Elizabeth Raum - World War II Naval Forces: An Interactive History Adventure

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YOU are living in a world on the brink of war. The Second World War is about to begin. Will you join in?

In this book youll explore how the choices people made meant the difference between life and death. The events youll experience happened to real people.

Chapter One sets the scene. Then you choose which path to read. Follow the links at the bottom of each page as you read the stories. The decisions you make will change your outcome. After you finish one path, go back and read the others for new perspectives and more adventures. Use your device's back buttons or page navigation to jump back to your last choice.

YOU CHOOSE the path you take through history.

Dad shakes his head as he puts the newspaper down. Im afraid were headed for war again, he says. Your uncle died on a battlefield in France in 1917. That war was supposed to be the war to end all wars.

What makes you think there will be another? you ask.

The paper reports that Adolf Hitler just passed a law requiring all German men to serve in the army. He must be planning for war.

With luck, any fighting will be over by the time you turn 18, Mother says.

Thats years from now, you say. But you think that fighting a war sounds exciting.

You begin following the news in the papers, just like your dad does. Germany is not alone in preparing for war. In 1936 Italy and Japan join with Germany to form the Axis Powers. Italy, under its dictator, Benito Mussolini, wages war in Africa. In Asia, Japan is invading China.

In 1938 you read about the German Armys march into Austria. The next September you hear that 1.5 million German troops attacked Poland and claimed that nation for Germany.

Britain and France declare war on Germany. They call themselves the Allies. Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India, and South Africa join the Allies. Later the United States and the Soviet Union will become Allies too.

Sailors on the USS Ward, a destroyer, fired the first American shot in the battle that led the United States to enter WWII.

After the defeat of Austria and Poland, German troops invade Belgium, Norway, France, and the Netherlands. France falls to the Germans on June 22, 1940. Then Hitler turns his attention toward Great Britain.

By now youre old enough to think about enlisting in the military. Dad and Mother worry, but youve already decided that youll join a naval force. The sea has always fascinated you. Imagine seeing the world from the deck of a huge ship!

You read about the worlds navies. Great Britain is already using its navy to protect merchant ships bringing supplies from North America to Europe. The advancing German Army has cut off supplies from Europe. Much of Great Britains food, medical supplies, and military supplies are now shipped from Canada and the United States. Keeping the shipping lanes open across the Atlantic Ocean is necessary for Great Britains survival.

Shutting down that supply route is Germanys goal. Germany uses submarines called U-boats to attack the merchant ships. In the first few months of 1940, German U-boats sank 110 merchant ships. Germany is also building large battleships.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Pacific fleet remains anchored in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. So far the United States is not involved in the war.

The worlds navies will play a major role in the war. Whether they serve on battleships, submarines, or landing crafts, navy members will be in the middle of the action.

Soon after you turn 18, you and your friend Hans join the Kriegsmarine, Germanys navy. After basic training youre assigned to the Bismarck, the biggest battleship in the world. Its bigger than the HMS Hood, Great Britains most famous World War I battleship.

The Bismarck is newer and more powerful, you tell Hans. If the Bismarck ever battles the Hood, the Bismarck will win.

Hans smiles. Of course!

The battleship Bismarck (above) and its sister ship, Tirpitz, were the biggest battleships Germany ever built.

The Bismarck will be home to more than 2,000 men. They will need cooks, barbers, tailors, and doctors, as well as deckhands. You happen to mention that your father is a barber.

The ship needs a good barber, your commanding officer says. But Hans wants you to be a deckhand like him.

Youd get to spend your days outdoors as a deckhand. But being a barber might give you a chance to interact with the officers.

You choose to work on deck. You report to the dock in Gdynia, Poland, in early April 1941. The Bismarck looms before you like a great gray whale. The ship is more than 800 feet long. Steel armor covers every visible surface. It looks indestructible.

Lieutenant Engel gives you your assignments. Youll scrub the decks and maintain the life rafts. And youll handle the lines that connect the ship to the dock.

The ship has four big gun . Each one holds two 15-inch guns. Theyre the biggest guns ever mounted on a German battleship. You will assist the gunnery crew at one of the turrets.

This is your battle station. Whenever the alarm sounds, you are to report to this turret immediately, Engel says sternly.

On May 18 the Bismarck pulls away from the wharf. The Prinz Eugen, a smaller, faster ship, will escort you on the mission. After two days at sea, the Bismarcks commander, Captain Ernst Lindemann, says, Were heading to the Atlantic. Our goal is to sink ships carrying supplies to Great Britain. Its a secret missionand an important one.

Now that youre in the North Sea, Captain Lindemann orders four-hour watches. You stay on deck for four hours, sleep for four, and then return to watch. After a day or two, youre exhausted. You are sleeping soundly when the alarm bells sound. Is it part of your dream?

My son, a navy barber! Dad says proudly.

And youll be safe below deck, Mother adds.

The ship is huge, but space for sleeping, eating, and haircutting is tight. The Bismarck is made for battle, not convenience. Youre assigned a battle station near one of the gun turrets. Well need every hand on deck during a battle, your commander says.

Many officers confide in you as you cut their hair. In early March 1941 one of them says, Chancellor Hitler plans to visit. Imagine thatour great leader on board the Bismarck.

Deckhands scrub the decks, laundry workers press uniforms, and you work overtime making the officers look their best. You put on your dress uniform and line up with the crew.

Adolf Hitler steps on board. You raise your arm. Heil Hitler! You try to stare straight ahead, but theres a moment when Hitler looks directly at you. His eyes are cold. He stares straight through you. You shiver and look down. He inspects the crew, tours the ship, and eats lunch with the officers before returning to shore.