Operation Rösselsprung (1942)
Rösselsprung was a plan by the German Kriegsmarine to intercept an Arctic convoy in mid-1942. It was the German Navy's largest operation of its type and arguably the most successful since it resulted in the near-destruction of Convoy PQ 17. Ironically, that success was entirely indirect, as no Rösselsprung ship caught sight of the convoy or fired a shot at it. PQ 17's losses were instead caused by U-boat and aircraft attacks. Despite not making contact with the convoy a number of the Rösselsprung ships were damaged in the course of the operation, notably the heavy cruiser Lützow, which ran aground in thick fog and needed three months of repairs. Background The name Rösselsprung refers to the Knight’s Move in Chess. It was an attempt to intercept the arctic convoy expected in late June 1942, which would be Convoy PQ 17. Two naval forces were assembled and held in readiness: the first, at Trondheim, comprised the battleship , the heavy cruiser and six destroyers under the command of Admiral Otto Schniewind; the second, at Narvik, was composed of the heavy cruisers Lützow and and six destroyers under the command of Vice-Admiral Oskar Kummetz. A patrol line of U-boats was established in the Norwegian Sea north-east of Jan Mayen island; code-named Eisteufel (Ice Devil), the group comprised six boats and increased later to eight. An advance line of three boats was also established in the Denmark Strait, east of Iceland, to give early warning of the convoy's departure. The plan was that when the convoy was sighted, the two battle groups would move north and concentrate at Altenfjord, where they would re-fuel and await the order to attack with the aim to intercept the convoy in the region of Bear Island. Rösselsprung was handicapped by complex command arrangements, with authority to go at each stage resting with Hitler and a contradictory mission statement; the forces were instructed to attack and destroy the convoy but also to avoid any action that would lead to damage to the capital ships, particularly Tirpitz. Action PQ 17 left Hvalfjörður on 27 June 1942 but it was not detected by the advance patrol. No warning of PQ 17 was raised until 1 July, when it was spotted by U-456 of Eisteufel; by this time the convoy was already past Jan Mayen Island, and was closing with QP 13. With the complex decision-making process binding Rösselsprung, no move was made until 2 July; Tirpitz, Hipper and four destroyers left Trondheim at 20:00 on 2 July, while Lutzow and Scheer with their five destroyers left Narvik at 12:30 on 3 July. The journeys were taken through channels between the Norwegian Islands and the main coastline, sometimes known as the Western Leads. The Leads are sheltered and hidden but tricky to navigate and the battle groups encountered trouble almost immediately; three of Tirpitzs escorting destroyers ran onto rocks and were forced to return to port. Tirpitz and Hipper with one remaining destroyer arrived at Vestfjord, off Narvik, on 3