The Hunters - Prologue

1/6/1939

Kapitanleutnant zur See Wilhelm Pöpel (Crew 31) assigned to U-34 (Type VIIA), Unterseebootsflottille Saltwedel (2nd) at Wilhelmshaven.

The venerable Type VIIA

Crew assignments are as follows:

KptLt Wilhelm Pöpel
ObLtzS Benno Pfefferberg
LtzS Emil Fleck
ObLt Gustav Sanner
Marineassistenzarzt Laurens Laar
Obersteuermann Harri Reichart
Bootsmann Fabio Adelman
Maschinist Timm Mencken
Maschinistenmaat Alois Bachmann
Maschinistenmaat Oskar Band
Matrose (Maschinen) Marius Von Bingen
Matrose (Maschinen) Luka Schiff
Matrose (Maschinen) Albin Schwarzenegger
Torpedmechaniker Marvin Dassler
Torpedmechaniker Rob Hertzog
Matrose (Torpedo) Steffen Prantl
Matrose (Torpedo) Piet Widmann
Matrose (Torpedo) Maxi Stauffer
Matrose (Torpedo) Finn Himmelblau
Funkmaat Meik Elser
Funkmaat Yannick Hoehman
Matrose (Funker) Oliver Heilprin
Steuermannsmaat Konrad Lasch
Steuermannsmaat Laurens Lehman
Steuermannsmaat Elias Neuhaus
Obergefreiter Benedikt Sulzberger
Obergefreiter Lio Brestrich
Gefreiter Rayko Stricker
Gefreiter Edgar Schott
Gefreiter Tilman Staudinger
Gefreiter Edgar Eisenmann
Matrose Willi Ehman
Matrose Gabriel Stirner
Matrose Carl Blattner
Matrose Paulus Blobel
Matrose Magnus Bodenstein
Matrose Alfred Klemperer
Matrose Leonhard Dreyfuss
Matrose Andreas Ammermann
Matrose Tom Höss
Matrose Yannick Hartknoch
Matrose Marcel Eichmann
Matrose Sebastian Aumann
Matrose Jacob Geller

Our starting boat, rank and crew

Sea trials have been completed in the 8 weeks prior. Tactical training and work-ups to proceed.

War in Europe is anticipated in the coming months and the Kriegsmarine is to be prepared for any eventuality. 

U-boat crews are to maintain a high level of readiness and can expect to be put out to sea at short notice.

Historical Notes

In the summer of 1939, the German U-boat force was small but ambitious. Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz, commander of the U-boat arm, had long argued that Germany would need hundreds of submarines to threaten Britain’s trade. In reality, only 57 boats were operational, and fewer than 30 were ready for patrol in the Atlantic. The remainder were still under construction or assigned to training flotillas.

The fleet was a mix of types: the Type VII (consisting of A and B variants at this stage), the standard ocean-going boat, made up the backbone; a handful of Type IX (A variant) long-range boats were just entering service; and smaller Type II coastal submarines were largely reserved for training and North Sea operations. Most were mechanically sound but untested in combat.

Crews were drawn from the most motivated and technically skilled volunteers in the Kriegsmarine. They drilled constantly in crash dives, torpedo procedures, night attacks, and radio discipline. Yet, for all their training, few had faced an enemy at sea.

In August 1939, the mood in the flotillas was a mixture of confidence and tension. The boats and the men were ready History would soon test both the fleet and its crews in ways few would have predicted.

The historical U-34 was one of the first ten Type VII boats later designated as Type VIIA.

She was laid down on 15 September, 1935 at Kiel and was commissioned on 12 September 1936. 

She was one of the few boats that had combat experience at this point due to her participation, along with her sister-boat, U-33, in the Spanish Civil War.

U-34's sister boat, U-33.

U-34 enjoyed a very successful early war, sinking 19 merchant ships and 2 warships, along with 2 merchants captured, and damage to a warship that would end up amounting to a total loss, for a total of  99,311 GRT across 7 war patrols.

She started the war under the command of KptLt Wilhelm Rollmann who would go on to earn the Knights Cross, but was killed on 5 November 1943 when his boat, U-848 (Type IXD2), was sunk by US maritime patrol aircraft in the South Atlantic.

In September 1939, U-34 was assigned to Unterseebootsflottille Saltzwedel (which would eventually become 2. Unterseebootsflottille) based out of Wilhelmshaven, but would transition to Lorient, France from June 1940 onwards.

Commentary

I thought I'd start this series with a little bit of background of what the situation was and what we're working with in a lead-up to our first patrol of The Hunters.

Bear in mind that my characters are fictional and may not mimic their historical counterparts exactly, but I'm hoping that playing through a campaign in The Hunters with a narrative lense will in some ways convey that mood and thoughts as they may have been experienced by historical commanders.

I may, however, take a few liberties here and there with devices not found in the game, for the sake of storytelling, such as awards and promotions for the crew, crew transfers, etc.

Cheers!