"Attack from the Bottom of the Sea"

In 1941, with the war raging, the German submarine fleet appeared like a pack of wolves and frequently attacked the Allied transport fleet, but suffered heavy losses in La Rochelle, France. The British army sent a powerful destroyer escort, while the German army invested more submarines to fight against the Allied forces that increasingly controlled the Atlantic.

Lieutenant Werner, the military reporter, followed the captain Heinrich Lehmann and his party aboard the U-96 submarine.

This is an iron-grey, narrow and cold machine. The hull looks round and fat, but when you enter the cabin, it is dark and crowded. Entering the control cabin from the bridge pipe, ducking through the circular hatch, Werner followed the crew all the way. In addition to the hanging lamps that were swinging and banging on the forehead, there were piles of food stacked and hanging in the cabin: bread, sausages, fruits and vegetables, meat... Even one of the two toilets used by 50 people was filled with food.

Because he was a guest, Werner was assigned a bed. The crew members around them alternated between two men sleeping on the same bed. Werner frowned and got in.

In this dark, isolated space, the smooth-cheeked sergeants became increasingly disheveled and greasy, and their beards grew longer and longer. The air is mixed with various odors, fleas are spreading, and machines are humming endlessly.

U-96 rode the wind and waves, traveling through the vast Atlantic Ocean, searching and waiting for orders, avoiding enemy aircraft and ships while waiting for opportunities to raid the Allied fleet. But the British army is getting smarter and has no flaws.

After receiving the secret report that day, U-96 braved the bad weather and ran at full speed towards the enemy fleet. When it arrived, there was no trace of either the fleet or its brother submarines, but it encountered the enemy destroyer. encounter. The captain ordered to dive quickly to periscope depth, the red light came on, and the entire boat was on alert. We planned to take advantage of the weather to raid the enemy ship, but the blue light was on and the torpedo cover had just been opened, but the enemy ship disappeared. Reappearing the trace, it was already approaching from the front. U-96 dived desperately, and depth bombs fell one after another. The hull shook, the light bulbs burst, and the young crew members clung nervously to the iron rails. Captain Lyman's gray-blue eyes looked straight ahead and smiled: "With such a bad weather, he must have seen the periscope... Now is the time for psychological warfare."

The captain ordered to turn off unnecessary lights and sail silently to deal with the enemy ship. Everyone was breathing heavily and sweating, and every word of the monitor tightened people's hearts. Suddenly, the enemy ship almost reached the top of the submarine. The submarine quickly dived to the ultimate depth of 170 meters, and the hull creaked under the pressure of water. One depth charge followed by another exploded on the side of the boat. The shock wave caused the spiral disk to bulge and water sprayed in. The submarine quickly floated to 150 meters. Everyone stayed at their posts amidst the violent jolts of the explosion and quickly repaired the damage.

After 23 bombs, the enemy ship finally moved away, and U-96 survived. It was like a cat-and-mouse game, with life and death on the line. Everyone let out a long sigh, showing their joy at surviving the disaster.

During the continuous storm, the submarine rolled out of control and simply dived into the sea. The food began to get moldy and the soldiers became homesick. The chief engineer looked down at his wife's photo with red eyes. On the eve of departure, my wife was about to give birth.

Braving the wind and waves to surface again, the navigator exclaimed that a brother submarine was rushing out of the water ahead. In the turbulent waves, bright lights were flashed to greet each other. Everyone shouted and waved excitedly, with pride surging in their chests.

Another day, a secret report arrived. U-96 rushed to the location, and five transport ships moved in one file. Captain Lyman ordered the attack, the fourth torpedo was about to be loaded, and the destroyer appeared. It was another life-and-death chase, and the captain gave calm and effective instructions. U-96 once again escaped and saved everyone.

In this round of attack, U-96 successfully sank three cargo ships and suffered considerable damage itself. The captain decided to return. Everyone was overjoyed and looking forward to the upcoming Christmas. However, Captain Lyman fell silent when a triple-encrypted message arrived. The command ordered U-96 to cross the Strait of Gibraltar where the British fleet was located. Even if it was in perfect condition, there would be little chance of survival during this time travel.

Perhaps it was God's mercy, but the night was foggy, and U-96 miraculously sneaked under the eyes of the British army. Suddenly, enemy planes swooped down and dropped bombs; destroyers also gathered around...

Under the sea water, in the airtight cabin, the soldiers silently held the iron bars tightly and stood together tightly, as the depth bombs fired. They were staggered by the shock wave, and sweat dripped thickly. Some people were bleeding and injured, and some were in tears of fear. "Beep...beep..." the sound of sonar detecting submarines reminded me. This group of heroic young people have become prisoners of war, with no other way out but to resign themselves to their fate.

This time, the god of fate no longer favored the submarine. The submarine was seriously damaged and water jetted in rapidly. People rushed around to find the damage and repair and plug the leak. A soldier prayed in fear, and his companion struck down with his palm: "What we need now is work!" The dense bombs exploded non-stop, and the U-96 lost control and quickly slid to the bottom of the sea. 170 meters, 200 meters, 250 meters... Lieutenant Werner pressed himself tightly against the wall of the boat and couldn't stop trembling.

Suddenly, the submarine ran aground on the seabed, and the pointer at this time had exceeded the limit of 250 meters. "It turns out that it can hold up even at 280 meters!" Captain Lyman said before he finished speaking, more water sprayed into the cabin.

After more than ten hours of emergency repairs, the captain made a desperate move and ordered the high-pressure air in the ventilation duct to be released to push the submarine up.

Unfortunately, the scarred U-96 finally returned to La Rochelle.

The dirty soldiers were neatly dressed and stood on the submarine with their heads held high and their chests held high in salute. On the shore, drums and music were playing, and flowers were scattered. We're back, we're back alive! The faces of the young people are already full of weathered perseverance. At this moment, swarms of enemy planes approached, dropping dense missiles.

Second Lieutenant Werner stumbled, frightened and frightened, among his companions who had been in trouble and now died tragically. Captain Lyman struggled to hold on to the bolt, with blood oozing from his mouth, and reluctantly stared at the U-96 slowly sinking into the water. The boat was lost and people died.

During World War II, the German army dispatched 40,000 submariners, but 30,000 never came back.

"Strike from the Bottom of the Sea" is adapted from the best-selling autobiography of war correspondent Bookheim. Directed by Wolfgang Peterson in 1981. "Empire" magazine ranked it 25th among the 100 greatest movies of all time. Although 36 years apart, it still deeply shocked me.