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Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:03,470 --> 00:00:04,470 Bull's eye. 2 00:00:05,330 --> 00:00:06,990 Action! Action! 3 00:00:09,270 --> 00:00:10,710 Die! Die! 4 00:00:11,110 --> 00:00:12,550 Why the hell have you died? 5 00:00:15,850 --> 00:00:18,930 Britain may have dealt with Dönitz's aces. 6 00:00:19,450 --> 00:00:21,390 No way back to Germany this time. 7 00:00:21,810 --> 00:00:24,070 But his U -boats keep coming. 8 00:00:24,510 --> 00:00:25,510 Fire! 9 00:00:26,730 --> 00:00:29,050 New orders for Group Paukenschlag. 10 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:35,820 Attack at will in all coastal areas. 11 00:00:36,900 --> 00:00:40,300 They think ships faster than Britain can build them. 12 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:46,020 If we keep losing ships at this rate, the country will be down to just a few 13 00:00:46,020 --> 00:00:47,020 weeks of supplies. 14 00:00:47,100 --> 00:00:49,080 People will be starving to death. 15 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:51,240 Happy hunting. 16 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:57,800 The Royal Navy turned to retired wargamer Commander Gilbert Roberts and 17 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:01,040 a group of young women. 18 00:01:05,140 --> 00:01:10,080 Sir? Ladies, if we lose the Battle of the Atlantic, we lose the war. 19 00:01:10,900 --> 00:01:14,420 Our job is to find a way to sink the U -boats. 20 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:16,860 That is what we will do here. 21 00:01:17,820 --> 00:01:22,380 They're the bodies that... By recreating battles and playing through scenarios 22 00:01:22,380 --> 00:01:24,940 in a war game. 23 00:01:25,980 --> 00:01:28,140 Is that Donitz's master tactic? 24 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:31,660 We need to work out how to destroy them. 25 00:01:51,370 --> 00:01:56,770 Gilbert Roberts reports to Western Approaches Command, the Royal Navy's 26 00:01:56,770 --> 00:02:01,290 of operations for North Atlantic convoys in Liverpool, England. 27 00:02:02,610 --> 00:02:05,310 Gilbert Roberts could be doing so much more at this point. 28 00:02:05,770 --> 00:02:08,970 Here's a man who's had two years' training in war games. 29 00:02:09,430 --> 00:02:15,730 War gaming allows you to understand how tactics work and it allows you to 30 00:02:15,730 --> 00:02:16,930 explore new tactics. 31 00:02:18,019 --> 00:02:20,940 Churchill couldn't be less pleased with how the battle of the Atlantic is 32 00:02:20,940 --> 00:02:24,740 turning out. The fact that they're losing hundreds of thousands of tons of 33 00:02:24,740 --> 00:02:26,680 merchant shipping to U -boats. 34 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:32,020 Enter. What Churchill has to do is not just stay in the war, but win it. You 35 00:02:32,020 --> 00:02:34,800 only win it if you're going to win the battle of the Atlantic. 36 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:36,720 Sir, Commander Robert. 37 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:39,000 Thank you. That will be all. 38 00:02:50,890 --> 00:02:52,750 Commander Roberts retired. 39 00:02:53,070 --> 00:02:55,270 I thought London was sending me a captain. 40 00:02:55,550 --> 00:02:56,970 A no -sir sector commander. 41 00:02:57,530 --> 00:03:00,230 Portsmouth Naval Anti -Invasion Battalion. 42 00:03:01,150 --> 00:03:02,350 The Home Guard. 43 00:03:07,470 --> 00:03:11,470 Instructions from the Admiralty say that I'm to give you the top floor of the 44 00:03:11,470 --> 00:03:12,550 Exchange Building. 45 00:03:12,770 --> 00:03:15,130 For? A school, sir. A school. 46 00:03:15,390 --> 00:03:16,530 A tactical school. 47 00:03:17,550 --> 00:03:22,310 The Prime Minister has asked me personally to analyse U -boat attacks, 48 00:03:22,310 --> 00:03:26,250 their tactics, and develop counter -tactics to think them. 49 00:03:26,790 --> 00:03:30,210 These would then be taught to escort commanders at the school. 50 00:03:31,190 --> 00:03:34,150 We already have a counter -tactic, Robert. 51 00:03:34,750 --> 00:03:35,750 Buttercup. 52 00:03:36,210 --> 00:03:41,330 Developed by our own Commander Walker, a man who has actually sunk U -boats. 53 00:03:42,210 --> 00:03:43,210 Have you? 54 00:03:43,830 --> 00:03:44,830 No, sir. 55 00:03:45,930 --> 00:03:47,790 And I'd very much like to begin with Buttercup. 56 00:03:48,010 --> 00:03:52,250 By analysing Commander Walker's actions, I can then play through other scenarios 57 00:03:52,250 --> 00:03:56,670 in a war game and identify any tactical weakness that we all gain. 58 00:03:56,970 --> 00:03:57,990 Tactical weakness? 59 00:03:58,850 --> 00:04:03,290 I'm sorry, but what does affect a commander of the Home Guard know of 60 00:04:04,510 --> 00:04:07,370 I spent two years at the Portsmouth Tactical School, sir. 61 00:04:08,030 --> 00:04:09,030 War gaming. 62 00:04:11,030 --> 00:04:12,190 Back before retirement. 63 00:04:12,970 --> 00:04:14,930 School to play games. 64 00:04:15,580 --> 00:04:20,079 And I'll need men to staff the unit, too. Men with good analytical minds. 65 00:04:20,420 --> 00:04:21,420 Good with records. 66 00:04:22,079 --> 00:04:23,780 But mostly good at playing the game. 67 00:04:25,780 --> 00:04:28,060 Commander, I'm in the middle of fighting a war. 68 00:04:28,660 --> 00:04:30,760 All my best men are at sea. 69 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:35,840 You might be able to scrape together a couple who are unfit for active service, 70 00:04:35,940 --> 00:04:39,860 but if you need more to play your game, you should speak to London. 71 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:42,880 Thank you, sir. 72 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:45,980 Owen Roberts, this is school. 73 00:04:46,940 --> 00:04:51,200 Perhaps you can run occasional courses for half a dozen reserve officers, but 74 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:53,260 don't bother me with it. I'm a busy man. 75 00:04:55,820 --> 00:04:59,940 Dismissed. Percy Noble doesn't seem to be taking on board the importance of 76 00:04:59,940 --> 00:05:02,000 finding new tactical ways forward. 77 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:05,680 Donuts is a tactical master. 78 00:05:05,900 --> 00:05:10,240 This is a time where it's more crucial than ever that he listens to Roberts. 79 00:05:10,660 --> 00:05:11,660 Sir. 80 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:14,680 Because he is paramount. 81 00:05:14,940 --> 00:05:16,320 Yeah, quite right. 82 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:23,200 And for the Royal Navy, help arises from an American tragedy. 83 00:05:24,140 --> 00:05:29,520 After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the USA declares war on Japan. 84 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:37,040 Four days later, Germany sides with their Japanese ally and declares war on 85 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:38,040 USA. 86 00:05:39,850 --> 00:05:44,310 The Americans have already been unofficially supporting Britain through 87 00:05:45,390 --> 00:05:48,430 Now they mobilize at full strength. 88 00:05:49,930 --> 00:05:55,930 The idea was to get to Germany, to defeat it first, but of course doing 89 00:05:55,930 --> 00:06:01,710 meant getting supplies and equipment and now manpower as well to the British 90 00:06:01,710 --> 00:06:05,790 Isles in preparation for an eventual invasion of Nazi Germany. 91 00:06:06,870 --> 00:06:08,330 But the American... 92 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:13,380 Involvement created new opportunities for the German U -boats to attack 93 00:06:13,380 --> 00:06:16,200 shipping. Donitz saw this immediately. 94 00:06:17,340 --> 00:06:22,460 The United States Navy should have been prepared for a submarine campaign. But 95 00:06:22,460 --> 00:06:25,840 the problem they have in early 1942 is they don't have enough destroyers trying 96 00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:28,960 to protect merchant shipping. Most of them have gone to the Pacific to fight 97 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:29,960 Japanese. 98 00:06:33,710 --> 00:06:37,890 This lack of protection presents Dönitz with a golden opportunity. 99 00:06:38,510 --> 00:06:43,950 He measures his U -boat captain's success by the number of ships they send 100 00:06:43,950 --> 00:06:44,950 the bottom. 101 00:06:45,810 --> 00:06:47,290 Admiral Stubbs, officer. 102 00:06:49,790 --> 00:06:51,530 Orders for Group Parkenschlag. 103 00:06:53,250 --> 00:06:55,910 Proceed to Naval Square CA -28. 104 00:06:58,050 --> 00:06:59,050 New York. 105 00:06:59,290 --> 00:07:00,470 Yes, Herr Admiral. 106 00:07:00,940 --> 00:07:05,200 He knew that the shipping would concentrate off New York, off Cape 107 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:06,200 Cape Cod. 108 00:07:06,940 --> 00:07:12,160 American involvement in the war gave the U -boats a lot of new targets off the 109 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:13,160 American coast. 110 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:15,320 Hey, Admiral. 111 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:26,280 Have the Americans learned nothing from the British? 112 00:07:30,220 --> 00:07:31,360 Very heavy traffic. 113 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:34,420 Mainly north -south. 114 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:37,340 Very many tankers. 115 00:07:38,740 --> 00:07:39,900 Occasional neutrals. 116 00:07:41,620 --> 00:07:42,720 No surveillance. 117 00:07:45,940 --> 00:07:48,140 They're not even trying to protect their ships. 118 00:07:49,860 --> 00:07:54,120 The United States Navy don't have the escort vessels they need to establish a 119 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:57,360 system of convoy, so they decide not to do that. 120 00:07:57,900 --> 00:08:00,860 There's a marvelous directive that comes from the Office of War Information. 121 00:08:01,100 --> 00:08:05,520 Quite simply, the Germans can sink as many ships as they like. It really 122 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:09,160 matter, because American industry is just going to bury them in new shipping. 123 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:13,040 All the more prey for the wolves to feed on. 124 00:08:17,740 --> 00:08:19,880 New orders for Group Paukenschlag. 125 00:08:21,860 --> 00:08:25,200 Attack at will in all coastal areas. 126 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:40,900 January of 1942, they sank 41 ships, 250 ,000 tons in just two weeks. 127 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:46,200 And a lot of those sinkings were just off the coast of the United States, 128 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:49,700 literally within sight of American home territories. 129 00:08:53,460 --> 00:08:58,260 German success is so profound that it becomes known as the second happy time 130 00:08:58,260 --> 00:08:59,260 the U -boat fleet. 131 00:08:59,980 --> 00:09:04,580 With the Americans being destroyed in such numbers, it's more and more 132 00:09:04,580 --> 00:09:09,720 that the convoys that do survive are protected, that the Royal Navy gets 133 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:10,720 ships across. 134 00:09:18,420 --> 00:09:21,020 The scale of the task is enormous. 135 00:09:21,660 --> 00:09:26,300 Every available man is put to work, but there aren't enough. 136 00:09:27,850 --> 00:09:30,710 Without women, we realise we can't win the war. 137 00:09:30,970 --> 00:09:37,190 Now, that is a whole new ballgame for men to get their heads around and for 138 00:09:37,190 --> 00:09:38,530 young women to engage with. 139 00:09:39,330 --> 00:09:45,170 The Royal Navy are forced to rely more and more on Vera Lawton Matthews' wrens. 140 00:09:45,690 --> 00:09:47,910 I do appreciate having your wrens here. 141 00:09:48,510 --> 00:09:50,370 Certainly brighten the place up. 142 00:09:51,570 --> 00:09:53,170 They can do more than that. 143 00:09:54,470 --> 00:09:55,470 Much more. 144 00:09:55,980 --> 00:10:01,560 To begin with, the Wren have just nine roles, and they are fairly humdrum. If 145 00:10:01,560 --> 00:10:04,760 you're lucky, you're a typist, all right, or a driver. Those minimal 146 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:08,540 opportunities expand to over 125 roles. 147 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:14,920 One of those are as codebreakers of the highly secretive Bletchley Park, 148 00:10:15,260 --> 00:10:21,660 deciphering radio messages between Durnitz and his U -boats, providing 149 00:10:21,660 --> 00:10:24,660 intelligence on when to expect U -boat attacks. 150 00:10:25,710 --> 00:10:31,210 But despite the best efforts of the men and women of the Royal Navy, they still 151 00:10:31,210 --> 00:10:33,430 haven't deciphered the enemy's tactics. 152 00:10:39,330 --> 00:10:45,130 Even though Roberts initially gets a very frothy reception, he is delighted 153 00:10:45,130 --> 00:10:49,570 be back. He'd been cast out of the Navy due to having TB just four years 154 00:10:49,570 --> 00:10:50,570 earlier. 155 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:56,060 This is a man who had spent quite a lot of time in the interwar period thinking 156 00:10:56,060 --> 00:10:57,060 about these problems. 157 00:10:57,220 --> 00:11:02,580 He can use his skills, he can contribute to naval success, and if possible, he 158 00:11:02,580 --> 00:11:03,620 can contribute to victory. 159 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:11,020 As if to undermine Roberts's position even further, he isn't put in the main 160 00:11:11,020 --> 00:11:16,160 headquarters. His offices are in a different building, which hasn't even 161 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:19,740 finished. It's still under construction and it's been bombed. 162 00:11:19,980 --> 00:11:20,980 What's this? 163 00:11:22,350 --> 00:11:25,510 A gift from Herman Goering. Damaged from an incendiary bomb. 164 00:11:25,970 --> 00:11:26,970 He needs to go. 165 00:11:27,090 --> 00:11:28,170 Arrange for it to be cleared. 166 00:11:28,510 --> 00:11:29,510 Yes, sir. 167 00:11:41,350 --> 00:11:42,750 I'll need battle reports. 168 00:11:44,950 --> 00:11:47,670 Anything detailing a successful U -boat kill. 169 00:11:48,390 --> 00:11:50,050 Including convoy HG -76. 170 00:11:50,650 --> 00:11:51,650 Commander Walkers. 171 00:11:52,349 --> 00:11:53,530 Buttercup, try up. 172 00:11:53,730 --> 00:11:54,730 Yes, sir. 173 00:11:55,010 --> 00:12:00,690 He needs as much information as he can get about what's really facing 174 00:12:00,690 --> 00:12:06,550 when they're out in combat to figure out what the U -boats are doing and how to 175 00:12:06,550 --> 00:12:07,550 defeat them. 176 00:12:07,790 --> 00:12:10,730 I also need supplies to build the game board. 177 00:12:16,390 --> 00:12:21,350 Canvas sheets, roll of linoleum. Chalk, string, paint. 178 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:23,560 And model ships, yes? 179 00:12:23,900 --> 00:12:24,900 Yes, sir. Very good. 180 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:29,440 These requests raise eyebrows at Western approaches. 181 00:12:29,820 --> 00:12:35,540 I mean, here is this newcomer who wants to play games while battle rages in the 182 00:12:35,540 --> 00:12:36,540 Atlantic. 183 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:42,080 Anyway, sir, all this tactics and wargaming might be for naught. 184 00:12:42,940 --> 00:12:46,420 We already captured that also Kretschmer, and they already started 185 00:12:46,420 --> 00:12:50,140 him. Surely he'll spill the beans and give up all of Donnett's secret tactics. 186 00:12:51,860 --> 00:12:52,860 Surely. 187 00:12:57,160 --> 00:13:04,000 From 1939 to 1941, Kretschmer unleashed a reign of terror against 188 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:05,000 Allied shipping. 189 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:06,760 A hunter's moon. 190 00:13:07,420 --> 00:13:09,100 Just as I like it. 191 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:11,200 Prepare for attack. 192 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:12,720 Yes, sir. 193 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:14,560 Fire bowed, torpedo. 194 00:13:16,900 --> 00:13:20,360 Tringing 47 ships across the North Atlantic. 195 00:13:21,050 --> 00:13:24,310 Over 273 ,000 tons. 196 00:13:25,050 --> 00:13:27,790 More than any other U -boat ace. 197 00:13:28,150 --> 00:13:29,390 That's as good as it gets. 198 00:13:30,490 --> 00:13:34,530 The human toll is 830 lives. 199 00:13:36,350 --> 00:13:42,050 For his service to the Third Reich, Hitler awarded him the Knight's Cross of 200 00:13:42,050 --> 00:13:45,270 Iron Cross with oak leaves and swords. 201 00:13:46,070 --> 00:13:47,070 Thank you, sir. 202 00:13:48,750 --> 00:13:52,830 At the time, Nazi Germany's highest naval award. 203 00:13:53,490 --> 00:13:54,930 Action! Action! 204 00:13:57,870 --> 00:13:59,350 Die! Die! 205 00:13:59,710 --> 00:14:01,330 Why the hell have we dived? 206 00:14:01,710 --> 00:14:03,950 Are you sure we couldn't have gotten away on the surface? 207 00:14:04,690 --> 00:14:09,210 But in March 1941, his luck ran out. 208 00:14:15,510 --> 00:14:17,950 Sir, we've lost all thrust in the propellers. 209 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:22,160 Blow the ballast tanks. Everything we've got. We have to lose depth. 210 00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:32,080 Prepare scuffling charges and destroy all documents and ciphers. 211 00:14:35,460 --> 00:14:37,340 No way back to Germany this time. 212 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:53,680 Otto Kretschmer's this extraordinary U -boat ace. 213 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:57,740 He's caught alive. That is such a win for the Allies. 214 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:01,180 The MI9 have got hold of him. 215 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:07,260 MI9 is a unit established to interrogate prisoners of war. It's like, if you 216 00:15:07,260 --> 00:15:09,040 like, a latter -day Guantanamo Bay. 217 00:15:09,460 --> 00:15:10,780 Here's your chance, boys. 218 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:16,960 Drill into him, download his microchip of knowledge, and you are going to turn 219 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:18,380 the tide of this war. 220 00:15:24,319 --> 00:15:25,440 No. It's English. 221 00:15:26,780 --> 00:15:28,040 Would you rather we spoke German? 222 00:15:28,380 --> 00:15:30,020 No. English is good. 223 00:15:30,660 --> 00:15:32,280 I might as well get you into it now. 224 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:37,700 Quite an impressive tonnage, Charlie, Commander Krebschmer. 225 00:15:38,260 --> 00:15:39,600 You're very popular back home. 226 00:15:39,900 --> 00:15:42,460 The tonnage king, as an apple gravels call you. 227 00:15:43,580 --> 00:15:44,800 It's just propaganda. 228 00:15:45,940 --> 00:15:47,840 I'm a good copy for the Nazi papers. 229 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:52,760 My picture gets more women waving flags, more men signing up to the U -boat 230 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:53,760 corps. 231 00:15:53,980 --> 00:15:54,980 What for? 232 00:15:55,780 --> 00:15:57,220 To sink more ships? 233 00:15:57,560 --> 00:15:58,560 For Hitler? 234 00:16:00,740 --> 00:16:03,060 Sorry if I don't seem too enthusiastic. 235 00:16:03,940 --> 00:16:05,960 I grew weary of this war long ago. 236 00:16:08,860 --> 00:16:10,260 You won't miss sinking ships? 237 00:16:11,940 --> 00:16:13,320 I have sunk enough ships. 238 00:16:14,420 --> 00:16:16,820 The thrill of the hunt left me long ago, too. 239 00:16:20,490 --> 00:16:22,610 And how do you hunt? 240 00:16:23,810 --> 00:16:25,130 You've sunk more ships than anyone. 241 00:16:26,090 --> 00:16:27,090 How do you do it? 242 00:16:27,690 --> 00:16:28,690 What are your tactics? 243 00:16:32,750 --> 00:16:39,350 A U -boat captain, I mean a real captain, has to be able to take 244 00:16:39,350 --> 00:16:41,210 whatever the passing moment offers. 245 00:16:42,230 --> 00:16:44,570 You never know when you'll stumble upon a convoy. 246 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:51,720 A real captain is born with the intuition to know when to attack and how 247 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:52,840 press home your advantage. 248 00:16:55,940 --> 00:16:56,940 Smashing. 249 00:16:58,540 --> 00:17:04,980 Do they get the key to Otto Kretschmer's knowledge? Do they find a way in? Do 250 00:17:04,980 --> 00:17:05,980 they hellas like? 251 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:08,900 This guy ain't the top U -boat captain for no good reason. 252 00:17:09,859 --> 00:17:12,619 Kretschmer reveals very little to his captors. 253 00:17:13,579 --> 00:17:16,900 Cernet says U -boat tactics remain a mystery. 254 00:17:21,260 --> 00:17:26,319 That Western approaches command, Roberts tries to decipher them. 255 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:31,300 Sir, it's the report you requested. 256 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:32,920 Ah. 257 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:36,820 Convoy HT -76. 258 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:40,380 Commander Walker's famous buttercup tactic. 259 00:17:43,820 --> 00:17:44,900 Thank you, sir. 260 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:50,760 The report of proceedings was a standard report that was written by anybody in 261 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:55,520 the Navy who had encountered the enemy. It explains what the enemy has done, but 262 00:17:55,520 --> 00:18:00,860 it also explains what the commander from the Allied side has done. 263 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:02,320 Buttercup has turned. 264 00:18:02,900 --> 00:18:08,660 HG -76 is important because Walker had some success during it. He wants to 265 00:18:08,660 --> 00:18:11,400 understand why Walker was successful. 266 00:18:12,500 --> 00:18:18,640 Sir. What has he thought up? Why did he behave the way he did? But if you're 267 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:23,480 looking at a report, any kind of report, they're very, very dry. They don't 268 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:28,140 really tell you anything about the human side of decisions that are being made. 269 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:34,600 Enter. 270 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:37,440 Sir, Commander Roberts. 271 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:41,560 What is it, Robert? 272 00:18:42,300 --> 00:18:46,420 Sir, I'd like permission to speak with Commander Walker about convoy HT76. 273 00:18:48,740 --> 00:18:50,520 Don't you have his report of proceedings? 274 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:52,040 Yes, sir, I do. 275 00:18:52,460 --> 00:18:54,280 And you've read it? Yes, sir. 276 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:59,240 But to truly understand how Buttercup works, I need to speak with the 277 00:19:00,180 --> 00:19:02,240 What assumptions did he make? 278 00:19:02,580 --> 00:19:04,400 Why deploy his escorts where he did? 279 00:19:07,360 --> 00:19:11,000 Robert, Buttercup works. It's a sound tactic. 280 00:19:11,770 --> 00:19:15,210 which is why I ordered for it to be put into group operational instructions. 281 00:19:15,830 --> 00:19:16,830 I'm aware, sir. 282 00:19:19,910 --> 00:19:23,650 And now our escorts are being fitted with a new piece of technology. 283 00:19:26,690 --> 00:19:27,990 Ship -mounted radar. 284 00:19:28,490 --> 00:19:31,510 We'll be able to spot U -boats on the surface miles away. 285 00:19:32,530 --> 00:19:34,050 That would be a great help, sir, undoubtedly. 286 00:19:34,810 --> 00:19:37,910 But to complete my work, I will still need to speak with Commander Walker. 287 00:19:45,770 --> 00:19:46,770 Very well. 288 00:19:47,870 --> 00:19:52,970 When Walker gets back from sea, if he can spare the time, you may. 289 00:19:55,070 --> 00:19:56,070 Thank you, sir. 290 00:19:56,870 --> 00:20:00,590 Now, if you don't mind... 291 00:20:00,590 --> 00:20:07,550 And Noble has 292 00:20:07,550 --> 00:20:09,110 another reason to be confident. 293 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:15,020 The work of the Wrens is turning Western Approaches Command into an intelligence 294 00:20:15,020 --> 00:20:16,020 hub. 295 00:20:16,460 --> 00:20:21,660 Up and down the country, Wrens working in radio listening sites, known as Y 296 00:20:21,660 --> 00:20:24,900 stations, are tracking U -boat positions. 297 00:20:26,660 --> 00:20:32,560 My first station was on the Yorkshire coast, not very far from Scarborough, 298 00:20:32,700 --> 00:20:35,820 where there was a very big listening centre. 299 00:20:36,750 --> 00:20:41,530 By comparing the bearing of the U -boat's radio signal with another Y 300 00:20:41,870 --> 00:20:45,070 the U -boat's position can be triangulated. 301 00:20:46,110 --> 00:20:51,730 U -boats, of course, very seldom spoke, but now and then one would come up and 302 00:20:51,730 --> 00:20:56,830 would do a signal to its base or to other U -boats. 303 00:20:57,050 --> 00:21:01,910 When they did, it was a very, very tense atmosphere because they were such a 304 00:21:01,910 --> 00:21:05,010 menace to our convoys and ships. 305 00:21:05,740 --> 00:21:10,860 I worked out when the U -boat came up, while they got the signal from the U 306 00:21:10,860 --> 00:21:15,100 -boat down, and particularly the position of the U -boat, because they 307 00:21:15,100 --> 00:21:19,340 then report this back to Admiralty and they might be able to take action. 308 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:20,560 Very good. 309 00:21:20,780 --> 00:21:27,040 That intelligence arrived pretty pronto via radio to weapon approaches, telling 310 00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:31,860 you the real -time position of U -boat flotillas. So you plot them, you mark 311 00:21:31,860 --> 00:21:33,800 them on your giant map on the wall. 312 00:21:34,430 --> 00:21:39,470 And Western approaches are also benefiting from long -range aerial photo 313 00:21:39,470 --> 00:21:40,470 reconnaissance. 314 00:21:41,910 --> 00:21:47,130 A lot of the analysis of these photographs was done by women. They 315 00:21:47,130 --> 00:21:50,090 see, for example, the U -boat pens along the French coast. 316 00:21:50,330 --> 00:21:54,730 By looking at these sorts of images, you had more of an idea of when they were 317 00:21:54,730 --> 00:21:57,690 going to leave the pens, when did they get back, how long were they out at sea, 318 00:21:57,890 --> 00:21:59,530 and what was their direction. 319 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:05,540 It means Western approaches are much more aware of when to expect attacks. 320 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:08,700 Excellent, thank you. That's good work. 321 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:17,100 But they still can't work out how the U -boats are attacking the convoys. 322 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:19,220 Sir, this is the room. 323 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:22,980 The candidate will be with you shortly. 324 00:22:23,180 --> 00:22:24,180 Thank you. 325 00:22:26,620 --> 00:22:30,840 Before he can begin his work, Roberts clearly... Needs a team. 326 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:35,280 He needs people who are, quote -unquote, whip -sharp. 327 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:39,480 He needs the finest brains, boys who are going to knock the tactics back at the 328 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:40,480 enemy. 329 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:48,900 Please, take a seat. 330 00:22:52,460 --> 00:22:54,820 Lieutenant Commander Cousins, DSP, sir. 331 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:57,080 DSP. 332 00:22:58,140 --> 00:23:01,920 Distinguished Service Cross awarded for gallantry against the enemy. 333 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:04,480 I see. 334 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:07,580 What experience do you have of tactics? 335 00:23:09,940 --> 00:23:13,980 Tactics? We smash the U -boats with depth charges. 336 00:23:14,500 --> 00:23:17,220 That's all we need. We hound them out of the Atlantic. 337 00:23:20,500 --> 00:23:21,500 I see. 338 00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:23,840 Thank you. 339 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:50,820 Lieutenant Commander Higham, sir. 340 00:23:53,380 --> 00:23:55,000 Your experience of tactics? 341 00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:59,440 Sir, I've served on both submarines and ships. 342 00:24:02,380 --> 00:24:03,420 And tactics? 343 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:05,300 My ship sunk. 344 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:08,340 I had to be hauled out of the water on a rope. 345 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:22,840 Donuts is a genius. He needs men who are able to think mathematically, 346 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,560 tactically, very clear -headed, clear -minded. 347 00:24:27,360 --> 00:24:31,600 These are clearly not the sort of men that he's going to need to decipher 348 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:32,960 Donuts' tactics. 349 00:24:40,460 --> 00:24:45,740 Commander Roberts, Vera Lawton Matthews, Director of the Women's Royal Naval 350 00:24:45,740 --> 00:24:47,280 Service. The Reds. 351 00:24:56,970 --> 00:24:57,970 You're in need of staff. 352 00:25:00,810 --> 00:25:02,650 I can meet all your requirements. 353 00:25:02,890 --> 00:25:05,270 I've been recruiting the people you need for three years. 354 00:25:06,270 --> 00:25:08,450 Wrens. I need naval officers. 355 00:25:08,830 --> 00:25:10,170 And how's that working for you? 356 00:25:10,510 --> 00:25:11,510 Hmm? 357 00:25:12,470 --> 00:25:14,370 Wren Drake, please enter. 358 00:25:19,370 --> 00:25:20,430 Please take a seat. 359 00:25:25,030 --> 00:25:26,030 Elizabeth Drake. 360 00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:28,500 The daughter of an insurance factory. 361 00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:29,840 Yes? 362 00:25:30,100 --> 00:25:31,100 Yes, ma 'am. 363 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:34,600 Measuring risk. Must run in your family. Yes? 364 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:35,960 Yes, ma 'am. 365 00:25:36,260 --> 00:25:38,040 Thank you, Drake. That'll be all. 366 00:25:38,780 --> 00:25:39,780 Yes, ma 'am. 367 00:25:42,260 --> 00:25:45,280 Sounds essential for your tactical game, Commander. 368 00:25:46,540 --> 00:25:48,620 Next! Ren Nancy Wales, sir. 369 00:25:49,780 --> 00:25:53,020 Ren Wales, what experience do you have of tactics? 370 00:25:53,900 --> 00:25:54,900 Well, sir... 371 00:25:55,630 --> 00:25:57,630 I captained the Yorkshire hockey team for years. 372 00:25:57,950 --> 00:26:00,170 An expert in team tactics. 373 00:26:00,470 --> 00:26:01,510 Thank you, Wales. 374 00:26:05,390 --> 00:26:06,610 Janet Oakle. 375 00:26:06,830 --> 00:26:09,550 I hear you're a formidable bridge player. 376 00:26:10,150 --> 00:26:15,310 Well, yes, ma 'am. And what makes for a formidable bridge player? 377 00:26:16,010 --> 00:26:19,610 Well, reading your opponents is important, ma 'am. 378 00:26:19,990 --> 00:26:22,830 Reading opponents and scenarios strategically. 379 00:26:25,290 --> 00:26:26,410 Mum, what is this all about? 380 00:26:27,070 --> 00:26:28,070 Thank you, uncle. 381 00:26:28,170 --> 00:26:29,170 That'll be all. 382 00:26:31,950 --> 00:26:34,070 And finally, a real gem. 383 00:26:36,230 --> 00:26:38,190 Wren Laidlaw, please enter. 384 00:26:46,230 --> 00:26:47,410 Good afternoon, ma 'am. 385 00:26:48,010 --> 00:26:49,010 Sir? 386 00:26:50,870 --> 00:26:52,430 Wren Jean Laidlaw. 387 00:26:54,110 --> 00:26:55,110 Candidate. 388 00:26:55,540 --> 00:26:56,540 Yes, sir. 389 00:26:57,300 --> 00:26:58,840 I haven't met a woman accounted. 390 00:27:00,220 --> 00:27:03,180 I'm one of the first to qualify in the United Kingdom, sir. 391 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:04,600 I see. 392 00:27:05,860 --> 00:27:07,740 Keen mind for numbers, I suppose. 393 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:09,980 Yes, sir, very keen. 394 00:27:10,580 --> 00:27:14,060 Just what your game needs to calculate those moves. 395 00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:16,200 I suppose. 396 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:18,880 Indeed. 397 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:21,800 Thank you, Laidlaw. That'll be all. 398 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:23,200 Yes, ma 'am. 399 00:27:23,500 --> 00:27:24,500 Sir. 400 00:27:30,770 --> 00:27:32,590 Right. All of them, Commander. 401 00:27:33,790 --> 00:27:37,210 And they all bring a special set of skills to the table. 402 00:27:38,890 --> 00:27:40,330 Exactly what the game needs. 403 00:27:41,130 --> 00:27:47,830 In the early war period, almost every nation does not consider women for these 404 00:27:47,830 --> 00:27:48,749 sort of roles. 405 00:27:48,750 --> 00:27:50,250 The Wrens were a risk. 406 00:27:51,550 --> 00:27:57,090 The task these young women are set is one of the most important in the war, if 407 00:27:57,090 --> 00:27:58,650 the Battle of the Atlantic is lost. 408 00:27:59,150 --> 00:28:00,150 Britain has lost. 409 00:28:00,230 --> 00:28:04,630 And if Britain has lost, the Western Allies will probably lose the war. 410 00:28:09,750 --> 00:28:14,630 In Liverpool, Gilbert Roberts and the Wrens begin the next phase of their 411 00:28:14,630 --> 00:28:15,630 mission. 412 00:28:16,650 --> 00:28:17,790 What knot is that? 413 00:28:18,770 --> 00:28:19,950 It's a bowline, sir. 414 00:28:20,310 --> 00:28:21,310 Where did you learn it? 415 00:28:21,650 --> 00:28:22,650 The Sea Rangers. 416 00:28:23,350 --> 00:28:25,030 The simplest and most resilient. 417 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:36,600 Very good. 418 00:28:39,660 --> 00:28:43,940 Men, rig the canvas sheets around the frames like these. 419 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:45,840 Yes, sir. 420 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:51,360 Sir, your linoleum, string, paint chalk and model wooden chips. 421 00:28:52,700 --> 00:28:53,700 Excellent. 422 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:02,280 Any news on the great Otto Kretschmer's interrogation? 423 00:29:02,580 --> 00:29:04,460 Did he spill their U -boat secrets? 424 00:29:05,450 --> 00:29:07,610 Of course he didn't. That would be far too easy. 425 00:29:08,590 --> 00:29:10,330 It's up to us to decode them. 426 00:29:10,890 --> 00:29:14,810 And the first step for that is to build the board for the war game. 427 00:29:15,350 --> 00:29:16,530 The board, sir? 428 00:29:17,530 --> 00:29:18,530 The board. 429 00:29:22,950 --> 00:29:26,650 The board! 430 00:29:27,590 --> 00:29:28,770 Sir, are you all right? 431 00:29:33,450 --> 00:29:36,430 This is the thing which is going to win the Battle of the Atlantic. 432 00:29:36,930 --> 00:29:39,370 I mean, the idea is preposterous. 433 00:29:40,170 --> 00:29:44,530 Oh, and, sir, Commander Walker's just returned from sea. He's waiting in your 434 00:29:44,530 --> 00:29:46,430 office. Well, why didn't you say? 435 00:29:49,790 --> 00:29:50,790 Not a cup. 436 00:29:52,630 --> 00:29:54,090 Renée Law. Yes, sir. 437 00:29:54,410 --> 00:29:57,310 Wait ten minutes and join me with Commander Walker. 438 00:29:58,690 --> 00:29:59,690 Yes, sir. 439 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:11,600 Roberts wants to understand how Buttercup works. 440 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:13,080 Come on, Walker. 441 00:30:13,260 --> 00:30:19,320 The chance to sit down with Walker and actually try and get inside his mind. 442 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:20,920 This is a crucial moment. 443 00:30:21,380 --> 00:30:23,020 What's this about, Roberts? 444 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:28,860 You want a debriefing on Buttercup to help play a game. A war game. 445 00:30:29,340 --> 00:30:34,820 To play through scenarios, decipher Janet's tactics and learn how to think 446 00:30:34,820 --> 00:30:35,699 you bet. 447 00:30:35,700 --> 00:30:37,680 Something I've actually... 448 00:30:38,060 --> 00:30:41,400 Done using buttercup. Which is why I wanted to speak with you. 449 00:30:46,180 --> 00:30:48,040 Convoy HG -76. 450 00:30:50,060 --> 00:30:54,660 32 merchant ships sailing homeward from Gibraltar. 451 00:30:55,980 --> 00:31:00,120 19th of December, HMS Stanley torpedoed a new order buttercup. 452 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:02,540 What happens then? 453 00:31:09,740 --> 00:31:10,760 Buttercup astern! 454 00:31:12,700 --> 00:31:18,860 I've drilled all my escort commanders to go to battle station on the order 455 00:31:18,860 --> 00:31:22,920 Buttercup. They turn away from the... Ah, Laidlaw. 456 00:31:24,100 --> 00:31:25,840 Please, take a seat. 457 00:31:26,900 --> 00:31:30,440 Commander Walker, this is Ren Laidlaw, member of my staff. 458 00:31:32,020 --> 00:31:35,000 Laidlaw is an accountant by trade. 459 00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:37,980 I've never met a woman accountant. 460 00:31:38,540 --> 00:31:40,760 Adler is one of the first in the country to qualify. 461 00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:42,560 So now you have. 462 00:31:46,140 --> 00:31:48,300 The Stanley was hit. 463 00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:53,260 We can't be sure exactly where the e -boat fired from, but they fired from 464 00:31:53,260 --> 00:31:54,820 outside the convoy in. 465 00:31:55,020 --> 00:31:57,120 The ship is hit. 466 00:31:57,420 --> 00:31:59,620 They escaped by motoring along the surface. 467 00:32:00,380 --> 00:32:06,000 On the order Buttercup, all escort ships turn outward, away from the convoy, 468 00:32:06,020 --> 00:32:07,080 full speed. 469 00:32:07,870 --> 00:32:09,290 chased down the fleeing sun. 470 00:32:09,810 --> 00:32:12,730 Sir, how can you see the U -boats? 471 00:32:13,210 --> 00:32:15,170 The attack was at night, wasn't it? 472 00:32:16,390 --> 00:32:18,570 We fire starshells. 473 00:32:20,070 --> 00:32:21,550 Flares of light up the sea. 474 00:32:23,210 --> 00:32:29,070 We search for 20 minutes. If we spot a U -boat, we destroy them. 475 00:32:33,670 --> 00:32:36,050 Find that damned hut and sink it. 476 00:32:36,870 --> 00:32:38,270 Buttercup! Stop it! 477 00:32:43,550 --> 00:32:45,010 Come into our little trap. 478 00:32:51,250 --> 00:32:52,250 With that, you're out. 479 00:33:02,470 --> 00:33:03,890 But the cup has prevailed. 480 00:33:07,660 --> 00:33:08,760 There is but a gun. 481 00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:10,420 And it works? 482 00:33:11,980 --> 00:33:16,880 My dear, we only lost two convoy ships. 483 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:23,600 I personally thank two U -boats, and three more were hit by other forces 484 00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:24,600 my command. 485 00:33:24,860 --> 00:33:31,740 Sir, HG -76 had 16 escort ships protecting 486 00:33:31,740 --> 00:33:33,620 32 merchant vessels. 487 00:33:34,020 --> 00:33:35,800 Is that a heavy escort? 488 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:38,040 Well, no. 489 00:33:38,740 --> 00:33:44,060 More than most North Atlantic convoys, but sailing out of Gibraltar, if you 490 00:33:44,060 --> 00:33:46,920 don't go in heavy, then you're asking for trouble. 491 00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:49,740 And how many escort ships were lost? 492 00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:53,680 Two escorts. 493 00:33:54,620 --> 00:33:57,180 Including the aircraft carrier HMS Audacity. 494 00:34:02,420 --> 00:34:04,520 But a cup works. 495 00:34:05,340 --> 00:34:06,540 We thank... 496 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:07,940 Five euros. 497 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:13,380 Admiral Noble even asked me to write it up for the escort group operational 498 00:34:13,380 --> 00:34:14,380 instructions. 499 00:34:15,100 --> 00:34:16,100 Yes. 500 00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:18,800 So I understand. 501 00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:21,600 Thank you. 502 00:34:22,020 --> 00:34:26,880 Everything they tried previously just failed. And so this was really the first 503 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:29,739 glimmer of success. I mean, it was a success. 504 00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:37,659 Walker manages to sink two U -boats himself and three others were sunk in 505 00:34:37,659 --> 00:34:38,659 whole operation. 506 00:34:38,820 --> 00:34:40,719 But it was very, very costly. 507 00:34:56,880 --> 00:35:01,260 Everything's in place. Roberts has got his gang. He's got his bits. 508 00:35:01,550 --> 00:35:05,770 in order to make his game work. He's got detailed battle plans so he can work 509 00:35:05,770 --> 00:35:10,030 out what the U -boats have been doing and to help him, he's got his team of 510 00:35:10,030 --> 00:35:14,450 brilliant minds, these young, dependable women from all sorts of backgrounds. 511 00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:28,380 Vera Lawton Matthews must be incredibly proud. 512 00:35:28,620 --> 00:35:33,120 She's handpicked these young women herself, and these women are not being 513 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:38,180 to do rather menial tasks of answering phones or driving cars. 514 00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:45,320 This was taking the fight to the enemy and spearheading a mission to save lives 515 00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:46,320 at sea. 516 00:35:46,700 --> 00:35:51,940 This was using grey matter, women's grey matter. 517 00:35:54,100 --> 00:35:55,260 Lorenz, let's make a start. 518 00:35:55,680 --> 00:35:59,260 Welcome to the Western Approaches Tactical Unit. 519 00:36:00,020 --> 00:36:01,340 Watson, for short. 520 00:36:01,860 --> 00:36:02,860 Thank you very much. 521 00:36:04,480 --> 00:36:05,480 Janitor Kell. 522 00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:09,940 Sir, I'm so sorry I'm late. I took a wrong turn and then another and another 523 00:36:09,940 --> 00:36:12,120 I couldn't find my way back. It's all right. 524 00:36:12,460 --> 00:36:13,460 I'm so sorry, sir. 525 00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:16,620 And I don't have a uniform yet. 526 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:18,580 That's fine. I'm glad you could join us. 527 00:36:18,780 --> 00:36:20,040 The uniforms are here. 528 00:36:20,520 --> 00:36:21,940 Please, collect yours. 529 00:36:23,790 --> 00:36:26,690 This is Chief Yeoman Rayner. He worked with me at Portsmouth. 530 00:36:27,330 --> 00:36:29,250 He knows the game inside out. 531 00:36:30,790 --> 00:36:32,330 Sir, this isn't a Ren's uniform. 532 00:36:33,270 --> 00:36:35,170 Well, you'll be working a lot on the floor. 533 00:36:35,950 --> 00:36:36,950 Sir? 534 00:36:37,770 --> 00:36:39,910 Measuring on your hands and knees and so on. 535 00:36:40,330 --> 00:36:44,810 Sir, for this work, the standard skirt isn't exactly appropriate. 536 00:36:45,270 --> 00:36:46,810 We're wearing the trousers now. 537 00:36:48,790 --> 00:36:49,790 Indeed. 538 00:36:51,830 --> 00:36:56,090 Ladies, if we lose the Battle of the Atlantic, we lose the war. 539 00:36:57,010 --> 00:37:00,350 Our job is to find a way to think the U -boat. 540 00:37:01,050 --> 00:37:04,890 But before we can do this, we need to decipher Dönitz's tactics. 541 00:37:05,950 --> 00:37:07,910 That is what we will do here. 542 00:37:08,770 --> 00:37:14,330 By playing through scenarios and recreating battles in a war game. 543 00:37:16,610 --> 00:37:17,730 This is our board. 544 00:37:18,490 --> 00:37:20,310 A block for the convoy. 545 00:37:21,130 --> 00:37:23,270 Model 6 for the escorts. 546 00:37:26,550 --> 00:37:31,010 The players are divided into U -boat captains and escort commanders. 547 00:37:31,370 --> 00:37:36,790 Now, the escort commanders stand behind these screens and view the board through 548 00:37:36,790 --> 00:37:37,790 these lenses. 549 00:37:38,390 --> 00:37:45,330 Ren Drake, would you... How 550 00:37:45,330 --> 00:37:46,590 much of the board can you see? 551 00:37:47,510 --> 00:37:48,950 No, I can't see anything. 552 00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:52,880 Ah, yes. 553 00:37:52,940 --> 00:37:53,940 Bit of a problem. 554 00:37:55,640 --> 00:38:00,200 How about now? What can you see? 555 00:38:01,460 --> 00:38:03,500 Not much. Just a few models. 556 00:38:04,100 --> 00:38:05,160 Just like at sea? 557 00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:09,140 Exactly. It mimics limited visibility. 558 00:38:09,860 --> 00:38:13,440 Just like a convoy, stretched for miles across the ocean. 559 00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:16,180 And the U -boat captain, Commander Roberts? 560 00:38:16,500 --> 00:38:20,020 The U -boat captain sits at the high table. 561 00:38:21,550 --> 00:38:23,450 There isn't a model for the U -boat. 562 00:38:23,750 --> 00:38:26,030 No. Yes, but can't see the U -boat. 563 00:38:26,390 --> 00:38:27,390 Just I could see. 564 00:38:28,050 --> 00:38:30,010 So how do we plot their position, sir? 565 00:38:31,490 --> 00:38:32,490 Brown chalk. 566 00:38:38,850 --> 00:38:41,390 Drake, can you see the U -boat track? 567 00:38:42,210 --> 00:38:43,210 Not a thing, sir. 568 00:38:44,130 --> 00:38:45,130 Brown on brown. 569 00:38:45,790 --> 00:38:46,790 Thank you, Drake. 570 00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:54,580 An adjudicator hands action events to the players written on these chips. 571 00:38:54,900 --> 00:38:56,140 You bet contacts. 572 00:38:56,720 --> 00:39:00,140 Aircraft sightings. Azdic pings. Chips torpedoed. 573 00:39:00,580 --> 00:39:03,780 The players are then given two minutes to make their move. 574 00:39:04,560 --> 00:39:08,800 They write down their instructions on these movement chips. 575 00:39:09,360 --> 00:39:10,680 Core. Speed. 576 00:39:11,940 --> 00:39:12,940 Azdic sweep. 577 00:39:13,540 --> 00:39:14,820 Depth charges dropped. 578 00:39:17,610 --> 00:39:20,250 Then they hand them back in silence so the opposition doesn't know their 579 00:39:20,250 --> 00:39:21,250 intention. 580 00:39:21,470 --> 00:39:24,190 And the plotters move the models. 581 00:39:26,070 --> 00:39:28,730 The aim of the game is to sink the U -bats. 582 00:39:30,310 --> 00:39:36,370 And the battle report we'll start with is convoy HG -76. 583 00:39:38,650 --> 00:39:39,650 Buttercup. 584 00:39:43,370 --> 00:39:47,470 Despite the Royal Navy's confidence that ship -mounted radar and better 585 00:39:47,470 --> 00:39:52,130 intelligence will turn the tide against the U -boats, they're still sinking 586 00:39:52,130 --> 00:39:55,410 ships faster than Britain can build them. 587 00:39:57,850 --> 00:40:00,350 More and more U -boats keep coming. 588 00:40:01,430 --> 00:40:07,130 Donuts developed the idea that 100 U -boats on active patrol in the North 589 00:40:07,130 --> 00:40:10,730 Atlantic could all but shut down transatlantic shipping. 590 00:40:13,360 --> 00:40:19,440 In April 1941, Dönitz had only 28 U -boats hunting at any one time. 591 00:40:21,180 --> 00:40:25,940 By the beginning of 1942, that number has exploded. 592 00:40:26,720 --> 00:40:28,600 How many boats do we have at sea? 593 00:40:29,600 --> 00:40:31,060 88, Herr Admiral. 594 00:40:31,300 --> 00:40:32,300 88. 595 00:40:33,600 --> 00:40:36,660 That's close to the hundred we need to shut down the Atlantic. 596 00:40:43,440 --> 00:40:46,080 What is the monthly tally from group Parkenschlag? 597 00:40:46,500 --> 00:40:47,500 Parkenschlag? 598 00:40:47,920 --> 00:40:50,580 A five U -boat wolf pack. 599 00:40:51,280 --> 00:40:56,960 23 merchant ships sunk for 150 ,000 tons in the last month. 600 00:40:57,280 --> 00:40:59,160 And they ran out of torpedoes. 601 00:41:02,680 --> 00:41:04,800 But they are just five U -boats. 602 00:41:10,540 --> 00:41:12,280 This is a feeding frenzy. 603 00:41:15,980 --> 00:41:19,060 They are gorging themselves off the coast of America. 604 00:41:27,740 --> 00:41:28,740 Fire! 605 00:41:34,220 --> 00:41:39,180 The German U -boat crews are having a field day off the American east coast. 606 00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:44,940 There were so many available targets that U -boat skippers could pick out the 607 00:41:44,940 --> 00:41:46,620 ones that they thought would be most useful. 608 00:41:47,540 --> 00:41:54,380 It led to a kind of specialization on hunting tankers, the 609 00:41:54,380 --> 00:41:59,840 most valuable prices, because fuel meant war. 610 00:42:05,640 --> 00:42:10,640 Britain's war machine runs on oil and very little oil is making it across the 611 00:42:10,640 --> 00:42:13,040 Atlantic. Without fuel, Britain dies. 612 00:42:13,300 --> 00:42:15,020 The war effort stops. 613 00:42:18,140 --> 00:42:20,580 This is a very productive hunting ground. 614 00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:24,320 Let's go for the jugular. 615 00:42:32,580 --> 00:42:36,260 With everything in place, Roberts and his team begin. 616 00:42:36,560 --> 00:42:42,140 And the first thing that they're going to do is look at Buttercup and the HG 617 00:42:42,140 --> 00:42:43,160 convoy engagement. 618 00:42:44,700 --> 00:42:48,660 The first time that they actually set up for the war games, they don't play a 619 00:42:48,660 --> 00:42:49,660 game itself. 620 00:42:50,380 --> 00:42:55,500 This exercise is really for Roberts to get all of the ducks in a row, all the 621 00:42:55,500 --> 00:42:58,440 pieces on the board, to figure out what actually happened. 622 00:42:58,860 --> 00:43:01,760 every single thing they know, step by step. 623 00:43:02,120 --> 00:43:03,860 Where did the convoy go? 624 00:43:04,120 --> 00:43:06,800 Where were the escorts? Where were the U -boats sunk? 625 00:43:07,380 --> 00:43:12,100 It provides Roberts and his team with a bird's -eye view, and that is going to 626 00:43:12,100 --> 00:43:16,240 give them a real advantage in understanding what went right on the 627 00:43:16,240 --> 00:43:20,300 Royal Navy, but also what the German U -boats themselves are most likely doing. 628 00:43:21,320 --> 00:43:22,320 Excellent. 629 00:43:25,580 --> 00:43:26,580 Let's begin. 630 00:43:29,140 --> 00:43:30,580 Convoy HG76. 631 00:43:31,460 --> 00:43:35,860 32 merchant ships with an escort screen of 16 ships. 632 00:43:36,260 --> 00:43:38,540 The escorts form a protective perimeter. 633 00:43:40,260 --> 00:43:42,700 Merchant ship is hit. What position? 634 00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:44,380 The merchant ship, sir. 635 00:43:44,760 --> 00:43:47,320 Not the escort HMS Stanley. 636 00:43:47,840 --> 00:43:50,100 No, the merchant ships are on lifeblood. 637 00:43:50,300 --> 00:43:51,840 I want to see how they're targeted. 638 00:43:53,040 --> 00:43:56,200 The SS Anivore. Convoy position 53. 639 00:43:57,080 --> 00:43:58,320 Fifth column, third ship. 640 00:44:01,760 --> 00:44:02,760 Now what? 641 00:44:03,760 --> 00:44:05,700 Commander Walker orders Buttercup. 642 00:44:05,960 --> 00:44:11,920 The escort turn outwards at full speed and fire star cells to illuminate the 643 00:44:11,920 --> 00:44:12,920 sky. 644 00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:17,160 They speed away from the convoy to try to spot the U -boat. 645 00:44:18,460 --> 00:44:23,520 Walker manages to sink a U -boat earlier at the rear of the convoy. A stern of 646 00:44:23,520 --> 00:44:24,098 the convoy. 647 00:44:24,100 --> 00:44:25,100 A stern. 648 00:44:34,740 --> 00:44:35,740 Good. 649 00:44:36,720 --> 00:44:38,240 At least one U -boat down. 650 00:44:39,420 --> 00:44:43,140 Proof of the attack from outside the convoy, like Commander Walker said. 651 00:44:50,880 --> 00:44:51,880 Is something wrong? 652 00:44:53,320 --> 00:44:55,140 The merchant ship has hit in the centre. 653 00:44:57,240 --> 00:44:58,340 Can they even hit? 654 00:45:00,440 --> 00:45:01,840 What's the range of a torpedo? 655 00:45:07,690 --> 00:45:08,770 Leave the board as is. 656 00:45:09,230 --> 00:45:10,490 I need to make a phone call. 657 00:45:21,590 --> 00:45:24,210 Operator. Flag office, submarines, London. 658 00:45:24,770 --> 00:45:25,770 Connecting you now. 659 00:45:26,730 --> 00:45:29,270 Robert has an old friend who's based at submarine command. 660 00:45:29,750 --> 00:45:32,550 So he puts in a call to his surprise. 661 00:45:33,260 --> 00:45:36,120 It's answered by the commander submarines for the Royal Navy. 662 00:45:36,420 --> 00:45:37,740 That's Sir Max Horton. 663 00:45:41,380 --> 00:45:42,380 Admiral Horton. 664 00:45:45,300 --> 00:45:47,820 Apologies, sir. I was hoping to speak with your chief of staff. 665 00:45:49,440 --> 00:45:51,340 Captain McIntyre isn't present. 666 00:45:52,020 --> 00:45:54,520 He threw to the flag officer himself. Who is this? 667 00:45:54,860 --> 00:45:56,020 Now, Max Horton... 668 00:45:56,380 --> 00:46:00,780 is a big deal he is the head of the royal navy's submarine arm he was a 669 00:46:00,780 --> 00:46:05,460 submariner in world war one he knows everything there is to know about 670 00:46:05,460 --> 00:46:11,320 warfare sir it's commander roberts of the western approaches tactical unit 671 00:46:11,320 --> 00:46:18,080 i wanted to speak with captain mcintyre on submarine tactics i served in subs 672 00:46:18,080 --> 00:46:21,740 during the first war what do you need oh thank you sir 673 00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:25,900 What is the range of a German torpedo? 674 00:46:26,700 --> 00:46:27,900 The G7E. 675 00:46:29,040 --> 00:46:31,980 Roughly 5 ,400 yards, but that's the limit. 676 00:46:32,820 --> 00:46:33,820 Effective range. 677 00:46:34,060 --> 00:46:35,280 Expect to halve that. 678 00:46:35,660 --> 00:46:40,840 Now, remember the ship that was sunk in HG -76? 679 00:46:41,120 --> 00:46:46,180 That ship was in the middle of a convoy. A convoy is 10 ,000 yards across. I 680 00:46:46,180 --> 00:46:47,220 mean, how does that make sense? 681 00:46:48,780 --> 00:46:50,060 Commander, are you still there? 682 00:46:51,660 --> 00:46:52,660 Yes, sir. 683 00:46:53,420 --> 00:46:54,780 One more thing, if I may. 684 00:46:55,460 --> 00:47:00,220 During the first war, would you ever fire from inside the convoy? 685 00:47:01,540 --> 00:47:02,540 Of course. 686 00:47:03,500 --> 00:47:05,140 It's the only way of being accurate. 687 00:47:08,220 --> 00:47:09,220 Inside. 688 00:47:11,580 --> 00:47:12,820 That bloody one inside. 689 00:47:15,420 --> 00:47:17,420 Robert, does this answer your question? 690 00:47:18,320 --> 00:47:19,320 Yes, sir. 691 00:47:19,620 --> 00:47:20,640 More than you can know. 692 00:47:29,360 --> 00:47:32,900 Commander Walker, the Royal Navy, they all believe the U -boats fire from 693 00:47:32,900 --> 00:47:34,460 outside the convoy, but what if they're wrong? 694 00:47:35,980 --> 00:47:37,760 What if they're firing from inside? 695 00:47:40,260 --> 00:47:41,840 The U -boats Walker sank. 696 00:47:43,120 --> 00:47:45,480 It would mean Buttercup is based on a false assumption. 697 00:47:47,340 --> 00:47:50,680 The Royal Navy are relying on luck to protect the convoys. 698 00:47:53,840 --> 00:47:57,760 The Navy knew all along, but they forgot they knew. 699 00:48:01,100 --> 00:48:02,600 Is that Donitz's master tactic? 700 00:48:09,540 --> 00:48:10,540 It's getting late. 701 00:48:10,960 --> 00:48:13,360 Well, Drake, you're dismissed for the evening. Get some sleep. 702 00:48:14,240 --> 00:48:17,800 I want you to stay. 703 00:48:18,720 --> 00:48:19,940 As long as you need, sir. 704 00:48:20,880 --> 00:48:23,380 We need to work out how the Yibbets are getting inside the convoy. 705 00:48:25,800 --> 00:48:27,920 And find a tactic to destroy them. 706 00:48:30,190 --> 00:48:35,230 Mein Fuhrer, I can strike a decisive blow, but I need more U -boats. 707 00:48:37,530 --> 00:48:38,630 U -boat destroyed. 708 00:48:39,050 --> 00:48:40,050 Oh. 709 00:48:40,990 --> 00:48:42,010 Run the game again. 710 00:48:42,230 --> 00:48:43,290 We need to be sure. 711 00:48:43,730 --> 00:48:45,610 Who devised this tactic? 712 00:48:46,390 --> 00:48:47,790 Ren Jean Nadel, sir. 713 00:48:48,030 --> 00:48:50,050 And do you have a name for it? 714 00:48:52,250 --> 00:48:56,310 Raspberry. As in blowing a raspberry at Hitler, sir? 715 00:48:56,630 --> 00:48:58,050 Well, let's hope it works at sea. 716 00:48:58,730 --> 00:49:01,210 Because now Durnick has his 300 U -boats. 717 00:49:02,150 --> 00:49:07,230 And he'll be hell -bent in using them to turn the Atlantic into a convoy 718 00:49:07,230 --> 00:49:08,230 graveyard. 719 00:49:09,810 --> 00:49:11,710 Imagine the carnage we will sow. 53988

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