U 156, Werner Hartenstein and the sinking of the "Laconia

The largest rescue operation of shipwrecked people in the history of naval warfare

Summary:
When U 156, commanded by Korvettenkapitän Werner Hartenstein, fired two torpedoes at the British troopship "Laconia," manned by more than 3,000 people, at the height of the U-boat war off the west coast of Africa on September 12, 1942, sinking the ship, no one had any idea what was to follow.
After it was discovered on U 156 that the ship also contained women, children and prisoners of war, Werner Hartenstein, under the impression of the unfolding catastrophe, initiated a rescue operation unprecedented in the history of naval warfare.
Assisted by two other German and one Italian submarine, which had been directed to the scene of the disaster by Admiral Dönitz, and undeterred by the attack on U 156 by an American bomber during the rescue operation, which severely damaged the submarine, approximately one-third of all the castaways from the "Laconia" were rescued and transferred to French warships that had sailed from Dakar.
This book describes the dramatic events of the sinking of the "Laconia" and the subsequent largest rescue operation in naval war history. At the same time, it is the biography of submarine commander and Knight's Cross holder Werner Hartenstein, who revealed deeply human traits not only during this rescue operation, to which ARD dedicated one of the largest television productions of the postwar period, when he risked the safety of his own boat, that of his crew, and his own life to save shipwrecked people.
by the author:
Author: Hans-Joachim Röll, born on September 6, 1957 in Würzburg, lives and works in Franconia. He is considered an expert and specialist in military history and has written numerous biographies and non-fiction books.