THE
GERMAN PIRATE
His Methods and Record
By AJAX
"_Ye shall love peace as a means to new wars--and the short peace
more than the long._"
Fr. Nietzsche's "_War and Warriors_."
"_The German who loves his people, and believes in the greatness
and the future of our home ... must not let himself be lazily sung
to sleep by the peace-lullabies of the Utopians._"
The German Crown Prince in "_Germany under Arms_."
"_Efforts to secure peace are extraordinarily detrimental to the
national health so soon as they influence politics._"
General von Bernhardi's "_Germany and the Next War_."
LONDON:
C. ARTHUR PEARSON LTD.
18 Henrietta Street, W.C. 2.
1918
FOREWORD
"_The German people is always right, because it is the German people,
and numbers 87 million souls._"[A]
O. R. TANNENBERG.
The sea is a stern mistress. She demands from her sons both vigilance
and skill in her service, and for the man who fails her the penalty is
death. From generation to generation men have faced and fought the same
dangers in every ocean. Going down to the sea in ships from a thousand
different ports, the mariners of the world have triumphed or died like
their fathers before them, in the face of dangers as old as the world
itself. And because they have braved the same perils, seamen of all
nations have been united in a splendid fellowship, which is called the
Brotherhood of the Sea. The mariner in danger who sent out a call for
help could count on assistance from his brother of the sea, regardless
of nationality; while with the advance of science and coming of
wireless telegraphy, the scope of such mutual assistance became more
and more extended. Without hesitation men turned their ships from their
intended course, on receiving the S.O.S. signal, and sped for miles to
the help of their unfortunate brothers.
It bound men together, this Brotherhood of the Sea, in a way never
fully to be comprehended by landsmen. It was a fine, manly freemasonry,
and demanded from its members those qualities of courage, honour, and
chivalry which are the true seaman's heritage. Not until the coming of
the German submarine commander was the Brotherhood of the Sea destroyed.
The following accounts of German submarine exploits have been compiled
from British Admiralty documents and the sworn statements of survivors.
Each story is a plain statement of fact. They are, of course, merely a
selection, but they show quite clearly the lines upon which the German
submarine campaign has been conducted from the beginning of the war up
to the latter part of 1917.
It is only right that the tale of these sinkings should be widely
known, because only by knowing what has actually taken place can a
true opinion be formed about the German submariner and his work. For
this reason, the following accounts have been set down as simply as
possible, without exaggeration or unfair comment.
The German submarine commanders were sent to sea in order to
sink ships, because Germany believed unrestricted U-boat warfare
a necessity; but they received orders, according to the Berlin
Government, that human life and the rights of neutrals were to be
respected. The way in which these orders were carried out is shown in
the following pages.
THE PIRATE AS THIEF.
_A Selection of Cases._
Dutch s.s. GAMMA 1st Feb., 1917.
Russian s.v. GARNET HILL 2nd Feb., 1917.
British trawler ROMEO 3rd Feb., 1917.
British s.s. DAUNTLESS 4th Feb., 1917.
British trawler BENBOW 9th Feb., 1917.
British trawler ATHENIAN 9th Feb., 1917.
British trawler IRELAND 10th Feb., 1917.
British s.s. MARGARITA 14th Feb., 1917.
British s.v. INVERCAULD 22nd Feb., 1917.
Portuguese and Irish Fishing Vessels March and May, 1917.
British s.v. ALFRED 12th June, 1917.
Swedish s.s. SNETOPPEN 4th July, 1917.
CHAPTER I.
THE PIRATE AS THIEF.
"_If Fate has selected us to assume the leadership in the Kultur-life
of the peoples, we will not shrink from this great and lofty
mission._"[B]--GUSTAV E. PAZANREK.
The Dutch steamer _Gamma_ was proceeding from New York to Amsterdam on
the 1st February, 1917, with a cargo of oilcake for the Netherlands
Government. At 2.30 p.m. a German submarine appeared on the port bow,
steering towards the ship. Without making any signal, the submarine
at once opened fire. She fired six shells, one of which struck the
windlass. The ship was stopped, boats were lowered, and the master
proceeded to the submarine, where he was questioned by the commander.
A German officer and two men boarded the _Gamma_, placed bombs in
her holds, and returned with a bag of flour, two hams, some butter,
and a few engine-room tools. The master asked for a tow, but this
was refused, and the submarine disappeared. Ten minutes later the
bombs exploded and the _Gamma_ went down. It was bitterly cold, but
fortunately the boats were picked up by the Dutch liner _Vondel_ at
about 6 o'clock that night.
The _Gamma_ was a neutral vessel laden with cargo for a neutral
Government, but the fact was totally disregarded by the Germans. Fire
was opened recklessly and without warning, and it was merely a matter
of chance that no lives were lost. Having looted the vessel in true
pirate style, the Germans refused the Dutchmen a tow. Once more it
was only through good fortune that their boat happened to be picked
up before any of the crew had died from exposure. The Germans showed
themselves to be arbitrary, discourteous, and robbers.
At 12.15 p.m. on the 2nd February, 1917, a U-boat suddenly appeared
alongside the Russian sailing vessel _Garnet Hill_ and ordered the crew
to abandon the ship at once. When this had been done, bombs were placed
in the vessel, which sank in about five minutes after the explosion.
The Germans took the master's chronometer and a lot of clothes. They
also took off one member of the crew who declared himself to be a
German. The boats were picked up 28 hours later.
This is a case that gives one an insight into German methods, and
suggests the possibilities of the seaman as spy. Obviously these
possibilities are very great, although we cannot say for certain to
what extent the services of the seaman-spy have been utilised by
Germany in her submarine campaign. Many a ship may have been betrayed
by Germans masquerading under some other nationality. The idea of the
sea-spy is so essentially Teutonic that it must have been exploited by
the Berlin Government. Thus, although the _Garnet Hill_ provides an
instance of the Pirate as Thief, it is perhaps more interesting as an
instance of the Pirate as Spy.
The British trawler _Romeo_ was sunk by a German submarine at 2
p.m. on the 3rd February, 1917. Before sinking her the Germans
ransacked the vessel and took away her ensign, ship's stores, clocks,
weather-glasses, the clothes of the crew, and the skipper's kit. The
crew were picked up by a patrol-boat at 5 p.m. the same day.
On the 4th February, 1917, at 6 p.m. the British steamship _Dauntless_
was struck on the funnel by a shot. The master at once gave the order
"Hard a-starboard," but before it could be executed a shell struck the
bridge, damaging the steering-gear and wounding the master and the
man at the wheel. Shells began to fly over the ship, the engines were
stopped, and both life-boats were lowered. One fireman was killed on
deck, but the rest of the crew reached the boats in safety, although
firing was continued all this time. When the starboard life-boat had
got a little way from the ship the submarine appeared alongside and
ordered all hands on board. The lifeboat was then manned by Germans,
who proceeded to the vessel, presently returning with various tinned
provisions, some turpentine, and enamel, which were taken on board the
submarine. They had also brought away the ship's jolly-boat.
At about 8.10 p.m. the sound of a muffled explosion was heard, and the
crew were then ordered into their boats, the submarine disappearing
in the darkness. The master and six men entered the jolly-boat, the
remaining nine men taking to the life-boat. Soon afterwards the two
boats became separated in the darkness.
They rowed the jolly-boat all through the night, and at 6 a.m. next
day the steward died from exposure. His body was thrown overboard at 6
o'clock that evening. Land was then visible, but a snow-storm came on,
and land was lost. They rowed all through the night, but on Tuesday
morning land was sighted again, and at 10 a.m. the boat touched the
beach and was overturned by breakers. The remaining six men managed to
get ashore, but soon after landing the second engineer and a fireman
died on the beach. The four survivors were taken to hospital, and on
12th February the mate and chief and second engineers were discharged.
The master was left behind, suffering from exposure and shell wounds.
At 12.50 p.m., in very thick weather, on the 9th February, the British
trawler _Benbow_ was fired upon by a German submarine. As the fog
lifted two shots were fired, followed by four more while the boat was
being got out. The crew were transferred to the submarine while a party
of Germans visited the trawler. They returned with 5 stone of flour, 3
tins of treacle, 4 stone of sugar, half-a-dozen boxes of Quaker oats, 3
barrels of meat, 10 lbs. of sausages, several tins of milk, 2 clocks,
and the kits of the skipper and chief engineer. When the submarine
was last seen the clothes were being divided amongst the Germans. The
trawler was sunk by a bomb; the submarine disappeared in the fog.
On the same day the British trawler _Athenian_ was attacked by a
U-boat, seven or eight shots being fired while her boat was being got
out. Everything portable was taken from the trawler by the Germans.
After she had been sunk, the German commander asked the skipper
whether he would like to go to Germany or remain in his open boat. The
skipper chose his boat. The men were picked up at 2 p.m. next day.
At 12.30 p.m. on the 10th February, 1917, the master of the British
trawler _Ireland_ was towing his trawl at a speed of 2½ miles an hour
when he sighted a German submarine 2½ miles away on the port side. The
submarine fired a shot which dropped 2 yards clear of the trawler's
stern. Her boat was at once got out, two more shots being fired, one of
which dropped just astern, while the other passed over the funnel. The
crew embarked in their boat without casualties, and the Germans then
looted the trawler, taking away the ship's papers, sextant, binoculars,
fisherman's almanack, and a basket of provisions. They sank the trawler
at about 1 p.m. The crew were picked up by a patrol-boat at 6 a.m. on
the 14th February, and landed at Scarborough at 8 o'clock that night,
when two of them were sent to hospital suffering from frost-bite.
The British steamer _Margarita_ was sunk by a U-boat in the evening
of the 14th February, 1917, after being looted by the Germans. They
took the clocks from the engine-room and cabin, the barometer, some
condensed milk, and some soap. The crew were picked up at 3.15 a.m.
next day and landed at Milford Haven.
The British sailing vessel _Invercauld_ was sunk on the 22nd February
by a German submarine, which opened fire on her without warning. After
firing a torpedo, which struck the ship on the port beam, blowing away
150 feet of her side, the Germans boarded her and searched for food.
However, the water was too high for this, so the commander contented
himself by taking the chronometer, binoculars, clocks, bell, ensign,
and other portable articles, for which he gave the master a receipt.
The master and his crew of 23 hands escaped without casualty.
On the 17th March, 1917, two German submarines attacked and sank four
Portuguese fishing vessels, the _Rita Segunda_, _Flor de Abril_,
_Senora del Rosario_, and _Restaurador_. One man of the _Restaurador_
was killed and three others injured, although the crews left their
vessels after the first shot. On the 19th March the following official
statement was issued in Lisbon:
"While four trawlers were fishing off the coast of Algarvo, the most
southerly province of Portugal, two German submarines made their
appearance, one from the north and the other from the south. They
immediately opened fire upon the fishing vessels. The crews were
ordered to leave their ships, which were then looted by the Germans of
the fish and clothing they had on board. The trawlers were then sunk.
One of the fishermen was killed and three were seriously wounded. The
remainder of the crews, to the number of about 100, have been safely
landed at Lisbon by patrol-boats of the Portuguese Naval Division."
On the 3rd May, 1917, nine or ten Irish fishing vessels were looted and
destroyed by German submarines at about 8 p.m. The skipper of one of
these vessels, the _Lucky Lass_, has described how the Germans took his
new foresail, fishing lines, clothes, oilskins, and his son's watch.
They then smashed up the _Lucky Lass_ with a large hatchet and a big
stone hammer. They were in a great hurry, and ordered the skipper and
his son to keep a sharp look-out for British patrol-boats during their
looting operations. Another boat, the _Sir Edward Birbeck_, was sunk by
bombs.
The British sailing ship _Alfred_ was sunk on the 12th June. The
Germans looted the vessel, carrying off the stores and all her
brass-work. The crew were taken on board the submarine and then
witnessed the sinking of another vessel. They saw dead bodies and
struggling men in the water, while the officers and crew of the
submarine sneered and laughed at them.
The Swedish steamer _Snetoppen_ was bound for New York on the 4th
July, 1917, when a submarine came to the surface on her starboard bow
and commenced to shell her. After half-a-dozen shots had been fired
the master decided that his position was hopeless, and gave orders to
abandon ship in two boats.
The Germans then proceeded to loot the steamer, taking the ship's
chronometer and barometer, two sextants, and three boat-loads of
provisions. The German sailors ransacked the state-rooms, while their
officers demanded whiskey, beer, and cognac, besides taking all the
clothes they could lay hands on. They sank the steamer with bombs, and
left the survivors in their boats. These were afterwards picked up by
an American destroyer.
With regard to these cases, it would probably be contended by the
Germans that the sufferings of the _Dauntless'_ survivors were
unavoidable. But what about the shelling of the vessel? This was
wholly unnecessary, and resulted in the death of one man. The Germans
could have committed their thefts of provisions, turpentine and enamel
without first shelling the ship. To the lesser crime of theft they
need not have added the greater crime of murder.
In the same way, the shelling of the British trawlers was totally
uncalled for; and since it is not to be supposed that the German fires
merely for the amusement of discharging his guns, another conclusion
is forced upon us. It will be noticed that shots were fired while the
boats were being lowered in the cases of the _Dauntless_, _Benbow_, and
_Ireland_. With what object, except to take life? Upon the occasions
under review the German missed his mark; but this does not always
happen, as the study of other cases will show.
Apart from the firing, the examples quoted show the German as thief,
although in the sinking of the _Invercauld_ the pirates defeated their
own ends, so far as food was concerned. The giving of a receipt for the
articles taken was in accordance with the German Prize Regulations,
which lay down that: "H.M. ships can, in case of need, replenish from
the cargo and from the non-consumable and consumable stores of captured
enemy ships (a receipt being given for anything taken) if the articles
are not proved beyond doubt to be neutral."
The incidents connected with the sinking of the _Alfred_ make one
speculate as to the standard by which German naval officers regulate
their conduct. It is inconceivable that any British commander would
allow his men to laugh and sneer at a number of hapless seamen
struggling in the water. This German officer, however, did not hesitate
to do so.
The looting of the Swedish steamer _Snetoppen_ is interesting in view
of the regulation above quoted in connection with the _Invercauld_.
It is a case of the Pirate as Thief amongst neutrals. The Germans
behaved like common housebreakers, and showed the same spirit which
their comrades of the German Army exhibited early in the war, when they
ransacked chateaux and private houses during their first advance.
It will be in place here to glance at other provisions contained in
the German Naval Prize Regulations. These should be borne in mind when
reading about the actual deeds of the German submarine officers here
collected. The Regulations were published in the _Reichs-Gesetzblatt_
at Berlin on the 3rd August, 1914. The first of the "General
Provisions" reads:--
"The commanding officers of H.M. warships have the right during a war,
in accordance with the following provisions, to stop enemy or neutral
merchant ships, to search and capture them as well as the enemy and
neutral goods in them, and in exceptional cases to destroy them."
Clause 4 of the General Provisions states:--"All measures are to be
carried out in a manner the observance of which--even towards the
enemy--is demanded by the honour of the German Empire, and with such
consideration for neutrals as is in accordance with international law
and German interests."
Clause 6 sets out the vessels that are exempt from capture. These
include: "Hospital ships, vessels employed exclusively in coast
fisheries, or small boats employed in local trade, so long as they do
not take any part whatever in hostilities."
There are two clauses dealing with ships which endeavour to escape. The
first states that: "A neutral ship is to be treated as an enemy ship
if she forcibly resists the exercise of the right of stoppage, search,
and capture; force may be used against the ship in question until she
ceases to resist; attempted flight alone does not count as forcible
resistance." On the other hand, Article 83 declares: "If the ship does
not stop when signalled, two rounds of blank are to be fired, one after
the other; and, if necessary, a live shell across her bows. If the
vessel does not then bring to, or offers resistance, the commander will
compel her to stop."
No excuse can be made for the German commanders, in view of these
regulations. Their Government ordered them to behave in the manner
demanded by the honour of the German Empire, and in accordance with
international law and German interests. Their conduct has shown the
world the meaning of the word "honour," as understood within the German
Empire. For international law, of course, they have never attempted
to show the slightest respect; but it is possible that they really
believed they were serving German interests by behaving as bloodthirsty
pirates. The mad doctrine of "frightfulness" which has been preached
to Young Germany from a thousand pulpits and in a thousand schools all
over the Central Empire, has killed all sense of morality in the modern
Teuton. The German thinks he can terrorise the world by acts of mere
savagery: this is the deadly error which has cut his country off from
the civilised nations of the globe.
THE PIRATE AS MURDERER.
_A Selection of Cases._
s.s. AGUILA 27th March, 1915.
s.s. FALABA 28th March, 1915.
Trawler VICTORIA 1st June, 1915.
s.s. MEADOWFIELD 9th July, 1915.
s.s. GLENBY 17th August, 1915.
s.s. CYMBELINE 4th Sept., 1915.
s.s. MIDDLETON 30th Nov., 1915.
s.s. CLAN MACLEOD 1st Dec., 1915.
s.s. COMMODORE 2nd Dec., 1915.
s.s. ORTERIC 9th Dec., 1915.
s.s. VAN STIRUM 25th Dec., 1915.
s.s. SUSSEX 24th March, 1916.
s.s. SIMLA 2nd April, 1916.
s.s. ZENT 6th April, 1916.
s.s. WHITGIFT 20th April, 1916.
s.s. BRUSSELS 23rd June, 1916.
s.s. CURAMALAN 21st Sept., 1916.
s.s. NORTH WALES 20th Oct., 1916.
s.s. CABOTIA 20th Oct., 1916.
s.s. RAPPAHANNOCK 26th Oct., 1916.
s.s. ARABIA 6th Nov., 1916.
s.s. MORESBY 28th Nov., 1916.
Trawler TREVONE 30th Jan., 1917.
s.s. EAVESTONE 3rd Feb., 1917.
Trawler VULCANA 7th Feb., 1917.
s.ss. ST. NINIAN and CORSICAN PRINCE 7th Feb., 1917.
s.s. CALIFORNIA 7th Feb., 1917.
s.s. SALLAGH 10th Feb., 1917.
s.s. AFRIC 12th Feb., 1917.
s.s. VALDES 17th Feb., 1917.
s.s. LACONIA 25th Feb., 1917.
s.s. GALGORM CASTLE 27th Feb., 1917.
s.s. REDCAP 1st March, 1917.
s.s. TASSO 17th March, 1917.
s.s. JOSHUA NICHOLSON 18th March, 1917.
s.s. ALNWICK CASTLE 19th March, 1917.
s.s. DALEBY 29th April, 1917.
s.ss. TYCHO and PORTHKERRY 20th May, 1917.
s.s. CLAN MURRAY 29th May, 1917.
Schooner JANE WILLIAMSON 10th Sept., 1917.
Schooner WILLIAM 11th Sept., 1917.
French Barquentine MIMOSA 24th Sept., 1917.
s.s. ELMSGARTH 29th Sept., 1917.