[Illustration: TORPEDOING OF THE BRITISH BATTLESHIP “ABOUKIR”
In the first few weeks of the war, when the navies of the world were
still at open warfare, during a sharp engagement off the Hook of
Holland in the North Sea the British warships “Aboukir”, “Cressy” and
“Hogue” fell victims to the enemy. This sketch shows the “Aboukir”
after a German torpedo had found its mark in her hull.]
COMPLETE EDITION
HISTORY OF THE
WORLD WAR
An Authentic Narrative of
The World’s Greatest War
BY FRANCIS A. MARCH, Ph.D.
In Collaboration with
RICHARD J. BEAMISH
Special War Correspondent
and Military Analyst
With an Introduction
BY GENERAL PEYTON C. MARCH
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
With Exclusive Photographs by
JAMES H. HARE and DONALD THOMPSON
World-Famed War Photographers
and with Reproductions from the Official Photographs
of the United States, Canadian, British,
French and Italian Governments
MCMXIX
LESLIE-JUDGE COMPANY
NEW YORK
Copyright, 1918
FRANCIS A. MARCH
This history is an original work and is fully protected by the
copyright laws, including the right of translation. All persons are
warned against reproducing the text in whole or in part without the
permission of the publishers.
CONTENTS
VOLUME II
PAGE
CHAPTER I. STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY ON THE SEA
The British Blockade--German Raiders and Their Fate--Appearance
of the Submarine--British Naval Victory off Helgoland--U-9
Sinks Three British Cruisers 1
CHAPTER II. THE SUBLIME PORTE
Turkish Intrigues--The Holy War--Mesopotamia and
Transcaucasia--The Suez Canal--Turkey the Catspaw of Germany 40
CHAPTER III. RESCUE OF THE STARVING
Famine in Belgium--Belgium Relief Commission Organized in
London--Herbert C. Hoover--American Aid--The Great Cardinal’s
Famous Challenge--The Soul of Belgium 74
CHAPTER IV. BRITANNIA RULES THE WAVES
German and British Squadrons Grapple off the Chilean
Coast--Germany Wins the First Round--England Comes Back with
Terrific Force--Graphic Picture of the Destruction of the
German Squadron off Falkland Islands--English Coast Towns
Bombarded for the First Time in Many Years 114
CHAPTER V. GERMAN PLOTS AND PROPAGANDA IN AMERICA
Trailing the German Plotters--Destruction of Ships--Pressure
on Congress--Attacks in Canada--Zimmerman’s Foolish Effort
to Embroil America with Mexico and Japan--Lies of the
Propagandists After America Entered the War--Dumba, von
Bernstorff, von Papen and Boy-Ed, a Quartet of Unscrupulous
Destructionists 146
CHAPTER VI. SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA
The Submarine Murderers at Work--Germany’s Blackhand
Warning--No Chance for Life--The Ship Unarmed and Without
Munitions--The President’s Note--Germany’s Lying
Denials--Coroner’s Inquest Charges Kaiser with Wilful
Murder--“Remember the Lusitania” One of America’s Big Reasons
for Declaring War 177
CHAPTER VII. STEADFAST SOUTH AFRICA
Botha and Smuts, Rocks of Loyalty Amid a Sea of Treachery--Civil
War that Ended with the Drowning of General Beyers and the
Arrest of General De Wet--Conquest of the German African
Colonies--The Trail of the Hun in the Jungle 210
ILLUSTRATIONS
VOLUME II
PAGE
TORPEDOING OF THE BRITISH BATTLESHIP, “ABOUKIR” _Frontispiece_
A BATTLE OF FOUR ELEMENTS 6
ESCAPING A TORPEDO BY RAPID MANEUVERING 10
HIDE AND SEEK IN THE BALTIC 22
DRIVING THE GERMAN COMMERCE RAIDERS FROM THE SEAS 26
AN AIRPLANE CONVOY 94
UNITED STATES DESTROYERS THROWING OUT A SMOKE SCREEN 130
GERMANY CARRIES THE WAR TO EAST COAST TOWNS OF ENGLAND 134
THE EYE OF THE SUBMARINE 138
THE SINKING OF THE GERMAN CRUISER “BLÜCHER” 142
WOMEN AT WORK THAT MEN MAY FIGHT 148
THE GERMAN CHANCELLORS 164
KAISER WILLIAM II OF GERMANY 172
GERMAN PIRACY ON THE HIGH SEAS 180
THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA 188
THE WORLD WAR
CHAPTER I
THE STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY ON THE SEA
Captain Mahan’s thesis that in any great war the nation possessing the
greater sea power is likely to win, has been splendidly illustrated
during the World War. The great English fleets have been the
insuperable obstacle to the ambitious German plans of world dominion.
The millions of soldiers landed in France from Great Britain, and its
provinces, the millions of Americans transported in safety across the
water, and the enormous quantities of supplies put at the disposal of
the Allies depended, absolutely, upon the Allied control of the sea
routes of the world. With a superior navy a German blockade of England
would have brought her to terms in a short period, and France, left to
fight alone, would have been an easy victim. The British navy has saved
the world.
Germany had for many years well understood the necessity of power upon
the sea. When the war broke out it was the second greatest of the sea
powers. Its ships were mostly modern, for its navy was a creation of
the past fifteen years, and its development was obviously for the
purpose of attacking the British supremacy. The father of this new
navy was a naval officer by the name of von Tirpitz, who, in 1897, had
become the German Naval Minister. With the aid of the Emperor he had
aroused among the Germans a great enthusiasm for maritime power, and
had built up a navy in fifteen years, which was second only to the
English navy.
Von Tirpitz was an interesting character. In appearance he looked like
an old sea-wolf who had passed his life on the wave, but such a thought
would be a mistake. The great admiral has done his work on land; he
is an organizer, a diplomatist, a politician. He has created nothing
new; in all its details he has copied the English fleet. He is tall,
heavily built, with a great white beard, forked in the middle. He is a
man of much dignity, with a smile which has won him renown. He might
have been Chancellor of the Empire, but he preferred to devote himself
to the navy, to prove that the future of Germany is on the seas. His
glories are the Lusitania, the fleet safely anchored at Kiel, and the
long rows of innocent victims of the submarine.
He was born in 1850 at Kustrion on the Ildor, when the German navy
was only a little group of worthless boats. In 1865 he entered the
School of Cadets, in 1869 he was gazetted lieutenant, in 1875 he was
lieutenant-commander with a reputation as an able organizer. In 1891
he was appointed Chief of Staff at Kiel. This was his opportunity, and
he set himself at the task of creating and protecting the submarine
division of the navy. As time went on he grew in importance. In 1898
he became Assistant Secretary of State at the Admiralty in Berlin.
Two years later he became vice-admiral. His admirers recognized his
powers, and he was called the master. In 1899 a patent of nobility was
conferred upon him. In 1902 he gained permission to build 13,000-ton
warships, and the following year he was made admiral. In 1907 enormous
appropriations were made at his desire for the enlargement of the
fleet. In 1908 Emperor William conferred on him the Order of the Black
Eagle. In 1904 the Kiel Canal was completed under his direction, and
he informed the Emperor that the fleet was ready. It is only fair to
add that in all his plans he had the active support of his Imperial
Master. The Kaiser, too, had dreamed a dream. Von Tirpitz admired the
English. His children had been brought up in England, as was also his
wife. He imitated the English, but on the day of the declaration of war
he absolutely forbade his family to talk English, and he made a bonfire
of his fine scientific library of English books. The Kaiser treated Von
Tirpitz as his friend, asked his advice, and followed his counsel. His
son, Sub-Lieutenant Wolf Von Tirpitz, studied at Oxford, and is on the
most friendly terms with many English gentlemen of importance. He was
on board the Mainz, which was sunk off Helgoland in August, 1916. In
full uniform he swam for twenty minutes, before being picked up by one
of the boats of the cruiser Liverpool. He was a lucky prisoner of war.
The German battleships and cruisers which represent the toil of Von
Tirpitz for more than half a century, lay hidden away in the shelter
of the Kiel Canal during the war to be ingloriously surrendered at its
end. His name will remain linked with that of the Lusitania.
The German High Sea Fleet, at the beginning of the war, consisted of
forty-one battleships, seven battle cruisers, nine armored cruisers,
forty-nine light cruisers, one hundred and forty-five destroyers,
eighty torpedo boats, and thirty-eight submarines. Under the direction
of Von Tirpitz the navy had become democratic and had drawn to it many
able men of the middle class. Its training was highly specialized
and the officers were enthusiasts in their profession. The navy
of Austria-Hungary had also expanded in recent years under the
inspiration of Admiral Montecuculi. At the outbreak of the war the
fleet comprised sixteen battleships, two armored and twelve light
cruisers, eighteen destroyers, eighty-five torpedo boats and eleven
submarines. The Allies were much more powerful. The French navy had
in the matter of invention given the lead to the world, but its size
had not kept pace with its quality. At the beginning of the war France
had thirty-one battleships, twenty-four armored cruisers, eight
light cruisers, eighty-seven destroyers, one hundred and fifty-three
torpedo boats and seventy-six submarines. Russia, after the war with
Japan, had begun the creation of a powerful battle fleet, which had
not been completed when war was declared. At that time she had on the
Baltic four dreadnoughts, ten armored cruisers, eighty destroyers and
twenty-four submarines, and a fleet of about half the strength in the
Black Sea.
[Illustration: A BATTLE OF FOUR ELEMENTS
British monitors shelling the German land batteries near Nieuport.
German submarines were actively engaged in trying to torpedo these
monitors and the British monoplane was useful for giving the range to
the ships and reporting the accuracy of the shells.]
The English fleet had reached a point of efficiency which was
unprecedented in its history. The progress of the German sea power
had stimulated the spirit of the fleet, and led to a steady advance in
training and equipment. The development of armament, and of battleship
designing, the improvement in gunnery practice, the revision of the
rate of pay, the opening up of careers from the lower deck, and the
provision of a naval air service are landmarks in the advance. In the
navy estimates of March, 1914, Parliament sanctioned over £51,000,000
for a naval defense, the largest appropriation for the purpose ever
made. The home fleet was arranged in three units, the first fleet
was divided into four battle squadrons, together with the flagship
of the commander-in-chief. The first squadron was made up of eight
battleships, the second squadron contained eight, the third eight and
the fourth four. Attached to each fleet was a battle cruiser squadron,
consisting of four ships in the first fleet, four in the second, four
in the third and five in the fourth. The fourth also contained a light
cruiser squadron, a squadron of six gunboats for mine sweeping, and
four flotillas of destroyers, each with a flotilla cruiser attached.
The second fleet was composed of two battle squadrons, the first
containing eight pre-dreadnoughts, and the second six. Attached to
this fleet were also two cruiser squadrons, a mine layer squadron
of seven vessels, four patrol flotillas, consisting of destroyers
and torpedo boats, and seven flotillas of submarines. A third fleet
contained two battle squadrons, mainly composed of old ships, with six
cruiser squadrons. The English strength, outside home waters, consisted
of the Mediterranean fleet, containing three battle cruisers, four
armored cruisers, four ordinary cruisers and a flotilla of seventeen
destroyers, together with submarines and torpedo boats. In eastern
waters there were a battleship, two cruisers, and four sloops. In the
China squadron there were one battleship, two armored cruisers, two
ordinary cruisers, and a number of gunboats, destroyers, submarines,
and torpedo boats. In New Zealand there were four cruisers. The
Australian fleet contained a battle cruiser, three ordinary cruisers,
three destroyers and two submarines. Other cruisers and gunboats were
stationed at the Cape, the west coast of Africa, and along the western
Atlantic. At the outbreak of the war two destroyers were purchased
from Chile, and two Turkish battleships, building in England, were
commandeered by the government.
It is evident that the union of France and Britain made the Allies
easily superior in the Mediterranean Sea, so that France was able to
transport her African troops in safety, and the British commerce with
India and the East could safely continue. The main field of the naval
war, therefore, was the North Sea and the Baltic, where Germany had
all her fleet, except a few naval raiders. The entrance to the Baltic
was closed to the enemy by Denmark, which, as a neutral, was bound to
prevent an enemy fleet from passing. Germany, however, by means of
the Kiel Canal, could permit the largest battle fleet to pass from
the Baltic to the North Sea. The German High Sea Fleet was weaker
than the British home fleet by more than forty per cent, and the
German policy, therefore, was to avoid a battle, until, through mine
layers and submarines, the British power should have been sufficiently
weakened. The form of the German coast made this plan easily possible.
The various bays and river mouths provided safe retreat for the German
ships, and the German fleet were made secure by the fortifications
along the coast. On July the 29th, 1914, at the conclusion of the
annual maneuvers, instead of being demobilized as would have been
usual, the Grand Fleet of Great Britain sailed from Portland along the
coast into the mists, and from that moment dominated the whole course
of the war.
From the 4th of August, the date of the declaration of war, the oceans
of the world were practically rid of enemy warships, and were closed
to enemy mercantile marine. Although diplomacy had not yet failed,
the masters of the English navy were not caught napping. The credit
for this readiness has been given to Mr. Winston Churchill, one of
the first Lords of the Admiralty, who had divined the coming
danger. When the grand fleet sailed it seemed to disappear from
English view. Occasionally some dweller along the coast might see an
occasional cruiser or destroyer sweeping by in the distance, but the
great battleships had gone. Somewhere, in some hidden harbor, lay the
vigilant fleets of England.
[Illustration: © _The Sun News Service._
ESCAPING A TORPEDO BY RAPID MANEUVERING
This destroyer escaped a torpedo from a hunted submarine by quickly
turning. Generally the torpedo travels at about fifteen feet under
water.]
Sea fighting had changed since the days of Admiral Nelson. The old
wooden ship belonged to a past generation. The guns of a battleship
would have sunk the Spanish Armada with one broadside. In this modern
day the battleship was protected by aircraft, which dropped bombs from
the clouds. Unseen submarines circled about her. Beneath her might be
mines, which could destroy her at the slightest touch. Everything had
changed but the daring of the English sailor.
In command of the Home fleet was Admiral Sir John Jellicoe. He had
had a distinguished career. Beginning as a lieutenant in the Egyptian
War of 1882, he had become a commander in 1891. In 1897 he became a
captain, and served in China, commanding the Naval Brigade in the
Pekin Expedition of 1900, where he was severely wounded. Later he
became naval assistant to the Controller of the Navy, Director of
Naval Ordnance and Torpedoes, Rear-Admiral in the United fleet, Lord
Commissioner of the Admiralty and Controller of the Navy, Vice-Admiral
commanding the Atlantic fleet, Vice-Admiral commanding the second
division of the Home fleet, and second Sea Lord of the Admiralty. He
had distinguished himself in the naval maneuvers of 1913, and was one
of the officers mainly responsible for the development of the modern
English navy. He had the confidence of his colleagues, and a peculiar
popularity among the British seamen.
On the day after the declaration of war, the first shots were fired.
German mine layers, it is now believed, in disguise, had been dropping
mines during the preceding week over a wide area of the North Sea.
On the 5th of August the mine layer, Koenigen Luise, was sunk by the
destroyer Lance, and on August 6th the British light cruiser Amphion
struck one of the mines laid by the Koenigen Luise and was sunk with
great loss of life. On August 9th, German submarines attacked a cruiser
squadron without causing any damage, and one submarine was sunk.
It was in the Mediterranean, however, that the greatest interest was
felt during the first week of the war. Two German warships, the Goeben
and the Breslau, were off the Algerian coast when war broke out. It is
probable that when these ships received their sailing orders, Germany
depended on the assistance of Italy, and had sent these ships to its
assistance. They were admirably suited for commerce destroyers. They
began by bombarding the Algerian coast towns of Bona and Phillipe,
doing little damage. They then turned toward the coast of Gibraltar,
but found before them the British fleet. Eluding the British they
next appeared at Messina. There the captains and officers made their
wills and deposited their valuables, including signed portraits of the
Kaiser, with the German consul. The decks were cleared for action, and
with the bands playing they sailed out under a blood-red sunset.
However, they seem to have been intent only on escape, and they went at
full speed eastward toward the Dardanelles, meeting in their way only
with the British cruiser Gloucester, which, though much inferior in
size, attacked them boldly but was unable to prevent their escape. On
entering Constantinople they were reported as being sold to the Turkish
Government, the Turks thus beginning the line of conduct which was
ultimately to bring them into the war.
Picturesque as this incident was it was of no importance as compared
with the great British blockade of Germany which began on the 4th of
August. German merchantmen in every country of the empire were seized,
and hundreds of ships were captured on the high seas. Those who escaped
to neutral ports were at once interned. In a week German commerce had
ceased to exist. A few German cruisers were still at large but it
was not long before they had been captured, or driven into neutral
ports. Among the most picturesque of these raiders were the Emden
and the Koenigsburg. The Emden, in particular, interested the world
with her romantic adventures. Her story is best told in the words of
Lieutenant-Captain von Mücke, and Lieutenant Gyssing, whose return to
Germany with forty-four men, four officers and one surgeon, after the
destruction of the ship, was a veritable Odyssey.
“We on the Emden had no idea where we were going, as, on August 11,
1914, we separated from the cruiser squadron, escorted only by the
coaler Markomannia. Under way the Emden picked up three officers from
German steamers. That was a piece of luck, for afterward we needed many
officers for the capturing and sinking of steamers, or manning them
when we took them with us. On September 10th, the first boat came in
sight. We stopped her; she proved to be a Greek tramp returning from
England. On the next day we met the Indus, bound for Bombay, all fitted
up as a troop transport, but still without troops. That was the first
one we sunk. The crew we took aboard the Markomannia. Then we sank the
Lovat, a troop transport ship, and took the Kambinga along with us. One
gets used quickly to new forms of activity. After a few days, capturing
ships became a habit. Of the twenty-three which we captured most of
them stopped after our first signal; when they didn’t we fired a blank
shot. Then they all stopped. Only one, the Clan Matteson, waited for
a real shot across the bow before giving up its many automobiles and
locomotives to the seas.
“The officers were mostly very polite, and let down rope ladders for
us. After a few hours they would be on board with us. We ourselves
never set foot in their cabins, nor took charge of them. The officers
often acted on their own initiative, and signaled to us the nature of
their cargo. Then the commandant decided as to whether to sink the ship
or take it with us. Of the cargo we always took everything we could
use, particularly provisions. Many of the English officers and sailors
made good use of the hours of transfer to drink up the supply of
whisky instead of sacrificing it to the waves. I heard that one captain
was lying in tears at the enforced separation from his beloved ship,
but on investigation found that he was merely dead drunk. The captain
on one ship once called out cheerily ‘Thank God, I’ve been captured.’
He had received expense money for the trip to Australia, and was now
saved half the journey.”
Parenthetically it may be remarked, that the Emden’s captain, Karl
von Mueller, conducted himself at all times with chivalrous bravery,
according to the accounts of the English themselves, who in their
reports say of him, admiringly, “He played the game.” Captain von
Mücke’s account continues:
“We had mostly quiet weather, so that communication with captured ships
was easy. They were mostly dynamited, or else shot close to the water
line. At Calcutta we made one of our richest hauls, the Diplomat, chock
full of tea, we sunk $2,500,000 worth. On the same day the Trabbotch,
too, which steered right straight towards us, was captured. By now we
wanted to beat it out of the Bay of Bengal, because we had learned from
the papers that the Emden was being keenly searched for. By Rangoon we
encountered a Norwegian tramp, which, for a cash consideration, took
over all the rest of our prisoners of war.
“On September 23d we reached Madras, and steered straight for the
harbor. We stopped still 3,000 yards before the city. Then we shot
up the oil tanks; three or four of them burned up and illuminated
the city. Two days later we navigated around Ceylon, and could see
the lights of Colombo. On the same evening we gathered in two more
steamers, the King Lund, and Tywerse. The next evening we got the
Burresk, a nice steamer with 500 tons of nice Cardiff coal. Then
followed in order, the Ryberia, Foyle, Grand Ponrabbel, Benmore,
Troiens, Exfort, Graycefale, Sankt Eckbert, Chilkana. Most of them were
sunk. The coal ships were kept. All this happened before October 20th.
Then we sailed southward to Deogazia, southwest of Colombo.”
The captain then tells with much gusto a story of a visit paid to
the Emden by some English farmers, at Deogazia, who were entertained
royally by the Emden officers. They knew nothing about the war, and the
Emden officers told them nothing. His narrative continues:
“Now we went toward Miniko, where we sank two ships more. On the next
day we found three steamers to the north, one of them with much desired
Cardiff coal. From English papers on the captured ships we learned
that we were being hotly pursued. One night we started for Penang.
On October 28th we raised a very practical fourth smokestack (for
disguise). The harbor of Penang lies in a channel difficult of access.
There was nothing doing by night. We had to do it at daybreak. At high
speed, without smoke, with lights out, we steered into the mouth of
the channel. A torpedo boat on guard slept well. We steamed past its
small light. Inside lay a dark silhouette. That must be a warship.
We recognized the silhouette dead sure. That was the Russian cruiser
Jemtchud. There it lay, there it slept like a rat, no watch to be
seen. They made it easy for us. Because of the narrowness of the harbor
we had to keep close; we fired the first torpedo at four hundred yards.
“Then, to be sure, things livened up a bit on the sleeping warship.
At the same time we took the crew quarters under fire five shells at
a time. There was a flash of flame on board, then a kind of burning
aureole. After the fourth shell the flame burned high. The first
torpedo had struck the ship too deep, because we were too close to it.
A second torpedo which we fired off from the other side didn’t make the
same mistake. After twenty seconds there was absolutely not a trace of
the ship to be seen.
“But now another ship which we couldn’t see was firing. That was the
French D’Ivrebreville, toward which we now turned at once. A few
minutes later an incoming torpedo destroyer was reported. It proved to
be the French torpedo boat Mousquet. It came straight toward us. That’s
always remained a mystery to me, for it must have heard the shooting.
An officer whom we fished up afterward explained to me that they had
only recognized we were a German warship when they were quite close to
us. The Frenchman behaved well, accepted battle and fought on, but was
polished off by us with three broadsides. The whole fight with those
ships lasted half an hour. The commander of the torpedo boat lost both
legs by the first broadside. When he saw that part of his crew were
leaping overboard he cried out ‘Tie me fast. I will not survive after
seeing Frenchmen desert their ship.’ As a matter of fact he went down
with his ship, as a brave captain, lashed fast to the mast. That was my
only sea-fight.
“On November 9th I left the Emden in order to destroy the wireless
plant on the Cocos Island. I had fifty men, four machine guns and
about thirty rifles. Just as we were about to destroy the apparatus
it reported ‘Careful. Emden near.’ The work of destruction went
smoothly. Presently the Emden signaled to us ‘Hurry up.’ I pack up,
but simultaneously wails the Emden’s siren. I hurry up to the bridge,
see the flag ‘Anna’ go up. That means weigh anchor. We ran like mad
into our boat, but already the Emden’s pennant goes up, the battle flag
is raised, they fire from starboard. The enemy is concealed by the
island, and therefore not to be seen, but I see the shell strike the
water. To follow and catch the Emden is out of question. She is going
twenty knots, I only four with my steam pinnace. Therefore I turn back
to land, raise the flag, declare German laws of war in force, seize
all arms, set out my machine guns on shore in order to guard against a
hostile landing. Then I run again in order to observe the fight.”
The cable operator at Cocos Island gives the following account of what
happened from this point. After describing the sudden flight of the
Emden, he goes on:
[Illustration: HIDE AND SEEK IN THE BALTIC
A Zeppelin flying over a British submarine in the stormy sea.]
“Looking to the eastward we could see the reason for this sudden
departure, for a warship, which we afterwards learned was the
Australian cruiser Sydney, was coming up at full speed in pursuit.
The Emden did not wait to discuss matters, but, firing her first shot
at a range of about 3,700 yards, steamed north as hard as she could
go. At first the firing of the Emden seemed excellent, while that of
the Sydney was somewhat erratic. This, as I afterward learned, was due
to the fact that the Australian cruiser’s range finder was put out of
action by one of the only two shots the Germans got home. However,
the British gunners soon overcame any difficulties that this may have
caused, and settled down to their work, so that before long two of the
Emden’s funnels had been shot away. She also lost one of her masts
quite early in the fight. Both blazing away with their big guns the two
cruisers disappeared below the horizon, the Emden being on fire.
“Early the next morning, Tuesday, November 10th, we saw the Sydney
returning, and at 8.45 A. M. she anchored off the island. From various
members of the crew I gathered some details of the running fight with
the Emden. The Sydney, having an advantage in speed, was able to keep
out of range of the Emden’s guns, and to bombard with her own heavier
metal. The engagement lasted eighty minutes, the Emden finally running
ashore on North Keeling Island, and becoming an utter wreck. Only two
German shots proved effective, one of these failed to explode, but
smashed the main range finder and killed one man, the other killed
three men and wounded fourteen.
“Each of the cruisers attempted to torpedo the other, but both were
unsuccessful, and the duel proved a contest in hard pounding at long
range. The Sydney’s speed during the fighting was twenty-six knots,
and the Emden’s twenty-four knots. The British ship’s superiority of
two knots enabled her to choose the range at which the battle should
be fought and to make the most of her superior guns. Finally, with a
number of wounded prisoners on board, the Sydney left here yesterday,
and our few hours of war excitement were over.”
Captain Mücke’s return home from the Cocos Island was filled with the
most extraordinary adventures, and when he finally arrived in country
controlled by his Allies he was greeted as a hero.
While the story of the Emden especially interested the world, the
Koenigsburg also caused much trouble to English commerce. Her chief
exploit occurred on the 20th of September, when she caught the British
cruiser Pegasus in Zanzibar harbor undergoing repairs. The Pegasus had
no chance, and was destroyed by the Koenigsburg’s long-range fire.
Nothing much was heard later of the Koenigsburg, which was finally
destroyed by an English cruiser, July 11, 1915.
The exploits of these two German commerce raiders attracted general
attention, because they were the exceptions to the rule. The British,
on the other hand, were able to capture such German merchantmen as
ventured on the sea without great difficulty, and as they did not
destroy their capture, but brought them before prize courts, the
incidents attracted no great attention. The Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse,
which had been fitted up as a commerce-destroyer by the Germans at
the beginning of the war, as was the Spreewald of the Hamburg-American
Line, and the Cap Trafalgar, were caught and sunk during the month of
September. On the whole, English foreign trade was unimpaired.
But though the German fleet had been bottled up in her harbors, Germany
was not yet impotent. There remained the submarine.
Up to 1905 Germany had not a single submarine. The first German
submarine was launched on August 30, 1905. Even then it was considered
merely an experiment. In February, 1907, it was added to the register
of the fleet. On January 1, 1901, there were only four nations that
possessed submarines, France, with fourteen; the United States, with
eight; England, with six, of which not one was completed, and finally
Italy, with two. In 1910, Germany appropriated 18,750,000 marks for
submarines, and in 1913, 25,000,000 marks. On January 1, 1914, the
total number of submarines of all nations was approximately four
hundred.
[Illustration: DRIVING THE GERMAN COMMERCE RAIDERS FROM THE SEAS
The British light cruiser, “Highflyer,” sinking the “Kaiser Wilhelm
der Grosse” off the West Coast of Africa early in the war. The
commerce-destroyer was attacking a British steamer when the cruiser
came up and sent her to the bottom. Inserts show both ships.]
Early in the war the submarine became a grave menace to the English
navy and to English commerce. On the 5th of September the Pathfinder,
a light cruiser, was torpedoed and sunk with great loss of life. On
September 22d, three cruisers, the Cressy, Hogue, and Aboukir were
engaged in patrolling the coast of Holland. A great storm had been
raging and the cruisers were not protected by the usual screen of
destroyers. At half-past six in the morning the seas had fallen and the
cruisers proceeded to their posts. The report of Commander Nicholson,
of the Cressy, of what followed gives a good idea of the effectiveness
of the submarine.
“The Aboukir,” says the report, “was struck at about 6.25 A. M. on the
starboard beam. The Hogue and Cressy closed, and took up a position,
the Hogue ahead of the Aboukir, and the Cressy about four hundred
yards on her port beam. As soon as it was seen that Aboukir was in
danger of sinking, all the boats were sent away from the Cressy, and
a picket boat was hoisted out without steam up. When cutters full of
the Aboukir’s men were returning to the Cressy, the Hogue was struck,
apparently under the aft 9.2 magazine, as a very heavy explosion took
place immediately. Almost directly after the Hogue was hit we observed
a periscope on our port bow about three hundred yards off. Fire was
immediately opened, and the engines were put full speed ahead with the
intention of running her down.
“Captain Johnson then maneuvered the ship so as to render assistance to
the crews of the Hogue and Aboukir. About five minutes later another
periscope was seen on our starboard quarter, and fire was opened. The
track of the torpedo she fired at a range of from 500 to 600 yards was
plainly visible, and it struck us on the starboard side just before the
after bridge. The ship listed about ten degrees to the starboard and
remained steady. The time was 7.15 A. M. All the watertight doors, dead
lights and scuttles had been securely closed before the torpedoes left
the ship. All mess stools and table shores and all available timber
below and on deck had been previously got up and thrown overside for
the saving of life. A second torpedo fired by the same submarine missed
and passed about ten feet astern.
“About a quarter of an hour after the first torpedo had hit, a third
torpedo fired from the submarine just before the starboard beam, hit
us under the No. 5 boiler room. The time was 7.30 A. M. The ship then
began to heel rapidly, and finally turned keel up remaining so for
about twenty minutes before she finally sank. It is possible that the
same submarine fired all three torpedoes at the Cressy.”
Of the total crews of 1,459 officers and men only 779 were saved.
The survivors believed that they had seen at least three submarines,
but the German official account mentions only one, the U-9, under
Captain-Lieutenant Otto Weddigen whose account of this battle confirms
the report of Commander Nicholson. Referring to the reports that a
flotilla of German submarines had attacked the cruisers, he says:
“These reports were absolutely untrue. U-9 was the only submarine on
deck.” He adds: “I reached the home port on the afternoon of the 23d
and on the 24th went to Wilhelmshaven to find that news of my effort
had become public. My wife, dry-eyed when I went away, met me with
tears. Then I learned that my little vessel and her brave crew had won
the plaudit of the Kaiser, who conferred upon each of my co-workers
the Iron Cross of the second class and upon me the Iron Crosses of the
first and second classes.”
Weddigen was the hero of the hour in Germany. He had with him
twenty-five men. He seems to have acted with courage and skill, but it
is also evident that the English staff work was to blame. Three such
vessels should never have been sent out without a screen of destroyers,
nor should the Hogue and the Cressy have gone to the rescue of the
Aboukir. A few days after the disaster the English admiralty issued the
following statement:
The sinking of the Aboukir was of course an ordinary hazard of
patrolling duty. The Hogue and Cressy, however, were sunk because
they proceeded to the assistance of their consort, and remained
with engines stopped, endeavoring to save life, thus presenting an
easy target to further submarine attacks. The natural promptings of
humanity have in this case led to heavy losses, which would have been
avoided by a strict adhesion to military consideration. Modern naval
war is presenting us with so many new and strange situations that an
error of judgment of this character is pardonable. But it has become
necessary to point out for the future guidance of His Majesty’s ships
that the conditions which prevail when one vessel of a squadron
is injured in the mine field, or is exposed to submarine attack,
are analogous to those which occur in action, and that the rule of
leaving ships to their own resources is applicable, so far, at any
rate, as large vessels are concerned.
On the 28th of August occurred the first important naval action of the
war, the battle of Helgoland. From the 9th of August German cruisers
had shown activity in the seas around Helgoland and had sunk a number
of British trawlers. The English submarines, E-6 and E-8, and the light
cruiser Fearless, had patrolled the seas, and on the 21st of August
the Fearless had come under the enemy’s shell fire. On August 26th the
submarine flotilla, under Commodore Keyes, sailed from Harwich for the
Bight of Helgoland, and all the next day the Lurcher and the Firedrake,
destroyers, scouted for submarines. On that same day sailed the first
and third destroyer flotillas, the battle cruiser squadron, first light
cruiser squadron, and the seventh cruiser squadron, having a rendezvous
at this point on the morning of the 28th.
The morning was beautiful and clear, so that the submarines could be
easily seen. Close to Helgoland were Commodore Keyes’ eight submarines,
and his two small destroyers. Approaching rapidly from the northwest
were Commodore Tyrwhitt’s two destroyer flotillas, a little to the east
was Commodore Goodenough’s first light cruiser squadron. Behind this
squadron were Sir David Beatty’s battle cruisers with four destroyers.
To the south and west of Helgoland lay Admiral Christian’s seventh
cruiser squadron.
Presently from behind Helgoland came a number of German destroyers,
followed by two cruisers; and the English submarines, with the two
small destroyers, fled westwards, acting as a decoy. As the Germans
followed, the British destroyer flotillas on the northwest came rapidly
down. At the sight of these destroyers the German destroyers fled, and
the British attempted to head them off.
According to the official report the principle of the movement was to
cut the German light craft from home, and engage it at leisure on the
open sea.
But between the two German cruisers and English cruisers a fierce
battle took place. The Arethusa was engaged with the German Ariadne,
and the Fearless with the Strasburg. A shot from the Arethusa shattered
the fore bridge of the Ariadne and killed the captain, and both German
cruisers drew off to Helgoland.
Meanwhile the destroyers were engaged in a hot fight. They sunk the
leading boat of the German flotilla and damaged a dozen more. Between
nine and ten o’clock there was a lull in the fight; the submarines,
with some of the destroyers, remained in the neighborhood of Helgoland,
and the Germans, believing that these boats were the only hostile
vessels in the neighborhood, determined to attack them.
The Mainz, the Koln, and the Strasburg came again on the scene, and
opened a heavy fire on some of the boats of the first flotilla which
were busy saving life. The small destroyers were driven away, but the
seamen in the boats were rescued by an English submarine. The Arethusa
and the Fearless, with the destroyers in their company, engaged with
three enemy cruisers. The Strasburg, seriously injured, was compelled
to flee. The boilers of the Mainz blew up, and she became a wreck. The
Koln only remaining and carrying on the fight.
The English destroyers were much crippled, and as the battle had now
lasted for five hours any moment the German great battleships might
come on the scene. A wireless signal had been sent to Sir David
Beatty, asking for help, and about twelve o’clock the Falmouth and
the Nottingham arrived on the scene of action. By this time the first
destroyer flotilla was out of action and the third flotilla and the
Arethusa had their hands full with the Koln. The light cruisers were
followed at 12.15 by the English battle cruisers, the Lion came first,
and she alone among the battle cruisers seems to have used her guns.
Her gun power beat down all opposition. The Koln made for home, but
the Lion’s guns set her on fire. The luckless Ariadne hove in sight,
but the terrible 13.5-inch guns sufficed for her. The battle Cruisers
circled around, and in ten minutes the Koln went to the bottom.
At twenty minutes to two, Admiral Beatty turned homeward. The German
cruisers Mainz, Koln, and the Ariadne had been sunk; the Strasburg was
seriously damaged. One destroyer was sunk, and at least seven seriously
injured. About seven hundred of the German crew perished and there
were three hundred prisoners. The British force returned without the
loss of a single ship. The Arethusa had been badly damaged, but was
easily repaired. The casualty list was thirty-two killed and fifty-two
wounded. The battle was fought on both sides with great gallantry, the
chief glory belonging to the Arethusa and the Fearless who bore the
brunt of the battle. The strategy and tactical skill employed were
admirable, and the German admiral, Von Ingenohl, from that time on,
with one exception, kept his battleships in harbor, and confined his
activities to mine laying and the use of submarines.
In the first days of the war the German mine layers had been busy. By
means of trawlers disguised as neutrals, mines were dropped off the
north coast of Ireland, and a large mine field was laid off the eastern
coast of England. One of the most important duties of the Royal Naval
Reserve was the task of mine sweeping. Over seven hundred mine-sweeping
vessels were constantly employed in keeping an area of 7,200 square
miles clear for shipping. These ships swept 15,000 square miles
monthly, and steamed over 1,100,000 miles in carrying out their duties.
In spite of all these precautions many English ships were destroyed by
the mines.
It would be hard to overestimate the effect of the British blockade of
the German ports upon the fortunes of the war. The Germans for a long
time attempted, by the use of neutral ships, to obtain the necessary
supplies through Holland, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland. Millions of
dollars’ worth of food and munitions ultimately reached German hands.
The imports of all these nations were multiplied many times, but as the
time went on the blockade grew stricter and stricter until the Germans
felt the pinch. To conduct efficiently this blockade meant the use of
over 3,600 vessels which were added to the auxiliary patrol service.
Over 13,000 vessels were intercepted and examined by units of the
British navy employed on blockade channels.
The Germans protested with great vigor against this blockade, and
ultimately endeavored to counteract it by declaring unrestricted
submarine warfare. In fact, Great Britain had gone too far, and
vigorous protests from America followed her attempt to seize contraband
goods in American vessels.
The code of maritime law, adopted in the Declaration at Paris of 1856,
as well as the Declaration in London of 1909, had been framed in
the interests of unmaritime nations. The British plenipotentiaries
had agreed to these laws on the theory that in any war of the future
Britain would be neutral. The rights of neutrals had been greatly
increased. A blockade was difficult to enforce, for the right of a
blockading power to capture a blockade runner did not cover the whole
period of her voyage, and was confined to ships of the blockading
force. A ship carrying contraband could only be condemned if the
contraband formed more than half its cargo. A belligerent warship could
destroy a neutral vessel without taking it into a port for a judgment.
The transfer of an enemy vessel to a neutral flag was presumed to be
valid, if effected more than thirty days before the outbreak of war.
Belligerents in neutral vessels on the high seas were exempt from
capture. The Emden could justify its sinking of British ships, but the
English were handicapped in their endeavor to prevent neutral ships
from carrying supplies to Germany.
But Germany had become a law unto itself. And England found it
necessary in retaliation to issue orders in council which made nugatory
many of the provisions of the maritime code. The protests of the
American Government and those of other neutrals were treated with
the greatest consideration, and every endeavor was made that no real
injustice should be done. When America itself later entered the war
these differences of opinion disappeared from public view.