The Grand Alliance (63 page)

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combination of all these fast, powerful vessels in the great spaces of the Atlantic Ocean would subject our naval strength to a trial of the first magnitude. The
Bismarck,
mounting eight fifteen-inch guns, and built regardless of treaty limitations, was the most heavily armoured ship afloat. Her displacement exceeded that of our newest battleships by nearly ten thousand tons, and she was at least their equal in speed. “You are the pride of the Navy,”

said Hitler when he visited her in May.

To meet this impending menace the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Tovey, had at Scapa our new battleships,
King
George V
and
Prince of Wales,
and the battle-cruiser
Hood.

At Gibraltar lay Admiral Somerville with the
Renown
and
Ark Royal.
The
Repulse
and the new carrier
Victorious
were at this moment about to sail with a convoy of more than twenty thousand men for the Middle East. The
Rodney
and
Ramillies,
which the
Bismarck
could probably have sunk had she met either of them singly, were on convoy escort in the Atlantic, and the
Revenge
was at Halifax ready to sail.

In all at this time eleven convoys, including a precious troop convoy, with its risk of fearful loss of life, were at sea or about to sail. Cruiser patrols covered the exits from the North Sea and vigilant air reconnaissance watched the Norwegian coast. The naval situation was both obscure and tense, and the Admiralty, with whom I was in constant touch, became conscious of something coming, and also, acutely, of our full-spread target of merchant shipping.

In the early hours of May 21 we learned that two large warships had been seen leaving the Kattegat with a strong escort, and later the same day both the
Bismarck
and the
Prinz Eugen
were identified in Bergen Fiord. Clearly some important operation impended, and instantly our whole Atlantic control apparatus flashed into intense activity. The The Grand Alliance

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Admiralty pursued the sound and orthodox principle of concentrating upon the raiders and running risks with the convoys, including even the troop convoy. The
Hood,
with the
Prince of Wales
and six destroyers, left Scapa soon after midnight on the twenty-second to cover the cruisers
Norfolk
and
Suffolk,
already on patrol in the dreary, icebound stretch of water between Greenland and Iceland known as the Denmark Strait. The cruisers
Manchester
and
Birmingham
were ordered to guard the channel between Iceland and the Faroes. The
Repulse
and
Victorious
were placed at the disposal of the Commander-in-Chief, and the troop convoy was allowed to sail naked, except for destroyer escorts, from the Clyde.

Thursday, May 22, was a day of uncertainty and suspense.

In the North Sea all was unbroken cloud and rain. In spite of these conditions a naval aircraft from Hatston (Orkney) penetrated into Bergen Fiord and forced home a determined reconnaissance in the teeth of heavy fire. The two enemy warships were no longer there! When at 8 P.M.

this news reached Admiral Tovey he at once set forth in the
King George V,
with the
Victorious,
four cruisers, and seven destroyers, to take up a central position to the westward so as to support his cruiser patrols whichever side of Iceland the enemy might choose. The
Repulse
joined him at sea the following morning. The Admiralty judged it probable that the enemy would pass through the Denmark Strait. That evening, within a few minutes of receiving the report, I telegraphed to President Roosevelt:
Former

Naval

23 May 41

Person to President

Roosevelt

Yesterday, twenty-first, Bismarck, Prinz Eugen, and
eight merchant ships located in Bergen. Low clouds
prevented air attack. Tonight [we find] they have sailed.

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We have reason to believe that a formidable Atlantic
raid is intended. Should we fail to catch them going out,
your Navy should surely be able to mark them down for
us. King George V, Prince of Wales, Hood, Repulse,
and aircraft-carrier Victorious, with ancillary vessels, will
be on their track. Give us the news and we will finish
the job.

The
Bismarck
and the
Prinz Eugen
had in fact left Bergen nearly twenty-four hours before, and were now to the northeast of Iceland, heading for the Denmark Strait. Here the pack-ice had narrowed the strait to only eighty miles, mostly shrouded in dense mist. Towards evening on the twenty-third first the
Suffolk
and then the
Norfolk
sighted two ships approaching from the north, skirting the edge of the ice in a patch of clear weather. The
Norfolk’s
sighting report was received first in the Admiralty, and was at once broadcast in secret code to all concerned. The hunt was on; the quarry was in view; and all our forces moved accordingly. The Commander-in-Chief turned to the westward and increased his speed. The
Hood
and the
Prince of Wales
shaped their course to intercept the enemy at daylight the next morning west of Iceland. The Admiralty called Admiral Somerville, with Force H
(Renown, Ark
Royal,
and the cruiser
Sheffield),
northward at high speed to protect the troop convoy, now more than halfway down the Irish coast, or join in the battle. Admiral Somerville’s ships, already under steam, left Gibraltar at 2 A.M. on the twenty-fourth. They carried with them, as it turned out, the
Bismarck’s
fate.

I went to Chequers on Friday afternoon (May 23). Averell Harriman and Generals Ismay and Pownall were to be with me till Monday. With the Battle of Crete at its height it was The Grand Alliance

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likely to be an anxious week-end. I had, of course, a most complete service of secretaries in the house, and also direct telephone connections with the duty captain at the Admiralty and other key departments. The Admiralty expected the
Bismarck
and the
Prinz Eugen
to come through the Denmark Strait in the early dawn, and that the
Prince of Wales
and the
Hood,
with two or three cruisers, would bring them to battle. All our ships were moving towards the scene in accordance with the general plan. We spent an anxious evening, and did not go to bed until two or three o’clock.

At about seven I was awakened to hear formidable news.

The
Hood,
our largest and also our fastest capital ship, had blown up. Although somewhat lightly constructed, she carried eight fifteen-inch guns, and was one of our most cherished naval possessions. Her loss was a bitter grief, but knowing of all the ships that were converging towards the
Bismarck
I felt sure we should get her before long, unless she turned north and went home. I went straight to Harriman’s room at the end of the corridor, and, according to him, said, “The
Hood
has blown up, but we have got the
Bismarck
for certain.” I then returned to my room, and was so well tired out that I went to sleep again. At about half-past eight my principal private secretary, Martin, came into the room in his dressing-gown with a strained look on his ascetic, clear-cut face. “Have we got her?” I asked. “No, and the
Prince of Wales
has broken off the action.” This was a sharp disappointment. Had then the
Bismarck
turned north and gone home? Here was my great fear. We now know what happened.

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All that night (May 23–24), amidst driving rain and snow, the
Norfolk
and
Suffolk
with great skill shadowed the enemy, despite the weather and his efforts to shake them off, and all through the night their signals showed the exact positions of friend and foe. As the Arctic twilight grew into day the
Bismarck
could be seen twelve miles to the south on a southerly course. Soon there was smoke on the
Norfolk’s
port bow. The
Hood
and
Prince of Wales
were in sight, and mortal conflict was at hand. In the
Hood
as day was dawning the enemy was discerned seventeen miles to the northwest. The British ships turned to engage, and the
Hood
opened fire at 5.52 A.M. at a range of about twentyfive thousand yards. The
Bismarck
replied, and almost at once the
Hood
suffered a hit which started a fire in the four-inch battery. The fire spread with alarming speed, until it The Grand Alliance

388

engulfed the whole midship part. All the ships were now in full action, and the
Bismarck
too was hit. Suddenly came disaster. At 6 o’clock, after the
Bismarck
had fired her fifth salvo, the
Hood
was rent in twain by a mighty explosion. A few minutes later she had vanished beneath the waves amidst a vast pall of smoke. All but three of her valiant company, more than fifteen hundred men, including Vice-Admiral Lancelot Holland and Captain Ralph Kerr, perished.

The
Prince of Wales
quickly altered her course to avoid the wreckage of the
Hood
and continued the now unequal fight.

Very soon the
Bismarck’s
fire began to tell upon her. Within a few minutes she received four hits from fifteen-inch shells, one of which wrecked the bridge, killing or wounding nearly all upon it. At the same time the ship was holed underwater aft. Captain Leach, one of the few survivors from the bridge, decided to break off the action for the moment and turned away under a smoke-screen. He had, however, inflicted damage on the
Bismarck
which reduced her speed. She had in fact been struck underwater by two heavy shells, one of which pierced an oil tank, resulting in serious and continuing loss of oil which later had important consequences. The German commander persisted on his course to the southwest, leaving behind a marked oil trace.

The command now passed to Rear-Admiral Wake-Walker on his bridge in the cruiser
Norfolk.
It was for him to decide whether to renew the fight at once or hold on to the enemy till the Commander-in-Chief should arrive with the
King
George V
and the aircraft-carrier
Victorious.
A dominant factor was the state of the
Prince of Wales.
This ship had only recently been commissioned, and scarcely a week had passed since Captain Leach had been able to report her “fit for battle.” She had been severely mauled, and two of her ten fourteen-inch guns were unserviceable. It was highly