The Gathering Storm. Geirr Haarr
the preparations for Fall Weiss.18
In the early hours of 1 September, the German naval ships moved into position off the Polish coast. The sea was calm, with patches of fog in some places. As the attack progressed on land, the Polish Navy declared Danzig Bay to be mined, but several merchant ships moved unharmed through the area and no mines were encountered by the sweepers. When on the 2nd all Polish territorial waters were declared dangerous, this hardly raised a German eyebrow. By now, the Polish surface fleet was accounted for, either on its way to Britain or at Hela under air attack, leaving only the submarines for the Germans to worry about. All U-boats were pulled out of the area from Swinemünde to Memel and the German A/S forces were given ‘free hunt’. In the afternoon of the same day, Densch was ordered back to the North Sea with his cruisers. There was no further use for them in the Baltic.
The majority of the German aerial attacks on the Polish harbour installations, warships and coastal batteries in the first days of the war came from the reinforced 1st Fliegerdivision of Generalleutnant Ulrich Grauert. In addition to the regular fighter and bomber units of the group, four Ju87 Stuka dive-bomber units had been added for the occasion: II/StG 2, III/StG 2, IV/LG 1 and the naval Stuka squadron 4.(St)/TrGr 186 – the latter assigned to attack the naval bases along Danzig Bay.19 Dense fog in the morning of 1 September prevented air attacks in many places inland. Along the coast, the fog was patchy, lifting early, and there were few restrictions. Around midday, 4.(St)/TrGr 186 attacked Hela for the first time, losing two of its aircraft to A/A fire.
Adapted from many sources. Insert map modified from Smedberg and Zetterling, Utbruddet av andre verdenskrig.
On the 3rd, FdT Konteradmiral Lütjens took the destroyers Leberecht Maass and Wolfgang Zenker towards Hela to test the coastal defences. Gryf and Wicher were both moored in the harbour and opened fire, as did the 15-cm shore batteries. At least one shell, presumably from Wicher or Gryf, hit Maass in the B-gun turret. Four sailors were killed and another four wounded. Outgunned by a fair margin, Lütjens pulled back behind a smokescreen, but not before Gryf had been hit and lightly damaged. As the Zerstörer left, Jaskolka and Rybitwa headed towards Gdynia to pick up reinforcements.
Later in the day, the Stukas of 4.(St)/TrGr 186 arrived again. Gryf was hit by at least one bomb and partially sunk, with fires raging through the portions above water. When the fires were finally extinguished after two days, the minelayer was a sorry sight. The two stern 12-cm gun mountings, one twin, one single, were dismounted and taken ashore before the wreck was abandoned. Mounting the guns on land was time consuming, though, and they were not operational until 30 September, just before the base surrendered. Wicher also received the attention of the TrGr 186 Stukas. Two attacks were repulsed, but at around 15:00, three bombs hit the destroyer in short succession, two amidships and one in the bow. A fourth bomb exploded in the water close to the starboard side, fracturing the hull in several places. One man was killed, twenty-two were wounded. Wicher capsized and the PMW’s surface fleet was, for all practical purposes, no more. In the afternoon of 4 September, Lütjens was ordered back to the North Sea with the destroyers and S-boats, leaving the Polish submarines for the minesweepers and R-boats to deal with.20
In the afternoon of 9 September, Admiral Raeder arrived in Danzig. After an inspection of the ruins of Westerplatte, he went on board Schleswig-Holstein, where he addressed the men and officers, handed out medals and sat down with FdM Kapitän Friedrich Ruge to discuss the continued naval operations, including harbour defence and convoy protection.
Meanwhile, German forces occupied Gdynia on 14 September, leaving Hela as one of the few remaining pockets of Polish resistance.21 The Hela Peninsula had been the subject of air attacks from the first day of the campaign, but German land forces did not arrive at the headland until 9 September. Resistance was fierce and the advance was slow down the 20-mile-long peninsula towards Hela proper, to where Admiral Unrug had moved his HQ from Gdynia. At 10:00 on the 14th the Stukas arrived over Jastarnia harbour. When they left, the mine-vessel Jaskolka was a burning wreck, while Czapla and Rybitwa were both severely damaged. The former was beyond repair and abandoned; Rybitwa limped south to Hela harbour with Czajka and Zuraw, which had sustained only light damage, to be used as floating batteries.
Raeder visiting on board Schleswig-Holstein, 9 September. Kapitän Kleikamp, behind him, does not look too happy and there are indications that he was deeply disturbed when he realised what he had been part of. (Author’s collection)
The ones that did not get away. Top, the wreck of Gryf. (A Wilmar Collection). Below, Wicher, capsized at Hela. (Author’s collection)
Schleswig-Holstein, Schlesien and some smaller ships remaining in the east shelled the Hela Peninsula for several days from 23 September. Smoke and dust from the exploding shells gave the impression of brutal efficiency, but the results were actually rather limited. Quite to the contrary, Schleswig-Holstein was damaged by return fire from the coastal batteries, after which the battleships withdrew, continuing the shelling from some 9 miles distance, reducing the effect further.22 The Stukas of TrGr 186 were sent to finish the job, and the outcome was inevitable. During the night of 1/2 October, the remainder of the garrison at Hela laid down their weapons, ending the Polish campaign. By then the harbour and naval base at Hela was a graveyard of sunk or scuttled ships surrounded by ruins.23
Schleswig-Holstein firing on Hela from Langführ. Note the elevation of the guns as the target is on the other side of Danzig Bay. (Author’s collection)
Submarine Orzel. (Author’s collection)
Just after the ceasefire had been agreed, the German minesweeper M85 struck one of the very few Polish mines that had not already been swept and sank rapidly around 5 miles north-east of Jastarnia. Twenty-four men perished.24
Predicament
The five Polish submarines, Orzeł, Wilk, Sęp, Żbik and Ryś, were supposed to create a defensive screen in and around the entrance to Danzig Bay, attacking German convoys to East Prussia and naval vessels shelling coastal positions. The plan, collectively known as Operation Worek, called for Wilk to operate inside Danzig Bay, Sęp, Żbik and Ryś outside in the Baltic and Orzeł to stand by as reserve in the Bay of Puck. The captains had strict orders not to lay their mines until specific orders arrived and to conserve their torpedoes for ‘significant military targets’. This disposition was far less aggressive than expected by the Kriegsmarine, which anticipated that the Polish boats would operate against their warships and transports in the entire southern and western Baltic. In the shallow coastal waters, the submarines would be vulnerable to A/S counter-measures and the Worek Plan actually took the submarines away from where the enemy would be. In the event that the Polish naval bases were overrun, the submarines should remain as long as possible in the Baltic, inflicting maximum damage, and then leave for Britain. If this was not possible, refuge should be sought in a neutral port.
In the morning of 1 September, Sęp, Żbik and Ryś were at Hela, while Orzeł and Wilk were at Oksywie. The emergency call from Westerplatte sent all five submarines to sea, but air activity was intense and they had to stay submerged. It would be evening before they were in place as planned.25
When