The Situation of the Germans

It was roughly a year after Nazi Germany had defeated nearly all countries in Europe, including France, Poland, Yugoslavia, etc. Although Germany achieved huge success on land, the situation at sea was in great trouble. The Royal Navy had blockaded the Kriegsmarine and continued to send resources to Great Britain from the Americas. The Kriegsmarine needed to stop the Allied freighters and disrupt their shipping lanes.

In May 1941, the German Navy High Command Chief, Erich Johann Albert Raeder, initiated Operation Rheinübung. The major forces of this operation were the Kriegsmarine’s two newest ships: the battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, commanded by Johann Günther Lütjens. With the help of U-boats beneath the Atlantic Ocean, Raeder hoped to put pressure on the Royal Navy.

Preparation of the British

On 18 May 1941, the German fleet left port, heading toward the Denmark Strait. On 20 May, Swedish aircraft and ships spotted the fleet and reported it to the Royal Navy. The Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet, John Tovey, sent two heavy cruisers, HMS Norfolk and HMS Suffolk, to patrol the strait and prevent the German fleet from entering the Atlantic Ocean.

The Encounter Between the British and the Germans

On 21 May, the Royal Navy sent two more ships to the Denmark Strait to join the cruisers: HMS Hood (the largest battlecruiser at that time) and HMS Prince of Wales (the newest battleship of the Royal Navy). Vice-Admiral Lancelot Ernest Holland was the commander of these two ships. On 23 May, the British fleet encountered the German fleet at the entrance to the strait. Bismarck fired at the cruisers but missed all five volleys, and its radar was damaged during the shots. HMS Suffolk continued tracking Bismarck while waiting for support from other ships. Unfortunately, it lost contact with the German fleet from 00:20 until 03:00 the next day.

The Battle

At around 05:35 on 24 May 1941, the German fleet was finally spotted by HMS Prince of Wales (the cruisers were at a distance). At the same time, Lütjens also spotted the British fleet. At 05:52, Vice-Admiral Holland gave the order to fire at the German ship, which he mistakenly believed was Bismarck (it was actually Prinz Eugen). He soon corrected the order, but it still caused confusion on the British ships.

At 05:55, Bismarck and Prinz Eugen were positioned in front of the British battleships, forming a T shape. The German fleet began firing at HMS Hood, setting it ablaze. Holland quickly ordered the two British ships to turn their hulls to bring all their cannons into action. At 06:00, while HMS Hood was still turning, it was hit again by Bismarck. This time, the ship’s ammunition magazine exploded, breaking the Hood into two parts and sinking it in a matter of minutes. Of the 1,419 crew members, including Holland, only three survived.

After HMS Hood sank, the Germans immediately switched their focus to HMS Prince of Wales, hitting the ship around eight times. Most of the crew in the bridge and radar control room were killed. Additionally, many of the ship’s cannons malfunctioned and could not fire. At 06:04, Captain John Leach ordered a retreat from the battlefield. By 06:10, the fighting had ceased, and Lütjens did not order the pursuit of the damaged battleship.

The Aftermath of the Battle

When news of HMS Hood‘s sinking reached Britain, the entire British Empire was in shock. The largest battlecruiser in the world, the pride of the Royal Navy, had been destroyed by the Germans. The Royal Navy quickly launched an operation to avenge Hood and sink Bismarck, which they achieved near France on 27 May 1941.

For Germany, although the battle in the Denmark Strait was a significant victory, the loss of Bismarck soon afterwards marked a major defeat. This failure directly hindered the Kriegsmarine’s efforts to destroy Allied freighters and disrupt shipping lanes.