Warships turn to English Channel

By the fall of 1941, the pounding of German naval units in French ports by the R.A.F., the Allied convoys to Murmansk, U.S.S.R., and Hitler’s belief that the British intended to invade Norway, combined to bring about “The Channel Dash,” eighty years ago, this week.

At a naval conference on Nov. 13, 1941, Hitler refused to allow further commerce raiding by the battle-cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, which were docked at the French port of Brest, together with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. He didn’t want any more embarrassments such as befell the Admiral Graf Spee and Bismarck.

Faced with that decision, Großadmiral Erich Ræder, chief of the Kriegsmarine, agreed that the three ships should be returned to Germany. The großadmiral suggested that the best route would be to go around the British Isles and up the Denmark Strait, between Greenland and Iceland, and into the Arctic Ocean and down to the Baltic Sea.

The großadmiral did concede that the Prinz Eugen might be able to get up the English Channel safely. When Hitler asked if it would be possible to bring all three ships through the channel, Ræder replied that, “It would involve very great danger and I would most urgently warn you, mein Führer, against attempting anything of the sort.” There it was! The seed had been planted.

At the December Naval Conference, Hitler said that, “Every ship that is not in Norway is in the wrong place.” Later that month, Ræder reiterated his position, saying, “According to the evidence so far available, an escape through the channel is not possible owing to the enormous risks.” Hitler disagreed, saying, “the best strategy is a complete surprise breakout through the channel.” Der Fürher had spoken! The task of planning and leading the breakout was given to Vizeadmiral Otto Ciliax.

Adm. Ciliax was 50 years old, and was the first commander of the Scharnhorst, which was now his flagship.

At a “deciding conference” on Jan. 12, 1942, Adm. Ciliax unveiled his plan for, “The Channel Dash,” which was code-named “Operation Cerberus.” The admiral advocated leaving Brest at night, so that the warships could, “...take maximum advantage of the element of surprise by passing through the Straits of Dover in daylight.” In approving the plan, Hitler said, “I do not believe the enemy to be capable of making, and carrying out, lightening decisions.” Events proved him correct. He also accurately predicted that, “...this operation will be our most spectacular naval success of the war.”

Adm. Ciliax planned to depart Brest at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 11, 1942. But the British had also been thinking. They had determined that the German ships would probably be returning to Germany, and because of a number of factors, had narrowed the date to Feb.12, 1942.

A bombing attack by the R.A.F. delayed the departure of the warships by 90 minutes. However, the Germans were able to turn it to their advantage, by leaving while the harbor was still covered by the artificial fog that was produced during air-raids. The Germans also delayed sounding the “All Clear” until dawn, so that Allied spies wouldn’t learn of the departure until too late.

A comedy of British errors now combined to make Hitler seem clairvoyant. Both submarines, stationed outside Brest, were withdrawn at the same time, to recharge their batteries. R.A.F. radar was not working and replacement planes refused to start. And, the British command figured that no news was good news, and therefore didn’t inquire when no reports were received.

Meanwhile, it was not until after midnight that Adm. Ciliax, ironically copying Lord Nelson’s address to his sailors before the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, told the German sailors of their mission, saying, “The Fürher expects from each of us, unwavering devotion, and I lead the squadron conscious that every man will do his duty to the utmost.”

The minesweepers of Adm. Frederick Ruge had swept a mile wide path through the Channel, which the fleet navigator had to traverse without radar, lest the radar itself reveal the German secret. The Passage was being made at a speed of 27 knots on a moonless night, with Scharnhorst in the lead, followed by Gneisenau, and Prinz Eugen.

The German fleet passed by the German-occupied Channel Islands at 5 a.m., and by 7:15 a.m. had passed Cherbourg. Dawn broke 30 minutes later and within five minutes Luftwaffe fighters, led by Ace Adolf Galland, joined the operation.

The German warships were not detected, until, finally, at 11:10 a.m., two Spitfire pilots reported them. By then, the German warships were approaching Dover and the narrowest part of the Channel —21 miles across. It wasn’t until one hour later, that the British finally swung into action. At that time, a coast defense battery began firing and a squadron of motor torpedo boats attacked. They would be followed by a squadron of 18 Fairey Swordfish torpedo planes and six destroyers.

The German warships had passed through the Straits of Dover by 2:30 p.m. None had, as yet, suffered any damage. That changed, when the Scharnhorst hit a mine off the mouth of the River Scheldt, and shuddered to a stop. The two other ships never paused. Destroyer Z-29 came alongside and took the admiral off his flagship. However, the damage was not serious and within 20 minutes, the Scharnhorst was underway.

At 3:20 p.m., the British destroyers began moving in. But, in addition to contending with the much superior range and fire power of the German ships, the Royal Navy also had to contend with two bombing attempts by its own Royal Air Force! Once again, the British failed to inflict any damage on the German ships.

In a last gasp effort, the R.A.F. sent 242 planes to intercept the German warships. Nothing!

The Gneisenau struck a mine, at 7:55 p.m., off the island of Terschelling, which blew a gaping hole in her starboard side. Within 30 minutes her crew had her moving again. Near the same island, the Scharnhorst struck a second mine, at 9:30 p.m., which did significant damage. At 7 a.m., on the 13th, Gneisenau and the Prinz Eugen arrived at Brunsbuttel, on the western end of the Kiel Canal, in Germany. Scharnhorst finally arrived at Wilhelmshavern at midnight on the 13th.

The British were aghast. The Times of London said that,

“Vice-Admiral Ciliax has succeeded where the Duke of Medina Sidonia [commander of the Spanish Armada] failed. Nothing more mortifying to the pride of our sea power has happened since the seventeenth century. And more than pride is involved; for the strength of the naval forces against which we will have to guard will presently be increased by...two battleships and a cruiser [which had previously been] stationary targets for our bombers over Brest.”

For his part in Operation Cerberus, Adm. Ciliax was awarded the Knight’s Cross, on March 21, 1942.

Next Week: Butch O’Hare

Mr. Wimbrow writes from Ocean City, Maryland, where he practices law representing those persons accused of criminal and traffic offenses, and those persons who have suffered a personal injury through no fault of their own. He can be contacted at: wimbrowlaw@gmail.com.