CHAPTER 289: CHAPTER 289: SHIRE’S INVENTION

Colonel Hering calculated accurately, and when the submarine surfaced again, it had smoothly passed through the outer defense circle and appeared near the enemy battleship.

The only flaw was that the bow was off target.

The submarine had already prepared torpedoes, the torpedo chamber was flooded, just waiting for Colonel Hering to find the right position and order the launch.

However...

Just as Colonel Hering was nervously steering the submarine, several columns of water suddenly exploded in front of the submarine, and Colonel Hering realized he had been discovered. These fires were obviously directed at the submarine.

Colonel Hering did not hesitate and shouted: "Emergency dive!"

Colonel Hering decisively chose to abandon the mission, knowing that there was almost no chance of hitting the target with the torpedoes in this situation, and the submarine was very likely to be destroyed by the enemy.

"Emergency dive!"

"Emergency dive!"

...

Orders were passed down one after another.

The crew members’ tense nerves were all activated; they knew this was a moment of life and death. If they were one second late, the entire submarine and its 35 crew members would sink to the bottom of the sea, feeding the fish.

"Left full rudder." Colonel Hering immediately ordered loudly.

"Left full rudder!"

...

The deputy captain quickly understood the command’s meaning. The battleship’s hull below the waterline was seven to eight meters, like a wall blocking the submarine.

If they did not turn in time, they might collide head-on with the battleship’s thick armored hull, leading to destruction and death.

The seawater churned with the sound of cannons, and the crew members grabbed hold of fixed objects to avoid falling.

Gradually, the shaking reduced more and more, indicating that the shells were blocked by the seawater outside.

The crew breathed a sigh of relief, but Colonel Hering felt he might have been fooled.

The submarine’s periscope had only been exposed for over a minute. Usually, in such a short time and in darkness, the periscope shouldn’t be discovered.

Yet, it was discovered by the enemy.

Not only discovered, but they also managed to fire densely in that short time of over a minute.

There was only one possibility: the enemy knew the submarine would come and were fully prepared to wait for it to appear.

...

Colonel Hering guessed correctly, the "Gauls" battleship was ostensibly bombing V Beach, but was actually conducting anti-submarine operations.

Shire assigned the task of finding the submarine to the "Gauls" battleship captain, Colonel Mayer.

Shire informed him only an hour before departure.

Upon hearing that a submarine would attack, Colonel Mayer looked at Shire in shock: "But that’s impossible, Colonel. How did the Germans know we would be at V Beach?"

"You don’t need to worry about that," Shire calmly replied, "You just need to know the Germans’ submarine will come, and the ’Gauls’ task is to detect and point it out promptly."

Then Shire added, "You’d be willing to do that, right, Colonel?"

Colonel Mayer rolled his eyes. How could he not be willing? The consequence of unwillingness was the "Gauls" sinking to the bottom of the sea!

At the same time, Colonel Mayer was somewhat dissatisfied. He now knew that his battleship "Gauls" was being used as bait by Shire.

However, Colonel Mayer didn’t dare take it lightly. He immediately organized the lookouts and sailors on the ship, stationing them in various directions, especially on the sea surface facing the western side, almost every inch covered with personnel and searchlights prepared.

This was also why Shire wanted the "Gauls" to approach within five kilometers for close-range bombardment with the enemy on shore.

The battleship being only five kilometers from the coast meant that the sea area was full of shallows and reefs, leaving almost no space for the submarine to dive and navigate.

The north and south were the bow and stern; the submarine appearing in these directions posed no danger, and torpedoes were almost impossible to hit such small areas.

So only the sea-facing west remained.

Hundreds of sailors and lookouts stared at the sea; many had borrowed binoculars from the army, so the submarine’s periscope was discovered as soon as it emerged.

Then, searchlights targeted the submarine’s position, and the prepared fires started attacking the submarine randomly.

Soon, destroyers loaded with deep water bombs rushed to the positions indicated by the searchlights.

The submarine’s path was easily predicted; everyone saw its periscope draw a long line on the sea surface before turning and diving north to avoid the battleship.

Under Captain Mayer’s command, the artillery stopped firing, and the lookouts followed the submarine’s path with searchlights, directing the destroyers.

The destroyers accelerated, and one by one, deep water bombs shaped like "oil barrels" rolled off the rear.

...

Colonel Hering completely relaxed inside the submarine.

The submarine had urgently dived to eleven meters deep; even if the enemy shells exploded directly above, they could not threaten the submarine.

Shire was a respectable yet feared opponent; he had used himself and the battleship to set the trap... wait, Shire might not be on that battleship at all, and perhaps this mission was doomed from the start.

However, Shire was ultimately a step too late.

Colonel Hering secretly felt relieved; this was the advantage of submarines: miss the strike and escape immediately, leaving the enemy only a few minutes for their attack window.

The initially tense crew now had smiles on their faces, some even shaking their heads slightly, still somewhat jittery from the earlier danger.

However...

"Boom boom!"

Several loud jolts shook the submarine like an earthquake, causing the unprepared crew to scream and fall.

"What’s happening?" Colonel Hering, fallen on the ground, struggled to rise from the pile of people.

"Enemy artillery?" The deputy captain looked terrified.

"Impossible!" Colonel Hering responded, "What artillery can hit this depth?"

Everyone was silent; none knew what it was.

But one thing was certain: it could hit the submarine!

"Boom boom!"

Two more explosions sounded, again making the crew fall.

They were certain this was not a random occurrence but the enemy consciously chasing the submarine.

Colonel Hering’s mind went blank; he had many questions left unanswered:

How did the enemy know their position?

What were those things that could hit the submarine?

Who invented them...

Wait, Shire!

Colonel Hering swallowed hard and said, "That might be Shire’s new equipment!"

The crew’s faces turned pale instantly; Shire’s new equipment that could hit submarines!

Does that mean...

Just as the thought rose, "boom boom" two explosions sounded again.

Followed by the panicked shouts of the crew in the rear: "The engine room is flooding! The engine room is flooding..."

Colonel Hering realized the battle was over.

With the engine room flooding, if they did not surface, it meant they would never surface!