Part 16
Norway's losses from the beginning of the war to the end of April, 1918, amounted to 755 vessels, aggregating 1,115,519 tons, and the lives of 1,006 seamen, in addition to about 700 men on fifty-three vessels missing, two-thirds of which were declared to be war losses.
The American steamship Lake Moor, manned by naval reserves, was sunk by a German submarine in European waters about midnight on April 11, with a loss of five officers and thirty-nine men. Five officers and twelve enlisted men were landed at an English port. Eleven men, including five navy gunners, were lost when the Old Dominion liner Tyler was sunk off the French coast on May 3. The Canadian Pacific Company's steamer Medora also was sunk off the French coast. The Florence H. was wrecked in a French port by an internal explosion on the night of April 17. Out of the crew of fifty-six men, twenty-nine were listed as dead or missing, twelve were sent to hospital badly burned, two were slightly injured, and only thirteen escaped injury. Of the twenty-three men of the naval guard only six were reported as survivors.
Six officers and thirteen men were reported missing as the result of two naval disasters reported on May 1 by the British Admiralty. They formed part of the crews of the sloop Cowslip, which was torpedoed and sunk on April 25, and of Torpedo Boat 90, which foundered.
According to Archibald Hurd, a British authority on naval matters, the area in the North Sea which was proclaimed by the British Government as dangerous to shipping and therefore prohibited after May 15 is the greatest mine field ever laid for the special purpose of foiling submarines. It embraces 121,782 square miles, the base forming a line between Norway and Scotland, and the peak extending northward into the Arctic Circle.
A Secret Chapter of U-Boat History
How Ruthless Policy Was Adopted
_The causes that led to Germany's adoption of the policy of unrestricted submarine warfare on Feb. 1, 1917, were revealed a year later by the Handelsblad, an Amsterdam newspaper, whose correspondent had secured secret access to "a number of highly interesting and important documents" long enough to read them and make notes of their contents. The Dutch paper vouched for the accuracy of the following information:_
At the close of the year 1915 the German Admiralty Staff prepared a semi-official memorandum to prove that an unrestricted submarine campaign would compel Great Britain to sue for peace "in six months at the most." The character of the argument conveys the impression that the chiefs of the German Admiralty Staff had already made up their minds to adopt the most drastic measures in regard to submarine warfare, but that they wished to convince the Kaiser, the Imperial Chancellor, and the German diplomatists of the certainty of good results on economic and general, rather than merely military, grounds. To this end the memorandum based its arguments on statistics of food prices, freight, and insurance rates in Great Britain. It pointed out that the effects on the prices of essential commodities, on the balance of trade, and, above all, on the morale of the chief enemy, had been such, even with the restricted submarine campaign of 1915, that, if an unrestricted submarine war were decided upon, England could not possibly hold out for more than a short period.
The memorandum was submitted to the Imperial Chancellor, who passed it on to Dr. Helfferich, the Secretary of State for Finance. He, however, rejected the document on the ground that, in the absence of authentic estimates of stocks, it was impossible to set a time-limit to England's staying power, and also that he was exceedingly doubtful as to what line would be taken by neutrals, especially the United States. Dr. Helfferich maintained that so desperate a remedy should only be employed as a last resource. The authors of the memorandum then sent a reply, in which they developed their former arguments, and pointed to the gravity of the internal situation in Germany. They emphasized the importance of using the nearest and sharpest weapons of offense if a national collapse was to be avoided. They reinforced their argument by adducing the evidence of ten experts, representing finance, commerce, the mining industry, and agriculture. They were Herr Waldemar Müller, the President of the Dresdner Bank; Dr. Salomonsohn of the Disconto Gesellschaft; Dr. Paul Reusch of Oberhausen, Royal Prussian Councilor of Commerce; Dr. Springorum of Dortmund, Chancellor of Commerce, member of the Prussian Upper House, (Herren Haus,) General Director of Railways and Tramways at Hoesch, an ironmaster, and a great expert in railways; Herr Max Schinkel of Hamburg, President of the Norddeutsche Bank in Hamburg and of the Disconto Gesellschaft in Berlin; Herr Zuckschwerdt of Madgeburg, Councilor of Commerce, late member of the Prussian Upper House; Herr Wilhelm von Finck of Munich, Privy Councilor, chief of the banking house of Merck, Finck & Co., Munich; Councilor of Economics R. Schmidt of Platzhof, member of the Württemberg Upper Chamber and of the German Agricultural Council; Herr Engelhard of Mannheim, Councilor of Commerce, President of the Chamber of Commerce and member of the Baden Upper Chamber.
These experts were invited to send answers in writing to the three following questions: (1) What would be the effect on England of unrestricted submarine warfare? (2) What would be its effect on Germany's relations with the United States and other neutrals? (3) To what extent does the internal situation in Germany demand the use of this drastic weapon?
The reader will do well to remember that the replies were written in February, 1916--nearly two years ago. All agreed on the first point--the effect on Great Britain. The effect of unrestricted submarine warfare on England would be that she would have to sue for peace in six months at the most. Herr Müller, who seemed to be in a position to confirm the statistics given in the memorandum, pointed out that the supply of indispensable foodstuffs was, at the time of writing, less than the normal supply in peace time. He held that the submarine war, if relentlessly and vigorously pursued, would accomplish its purpose in less time than calculated in the memorandum--in fact, three months should do it. Dr. Salomonsohn also thought that six months was an excessive estimate, and that less time would suffice.
On the question of the effect on neutrals the experts were divided. Dr. Reusch suggested that the neutrals despised the restricted submarine warfare of 1915, and held that every ship in British waters, whether enemy or neutral, should be torpedoed without warning. According to him, the world only respects those who, in a great crisis, know how to make the most unscrupulous use of their power.
Herr Müller predicted that ruthless submarine war would cause a wholesale flight of neutrals from the war zone. Their newspapers might abuse Germany at first, but they would soon get tired. The danger was from the United States, but that would become less in proportion as Germany operated more decisively and ruthlessly. Dr. Salomonsohn adopted the same attitude. He recognized the possibility of war with the United States, but was loath to throw away so desirable a weapon on that account.
As to the third point, all the experts agreed that the internal situation in Germany demanded that the most drastic methods of submarine warfare should be employed. Herr Zuckschwerdt urged the advisability of the most drastic measures owing to the feeling of the nation. The nation would stand by the Government, but not if it yielded to threats from America. Such weakness would lead to serious consequences. Herr Schmidt admitted the possibility of Germany not being able to hold out, and emphasized the importance of taking drastic steps before disorder and unrest arose in the agricultural districts.
Sea-Raider Wolf and Its Victims
Story of Its Operations
_A third chapter of sea-raider history similar to those of the Möwe and Seeadler was revealed when the Spanish steamship Igotz Mendi, navigated by a German prize crew, ran aground on the Danish coast, Feb. 24, 1918, while trying to reach the Kiel Canal with a cargo of prisoners and booty. The next day the German Government announced that the sea-raider Wolf, which had captured the Igotz Mendi and ten other merchant vessels, with 400 prisoners, had successfully returned after fifteen months in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. The story of the Wolf's operations, as gleaned by Danish and English correspondents from the narratives of released prisoners, is told below. Some of the most interesting passages were furnished by Australian medical officers who had been captured on the British steamer Matunga:_
The Wolf, a vessel of about 6,000 gross tonnage, armed with several guns and torpedo tubes, carried a seaplane, known as the Wolfchen, which was frequently used in the operations of the sea raider. On some days the seaplane made as many as three flights. The Wolf, apparently, proceeded from Germany to the Indian Ocean, laying minefields off the Cape, Bombay, and Colombo. Early in February, 1917, she captured the British steamship Turritella, taking off all the officers and putting on board a prize crew which worked the vessel with her own men. In every case of capture, when the vessel was not sunk at once, this procedure was adopted.
The Wolf transferred a number of mines to the Turritella, with instructions that they should be laid off Aden. A few days later the Turritella encountered a British warship, whereupon the prize crew, numbering twenty-seven, sank the Turritella, and were themselves taken prisoner.
Three weeks later the Wolf overhauled the British steamer Jumna. The Wolf thought that the British vessel was about to ram her, and the port after-gun was fired before it was properly trained, killing five of the raider's crew and wounding about twenty-three others. The Jumna remained with the Wolf for several days, after which her coal and stores were transferred to the raider, and she was sunk with bombs. The next vessels to be captured and sunk were the British steamships Wordsworth and Dee.
Early in June the Wolf, while at anchor under the lee of an island in the Pacific, sighted the British steamship Wairuna, bound from Auckland, N. Z., to San Francisco with coal, Kauri gum, pelts, and copra. The Wolf sent over the seaplane which, flying low, dropped a canvas bag on the Wairuna's deck, containing the message, "Stop immediately; take orders from German cruiser. Do not use your wireless or I will bomb you." The Wairuna eased down, but did not stop until the seaplane dropped a bomb just ahead of her. By this time the Wolf had weighed anchor and proceeded to head off the Wairuna. A prize crew was put on board with orders to bring the ship under the lee of the island and anchor. All the officers, except the master, were sent on board the Wolf. The following day possibly a thousand tons of cargo were transferred.
CAPTURE OF THE MATUNGA
While the two vessels were anchored, the chief officer and second engineer of the Turritella let themselves over the side of the Wolf with the intention of swimming ashore. Later, the Wairuna was taken out and sunk by gunfire, the bombs which had been placed on board having failed to accomplish their purpose. The next captures were the American vessels, Winslow, Beluga, and Encore, which were either burned or sunk.
For nearly a week following this the Wolf hove to, sending the seaplane up several times each day for scouting purposes. Apparently she had picked up some information by her wireless apparatus and was on the lookout for a vessel. On the third day the Wolfchen went up three times, and, on returning from its last flight, dropped lights. Early the next morning none of the prisoners was allowed on deck. A gun was fired by the Wolf, and it was afterward found that it was to stop the British steamer Matunga, with general cargo and passengers, including a number of military officers and men.
BETRAYED BY WIRELESS
It was on the morning of Aug. 5, when the Matunga was nearing the coast of the territory formerly known as German New Guinea, that she fell in with the Wolf, which was mistaken for an ordinary tramp steamer, as the two vessels ran parallel to each other for about two miles. Then the Wolf suddenly revealed her true character by running up the German flag, dropping a portion of her forward bulwarks, exposing the muzzles of her guns, and firing a shot across the bows of the Matunga. At the same time the Wolf sent a seaplane to circle over the Matunga at a low altitude for the obvious purpose of ascertaining whether the latter was armed. Apparently satisfied with the seaplane's report, the German Captain sent a prize crew, armed with bayonets and pistols, to take possession of the British ship. Before their arrival, however, all the Matunga's code books, log books, and other papers were thrown overboard. During the time the prize crew, all of whom spoke English well, were overhauling the Matunga, it was learned that the Germans had been lying in wait for her for five days, as they had somehow learned that she was carrying 500 tons of coal, which they needed badly, and that the German wireless operator had been following her course from the time of her departure from Sydney toward the end of July.
The two ships, now both under German command, proceeded together to a very secluded natural harbor on the north coast of Dutch New Guinea, the entrance to which was watched by two German guard boats, while a wireless plant was set up on a neighboring hill and the Wolf's seaplane patrolled the sea around for about 100 miles on the lookout for any threatened danger. The two ships remained in the Dutch harbor for nearly a fortnight, during which time the Wolf was careened and her hull scraped of barnacles and weeds in the most thorough and methodical manner, after which the coal was transferred from the Matunga's bunkers. The latter vessel was then taken ten miles out to sea, where everything lying loose was thrown into the hold and the hatches battened down to obviate the possibility of any floating wreckage remaining after she was sunk. Bombs were then placed on board and exploded, and the Matunga went down in five or six minutes without leaving a trace.
Before the Matunga was sunk all her crew and passengers were transferred to the Wolf, which then pursued a zigzag course across the Pacific Ocean and through the China Sea to the vicinity of Singapore, where she sowed her last remaining mines. According to stories told by the crew, they had sown most of their mines off Cape Town, Bombay, Colombo, the Australian coast, and in the Tasman Sea, between Australia and New Zealand. They also boasted that on one occasion, when off the coast of New South Wales, their seaplane made an early morning expedition over Sydney Harbor (the headquarters of the British Navy in the Pacific) and noted the disposition of the shipping in that port. They also claimed that the seaplane was the means of saving the Wolf from capture off the Australian coast on one occasion, when she was successful in sighting a warship in sufficient time to enable the Wolf to make good her escape.
A week or more was spent by the Wolf in the China Sea and off Singapore, whence she worked her way to the Indian Ocean for the supposed purpose of picking up wireless instructions from Berlin and Constantinople.
[Illustration: An American regiment marching through a French village
(_American Official Photograph_)]
[Illustration: American troops, with full equipment, on parade in London
(© _Western Newspaper Union_)]
[Illustration: A French château shelled by the Germans after they had been driven from the village by Canadians
(© _Western Newspaper Union_)]
On Sept. 26, while still dodging about in the Indian Ocean, the Wolf met and captured a Japanese ship, the Hitachi-maru, with thirty passengers, a crew of about 100, and a valuable cargo of silk, copper, rubber, and other goods, for Colombo. During the previous day the Germans had been boasting that they were about to take a big prize, and it afterward transpired that they based their anticipations on the terms of a wireless message which they had intercepted on that day. When first called upon by signal to stop, the Japanese commander took no notice of the order, and held on his way even after a shot had been fired across his ship's bow. Thereupon the Wolf deliberately shelled her, destroying the wireless apparatus, which had been sending out S O S signals, and killing several members of the crew. While the shelling was going on, a rush was made by the Japanese to lower the boats, and a number of both crew and passengers jumped into the sea to escape the gunfire. The Germans afterward admitted to the slaughter of fifteen, but the Matunga people assert that the death roll must have been much heavier. The steamer's funnels were shot away, the poop was riddled with shot, and the decks were like a shambles. All this time the Wolf's seaplane hovered over the Japanese ship ready to drop bombs upon her and sink her in the event of any hostile ship coming in sight.
After transferring the passengers and crew and as much of the cargo as they could conveniently remove from the Hitachi-maru to the Wolf, her decks were cleared of the wreckage their gunfire had caused, and a prize crew was put in charge of her with a view of taking her to Germany. Some weeks later, however, that intention was abandoned for reasons known only to the Germans themselves, and on Nov. 5 the Hitachi-maru was sunk.
IGOTZ MENDI TAKEN
The Wolf then proceeded on her voyage, and on Nov. 10 captured the Spanish steamship Igotz Mendi, with a cargo of 5,500 tons of coal, of which the Wolf was in sore need. The raider returned with this steamer to the island off which the Hitachi-maru had been sunk, and one evening all the married people, a few neutrals and others, and some sick men were transferred from the Wolf to the Igotz Mendi. The raider took aboard a large quantity of coal, and, after the Spanish vessel had been painted gray, the two vessels parted company. The Wolf reappeared on several occasions and reported that she had captured and sunk the American sailing vessel John H. Kirby and the French sailing vessel Maréchal Davout. On Boxing Day the Wolf attempted to coal from the Igotz Mendi in mid-Atlantic, but, owing to a heavy swell, the vessels bumped badly. It was afterward stated that the Wolf had been so badly damaged that she was making water.
A few days later two large steamships were sighted, and both the Wolf and the Igotz Mendi hastily made preparations to escape. The officers and crew changed their clothes to ordinary seamen's attire, packed up their kitbags, and sent all the prisoners below.
Among the latter was the first officer of the Spanish ship, who saw a German lay a number of bombs between the decks of the Igotz Mendi ready to be exploded if it became necessary to sink that ship with all her prisoners while the Wolf looked after her own safety. These bombs were temporarily left in the charge of the German wireless operator to whom the Spanish officer found an opportunity of communicating a message to the effect that he was wanted immediately on the bridge. The ruse was successful, for the operator promptly obeyed the instruction, and in his temporary absence all the bombs were thrown overboard. The German commander, Lieutenant Rose, was furious. He held an investigation next day and asked each prisoner if he knew anything about the bombs. When the Spanish Chief Officer's turn came he answered:
"Yes; I threw them overboard. I'll tell you why. It was not for me, Captain Rose, but for the women and little children. I am not afraid of you. You can shoot me if you want to, but you can't drown the little children."
Rose confined him to his room, and the next time the Igotz Mendi met the Wolf, Commander Nerger sentenced him to three years in a German military prison.
Coaling having finished, the vessels proceeded north in company. During the first week of January the Wolf sank the Norwegian bark Storkbror, on the ground that the vessel had been British-owned before the war. This was the Wolf's last prize. The last time the two raiders were together was on Feb. 6, when the Wolf was supplied with coal and other requirements from the Igotz Mendi. Thereafter, each pursued her own course to Germany.
RAIDER MEETS DISASTER
About Feb. 7 the Igotz Mendi crossed the Arctic Circle, and, encountering much ice, was forced back. Two attempts were made at the Northern Passage, but as the ship was bumping badly against the ice floes a course was shaped between Iceland and the Faroes for the Norwegian coast. On the night of the 18th a wireless from Berlin announced that the Wolf had arrived safely. At 3:30 P. M. on Feb. 24 the Igotz Mendi ran aground near the Skaw, having mistaken the lighthouse for the lightship in the foggy weather. Three hours later a boat came off from the shore. The Igotz Mendi was boarded at 8 o'clock by the commander of a Danish gunboat, who discovered the true character of the ship, which the Germans were endeavoring to conceal.
Next day twenty-two persons, including nine women, two children, and two Americans, were landed in lifeboats and were cared for by the British Consul. Many of them had suffered from inadequate nourishment in the last five weeks. There had been an epidemic of beri-beri and scurvy on board the vessel.
The Danish authorities interned the German commander of the Igotz Mendi. The German prize crew refused to leave the ship.
The Berlin authorities on Feb. 25, 1918, issued an official announcement containing these statements:
The auxiliary cruiser Wolf has returned home after fifteen months in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. The Kaiser has telegraphed his welcome to the commander and conferred the Order Pour le Mérite, together with a number of iron crosses, on the officers and crew. The Wolf was commanded by Frigate Captain Nerger and inflicted the greatest damage on the enemy's shipping by the destruction of cargo space and cargo. She brought home more than four hundred members of crews of sunken ships of various nationalities, especially numerous colored and white British soldiers, besides several guns captured from armed steamers and great quantities of valuable raw materials, including rubber, copper, brass, zinc, cocoa beans, copra, &c., to the value of many million marks.
Career and Fate of the Raider Seeadler
A German Adventure in the Pacific
_Fitted out as a motor schooner under command of Count von Luckner, with a crew of sixty-eight men, half of whom spoke Norwegian, the German commerce raider Seeadler (Sea Eagle) slipped out from Bremerhaven in December, 1916, encountered a British cruiser, passed inspection, and later proceeded, with the aid of two four-inch guns that had been hidden under a cargo of lumber, to capture and destroy thirteen merchant vessels in the Atlantic before rounding the Horn into the Pacific and there sinking three American schooners before meeting a picturesque fate in the South Sea Islands. The narrative of the Seeadler's career as here told by CURRENT HISTORY MAGAZINE is believed to be the most complete yet published._