Tuesday, May 20
The Task Force is Spotted
Bismarck en route to Bergen, photographed from Prinz Eugen (US Navy)
As the dawn broke on the 20th of May the weather was clear and bright, an obstacle to the stealth needed by the task force. To make matters worse, while the weather was clear in the passage between the Baltic and the North Sea, heavy cloud cover over Scotland prevented the Luftwaffe from getting clear intelligence regarding the disposition of the Royal Navy’s Home Fleet.
As the German task force exited the Great Belt and approached the Skagerrak, the final curve around Denmark before the North Sea, an unwelcome sight greeted them, as the waters were crowded with civilian fishing boats. This was most concerning to Admiral Lutjens, as any of them could carry Danish resistance sympathizers or British spies, who might report the sortie to the Admiralty before it even made the open sea.
In the first moment of excitement for the mission, the aircraft alarm sounded today, and the crews sprang to their action stations on both ships’ flak batteries. This, at least, turns out to be a false alarm, as the planes pass overhead without incident, the German balkenkreuz markings plainly visible on their undersides. The morning would otherwise pass without incident.
At 1200 the PA systems on Bismarck crackle into life as Captain Lindemann addresses his crew:
“The day we have longed for so eagerly has at last arrived: the moment when we can lead our proud ship against the enemy. Our objective is commerce raiding in the Atlantic, imperiling England’s existence. Let us hope for great success. I know that it has been, and will continue to be, the crew’s sincerest desire to participate directly in Germany’s final victory. I give you the hunter’s toast: Good hunting, and a good bag!”
Despite this pronouncement, Exercise Rhine was at that moment hitting its first stumbling block.
The Swedish seaplane tender HSwMS Gotland (Dutch National Archives)
The German task force did not comprise all of the warships in the Skagerrak this morning, although they were the only belligerent vessels as far as the Second World War was concerned. The Swedish seaplane tender HSwMS Gotland was performing gunnery training exercises today, and at 1300 she sighted the massive German warships as they steamed for the North Sea. As a neutral ship, Gotland did not alter her course or indeed show any notable reaction to the task force’s presence. Indeed all she did was relay a routine report of sighting a foreign warship back to headquarters in Stockholm.
As they day continues the Germans continued on their way, stopping for a short time at 1600 to allow German minesweepers to clear the path for them to leave the Skagerrak. Fearful that British submarines might be patrolling the gap of the pre-cleared patch, Lutjens had ordered a new one opened. Within the hour his task force began to move through into the North Sea. Later, at 1737, Admiral Lutjens radioed to Marinegruppenkommando Nord in Wilhemshaven that he had been spotted by a Swedish warship. To this he is told that OKM believes the Swedes will not report the fleet movements to the British, and that Exercise Rhine is to proceed as planned. The task force thus continued onward, now following the Norwegian coast in a zigzag pattern to avoid potential attacks by roaming British submarines.
“MOST IMMEDIATE. Kattegat today 20th May. At 1500 two large warships escorted by three destroyers, five escort craft, ten or twelve aircraft passed Marstrand course northwest.”
The earlier report from Gotland, , while innocuous enough, swiftly made its way to Alfred Lund of the Norwegian government in exile, who was serving as military attaché in Stockholm. From him the information was relayed to the British Naval Attaché. From this report the information was relayed to Admiralty that the Germans had sortied into the North Sea.
Bismarck underway (earlier photo, note the lack of disruptive paint on the hull) German Federal Archives
An encrypted message was dispatched at 2058 to London, and set off a flurry of movement. It combined with fragmented reports from the codebreakers at Bletchley Park regarding an immanent Atlantic raid. The Royal Navy was alerted, and the RAF ordered to commence reconnaissance flights over Norway and Denmark immediately.
Further confirmation arrives at 2200, when Norwegian resistance operatives sighted the task force as they made their way along the coast, reporting in to London and providing final confirmation.
Position of German task force as it moves through the Great Belt into Skagerrak
Position of HSwMS Gotland
Position of German task force as it enters the North Sea