Canteen System Assistance Notes

Chapter 552: Fish War?

Despite being called an ocean-going U-boat, the U-123, being an X(9) type, was still not considered a large ocean-going submarine. Its interior was cramped, and its fuel and supplies were insufficient, making it difficult to sustain long-term ocean operations. The boat had only 44 crew members and 4 officers, and could carry 22 torpedoes, launched from 4 forward and 2 aft torpedo tubes. Its sustained combat capability was only acceptable.

But compared with the smaller and narrower Type VI(7) boat, it is still much better - after all, the X-type U-123 can sail from France on its own, cross the Atlantic to the east coast of the United States; while if the Type V boat wants to come here, it has to rely on the submarine "UA" that provides "cow" service to increase its endurance, which is very inconvenient.

But now, no matter what, he had arrived off the east coast of the United States, Germany's enemy. U-123's captain, Captain Reinhard Hartigan, sipped his sugar-free coffee and studied the nautical chart, a little confused about what he should do.

Recently, he has been in a state of excitement but also worry and uneasiness: after setting off from Lorient, France on December 10, U-123's experience has been quite "bumpy".

She first carefully passed through the 25th parallel west longitude patrol area deployed by the US Navy, playing hide-and-seek with the US Navy destroyers, frigates and seaplanes patrolling there. Everyone on the ship was on edge and carefully passed through this dangerous sea area.

Then, she had a relatively easy voyage. As she gradually approached the American coast, U-123 did not see any enemy for several days - no long-range patrol aircraft, no destroyers, and even in broad daylight, she could maintain a surface attitude.

Finally... within the most heavily defended American territorial waters, U-123 focused intensely on searching for targets and evading US Navy patrols. After all, according to Operation Drumbeat, they needed to concentrate their firepower on American transports bound for Britain after Germany declared war on the United States.

But what did she see?

The brightly lit coastline stretches for thousands of miles, defenseless merchant ships sail happily, and the sea is filled with flashing navigation lights. Only the US Navy, which should be there, has disappeared. Don't they know that we are now in a state of war?

This feeling of having so many flaws that there were no more left Captain Hartigan bewildered, unsure whether to launch an attack. Last night, he had finally found a familiar opponent—a British tanker under a blackout—which allowed U-123's long-distance infiltration to achieve its first success.

Fearing a trap, Captain Hartigan dared not surface to fight. Instead, he directed the submarine to fire two precious torpedoes from combat range, intending to sink the enemy. As a result, the tanker exploded, and the flames could be seen for dozens of kilometers. Frightened, U-123 immediately dove, turned, and escaped.

However, up to now, there has not been a single aircraft around to confirm the situation, let alone a destroyer coming to search for them.

Captain Reinhardt Hartigan felt like he was flirting with a blind man. A bit vindictively, he kept the submarine surfaced and began sending messages to headquarters, reporting on the operation. "Dad, a reply from the dock."

"Okay, thank you."

The signalman brought back a decoded telegram, which was Dönitz's reply. On the torn piece of telegram, Dönitz first praised U-123's first victory: "Drummer Reinhard Hartigen, well done, beautiful drumming."

Then, the telegram was followed by a puzzling sentence: "Open envelope No. 19, 'Skool'. Karl Dönitz."

Hmm? Envelope 19, "Skool"?

Hartigan returned to the command room, opened a safe, and found a document bag—something the Navy had stuffed into their boat before departure. Soon, he found an envelope with a picture of a "Nordic wolfhound" and the cursive "19" on one corner.

Why does this drawing resemble a long-haired sled dog? Captain Hartigan immediately opened the envelope and began to browse the documents inside. Soon, his eyes widened, his brown pupils seemed to tremble, and he rubbed his unshaven chin.

"Please ask the watch officer and the chief engineer to come here," he instructed the people around him. "Oh, and ask the artillery chief and the reporter to come here as well."

What do you need for night fishing?

A fishing rod, some bait, a lantern, a bucket, and a little luck.

"Hey guy."

"Hey man, I'm telling you, you're not going to catch any fish like this." "Hey man, man, you're really not going to catch any fish like this." Of course, there probably isn't a need for a noisy bystander.

"Ah! Stay away from me!" Bobby, who was wearing a vest and holding a boom, turned around and roared angrily, but when he saw the lever shotgun on the back of the opposite side, his anger disappeared in an instant.

"You'll scare away my fish!" Bobby said aggrievedly. "My friend, you can't decide for the fish in the sea whether to bite my hook or not."

"But I've been here for so many years, and few of the fishermen I meet come back empty-handed." The man stepped nimbly on the pier and came over. He extended his hand to Bobby in a friendly manner: "Hey, buddy, I'm Kotick, the keeper of this lighthouse, an old fisherman with fifteen years of sea fishing experience.

"I think we'll have something in common."

Bobby half-willingly, half-reluctantly shared his seat with Kotick.

Behind him, a huge lighthouse, painted black and white, towers tall, emitting a constantly rotating yellow light. This is Hatteras Island in North Carolina, USA, and this lighthouse is the famous Hatteras Lighthouse. For many years, it has faced the surging Atlantic Ocean and the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" on the east coast of the United States, guiding passing ships and allowing them to avoid reefs, rapids, and shipwrecks.

According to Bobby, this must be a good fishing spot.

"On the contrary, the current here is fast and the water is too shallow. Look, man, there's only sand over there, no rocks for fish to hold onto. No matter how good your hook and bait are, you won't be able to catch any fish. If you want to catch big fish, you have to do this..."

The tower keeper, Kotik, was incredibly approachable. Regardless of whether Bobby wanted to listen or not, he enthusiastically shared his sea fishing experiences. "In short, for various reasons, there aren't many fish to catch here anyway." "Okay," he said. He understood the conclusion, but Bobby automatically skipped over the details. He clearly didn't fully grasp all the experience and know-how.

"Damn, fishing is so troublesome. I thought all I had to do was buy a good enough fishing rod, line, and sinker... throw it in the sea and wait for the fish to bite." He reeled in the line on the sea fishing rod and stared at the lure on it in a daze. "So, man, in short, there are no fish here, right?"

"You're right to say that."

The tower keeper sighed and replied, "Besides, the sea here is full of ships coming and going, and the fish are scared away - what can you catch?"

Fishing for a tanker?"

"Okay, I'll listen to you. Let's go."

Grabbing their rubber buckets, gas lanterns, and fishing rods, the two typically middle-aged American men began their journey back home. However, the tower guard clearly didn't want this "encounter" to end there, so he invited Bobby to his cabin for some tea before leaving. "Well, I've been braving the wind on the beach for so long, I feel like my legs are falling apart," Bobby replied. "But, Kotick, why are you carrying a shotgun?"

"Oh, that's because I heard the yellow people from the East attacked our naval base, and the president declared war on them." Kotick slid his lever-action shotgun from his back and said proudly, "My family and I live on the East Coast. If those yellow people were to attack us from the sea, I could kill them with my shotgun."

"Then you'd better bring more ammunition."

It made perfect sense for the East Coast to be on guard against attacks from Eastern nations. Bobby wasn't at all confused or surprised. He laughed and said, "I heard that country called Japan has a lot of people, more than ten times the population of Charlottetown. If you don't have enough bullets, you won't be able to defeat them!"

"I can use bear hunting bullets, so I can shoot through two yellow monkeys with one bullet!"

"Hey, don't move!"

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice emerged from behind them. It sounded like English, but not quite. When they turned around, they discovered that a group of dark figures had suddenly appeared on the deserted path.

Under the dim glow of the gas lamps, a group of men in gray military uniforms, armed with strange pistols, emerged. Before the speaker could continue, the tower guard, Kotick, instinctively screamed, "Japs! The Japs are coming!" He raised his shotgun and pulled the lever to load it, but the opponent's pistol immediately erupted in flames, knocking Kotick to the ground. The tower guard, who had been chatting with him just moments ago, was instantly reduced to a corpse. This sudden change frightened Bobby so much that he screamed and turned to flee.

"Ahhh! Don't kill me! Don't kill me! I've never killed a Japanese!" "Stop! Don't run away, drop your weapons, put your hands on your head, and lie on the ground!"

The strange male voice spoke again in strange English, "The German War Navy guarantees the safety of the lives of those who surrender."

What did this mean? Bobby's brain was completely overloaded with fear, but he could still understand those few brief instructions. So, he quickly threw away the expensive sea fishing rod, the rubber bucket without fish, and the glowing gas lamp, and lay down on the ground obediently.

"Captain, what did this guy say? What should we do with him? Should we just abandon him and ignore him?"

"Whatever he says, let's take some pictures and bring them back. This is the first time the Navy has captured an American prisoner on US soil... Uh, never mind. There's no room on the boat. Let's retreat to the rubber boat and then release him."

Someone came out, snapping photos of Bobby with a camera, while others grabbed his prized fishing rod and gas lantern. In the darkness of the night, this mysterious group of people who had landed on the East Coast spoke in a familiar yet incomprehensible "Japanese" language, mumbling and babbling. Bobby clutched his buttocks and lay on the ground, trembling as they pointed to the flashing Hatteras Lighthouse.

"Don't worry about it, just head to the lighthouse as soon as possible!"

"We don't have much explosives, so we just need to destroy the lights on top!" "Oh! Remember to set them on fire! We still need them to navigate!"

Chapter 553: Frost Moon, Frost-free Wan Chai

December 1941 was a chaotic month, with wars raging across the globe. Some were long-standing and lingering, while others were more recent and garnered greater attention. Regardless, in this month, dubbed the "Shimotsuki" by Japanese law, World War II erupted in full force.

Oh, sorry, the "Huanguo Lunar Calendar" is no longer used in some areas of China. However, there are still many places in China that use the Lunar Calendar.

Moreover, in southern China, although the Gregorian calendar has been implemented for many years, the lunar calendar is still the instinctive way of measuring time in the minds of many people. For example, Wan Chai.

This place, known to many Westerners as the Far Eastern Paradise, still boasted a prosperity comparable to Shanghai. As a de facto "country within a country," its prosperity was also built on the fact that war between Japan and Britain had not yet broken out. Its convenient coastal transportation and its status as a foreign trade route during the Republic of China's turbulent times allowed it to maintain a false sense of security.

Many people subconsciously feel that the narrow Ming Creek is like a huge, indestructible wall thousands of feet high, or an insurmountable natural barrier.

Naturally, this self-deceiving fantasy was soon shattered. As December approached, the power of the invisible wall gradually dissipated, and this paradise quickly became less safe. The Japanese troops in Guangzhou began to gradually advance southward, and even Japanese Army Air Force planes began to fly over Wan Chai with impunity.

Basically, everyone began to feel the atmosphere of impending storm. "Impossible, how dare the Japanese invaders attack England?"

In the spacious house, Lin Gengbai firmly declared to Qiao Mu, who had come to visit him, "The Japanese invaders may be strong, but compared to Great Britain, they are nothing but the glow of rotten grass against the bright moon in the sky. How dare they attack British overseas territories?"

Although the peace in Wan Chai was short-lived and fragile, it objectively sheltered many Chinese democrats and third-party figures, as well as the CCP's external forces, the United Bank and China Resources. Now, the safety of the Hong Kong government is at risk. Various intelligence reports indicate that the Japanese army will soon attack the Hong Kong government while launching a war against the United States. We cannot allow those who are friendly to our party, who persist in the war of resistance, or who have significant social influence to fall into the hands of the Japanese.

"President Qiao, England is indeed the empire on which the sun never sets. Although it has long since faded from its heyday, its navy is formidable. The Far East Fleet alone can defend Hong Kong Island."

"But Mr. Lin, the Japanese troops in Guangzhou have already moved south and are stationed north of the Xiangjiang River. With so many troops stationed right next to your bed, they're definitely not here to lead them on a picnic, are they?"

Qiao Mu, president of the Wan Chai China News Agency and concurrently director of the Hong Kong government's communications office at the United Bank, still tried to persuade this Tongmenghui veteran and cultural figure who persisted in the war of resistance, "The Japanese invaders are brutal, Brother Lingnan, you must be on guard. Many democrats evacuated Wan Chai before the war broke out. You can't stay in this troubled place for long!"

However, recognizing reality always requires some process and some cost, and people are not born with the ability to see the situation clearly. "President Qiao, I appreciate your kindness."

Lin Gengbai replied politely. This mansion, which seemed extremely luxurious in Hong Kong, made him feel quite at ease. "If the Japanese invaders really did invade this place, how could they trouble a mere scholar like me? I've calculated my birth date and time, and if I stay in the north, I'll be in danger of bloodshed. It's better to take refuge here for the time being."

If it were someone else, perhaps it would be no problem, but Mr. Lin, you are a legislator of the Nationalist government. If you really stayed in Wan Chai, how could the Japanese army let you go?

But now that things have come to this, if others don't want to evacuate with the team, can they still be forced to leave? Qiao Mu could only politely reply, "Qiao Mu is worrying too much. Brother Lingnan, please take care of yourself."

In Wan Chai, the CCP still cares a little about the "united front". As early as November, it had basically completed the concealment and withdrawal of its own organization, and continued its previous work of persuading other democrats to withdraw.

He Liuhua (his surname was Liao), who was in charge of the on-the-job work, was responsible for persuading and guiding the democratic patriots in Hong Kong to leave through Qiao Mu, Ye Huadi, He Ruijian and others. Comrade Liu Shaowen, who came from Shanghai to provide support, coordinated with Lian Guan, Li Menong, Zhang Chunqing and others from the party organization in South China, and united with the Dongjiang Column and guerrilla fighters at contact points in various parts of Hong Kong and Kowloon to plan the evacuation route and corresponding accommodation and cover arrangements in advance.

Even Zhou Gong approached Carr, the British ambassador to China, who had a good personal relationship with him and had realized the importance of the CCP early on in the original time and space, and urged people in Hong Kong to evacuate in time from the Hong Kong British government. This indeed produced a lot of results. People inside and outside the party, such as Shen Dehong, Liu Jiaxuan, and Zhang Mingding, left Wan Chai early, and returned to China through Southeast Asia, Myanmar and other places, or went to the United States and other places for temporary refuge, not to mention the transfer of some important documents, cultural relics and materials.

However, there are always some people who hold on to a glimmer of hope for a relatively safe haven. The Communist Party can only say that it "does its best and leaves the rest to fate." Please take care of yourself.

As expected, after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, on December 8, the Dongjiang Detachment intercepted and decoded the Japanese "C Time"

"The telegram reads: "Flowers bloom, flowers bloom, flowers bloom" - this also announced the Japanese army's "Wan Chai

The beginning of the "Strategy Operation".

On December 9, Japanese Army Air Force fighter planes began to fly in from low altitude. After shooting down a few British fighter planes that had just taken off, the Japanese planes paralyzed Kai Tak Airport where the British fighter planes were stationed with 12 losses. Then, the 97 light bombers, which had not found an opportunity to drop bombs, dropped their bombs into Wan Chai City.

On December 10, the Japanese launched an attack on the "Lao La Wan Line" in Wan Chai. Just two days later, they overran the "impenetrable" line, which the British claimed could hold out for six months. The Japanese army then began a full-scale invasion of the Kowloon area.

At the same time, even more shocking news arrived: the powerful British naval fleet dispatched from mainland China was severely damaged by Japanese torpedo bombers on the morning of December 12th, sending two of the fleet's most powerful warships to the bottom of the sea! Immediately afterwards, the Japanese broadcast war reports, replete with Showa-style slang, confirmed this: our army had sunk the British "Prince of Wales" and "Repulse" by torpedoes, and countless other ships of all sizes!

This bad news made the great victory announced by the British army the day before seem so bleak. That time, the British Navy claimed that they had passed the Japanese search.

The planes randomly dropped flash bombs, caught the Japanese transport fleet, and

Defeating and expelling - such "results" seemed so ridiculous compared to the victory of the Japanese, and the powerful Z fleet was instantly destroyed, and finally destroyed the last remaining support of the Hong Kong government.

- The wire maintains a decent vision.

Because the wired telegraph transmission through Saigon had also been interrupted, the Dongjiang Column's secret radio station quickly intercepted the telegram sent by the Hong Kong government to Singapore: they asked London in horror whether Wan Chai could be designated as an "undefended city", or in other words - surrender to the Japanese army.

For a time, some fought to the death, some shouted, "We will never surrender!" Some, dragging their families with them, sought a way out, some prepared to flee with their valuables, and some took advantage of the chaos to buy things for a small fortune. He Liuhua (his last name was Liao), the chief evacuation commander who held out to the end, stood on a rooftop in Wan Chai and could already see the artillery shells falling in the distance, hear the dense gunfire and rumble of artillery.

Smoke, fire, and war have never been so close to this "paradise in the Far East".

"Okay, let's go." He shook his head and clapped his hands. "It will take some time for the Hong Kong government to surrender. It's best to do it while there are still some people who are unwilling to surrender."

Seize the opportunity to carry out the last batch of evacuations.

This man, who held a high position in both the political and business circles in Wan Chai, was the son of Liao Enxu, and even the British Hong Kong government had to take care of him. He looked at the note that Lianhe had left for him.

After making sure he had written down all the information, He Liuhua set it on fire with a lighter.

As the ashes flew away, he spoke as if to himself:

"We can't count on outsiders to defend what's ours, but can we count on their courage when they fight for their lives? That's an interesting scenario.

"Yes, since these British people can't fight to the death, if there's any hope of survival, then perhaps they should do their utmost to escape this place of certain death."

Chapter 554: Battle of the East Lingdingyang Sea

(4k5 chapters)

On the night of June 1941, 12

The dark sea was completely silent, with only the sound of the waves and the hum of the ships' engines to be heard. Compared to the British, who were somewhat at a loss as to what to do, the Japanese Navy acted very quickly.

"昭和16年12月16日，2300时，我舰位于担杆岛灯塔南西30海里位置，航向266,速度15节。”

On the Isuzu's bridge, the duty officer, the navigation officer, lazily wrote the following in the logbook, hastily closed it, and stretched. Beside the captain's seat, the red bean soup, just delivered by the accounting department, was still steaming.

Since the launch of Operation C, the blockade of the Wan Chai and East Lingding Seas has been going very smoothly, with not even the slightest resistance. So far, the blockade fleet has captured eight American and British merchant ships, which has made the Second Expeditionary Fleet relax. Although the entire fleet is still in the second sentry configuration, everyone occasionally chats and laughs as usual.

When can we return to port? Everyone is thinking this.

"Bridge, this is the telecommunications room." A muffled voice from the communications department came from the megaphone.

"Surveillance Unit A, Senyo Maru, has received a call. They've discovered that most of the small vessels have broken through the blockade to the west. They're requesting reinforcements from our unit."

"Humph!"

A puff of air suddenly came out of Hanghai's long nose.

"What a bunch of idiots! You need to wake up Admiral Niimi and the Captain for such a small matter? Don't we still have 'Dian' and 'Yan' in the Second Surveillance Unit? Call them back and let them handle it themselves!"

"Yes!"

But just enough time to finish a bowl of red bean soup, new news came.

"Surveillance Unit B, 'Lei', has reported that most small vessels have broken through the blockade eastward! Too many to handle, requesting support!"

"A call from Surveillance Unit 'Magpie': Six points for ships, four points for sea, requesting support!"

Instantly, the navigator felt like his head was about to explode. Endless troubles popped up out of nowhere and hit him square in the face. Even a fool would have known something major was going on in Wan Chai, otherwise there wouldn't be so many fleeing boats. He couldn't help but curse the Army's daily aerial reconnaissance as a bunch of amateurish fools: the daily reconnaissance flights were like playing a game; they found nothing, and any enemy activity they did find was mostly false alarms.

You know, if a naval flight officer dared to report the situation like this, he would only be sent to paint the deck.

"Send the order, wake up Captain Pu immediately."

At the same time, on the bridge of the destroyer "Thunder" of the B surveillance force, Captain Kudo Shunsaku, who had just woken up from bed not long ago, stared at the twinkling lights on the sea and smelled something bad.

There is no other reason, there are just too many of them.