Subhas Bose was a mercurial leader who had escaped to Berlin to enlist Hitler’s support in the war against the British to liberate India. But by January 43 he had realized that Hitler, preoccupied with the Russian campaign, could spare no force for an assault on India.
The Japanese, after fooling around, agreed to receive Bose in Tokyo. The initial plan was to send it by air, but as the Axis powers were rapidly losing air superiority, it was decided to move it by sea to Japan. A look at the world map will show you the maritime distance involved, but the Japanese and Germans eventually approved the plan to transport Bose by sea.
Thus, on February 8, 1943, Bose set sail in a German submarine U-180 from Kiel. The submarine was commanded by Commander Werner Mussonberg. The total voyage took 93 days and it is a tribute to the German navy that they managed to transfer Bose to the Indian Ocean. The journey itself was dangerous as British and Allied intelligence were tracking Bose, whom they desperately wanted to catch.
After a long voyage, the German submarine reached the sea near Madagascar and searched for the Japanese submarine. The Japanese submarine I-29 was commanded by Commander Juichi Isu and also had a senior imperial navy flotilla commander in the form of Captain Mesao Teraoka, showing the importance the Japanese placed on Subhas Bose.
The submarines made contact on April 26, 1943 at an estimated point about 400 nautical miles off the coast of Madagascar. But when the submarines came into contact, the sea became rough and the transfer of Bosé and his companion could not be carried out. In addition, the submarines maintained radio silence making the task even more difficult.
The sea remained rough even on April 27. But two swimmers from the German submarine reached the Japanese submarine and reported that the German submarine was running out of fuel. So it was decided to make the transfer the next day. Although the seas remained rough, Bose and his companions were transferred to the Japanese submarine in a rubber raft that was attached to the submarines with a rope.
This transfer to the Japanese submarine deserves our admiration. As the logistical problems were gigantic and yet the German and Japanese navies accomplished the impossible. There is no doubt that this episode will rank as one of the great romantic tales of World War II. Going from Germany in a submarine to the middle of the Indian Ocean and going on a date with a Japanese submarine is what legends are made of. All credit must go to Bose, who showed that the Indians do not lack courage and strength to do the impossible.