|
Operation ''Wunderland'' (German: ''Unternehmen Wunderland'') was a large-scale operation undertaken in summer 1942 by the ''Kriegsmarine'' in the waters of the Northern Sea Route close to the Arctic Ocean. The Germans knew that many ships of the Soviet Navy had sought refuge in the Kara Sea because of the protection that its ice pack provided during 10 months of the year. The naval operation to enter the Kara Sea during the summer thaw and destroy as many Russian vessels as possible was named "Operation ''Wunderland''". On 16 August 1942, — under ''Kommodore'' Wilhelm Meendsen-Bohlken — left Narvik and entered the Barents Sea. Along with it went U-boats (Captain Grau) and (Lt. Captain Timm), as well as destroyers ''Friedrich Eckoldt'', ''Erich Steinbrinck'' and ''Richard Beitzen''. ==Kara Sea== On 19 August, the German fleet rounded Cape Zhelaniya and entered the Kara Sea which was fairly free from ice during the short summer. The next day, the Arado Ar 196 seaplane on board ''Admiral Scheer'' flew to Kravkova Island in the Mona Islands and spotted three groups of Soviet ships there, with icebreakers ''Lenin'' and ''Krasin'' among them. Fog and ice floes, however, prevented the German warships from approaching. When they arrived at the Mona Islands, the Russian ships were gone. Then, ''Admiral Scheer'' turned northeast and sped towards the Nordenskiöld Archipelago. Despite this initial setback, on 24 August, ''U-601'' sank the Soviet steamer ''Kuybyshev'' (2,332 BRT). On the 25th, ''Admiral Scheer'' fell upon the Russian icebreaker ''Sibiryakov'' (under the command of Captain Anatoli Kacharava) right off the northwest coast of Russky Island at the northern end of the Nordenskiöld Archipelago. After putting up resistance, ''Sibiryakov'' was sunk in an unequal battle. Looking for Soviet convoys to destroy, ''Admiral Scheer'' headed back to the Mona Islands, but not finding any ships there, it sailed again to the Nordenskiöld Archipelago, trying to straddle the two convoy routes coming from the Vilkitsky Strait. Since it was not able to find any more Soviet ships, ''Admiral Scheer'' decided to head southeast towards Dikson Island in order to attack the Soviet military installations there. With its powerful guns, it caused random destruction ashore at Dikson and badly damaged the ships ''Dezhnev'' and ''Revolutsioner'' which lay anchored in the harbour. Finally, on 30 August, ''Admiral Scheer'' returned to Narvik. On 8 September, ''U-251'' surfaced close to Uyedineniya Island and destroyed a Soviet weather station with gunfire. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Operation Wunderland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|