U571, The Story Behind the Movie - Chapter 1 - Preface

<body link="0000ff" alink="ff0000" vlink="000000" background="../../backgrounds/tyranny_back.gif"> <table width="100%"> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top" width="70"><img src="http://www.click2flicks.com/../buttons/space.gif" width="70" height="70"> </td> <td align="center" valign="top"><a href="../../index5.htm" onmouseover="turnOn('image1')" onmouseout="turnOff('image1')"><img src="http://www.click2flicks.com/../buttons/button_off_left.gif" name="image1" hspace="10" border="0" width="103" height="36"></a><a href="../../index5.htm" onmouseover="turnOn('image2')" onmouseout="turnOff('image2')"><img src="http://www.click2flicks.com/../buttons/directory_off.gif" name="image2" border="0" hspace="10" align="top" width="130" height="22"></a><a href="../u571/u571_ch1.htm" onmouseover="turnOn('image3')" onmouseout="turnOff('image3')"><img src="http://www.click2flicks.com/../buttons/button_off_right.gif" name="image3" border="0" hspace="10" width="104" height="36"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top"><img src="http://www.click2flicks.com/../backgrounds/tyranny_side.gif" width="19" height="263"> </td> <td> <div align=center><p><b><font face="arial, helvetica" size=5 color=006068><b>HITLER'S ENIGMA</p> <p>THE STORY BEHIND<BR> U571</b></font></p> <table width="320" cell padding="5" cellspacing="5" border="0"> <tr> <td align="CENTER" valign="top" bgcolor="006068"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="3" color="FFFFFF"><b>STORY CHAPTER LINKS</b></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><a href="#preface"><b>1. STORY PREFACE</b></a></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="50%"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="u571_ch2.htm">2. THE UNBREAKABLE CODE</a><b></b></b></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="50%"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="u571_ch3.htm">3. THE U-BOATS</a><b></b></b></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="u571_ch4.htm">4. <I>U-110</I> IN TROUBLE</a><b></b></b></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="u571_ch5.htm">5. <I>U-110</I> CAPTURED</a><b></b></b></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="u571_ch6.htm">6. <I>U-110</I> SINKS</a><b></b></b></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="u571_ch7.htm">7. THE CODE IS BROKEN (TEMPORARILY)</a><b></b></b></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="u571_ch8.htm">8. U-559 - U-BOAT CODES ARE BROKEN</a><b></b></b></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="u571_ch9.htm">9. <I>U-505</I> IN PERIL</a><b></b></b></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="u571_ch10.htm">10. THE CAPTURE OF <I>U-505</I></a><b></b></b></font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><font face="ARIAL, HELVETICA" size="2"><b><a href="u571_ch11.htm">11. ENIGMA TODAY</a><b></b></b></font> </td> </tr> </table>  <b> <p><font size="3"><u><a name="preface">PREFACE</a></u></font></b></p> </font> <blockquote><b><i><font face="Times New Roman" color="006068" size="3">I still wake up at night<br> fifty-six years later<br> to find myself<br> going down that ladder.<br><br></i> David Balme </font></b></blockquote> </div> <center> <table width="520"> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top"> <div align="justify"> <p><font face="arial, helvetica" color="000000" size="3">The North Atlantic seas south of Iceland were relatively calm on May 9, 1941 as a British convoy made its way from England to Nova Scotia. Escort ships, like the corvette HMS Aubretia, were desperately needed to protect supply ships from the ever-present threat of German U-boats.</p> <p>On board the Bulldog, senior ship of the 3rd Escort Group, <a href="http://www.thehistorynet.com/MHQ/images/1998/spr982_1l.jpg" target="_blank"><b>Sub-Lieutenant David Balme</b></a> had no clue his impending heroism would give British intelligence what they needed to decipher the secret code of the Third Reich - Hitler's <a href="http://www.odci.gov/cia/information/artifacts/enigma.jpg" target="_blank"><b>"Enigma" encryption machine.</b></a> </p> <p>Commanding the Bulldog, <a href="http://uboat.net/allies/personnel/cresswell.htm" target="_blank"><b>A.J. (Joe) Baker-Creswell</b></a> had no idea his instinctual decisions over the next several hours would turn the tide of the war against Germany.</p> <p>In charge of a lurking nearby U-Boat, <a href="http://uboat.net/men/lemp.htm" target="_blank"><b>Fritz-Julius Lemp</b></a> (commanding officer of U-110) could not have known he had only a few hours to live. </p> </div> <p align="right"><a href="u571_ch2.htm"><img src="http://www.click2flicks.com/../buttons/goto.gif" alt="continue" to next chapter of story" border="o" hspace="5" width="144" height="22"></a></p> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </center> </center> </td> </tr> </table> </body>