Operation Rheinübung

Common card · No. 362317

Operation Rheinübung (German: Unternehmen Rheinübung) was the sortie into the Atlantic by the new German battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen on 18–27 May 1941, during World War II. This operation aimed to disrupt Allied shipping to the United Kingdom as the previously successful Operation Berlin had done. After Bismarck had sunk HMS Hood during the Battle of the Denmark Strait (24 May), it culminated with the sinking of the Bismarck (27 May), while Prinz Eugen escaped to port in occupied France. From that point on, the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) would rely only on U-boats to wage the Battle of the Atlantic.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Lagemann, CC BY-SA 3.0 de