"Last Order: Sink it"?

On this Sunday, I would like to tell you about the book 'The Last Order: Sink It', written by Rudolf Arendt, a naval officer whose story takes place in the Black Sea and Turkish territory: I think it is worth reading as an important source book that sheds light on the little-known aspects and days of World War II, which was based on our borders, and presents sections of the situation of our country at that time.

The story of the six U-Boots that the Nazis brought thousands of kilometers by land and river from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea in order to gain superiority over the Soviet navy in World War II has interesting connotations. The term U-Boot is known as the name given to the German submarines that came into use at that time, with reference to the German Unterseeboot (under sea boat in English). From now on, I will use the term German submarine instead of U-boat for the sake of clarity.

In the Second World War, the Germans sought to be present everywhere. They also wanted to be in the Black Sea to fight the Russians. Since it was both difficult and more risky to bring surface ships, they found the solution to resort to submarine warfare. A total of 6 German submarines, which were built piece by piece in the Constanta port of Romania, a German ally at the time, participated in 57 operations in the Black Sea between 1942 and 1944. 3 of these submarines became unable to fight as a result of the clashes. With the fall of Romania during the course of the war, German submarines had no place to use as a base in the Black Sea. In order to remove the German submarines from the Black Sea, the offers made to neutral Turkey, which was outside the war at the time, were not accepted by the Turkish government. 

The German Naval Command then ordered the three remaining submarines to be sunk off the Turkish coast and the submarine crews to reach the Aegean Sea and the German troops stationed on its islands. The three submarines were sunk in Karasu, Ağva and Zonguldak Ereğli respectively. However, all of the German submarine personnel who disembarked were captured one by one on Turkish soil and interrogated in Turkey under wartime conditions (1944-1946). In addition to the story of the sinking, the author of the book tells the story of the German submariners' efforts to reach the Aegean islands on Turkish soil, their adventurous journey and their ultimately unsuccessful adventure. Captured by Turkish security forces, the German submariners were interrogated and then 'hosted' first in the Beyşehir district of Konya and then in a prisoner of war camp in Isparta.

In the book, author Arendt also describes her childhood, the nationalist education she received, the process of joining the navy, the submarine operations in the Black Sea, the submarines that were sunk with demolition molds off the Turkish coast, the captivity process that started with their capture on land and the aftermath. In other words, a German officer brings us together with his real life story. 

In his book, Arendt, who joined the German Navy, which was reactivated in 1956 after World War II (after the Germans joined NATO in 1955) and retired in 1983 at the rank of Rear Admiral (he was only a First Lieutenant during the war years), analyzes how he saw the Nazi period, how he believed that they were fighting a just war under the influence of strong Nazi propaganda, how they were ultimately unaware of what was happening, and how he evaluated the situation militarily and politically years later. He also evaluates Turkey's situation during the war and its efforts to stay out of the war. In this respect, I believe that the fact that he also tells about us makes the book even more valuable for the Turkish reader.

Three German submarines sunk off our shores were found years later. Among these submarines, U-20 was found in Karasu in 1994, U-23 was found off the coast of Ağva in 2019, but U-19, which was sunk off Zonguldak/Ereğli, has still not been found. I think it is calmly waiting in its submarine bed for a successful discovery by wreck hunters.

I find it valuable that Arendt describes Turkey, which she saw in 1944-45, the poverty and deprivation in the places she passed through on her escape route, the general situation of the people in the cities she visited, and the kind acceptance shown to them by the Turkish army in as objective a language as possible. The fact that she describes the shabby state of Germany, which she later saw when she returned to her country, Germany, with the bitter feelings she carried, reflects the evil face of the war in all its nakedness, offers useful inferences to the reader in terms of taking lessons, and makes valuable associations.

In this book, Arent's adventures and observations are as important as the decisions taken by the German High Command at the time regarding the war and the discussions at the center of these decisions. For example, when Hitler instructed the German General Staff to carry out the necessary studies and planning for the famous Operation Barbarossa (the invasion of Russia), he describes the efforts to convince him. Grand Admiral Raeder sheds light on that period by saying, "He was trying to convince Hitler that ideologically, if necessary, the risky attack on Russia should be launched after the defeat of the main enemy, England." In response to these efforts, Hitler's instructions were "The German Army must be prepared to quickly conquer Soviet Russia even before the war against England ends!" and the bitter end of the Germans began to approach. According to the author, the goal should have been to reach the Volga-Arkhangelsk line.

Just like in the First World War, the Germans entered this war without being able to establish complete superiority over England at sea, and therefore the outcome of the Second World War was another disappointment for the Germans.

The Germans started submarine warfare in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, with the center of gravity in the Atlantic, in order to make up for their deficiencies in the field of surface-line warships, but they naturally could not achieve the success they expected in submarine warfare due to the lack of support from surface ships and the Air Force.

At the beginning of the war, Admiral Dönitz, who was in charge of the German Submarine Fleet, had 50 submarines, which was certainly far below the number required to win such a major war. Therefore, without delay, Germany embarked on submarine construction throughout the war, building a total of 1,500 new submarines. 750 of these submarines were lost, along with about 40,000 German submariners. Although Britain suffered, the island could not be completely blockaded. Despite intense aerial bombardments, Hitler could not bring Britain to its knees as he expected.

Dominating the seas, the British were able to transport all kinds of food, raw materials and human resources from their colonies to the homeland. In this situation, the United States' entry into the war from 1940, first through the Lend-Lease Act, then through direct sales, and finally, on December 7, 1941, directly on Britain's side and against the Germans, changed everything. The US threw Britain a lifeline. The Germans could no longer maintain their superiority over Britain. 

The US, which helped Britain against Germany in that great war, is now trying to bring Russia to its knees by helping Ukraine. Moreover, I believe that in some ways, it continues to successfully implement its policy of antagonizing Russia by putting pressure on all other European nations and forcing them to help Ukraine.

In the book, all the political maneuvers and political zigzags that Turkey made in order not to be a party to the war and to stay out of the war are described with all its nakedness. The fact that Turkey stood closer to Germany until the end of 1941, leaned towards the Allies from 1942 onwards, but tried to manage the situation by signing non-aggression pacts with both sides since the beginning of the war, maintaining diplomatic relations with both sides and continuing its commercial activities as much as possible is successfully explained as the observations of a German officer.

The full text of Hitler's letters to İnönü and İnönü's letters to Hitler, tells the subject through the eyes of the leaders and the expectations of both nations from each other. It sheds light on and reminds some unknowns.

Even in early 1944, while Turkey maintained commercial relations with Germany and did not break diplomatic relations, Turkey was forced to stop exporting chromium to Germany in April 1944 as a result of increasing pressure from the Allies, stopping arms shipments and embargoes on Turkish export products. It also cut exports of other goods by 50%. Finally, as the war was about to end, Turkey severed all diplomatic relations with Germany on August 2.

Meanwhile, in January, Field Marshal Fevzi Çakmak, the Chief of General Staff, who was known to be a German friend, was dismissed and replaced by General Kazım Orbay, whom the British admired very much and did not hide the fact that they valued him. In June, Numan Menemencioğlu, known for his good relations with the Germans, was also dismissed. Thus, Turkey, seeing the coming Allied victory and fearing the growing Russian influence in the Balkans, begins to openly play the Western alliance in the war.

A book to read. Good Sunday.