Before reading this article, I sincerely invite you to click the "Follow" button, so that you can continue to push such articles in the future, and it is also convenient for you to discuss and share, your support is the driving force for us to insist on creating~
Sentence |
Edit|t
introduction
On September 4, 1945, a Norwegian seal ship docked at Spitsbergen Island in the North Pole. Previously, their airwave channel received a message from the islanders and came to this deserted island.
The radio message for help was sent by 11 soldiers on the island, who have been on the island for almost a year and have been seeking help in recent months.
The team had a meal with the Norwegians, and the ensuing scene was a bit comical. The commander of this team slowly stood up and said, "I think it is time for us to surrender. ”
So, what are these 11 people, why did they announce their surrender, and why are they trapped in the North Pole?
(Surrender of Germany)
1. Went on a secret mission to the Arctic, but was forgotten at the end of World War II
It turned out that these men were soldiers attached to the weather station of the Nazi German Navy, and all of them had undergone rigorous training and were selected to arrive on the island of Spitsbergen in the North Pole.
(Remains of a Nazi German meteorological base in Svalbard, Norway)
Here, the soldiers carried out a secret mission, code-named Operation Waist Knife, to collect meteorological data from the North Atlantic. So why did the Germans send them to the Arctic, and what was the purpose of the meteorological information collected?
In fact, in addition to factors such as weapons and the quality of the army, the natural factor of meteorology also plays an extremely important role in warfare. The ability to predict when and where a storm or hail will fall can help decision-makers correctly determine the best time for landfall or air strikes.
(Detection Tool)
Hitler's failure to attack the Soviet Union was also linked to his underestimation of the weather conditions in the Soviet Union, and the Allied landings in Normandy were also timed when the storm had subsided. It follows that meteorological information is crucial to the situation of war.
The Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, east of Greenland in the Arctic, is the best place to collect meteorological information from the North Atlantic. The vast and uninhabited Arctic can also make the weather station effectively hidden from the Allies.
As a result, the Germans recruited more than 70 volunteers who were trained in the Alps to withstand the cold, mastered a series of skills to survive in the snow and ice for a long time, and absorbed a wealth of geological and geographical knowledge.
In the end, 10 people passed the assessment, and the Nazis sent William Derge, who had many experiences in the North Pole at the age of 33, as the captain to lead them to carry out the "Waist Knife Operation".
(Aircraft transporting supplies from the German Arctic Meteorological Unit)
In this way, on August 5, 1944, 11 people arrived at the North Pole with enough living materials, scientific research equipment and weapons to support them for three years. Later, the meteorological information they provided helped German submarines successfully attack Allied ships and helped Hitler determine the timing of the Ardennes counteroffensive.
However, no matter how stubbornly Hitler resisted, Nazi Germany was doomed. On May 8, 1945, Germany announced its unconditional surrender, and the team thought that they would be able to return to Germany after their mission, but they did not expect to find themselves in a desperate situation.
(German Meteorological Troops)
On the day of the German surrender, their superiors sent a message informing them that the war was over, asking them to detonate all explosives, destroy all classified documents in their hands, and continue to broadcast weather information thereafter, but without encryption. However, regarding when the squad will return, the boss only said that they need to remain in the Arctic to serve, pending further instructions.
But the eleven did not expect that they would never receive any news again, and that these Nazi soldiers had been forgotten by Germany in this icy and snowy land, and their return was far away.
(Island location)
Second, trapped on a desert island, there is little hope of trying to save them
These German soldiers tried to contact the headquarters again, but the message sent was not heard, although the living resources in the warehouse were still supplied for two years, no one dared to guarantee whether they would be able to wait for rescue after two years.
The amount of dry food and canned food was dwindling, and there was no food to grow in the snow and ice, so they were forced to hunt. They hunt fish in the sea and seals that come ashore, and if they encounter a polar bear attacking the camp, they will kill them directly.
(Polar Bear)
However, the number of weapons is also decreasing, and they still need to leave the cold Arctic, or face an existential crisis. But they didn't have any means of transportation other than a rowing boat. Therefore, to be rescued, it is imperative to get in touch with the outside world.
(Sled dogs and the German Arctic Meteorological Unit)
However, on the issue of whether to turn to the outside world for help, the 11 people are divided within themselves. Some insisted on staying put, but as they were trapped at the weather station for longer and longer, the thick ice would prevent any ships that would arrive if they didn't leave in time, and they would be forced to stay here for the winter, with even more hope of survival.
Everyone agrees: Help!
However, at the time, their location was too hidden, and the Allies had searched the area to destroy the weather station, but to no avail, and no one would think of it now.
At that time, they also signed a non-disclosure agreement, and their whereabouts were a mystery to their families, and no one would have thought that their loved ones were trapped in the North Pole.
In desperation, they chose to send a message to the airwave channel of their former enemy, the Allied forces, hoping to get a response.
3. Reluctantly seeking help from the Allies, he became the last to surrender to the Germans
The Norwegian military, who received the news, were also surprised, and they did not expect that there were 11 more Nazi German soldiers who had been stranded in the deserted Arctic for several months after Germany's surrender. Out of humanitarian spirit, Norway sent a seal boat to rescue them.
On 4 September, they arrived on the island of Spitsbergen, where the Nazi soldiers performed a belated surrender ceremony.
(German soldiers and the Norwegian military)
The atmosphere was not as tense as both sides thought, and in a peaceful atmosphere, they had a meal together. Commander Dr. William Digg removed his pistol and placed it on the table.
The Norwegian commander had not yet come to his senses and asked if he could leave the pistol, and William said that of course he could, because they had surrendered.
Ultimately. After several months in detention in Norway, the group returned to Germany. But as Germany was divided, the 11 people who had shared weal and woe lived in East and West Germany.
(Liberated Germans)
A veteran who participated in Operation Waist Knife recalled that he chose to participate in the operation and go to the North Pole to carry out a mission because he was young and adventurous. But the Germans who finally surrendered faced serious existential challenges and had to face a torn apart country when they returned.
(Gathering of 4 survivors)
I wonder if they will regret their impulsiveness and rashness back then? After receiving the rescue from Norway, will they regret the indirect losses caused to the Allies by using weather information in the war?
Today, meteorological information still plays an important role in all walks of life, it can be used to predict agriculture and prevent disasters, but for the sake of peace for all mankind, meteorological information should not be used in the course of war. The soldiers' will to survive in the face of adversity is commendable, but their war acts of aiding and abetting are not worthy of emulation.
Resources
Revealing the Last Surrendered Nazi German Army: Mysterious Mission in the Arctic.China Military Television,2015-06-04
The last German army to surrender in Europe in World War II: the forgotten island still sticks to its post.People's Daily Online,2015-05-07