4 ms·
As I understand it, this generally stopped because of the Laconia incident. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laconia_incident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laconi
by derivagral 6y ago
As I understand it, this generally stopped because of the Laconia incident.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laconia_incident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laconia_incident
- mrec 6y agoThat was '42; the (in)famous Dönitz order below was from November or December '39. > Rescue no one and take no one with you. Have no care for the ships’ boats. Weather conditions and the proximity of land are of no account. Care only for your own boat and strive to achieve the next success as soon as possible! We must be hard in this war. The enemy started the war in order to destroy us, therefore nothing else matters. I'm not sure what happened in between that led the U-boats in the Laconia incident to ignore that order.
- n4r9 6y agoDönitz gave two orders: "War Order No.154" which you quote, then the "Laconia Order" following that incident, which doubles down on the message. > All efforts to save survivors of sunken ships, such as the fishing out of swimming men and putting them on board lifeboats, the righting of overturned lifeboats, or the handing over of food and water, must stop. I assume that between these two events the Prize Rules were followed to greater or lesser degree according to the Captain's inclinations (on both sides)
- robin21 6y agoThanks - great read.