Free The Lonely Sea by Alistair MacLean Page B

to their firing intermittently or not at all and the jamming of ‘Y’ turret shell ring had put the four bigguns of that turret—half of Captain Leach’s effective armament—out of commission. The Prince of Wales, far from being slightly damaged, was badly crippled: to close with her powerful enemy, to expose herself any longer to the murderous accuracy of these broadsides would have been no mere act of folly but quick and certain suicide.
    The Bismarck made no attempt to pursue and engage her enemy. With the Hood destroyed and the Prince of Wales badly hurt and driven off in ignominious defeat, she had already achieved success beyond her wildest dreams. A magnificent victory, a tremendous boost to the prestige of the German Navy and, in Goebbels’ hands, a newforged propaganda weapon of incalculable power—why risk throwing it all away by exposing herself to a lucky salvo that might destroy her turrets or bridge or fire control directors—or might even sink her? Besides, her primary purpose in breaking into the Atlantic was not to engage the Home Fleet—that was the last thing Admiral Lutjens wanted—but to annihilate our convoys.
    The rejoicing aboard the Bismarck was intense, but no more so than the jubilation in the chancellory of Berlin, where news of this resounding triumph had been flashed as soon as the Bismarck had broken off the action.
    Within an hour the news would be in the hands of every newspaper and radio station in the country.By the afternoon every person in Germany—and by the evening every country in Europe—would know of the crushing defeat suffered by the Royal Navy. An overjoyed Hitler sent his own and the nation’s congratulations and admiration to the officers and men of the Bismarck, and personally announced, amongst numerous other decorations, the immediate award of the Knight’s Insignia of the Iron Cross to the Bismarck ’s first gunnery officer.
    Only one man held aloof, only one man remained untouched by the exultation, the exhilaration of the victory—the man, one would have thought, who had the greatest cause of all to rejoice, Captain Lindemann, commanding officer of the Bismarck. Lindemann was unhappy and more than a little afraid—and no man had ever called Lindemann’s courage into question. A gallant and very experienced sailor, reckoned about the best and the most skilful in the German Navy—and he had to be, to have command of the finest ship in the German Navy—he was filled with foreboding, a dark certainty of ultimate defeat.
    Although his ship had suffered no damage either to her guns or engines and was still the complete fighting machine, a shell, crashing through the heavy armour, and exploding in her fuel tanks had perceptibly reduced her speed and he feared he might not have sufficient fuel left for sustained high-speed steaming and manoeuvring—and Lindemann realized only too clearly that he wouldrequire all the speed and every pound of thrust the Bismarck ’s big turbines were capable of developing. He knew the British, he knew the tremendous regard and affection in which they had held the Hood, and he knew too that, far from being intimidated by the appalling manner of her death, they would have been goaded into a savage fury for revenge and would not rest until they had hunted them down and destroyed them.
    These fears he tried to communicate to his senior officer, Admiral Lutjens, and suggested that they return immediately to Bergen, for repairs. Admiral Lutjens, for reasons which we will never know—possibly the elation of their great success had temporarily blurred his judgment and dreams of glory are notoriously treacherous counsellors—overruled his captain. They would go on as originally planned. So the Bismarck turned south-west and pushed on deep down into the Atlantic.
    The Navy followed her. All afternoon and evening the Norfolk, Suffolk and Prince of Wales shadowed both