father - home

I went to the Port Authority office in Hamburg, customs, the International Red Cross office, the police station, the Liaison Office of the Embassy of the Republic of China, the Hamburg Consulate of the United States of America, and the temporary office of the German Foreign Office in Hamburg.After several days of running around, I did not get any definite information. In the end, I had no other choice. I had to ask Professor Hubertus. I greeted the base and found the liaison officer in charge of the matter. From him, I basically learned the ins and outs of the incident. At the same time, I was told that everything is confidential and must not be leaked.

On October 10, in the North Sea, a German convoy consisting of 13 ships and 3 frigates encountered four British Tribal-class destroyers. During the fierce battle, the Germans sent out a distress signal.The three German U-boats that received the signal rushed to reinforce, but it was too late, and all five German ships sank. The U-boats then searched the British fleet, seeking revenge.After a day and night of tracking and pursuit, in the early morning of the next day, the German submarine finally discovered the traces of the British, and at the same time there was a huge cruise ship-the American cruise ship "Ark Royal" that was sailing on the scheduled route.At this time, the North Atlantic was filled with thick fog, and the Germans did not notice the American flag on the cruise ship.The cruise ship was running parallel to the British destroyer, very close to each other, and it looked like the British fleet was escorting the cruise ship.A fleet escorting a civilian liner can mean only one thing—the ship is carrying not ordinary tourists but troops and weapons about to go into battle.Because the cruise ship is huge, the Germans decided to use two submarines to deal with the cruise ship, one submarine to deal with the flagship of the destroyer, and three submarines to attack at the same time.

The combatants are on their positions, the torpedoes are filled, they are aimed at the target, and they just wait for the launch order.

At this time, the thick fog on the sea gradually dispersed, and the captain of submarine U48 vaguely saw a slightly waving star-spangled banner through the periscope—could it be an American ship!Won't!impossible!There is no such a coincidence, this must be a blindfold of the British.Although the United States did not participate in the war, it was an open secret that the United States had been secretly supporting Britain.Without the support of the United States, Britain would have been finished long ago.The friend of the enemy is also the enemy, and of course the United States is the enemy.No matter what flag you hang, no matter who you are carrying, today I will let you taste the power of our German torpedoes.All this flashed within half a second, and the captain of U48 resolutely issued the launch order.

At the same time, the captain of U35 also issued a launch order.

All four torpedoes hit the target directly, and one of them detonated the oil depot. A huge fireball soared into the air, instantly absorbing the surrounding dense fog, and the star-spangled banner on the mast flashed in the flames, and instantly turned into ashes.

The captain of U35 was stunned.He opened his mouth wide and his eyes were glued to the periscope, as if he was greedily admiring the magnificent and splendid scenery, but in fact he was almost drained of all his strength at once, if not for his arms resting on the armrest of the periscope , he must have been paralyzed.It was so tragic, it was hell on earth, the giant ship and the surrounding water became a sea of ​​flames, and the survivors of the explosion jumped into the burning sea desperately, struggling and calling for help in the sea of ​​fire.

Touching the cold sweat on his forehead with a trembling hand, the captain of U35 stabilized his emotions a little. He is the captain and has his own responsibilities. Now he cannot float to the surface for rescue. The submarine has been discovered and must immediately go into battle.

4 British destroyers and 3 German U-boats launched a life-and-death struggle.After more than an hour of fierce fighting and a battle of wits, in the end, the Germans sank and wounded, ran out of ammunition, quit the battle, and fled in a hurry. The British won the victory at the cost of losing a destroyer.Only then did the British have a chance to call for help.However, on the vast sea, where is the shadow of the giant ship, there are oil stains, wooden fragments, burnt life jackets and stiff and twisted corpses everywhere...

"You mean, no one survived?" I demanded, staring at the Navy captain behind the desk, almost over the desk, face to face an inch apart.

All institutions, offices, offices, and reception staff are bureaucrats, perfunctory, prevarication, and nothing more than deep.I know that this matter is very difficult, related to politics, diplomacy, and the progress of the war, but who cares about those who died, those souls struggling in the sea of ​​​​fire and calling for help.

"It's not so sure yet, Lieutenant, it's just that we haven't rescued anyone." The captain's upright body didn't move, he didn't avoid my gaze, and he didn't show any dissatisfaction because of my irritability. His voice was always like that. Be peaceful and be patient. "Because time does not allow, you have to understand that it is a war."

The captain's attitude was enough to move me, but I still wished: "What about the British? Didn't they stay to clean up the battlefield? Maybe..."

"If there are still survivors, they will definitely rescue them. I believe that the British soldiers are all good. It was just that four torpedoes hit directly and the oil depot caught fire. Many people should have died at that time. It is said that in less than 10 minutes The cruise ship sank, and I had to struggle in the icy water for nearly two hours, even if I wasn’t injured at all, it would be enough, not to mention stray bullets and fire,” the captain shook his head and looked at me sympathetically. "The probability of surviving is almost zero, but it is not hopeless. Anything is possible. But, Lieutenant, we are a belligerent country, and we have no way of knowing any information from the UK. Maybe you can ask the International Red Cross, please. They check with the British side."

"I have already been to the International Red Cross, and they have no news."

"Not so soon, Lieutenant, not so soon, things like this usually take a long time."

"I know that." I shook hands with the captain. "Thank you, sir, thank you!"

It stands to reason that the lieutenant of the SS is no lower than the captain of the Wehrmacht, and in reality the SS is even more powerful, but I would like to salute this navy captain and call him "sir" because he did not regard me as an SS Jun, there is no indifferent prevarication, no false flattery, he only treats me as a helpless ordinary person who is worried about the life and death of his friends, and he gives me enough care and sympathy.

That day, by virtue of my SS status, I sent Zhao all the way to the gangway.He went up the gangway.I watched his back.He turned around, smiled at me, and waved.I understood his silent words: I love you!wait for me!He went in and was never seen again.

I took a prominent spot on the pier, hoping he would see me.He must have been looking at me, but I couldn't see him, and he didn't appear among the people waving away over the side of the boat.At the hotel, he said he didn’t want me to deliver the boat, because he couldn’t bear it, and I insisted on it, and I couldn’t bear it either, but I was more worried about any accidents at the last moment.

Only by seeing him board the ship with my own eyes, and the ship set sail and go away, can I feel relieved.

The siren blew, and I followed the crowd to the railing outside the pier, and stood there for a long time, watching the giant ship slowly shrink, and with my heart and all my love, disappeared at the end of the Elbe River.

Now that the ship has long since left, I wander back to the pier, looking at the surging river, with endless sorrow in my heart.

A few seagulls flew over the sea, and one of them landed on the railing of the square sleeper by the pier, walked leisurely, came to me, stretched out its red beak and lightly pecked at my hand.I opened my palms and there was nothing.The seagull did not give up, and lowered its small head to search in my palm, which made me itchy and a little painful.The seagull stared at me disappointedly with its small brown eyes, but did not leave, but provoked a graceful dance on the sleeper.Sometimes it swings and walks, sometimes jumps lightly, sometimes flaps its black wings, flies low and circles, and falls back to its original place again.I never knew seagulls could be so graceful, so charming.I wanted to reach out and touch it, but when my fingers touched its soft feathers, it suddenly seemed to break free from its shackles to face the setting sun and spread its wings. The head, neck, chest and belly, and the inside of the wings were all white and spotless in the setting sun. , and behind it are the black feathers and long shadows on the wings.

The seagulls flew away, and a gust of sea wind blew, and I shivered shiveringly.There are no ships leaving port today, no crowds seeing us off at the pier, only me, alone.

I go to the International Red Cross office twice a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, with the same result each time.

"I've written down what you said, sir, and I'll let you know if I have any news."

"Sorry, sir, no news yet."

"Not so soon, sir, please be patient."

"You must know, sir, that we have no direct connection with England. It will be very difficult and time-consuming to transfer from a neutral country."

"I'm sorry, sir, I may have disappointed you, but we haven't heard any news about any survivors on that ship."

"If you are a German citizen, the British side will inform us of the relevant information, but you said that you are Chinese. Unfortunately, sir, under normal circumstances, the information of Chinese citizens will only be notified to the Chinese side. I give you a suggestion, sir, you You might as well ask the office of the International Red Cross in the Republic of China."

I gritted my teeth and tried to control myself, but I still punched the table and knocked the man's coffee over.The man was so frightened that he didn't get angry, but just looked at me blankly, it seems that the deterrent effect of this punch is quite strong.

I didn't apologize, and I didn't pay attention to the messy desktop.If the blow hadn't been on the table, it would have been on the waxed face of a dead man, even a lady.I want to yell at her: Where am I going to find that damn office!Where to find it!

But does it work?Now that even the embassy of the Republic of China is about to be evacuated, who can I turn to?Who can I find!