WesWorld

Destroyer Bautzen, 54 dgs 50 min North, 15 dgs 27 min East, Tuesday, 13 April 1948

The destroyer Bautzen, with her sister Gustrow and the frigate Gailingen, lay quietly hove to southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm. Fregattenkapitän Hellmuth von Rabenau peered over the shoulder of the senior hydrophone operator at the trace appearing on his display.

“Herr Kapitän,” explained Obermaat Werner Osenberg, “we observed the sound of a submerged diesel engine submarine here,” pointing to a track. “At this point the diesel engine sounds ceased but we then picked up the sounds of propeller cavitation – likely induced by a change in RPM due to a switch to electric motors – and then the faint sound of electric motors.”

Von Rabenau saw that the track of the submarine was merely six hundred meters off his starboard bow. “We have him!” he exclaimed. Racing to the bridge he ordered the underwater detection gear to go active and signalled the other ships to stand by to do likewise.

Below in the darkness powerful sound waves echoed through the hull of the Wolverine. Craddock muttered a minced oath. “What have we stumbled on to this time?”

Osenberg was quickly able to pick up the submarine on his equipment, and as Gustrow and Gailingen joined in the search its position was rapidly determined.

Aboard Wolverine Able Seaman Simon reported from the ASDIC shack, “Three separate signatures sir. Looks as if we’ve been caught by another hunting group. ”

Operation Cravat: Found Again!

The pings of the German ASDIC sets hit the hull and everyone aboard Wolverine knew they had been found again.
Commander Craddock turned to Lieutenant Peter Thorne, “your hunch was a good one. It looks like another group was waiting for us.”

The three German ships started moving and set up a search pattern above them. Craddock ordered a standard change of depth and tight turn to try and throw the German ASDIC operators. This had little effect, the two larger ships maintaining contact. Peter relayed a series of orders as Craddock began another counter-move. The Germans turned to follow but the Wolverine was nimble, she rose up to fifty feet and put on a full speed spurt of eight knots before turning tightly again. Finally the range closed and the German destroyer was roughly 9,000 yards ahead, crossing the bows.
“Control to ASDIC, give them three active pings to determine our range to target.”

Three sharp pings echoed out into the water. Moments later the Germans switched on their submarine telephone.
“I am Kreigsmarine destroyer Bautzen. I request you surface and identify yourself.”
The words were unmistakable and Peter wondered if it had been wise to antagonise the Germans but then they weren’t doing anything the Germans weren’t. But Craddock had made his point and after a brief pause to make a thorough periscope search, the Wolverine surfaced.

A signaller scrambled up the ladder, this time actually beating Craddock to be first on top. Craddock gave the German ships a stare and the signaller began relaying his message as he spoke.
“I am Royal Navy submarine HMS Wolverine. Hope we didn’t keep you waiting too long. Sorry we can’t stay to play as we are very busy and have places to go.”

Destroyer Bautzen, 54 dgs 50 min North, 15 dgs 27 min East, Tuesday, 13 April 1948

The Bautzen and her consorts quickly cornered the fleeing submarine and ordered it to identify itself. Von Rabenau was on the Bautzen’s bridge as the waters of the Baltic roiled and the submarine surfaced, and ordered the searchlights on his own ship and on the Gustrow and the Gailingen to illuminate the black form that now lay on the surface some two hundred meters off his port bow. Sailors were seen manning the submarine’s bridge and someone on board it signalled an answer to Bautzen’s challenge.

““I am Royal Navy submarine HMS Wolverine. Hope we didn’t keep you waiting too long. Sorry we can’t stay to play as we are very busy and have places to go.”

As he suspected, von Rabenau had found the British submarine that had been previously sighted in the Gulf of Danzig. While his ships held the British boat in the converging cones of light he fired off a message to the BSO notifying him of his success and requesting further instructions. The answer he received surprised him.

Aboard Wolverine Craddock squinted, trying to make out the German vessels while blinded by searchlights. Though he could see that their main gun turrets were trained fore and aft, he knew that even their secondary armament could cripple his boat if the Germans wanted to – so he waited, wondering what they might do next.

Suddenly the searchlights were switched off, and the German vessels slowly got underway, moving on a southerly course. As they slid into the Baltic night Wolverine was left to her own devices; after a few minutes even the engine noises of the German ships faded.

Standing beside Craddock Lieutenant Peter Thorne allowed himself to breathe. “Sir, that wasn't what I was expecting.”

“No,” replied Craddock. “Neither was I.”

Operation Cravat

Peter turned to Craddock, "Maybe we scared them off?"
Craddock let out a dry laugh, "I doubt it, they probably pulled off to watch us from afar, hoping we'll dive so they can come in again and track us easily. I want a full RDF sweep and double watch while we are on the surface at night."

As they spoke the official confirmation of their permission to transit Danish waters on the surface came through. The message was testy but polite.
"We'll set a course for home, as we get nearer the Belts and Kiel I'm sure we'll pick up more German ships," Craddock checked the compass bearing.

OOC...

Whoa... the Danes gave permission to transit the Kattegat? I think that's going a bit too far with the NPC here.

Edit: BTW, Craddock cannot get permission at this point in time (the 13th of April) since the question of transit was not raised in Copenhagen until the 16th of April. Unless someone has a tardis.

*Quickly dons Mod hat*

As best I have been able to determine from my research, the Danes don't actually 'give permission' to anyone to transit the Danish Straits: this permission was basically given at the 1857 Treaty of Copenhagen, where interested parties compensated Denmark with a substantial one-time payment (1/3rd by the Brits, 1/3rd by the Russians, and 1/3rd by everyone else). Through the treaty, Denmark agreed "not to subject any ship, on any pretext, to detention or hindrance in the passage of the Sound or Belts." Warships, as best I can determine, were allowed the principle of "innocent passage", which is to say that their passage is not considered harmful to 'peace, good order, or security of the coastal state'.

This is not the same as "free passage". If the Danes decided Wolverine's passage is harmful to their 'peace, good order, or security', then they could deny her innocent passage. Because there is a longstanding special circumstance at play in the Danish Straits (one which the Danes vigorously defend, even demanding exceptions to UNCLOS and such).

As best I can work out, Craddock cannot get permission from the Danes because he does not need to seek permission from the Danes... presuming he plans to transit the straits on the surface and in daylight, claiming 'innocent passage'. In this case, it seems to be Danish policy for one of their warships to trail the foreign submarine at a safe distance (although this might be more appropriate to the Cold War era than the 1930s and 1940s). It seems to be less about the Danes "giving or denying permission", and more about the Royal Danish Navy choosing whether or not to obstruct passage.

Assuming the Wolverine transits the Straits before the April 16th protest to Copenhagen by Germany and Russia, the Danes would probably presume 'innocent passage'... although they would certainly start wondering how a British submarine got to the Baltic, and they would have cause later to protest Wolverine's return voyage on the basis of a breach of 'innocent passage'.

If the Wolverine reaches the Straits after the April 16th protest, the Danes potentially could choose to deny 'innocent passage' on the basis of the previous violation of territorial waters (not being conducive to 'good order'). Whether they would choose to do so or not may be open to question. They could perhaps prefer to deny 'innocent passage', causing the submarine to be stuck on the Baltic until the Danes received an official apology. I think the Danes certainly would have a viable case for this if they chose to do so (and moreover, they'd probably be backed by the Germans and Russians).

If the Wolverine plans to navigate the Straits on the surface, then the Oresund ('the Sound") is a better way to do this - potentially also because they could travel on the Nordish side, avoiding the issue with the Danes altogether. The Great Belt is useful because it's the only one deep enough for a submerged submarine.

So.

My best recommendation at this point is for Wolverine to depart the Baltic via the Oresund or Great Belt, navigating in the daytime, on the surface, under the assumption of 'innocent passage'... as soon as possible. The Danes, not having received the German and Russian protest until April 16th, will not obstruct the submarine's passage, but their suspicions will be raised and they will start an investigation as to whether or not the Wolverine violated their territorial seas during her passage into the Baltic. That investigation will not be complete (and Foreign Minister Rasmussen will not have been informed) as of April 16th when the Germans and Russians protest. At this point, the Danes protest in turn to the British, who admit to guilt.

I know that's probably not going to be fully satisfactory for everyone, but it's the best compromise I can determine based on everything that has already happened.

I will comment IC at a later point.

Headquarters, Befehlshaber der Sicherung der Ostsee, Kiel, Wednesday, 14 April 1948

Konteradmiral Fleischer, at the direction of the Admiralstab in Berlin, had made a more defensive disposition with regard to the British submarine Wolverine. His own vessels, and those vessels of the Lehrdivision assigned to him temporarily, would take up picket positions along the Baltic Sea frontier; no longer would they seek to hunt the Wolverine, but allow it to sail into a trap – should it continue its mission, which, it seemed, was to gather signals intelligence. He had been assured that despite the ongoing exercise in the North Sea additional Dornier maritime reconnaissance aircraft, with their modern sensor suites, would be made available to him – air patrols would be the most effective weapon in prosecuting the present strategy. He would now play a game of patience, wondering whether the British submarine would gamely attempt to violate German territorial waters or seek to return home via the Danish straits.

OOC:
Thanks Brock, I hadn't looked into all the legalities of the situation in great depth.
I think your suggested course of action makes sense.
Yes, I forgot about the time difference of the two posts of the events and the political side, in my defence that's the hazards of running two threads for the same story!

Quoted from "Hood"

OOC:
Thanks Brock, I hadn't looked into all the legalities of the situation in great depth.
I think your suggested course of action makes sense.
Yes, I forgot about the time difference of the two posts of the events and the political side, in my defence that's the hazards of running two threads for the same story!

You're welcome. And yes, we kinda scattered the relevant posts hither and yon...

Operation Cravat: Homeward Bound

14 April

HMS Wolverine settled into a cruise towards the Great Belt. Craddock had declined to push his luck and head towards Kiel. He knew at least two and possibly three anti-submarine groups were operating in the area. Also, his lookouts had spotted real Dorniers (the previous sightings having been rather poor recognition and wishful thinking). The Dorniers seemed to be in very small numbers, but enough to make him think twice about falling into a German trap. In any case the Admiralty had now cancelled Cravat and his orders were to return home.

The charts had been brought up to date but getting home wasn't an easy matter. First, he had to pass Danish waters. He felt it was likely that the Germans and Russians would put two and two together and inform the Danes in the hope they might deny or obstruct his passage. For that reason he intended to waste no time and head for the Great Belt and accomplish his transit as quickly as possible. He also decided that discretion would be best served for a surface passage. That way it wouldn't enrage the Danes further if they knew of his entrance already and secondly running on the surface was quicker.

Within hours Wolverine was in the main channel and minding her own business, keeping clear of merchant traffic and exchanging salutes with any Danish naval patrol boats she encountered. Everything seemed to be going to plan and the Danes were making no attempt to make her heave-to or turn back. Now Craddock began to think about the next stage. The North Sea was very busy and he had an entire German fleet between him and home and he knew that if the Danes were still ignorant of his plans, that the rest of the German fleet wouldn't be.

Copenhagen, The German Embassy, Thursday, 15 April 1948

Korvettenkapitän Hans Bartels, the naval attaché assigned to the Danish capital, received the urgent cable in the early morning hours. Indeed, the duty cipher officer had woken him from a sound sleep to bring him the news. A British submarine was operating in the Baltic – having been discovered in the Gulf of Danzig and subsequently tracked. It was now believed that she might be heading for the Great Belt, preparatory to exiting the area. Bartels was to monitor the situation, confirm the submarine’s passage towards the Skagerrak, and report any actions by the Danish authorities with regard to the submarine’s movements.

Bartels, and his predecessors, like most – if not all – naval attachés assigned to Copenhagen, had developed an excellent network of observers and contacts to monitor all ship movements through the Belts and the Sound. The entrance to the Baltic was so narrow that no ship could escape being sighted – and modern electronic detection equipment made avoiding notice all but impossible – except for a submerged submarine…

Bartels knew that no British submarine had been sighted entering the Baltic, thus her captain had taken a dangerous submerged passage. He was thankful that he would not need to deal with the Danes on the question of violation of their waters. But he dutifully began the task of alerting the members of his coast-watching network as well as the contacts he had cultivated within the Danish naval and military establishments for any word of their response to the movements of the British U-boat.

Copenhagen, The German Embassy, Thursday, 15 April 1948, Early Evening

For Bartels the day had been a busy one. Contrary to expectations the British submarine he had been ordered to report on had chosen to exit the Baltic via the Oresund; a Marineflieger aircraft had reported her position off Trelleborg and the lighthouse keeper at Falsterbo had noted her entry to the main shipping channel. A telephone call to his counterpart in Stockholm had brought Wachter’s own network into the picture, and the submarine’s progress was tracked through the narrows of the Sound. It picked up the escort of a Nordish patrol boat as it neared the port of Malmo, which followed it at a respectful distance; for his part, Bartels arranged through some of his contacts for a civilian motor launch to join the cavalcade as it neared Elsinore; the photographs taken by one of his agents were being developed at that moment and would be off to Berlin in the morning by courier. Once in the Kattegat the submarine lost her Nordish escort and picked up speed, leaving Bartels’ pursuit craft in its wake; but the resourceful naval attaché had arranged for a chartered light aircraft to take up the chase. This too ended when the submarine reached a position approximately 58 degrees north, 10 degrees east, when she dove beneath the waves.

Having kept his superiors informed, Bartels gladly turned the matter over to Ambassador Sayn-Wittgenstein and to the Admiralstab in Berlin, for it was clearly above his pay grade.

Marinestützpunkt Pillau, Saturday, 17 April 1948

The destroyer Pylkiy and her flotilla mates swung easily in the harbour of Pillau; they were taking a well- earned rest between training missions with elements of the Kriegsmarine. Captain Kozyukhin was taking the opportunity to catch up on paperwork – the bane of all naval officers – when a knock at the door of his day cabin announced the arrival of his first officer.

“We have made a splash in the papers,” he announced, proffering a folded copy of the previous evening’s issue of the Danziger Echo.

Kozyukhin took the paper and read the article indicated:

“This Tuesday, 13 April, elements of the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla of the Russian Federation Navy under the command of Captain First Rank Pavel Kozyukhin, which have been engaged in joint exercises with the German Kriegsmarine, encountered an unidentified submarine operating in the Gulf of Danzig. The destroyer Sokrushitelnyi, commanded by Captain Second Rank Ivan Yenin, was able to identify the submarine as the British HMS Wolverine. Subsequently the British vessel was escorted from the Gulf of Danzig by a coastal escort group under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Ulrich Heyse of the Kriegsmarine, stationed at Pillau.”

Kozyukhin raised an eyebrow, indicating mild annoyance. “Brief and to the point,” he commented. “I hope that the Danziger Echo has a limited readership.”

OOC: The Admiralty has been their number one subscriber for years!

Marinestützpunkt Warnemünde, Friday, 23 April 1948

With all proper ceremony Kontr-Admiral Giorgi Abashvili was piped aboard the destroyer Sokrushitelnyi, accompanied by Captain First Rank Pavel Kozyukhin, commander of the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla, and Captain First Rank Konstantin Khrenov, naval attaché from the Russian embassy in Berlin. Abashvili, deputy chief of staff of the Baltic Fleet, had come to the temporary base of the Russian flotilla with the principal purpose of reviewing its progress in joint training with the German Navy; his more immediate purpose was to interview the Russian officers involved in what had become known as the “Wolverine Incident”.

The Abashvili had been in Bremerhaven, observing the progress of the recently concluded German fleet exercise when the incident had boiled up; he now wished to hear first-hand from the officers involved the facts, impressions, and theories behind the incident. Once the punctilio of the visit had been completed, the officers gathered in the wardroom of the Sokrushitelnyi.

“Captain Kozyukhin,” said the admiral, “I have read your report, as well as that of Captain Yenin and the other officers of your flotilla. It does not seem as though you had significant difficulty in locating the British vessel.”

“The British submarine was operating on his diesel engines at the time, trusting to an air mast. Had he been operating on electric motors he might have gone un-noticed.” Kozyukhin chose not to play up the abilities of his ships and his officers, but confined himself to the facts. “The acoustic signature from the British vessel did not match those known to us, but such identifications are never certain.”

“Yes,” said Khrenkov, “Naval Intelligence advises that the Wolverine is a smaller sort of British submarine, well suited for operations in the confined waters of the Baltic. The choice of such a boat suggests that the British knew one of their larger submarines would not have been able to penetrate the Great Belt.”

The ability of the British submarine to accomplish that feat had implications for the security of Russian interests in the Baltic. It was clear that the Danes had not connived in the Wolverine’s movements; in time of peace they had no reason to suspect that a friendly power would seek to violate its territorial waters. It was an unspoken consensus among the Russian officers that while the British might have been able to gull the Danes once it was unlikely that they might be able to do so again.

“Captain Yenin,” Abashvili continued. “Once you had located the unknown submarine you chose not to prosecute an attack. Why?”

The admiral’s question seemed accusatory. Yenin was not discomfited by it, and he answered deliberately. “While the identity of the submarine was unknown at the time, the uncertainly thereby engendered made application of rules of engagement difficult. I chose to contact the unknown by underwater telephone in an attempt to defuse the incident. It is a technique that has worked with our Nordish and Danish neighbours, whose submarines we have encountered from time to time.” Abashvili nodded in response, and Yenin continued. “I was quite surprised when the British captain identified his vessel and surfaced in response to my offer.”

“Your initiative is noteworthy,” Abashvili admitted.

“Yes,” added Khrenov. “The photographs you crewmen took, the record of observations made by them, and the information obtained from the British crew have proven quite useful Naval Intelligence.”

Abashvili directed a further question, to Kozyukhin as much as to Yenin. “Do you think that the British captain was surprised to find himself confronting a Russian vessel instead of a German one?”

The cooperative training exercise between the two nations had begun the previous autumn, and had been commented upon by the observers throughout the Baltic; the presence of the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla should not have been a surprise. Yenin responded, “The officers who visited the Wolverine obtained the definite impression of surprise.”

The officers debated this point for several minutes, Khrenkov providing insights obtained from the reports of his counterpart in London as well as the Main Intelligence Directorate. Despite the long history of the ongoing exercise, the British failed to grasp the essentials of the German Kriegsmarine’s training programme in Baltic waters, and the role of the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla in it. Donnerschlag, the German exercise in the North Sea, was seen as drawing all of Germany’s naval strength into the North Sea; the retention of vessels in training status in the Baltic seemed to have come as a surprise.

Kozyukhin posed a question to Khrenkov, one that had nagged him since the encounter with the Wolverine. “What were British intentions in this affair? All they seem to have accomplished is to embarrass the Danes, annoy the Germans, and highlight a potential threat to the security of the Motherland.”

The naval attaché framed his answer carefully. “I believe that the Wolverine’s intended mission was the covert gathering of radio and other electronic intelligence; to the extent that the British submarine was able to intercept transmissions prior to its discovery, that mission was accomplished. A secondary purpose was, no doubt, to test whether the Royal Navy’s submarines could penetrate and operate in the Baltic without discovery; in that regard the Wolverine’s activities must be judged an abject failure. It seems probable that the diplomatic and political repercussions of her interception will outweigh any gains from whatever intelligence he was able to garner.”

The discussions continued for several hours, examining all aspects of the incident. Abashvili indicated that he had been invited to participate in an after-action review of the Donnerschlag exercise; no doubt the Wolverine incident would be raised in that context, and he thanked all those assembled for their comments and their insights.

Marinestützpunkt Warnemünde, Friday, 30 April 1948

The long-anticipated arrival of the Russian Federation rocket cruiser Admiral Kolchak was an occasion to remember. Under the command of Captain First Rank Fyodor Morozov she had made the long voyage from Sevastopol to the Baltic in twenty days – a very good transit time, making due allowances for stops in Mers-el-Kebir and Cuxhaven. Her camouflaged hull – a mix of greens, browns, and grey stood in sharp contrast to the cobalt blue of the ships of the 13th Destroyer Flotilla and the steel grey hulls of the Kriegsmarine. What attracted the greatest attention of the many professional observers were the two canvas-covered structures abaft the ship’s superstructure – rumour credited them as being a long-range missile system of Franco-Russian origin.

The ship having arrived in the late afternoon, formalities were postponed until the following morning, and the Admiral Kolchak was moored near, but not among, the Russian destroyers of the 13th Flotilla. An observer on shore provided with binoculars would notice that a significant guard was posted to assure the ship’s security. Apprised of the recent incursion of a British submarine into the supposedly quiet Baltic, Captain Morozov was taking no chances, despite being in a friendly harbour.

Otlichno! Looking forward to seeing more of the Kolchak at play. For the record, Admiral Kolchak's cruise from the Black Sea to the Baltic is the first time either of the Admiral Lazarev-class have made any appearance outside Russian territorial seas. Assigning the ship not only a foreign port visit, but a deployment to join the force in Warnemünde, should express the gravity of the VMF Rossii's interest in Pioner / Wachsame Entschlossenheit - and perhaps also a token of how far the Russo-German relationship has advanced in the last thirty years.

One relatively minor point which doesn't need a change, but which deserves mention: Russian ships are most often referred to in the masculine, not in the feminine, as is the case in the west. So, for instance, " His camouflaged hull" rather than 'her". And to make it even more difficult, the Russian language doesn't make it universal. It's one of those invisible things that are so easily overlooked; I know about this, yet ingrained in the Western culture as I am, I'll often slip up myself - sometimes even within the same sentence.

OOC:

Quoted

One relatively minor point which doesn't need a change, but which deserves mention: Russian ships are most often referred to in the masculine, not in the feminine, as is the case in the west. So, for instance, " His camouflaged hull" rather than 'her". And to make it even more difficult, the Russian language doesn't make it universal... It's one of those invisible things that are so easily overlooked... I know about this, yet ingrained in the Western culture as I am, I'll often slip up myself - sometimes even within the same sentence.

I know. If you look carefully at the exchanges between Abashvili and the other Russian officers in the previous post, I did my best to follow that convention. When writing from a non-Russian perspective though I tend to follow more normal conventions.

Quoted from "BruceDuncan"

I know. If you look carefully at the exchanges between Abashvili and the other Russian officers in the previous post, I did my best to follow that convention. When writing from a non-Russian perspective though I tend to follow more normal conventions.

Aha, I haven't noticed that.

Quoted from "Brockpaine"

Quoted from "BruceDuncan"

I know. If you look carefully at the exchanges between Abashvili and the other Russian officers in the previous post, I did my best to follow that convention. When writing from a non-Russian perspective though I tend to follow more normal conventions.

Aha, I haven't noticed that.

Like you, I do sometimes slip. But I try. :D