captains German submarines. He reflected his impressions in the book “Raiders of the Depth” published in 1929. His kind permission to use his notes allowed me to provide my book with the recollections of people who personally took part in naval battles. This created a necessary balance in my storytelling that I otherwise would not have been able to achieve.

I express my sincere gratitude writers and historians who have done a great job of collecting and systematizing materials relating to submarine warfare, as well as everyone who kindly made the results of their research available to me.

Any person who has the courage to dive into the depths of the sea in a submarine, in my opinion, is already a hero. And although among the German captains there were, in the words of Lloyd George, “pirates and murderers,” most of them were ordinary decent people forced to do unpleasant work. It is to such people that this book is dedicated.

Edwin Gray

GERMAN SUBMARINES IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR

1914–1918

“...kick your enemy in the stomach and keep hitting him as he falls; throw the prisoners into boiling oil; if you take them, torture the women and children. Then people will be afraid of you..."

From the speech of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher at the Hague Peace Conference in 1899

THE ESSENCE OF WAR IS VIOLENCE

“2.20. Directly ahead of us I saw the four chimneys and masts of a passenger steamer, sailing at right angles to our course from the south-west towards Gully Head...”

It was midday on May 7, 1915. Lieutenant Commander Walter Schwieger made an entry in the ship's log "U-20". At that moment, he did not think that very soon he would commit an act for which the whole world would hate him. He signed the journal, took a quick glance at the map laid out on the table, and reached for the periscope to take a closer look at his intended victim.

U-20 was returning to Germany after a marauding campaign along the coast of Ireland. All night and the first half of the day, a thick fog spread over the sea, the fuel in the fuel tanks was running out, and only two torpedoes remained in the pipes. Schwieger decided it was time to go home. He ordered the navigator to set a return course to Wilhelmshaven, after which he settled comfortably in a battered leather chair and opened a book.

The trip was boring and unsuccessful. He sank a sailing ship and two steamships near Waterford, but these were child's play compared to outstanding achievements Hersing, Weddigen, Valentiner and other aces of submarine warfare. And Walter Schwieger was an ambitious man. A thirty-three-year-old bachelor from a respectable Berlin family, he came to submarine fleet even before the start of the war. Tall and broad-shouldered, fair-haired and blue-eyed, with his whole being, with every cell of his body, he was an officer of the Imperial German navy: always calm, polite, cold. As one of his colleagues noted, “he always knew exactly where is he going, and he didn't care about anyone who tried to stop him."

The morning of May 7 has already brought one disappointment. While the boat was moving at a depth of 60 feet, so as not to accidentally run into an oncoming ship in the thick fog, Schwieger heard the sound of powerful propellers churning the water somewhere nearby. He decided to find out what was happening above: “I raised the U-20 to 30 feet and looked through the periscope. A large cruiser passed directly above us and was now quickly moving away.”

It should be noted that both ships were lucky. If the boat had managed to surface to periscope depth when the cruiser was above it, the steel bow of the surface ship would have easily ripped the less durable hull of the submarine in half. And if Schwieger had surfaced a little earlier, he would definitely have fired a torpedo at the enemy ship and disappeared into the fog. But this was not destined to happen. Fate did not often smile on the not very lucky Walter Schwieger.

The dense fog that had hung over the sea all night finally cleared. The spring sun first looked through the haze, and then shone brightly in the clear blue sky. Rejoicing at the good weather, Schwieger ordered to surface and went out onto the bridge to enjoy the clean, fresh sea air. At this time, observers noticed an unknown passenger ship. At first, Schwieger believed that the forest of masts and pipes on the horizon belonged to a group of ships, and complained that he only had two torpedoes left. Then he realized that there was one ship in front of him, but a very large one.