Chapter 196 Medal
"Your Highness, U-47 sent a telegram. They are already on their way back." Just when the office of the British Admiralty was in chaos, Dönitz came to report to Yannick. "They installed a total of 12 warheads."
"That's really great." Even if only half of the 12 warheads blew up the battleship, it would still be an incredible achievement. Yannick immediately called the publicity department. "Dr. Goebbels, come here right now."
Putting down the phone, Yannick asked casually. "General Dönitz, what kind of medal do you think should be awarded to Pullien?"
Dönitz looked troubled. "He has only received the Iron Cross 2nd Class. According to regulations, he will only be awarded the Knight Medal if he has been awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class. However, it does not seem appropriate to only award the Iron Cross 1st Class. I leave it to Your Highness to make your decision." "
The Iron Cross Second Class was the lowest level Iron Cross medal issued by the German army in World War II. It can be obtained by ordinary soldiers as long as they have achieved military exploits once. Throughout World War II, Germany awarded nearly 4 million Second-Class Iron Cross Medals, and even 12-year-old children received the Second-Class Iron Cross. It can be seen how widespread the Iron Cross was in the late war.
The condition for awarding the Iron Cross First Class is that a soldier has performed three to five heroic combat actions on the battlefield. When receiving the award, the honoree also receives a certificate of medal, which contains the medal level, name of the honoree, position, unit to which he belongs, date of award and the signature of the division commander to which he belongs.
It is estimated that about 300,000 Iron Cross First Class were awarded during World War II (everyone agrees on this number). Soldiers must risk their lives and have outstanding combat performance before they can receive medals; in other words, medal winners basically sacrifice their precious lives in exchange for these honors. More importantly, with the Iron Cross First Class, soldiers are eligible to receive other important medals, such as the Knight's Cross.
The Knight's Cross was created by Mustache himself, probably because he was unhappy that he was only a soldier during World War I and could not obtain the higher-level Blue Max Medal. It stipulated that both officers and soldiers were eligible to receive the Knight's Cross.
It is a great honor to obtain the Knight's Cross. Only more than 7,000 were issued throughout World War II (Germany's highest mobilization force in World War II was 17 million). Once obtained, it means that one has become one of the imperial elites. At the same time, you can also win (man) and gain (zu) the respect (zhuang) respect (bi) of society (zi). According to the relevant regulations of the German Army in World War II, only those who have been awarded the Iron Cross First Class and continue to show extraordinary bravery in battle and complete tasks can be awarded the Knight Medal. In addition to the medal, recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross will also have a certificate printed in gold foil.
Yannick smiled. "General Dönitz, you forgot that there is an additional condition for the Knight's Cross." In addition to the above conditions: the Navy's submarine force sank 100,000 tons; the Air Force received 20 victory points (1 point for shooting down a single-engine enemy aircraft, 1 point for a double-engined enemy aircraft) 2 points for engines, 3 points for four engines (double points for night missions), you can get the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
"Let's do this, if the tonnage sunk is less than 100,000, the Knight's Cross will be awarded; if it exceeds 100,000, then the Knight's Cross of Iron Cross with Oak Leaves will be awarded. After all, this is a great victory, and we need to set a great example."
Mustache originally thought that the war would end soon and that the Knight's Cross of Iron would be enough, but he did not expect that the war would continue. The German army has made great achievements on all fronts, and it is necessary to introduce higher medals to reward more and more war heroes. So it was designed to add a silver oak leaf emblem to the original Knight's Iron Cross, representing a higher rank. Other than that, the rest of the design is identical. This type of medal was awarded to only 890 people during World War II, which proves its preciousness.
"Your Highness is wise."
After a while Dr. Goebbels hurried over and Yannick told him the news.
Dr. Goebbels was stunned after hearing this. "You mean...our submarine sneaked into the Scapa Flow naval base and sank 12 large enemy warships?"
Yannick waved his hand. "It's not a sinking, but 12 warheads are installed. As for how many it can sink, it depends on luck. Our intelligence personnel should be able to pass on the exact information before noon."
Dr. Goebbels was overwhelmed with excitement. "Even if one-third is sunk, it would be a miracle." Everyone knows that the German army and air force are very powerful today, and now being able to publicize a victory belonging to the German navy is simply a morale blow to the soldiers and civilians across the country. A dose of stimulant. You must know that in the last famous Battle of Jutland, the German Navy sank 3 battlecruisers, 3 cruisers, and 8 destroyers of the British Navy at the cost of losing 2 battlecruisers, 4 cruisers, and 4 destroyers.
Today, a submarine was able to sink at least three large enemy warships without any damage. This cannot but be said to be a miracle!
"Then I will go back now and get all the newspapers and radio stations ready." Just waiting for an order, he can go to full speed and sing the praises of this great naval battle as soon as possible.
Yannick nodded. "But we can't mention our secret weapon. It can only be sunk by a submarine. As for how it was done, you can use your imagination."
"Understood, Your Highness."
Yannick couldn't help but sigh after Goebbels left. "I don't know when the surface fleet will achieve such a victory."
Dönitz straightened his back and said loudly. "Your Highness, my submarine force is enough to expand the sea for you. I think we should vigorously develop submarines. The surface fleet as a fleet is enough to deter the enemy."
Yannick said seriously. "General Dönitz, self-confidence is a good thing, but overconfidence is expansion. Relying solely on submarines is a lame and deformed navy. Without the cooperation of large surface ships and aviation, submarines will eventually be unable to support themselves."
The German Navy was a lame duck during World War II. During the entire World War II, there were no aircraft carriers, and there were very few battleships such as battleships and heavy cruisers. The strength was far from that of the British Navy. It could only focus on the development of U-boats and launch unlimited submarine warfare in the Atlantic.
During World War II, Germany produced thousands of U-boats to destroy the Allied sea transportation lines, causing the Allies to suffer huge material and wealth losses. The asymmetric tactics of the German Navy should have been very successful in the early stage.
Later, due to the U.S. military's participation in the Atlantic anti-submarine war, especially the successful development of aviation anti-submarine torpedoes, the German Navy's U-boats suffered heavy losses. In addition, the Allies cracked the communication codes of the German submarines, and Admiral Dönitz's "wolf pack tactics" was declared bankrupt. In the end, Germany's submarine war was dealt with by American and British aircraft and large surface ships.
According to post-war military statistics, Germany invested 1,113 submarines during the war. During the war, a total of 704 submarines were sunk, not counting the submarines that sank themselves, surrendered after the war, and were seized by the Allies.
Another typical example is the former Soviet Navy, which also attached too much importance to submarines and ignored large surface ships represented by aircraft carriers. As a result, it could not compete with the U.S. Navy until its disintegration.
So Yannick still has to develop a surface fleet. "I hope that the performance of the U-47 this time will make them stronger." He muttered, and he remembered another thing. "How is the Tiger Shark project going?"
The so-called "Tiger Shark" is the code name of Germany's latest submarine, which can be said to be the crystallization of contemporary technology. This "Tiger Shark" is a real "submarine" boat, a submarine that is truly designed for underwater patrol and combat, not the current pseudo-submarine designed for surface ships to dive into combat or evade attacks.
When the "Tiger Shark" was mentioned, Dönitz immediately became excited. "Your Highness, in about half a year, the "Tiger Shark" will be completed and sea trials will be carried out."