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Rösselsprung was the largest operation of its type mounted by the ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II, and arguably the most successful, resulting as it did in the near destruction of arctic convoy PQ-17. Ironically, this success was entirely indirect, as no ''Rösselsprung'' ship caught sight of the convoy, or fired a shot at it, all PQ 17s losses being due to U-boat and aircraft attacks. Also, a number of the ''Rösselsprung'' ships were damaged in the course of the operation, while only five aircraft were shot down, and no U-boats lost or damaged in the attack on PQ 17. ==Background== The name ''Rösselsprung'' refers to the Knight’s Move in Chess. It was an attempt to intercept the arctic convoy expected in late June 1942; this would be PQ-17. Two naval forces were assembled and held in readiness: the first, at Trondheim, comprised the battleship , the heavy cruiser and six destroyers under the command of Admiral Otto Schniewind; the second — at Narvik — was composed of the heavy cruisers ''Lützow'' and and six destroyers under the command of Vice-Admiral Oskar Kummetz. A patrol line of U-boats was established in the Norwegian Sea north-east of Jan Mayen island; code-named ''Eisteufel'' (Ice Devil), this group comprised six boats, increasing later to eight. An advance line of three boats was also established in the Denmark Strait, east of Iceland, to give early warning of the convoys departure. The plan was that when the convoy was sighted, the two battle groups would move north, concentrating at Altenfjord; there they would re-fuel, and await the order to attack, aiming to intercept the convoy in the region of Bear Island. However, ''Rösselsprung'' was handicapped by a complex command process, with authority to go at each stage resting with Hitler himself, and a contradictory mission statement; the forces were instructed not only to attack and destroy the convoy, but also to avoid any action that would lead to damage to the capital ships, particularly ''Tirpitz''. This would prove fatal to the success of the mission. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Operation Rösselsprung (1942)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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