Wilhelm Gustloff: Disaster at Sea
by Alexander Marinesko from Hero or Villain: More Prisoners of Eternity.
On 30 January, 1945, the Wilhelm Gustloff left Gotenhafen harbour bound for Germany loaded to the gunnals with refugees desperate to flee the advancing Red Army. She was never to make her destination. Later that night, in the foullest weather imaginable, she was torpedoed and sank with the loss of up to 10,000 souls. It was the greatest maritime disaster in history. One man was responsible, Alexander Marinesco, the deadliest of submariners.
Captain Marinesko
Alexander Marinesko was actually born Alexandru Marinescu, to Rumanian parents who altered his name to make it appear more Russian. on 15 January, 1913, in the port city of Odessa. A temperamental and emotional young man, he suffered from nightmares, was easily bored, and sought solace in the bottle. He was from an early age beset by demons. But as was fitting for a man of Odessa a career at sea beckoned. Not in the Merchant Marine however, but in the Russian Navy. Little could he have known as a young man that he would grow into the most lethal and deadly submariner of all time.
He made steady progress through the ranks of the Russian Navy and was recognised as a talented officer though his career was often thwarted by a deep streak of irresponsibility. In 1939, he was posted to the Baltic Fleet and assigned command of the submarine M.96 then considered one of the best in the world. But he still wasn’t entirely trusted. The Authorities were aware of and distrusted his Rumanian background. So upon the outbreak of war with Germany in July, 1941, he was sent to serve in the Caspian Sea as a training officer. This bored him desperately and he was frequently drunk, and his lack of sobriety was to lead to his expulsion from the Communist Party.
At last, in the summer of 1942, he saw action. His talent soon became apparent and he was brave to the point of recklessness. But he was also a braggart and a liar and often exaggerated his own exploits which brought him the enmity of many of his fellow officers. Even so, his success determined that he maintain command of his submarine, even if at one point he effectively deserted the service to live with a Swedish woman he had met at a drunken New Year’s Eve Party. His disregard for authority and total lack of discipline however, meant that he and his crew were considered expendable. So on 11 January, 1945, Captain Marinesko in command of submarine S.13 was dispatched to patrol the dangerous sea lanes off the Baltic peninsular. Here he remained patiently at his post for days on end but with little success. Frequently attacked by German torpedo boats and spotter planes he could not see the point of remaining there to no good purpose. Aware that the city of Memel had recently fallen and that the German army was now in full retreat and would be looking to evacuate its troops, in direct contravention of orders, he manoeuvred S.13 into a position he believed would be a likely point of interception.
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