U-56

Often when we read about the Second World War, we hear of the great leaders and generals such as Adolt Hitler, Wiston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, Gregory Zhukov, Karl Dönitz, and the Desert Fox, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. We hear of their great wars and battles, either in diplomacy or in the field of battle. However, rarely if at all do we hear of the little guys, the men who really made and lost the battles of the war. Not just any battles, but those which could have had world-changing consequences. One of those men was, the captain of the German U-boat,. Zahn is largely unsung in today's times, however, Zahn is unique, as he was close to changing the course of history.

Around 10 A.M. in the morning on 30 October 1939, U-boat commander Wilhelm Zahn stealthily passed through a fleet of ten British destroyers and the battle cruiser, protecting the of the British Isles. Just west of, lay the and , two of the largest ships in the Royal Navy at the time. On-board the Nelson unaware, were First Lord of the Admiralty, Admiral of the Fleet Sir , and Admiral Sir , of the Royal Navy. In front of Wilhelm Zahn was the chance to strike a devastating blow to the British Empire, and rob it of its most powerful men.

Unbeknownst to Zahn, Churchill's presence was unknown to him. Chuchill had convened at sea to speak of the future of the Royal Navy after the deaths of 833 servicemen during the sinking of the by another U-boat just two prior. Though the odds were deemed impossible given the large number of warships in the area, such an opportunity to take out several major British warships could not be passed by. Zahn thus moved ahead with his goal to strike a blow to the Royal Navy by any means necessary. Laying in wait, the U-56 waited for the Nelson to cross its line of sight, and when it came with just 800 meters of the U-boat's position, Zahn struck.

Zahn's U-boat fired three torpedoes at the Nelson. All three struck the ship; all but one did not explode. The last torpedo only caused minor damage, and alerted the British crewmen to the presence of a U-boat in the waters. With no more torpedoes to fire, and the British on to them, Zahn ordered his vessel deeper into the water to avoid depth charges, himself sinking into a deep depression. It was only after this that Zahn realized that Churchill was on-board the Nelson, and he had missed the greatest opportunity in his lifetime. Zahn would later become known as "Man who almost killed Churchill" amongst his fellow U-boat submariners. Though the rest is history, one can only ask, what if Zahn was able to successfully sink the Nelson and kill Churchill? How would history be defined? How would history be written?