THE NORTH SEA BATTLE

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2407, 12 March 1915, Page 6

THE NORTH SEA BATTLE

A TALK WITH THE RAIDERS

BLUCHER MEN IN HOSPITAL

TOKENS OF GRATITUDE

A correspondent of "The Times" writes:—

Having occasion to visit the hospital at Edinburgh Castle I found it full of wounded German sailors saved from the Blucher. The hospital attendants wore performing signs and .wonders in a general atmosphere of bewilderment. Proffering assistance, I was enabled to get into conversation with some of the patients, and in the short time available gather a few of their impressions. . The awful ordeal through which they bad passed had left very, confused impressions behind. Yet they talked freely of what had happened, and as those who oould not be out of bed gathered round, they recalled incident after incident. It was in general a reminiscence of blood and fire and smoke, and a nerve-racking roar and crash. Some on board Were rendered deaf. The ship quivered and rOck under the recoil of her own guns. The deadly British broadsides made her reel. Guns were torn from their settings, and whole gun crews hurled to destruction. Men hurtled 1 down from aloft, bruised, bleeding, and dead. Men were swept from the deck like flies from, a tablecloth. Everywhere blood trickled and flowed.

It was a fever of excitement. Men found blood pouring down their legs and could not locate their wounds. Men, too, in authority lost their heads. Their nerves could not stand the strain. Consequently there was confusion in places. "Ours is' a young navy, yours has had more experience," said one sadly. A. shell would burst in the interior of the ship in a halo of flame, and fire would rise from the deck. 'What is there to burn? God knows—but the fire is there. They have praise for their captain end dispute as to whether he was wounded, and where. During the fight one had noticed him pull up his trouser-leg to examine. Leaving the Ship. ' Then there comes the time when they had to leave the (ship. ■■ They even recall how fat Schmidt stuck in 'the rail, and how he wriggled. They were not long in- the water—no, and no one clutched at the other. It was each man for himself and by himself. Everything; was done in order. It was all so feierlich. Strange thoughts occur at such moments. One confesses with a laugh that when he saw the ship sink he thought of the'enormous amount of money on the way to' tiie bottom I They even dispute as to whether there were aeroplanes with the Zeppelin, and the man from Berlin, who claimed to have been watching through a telescope, declines to give way to the man from Essen. ■

What about their Iron Crosses?' 1 inquire. They must, surely each have got one.'They laugh. The Iron Cross is evidently a subject of jest with them too. Yes, the man two beds away, who is sitting up, had beon awarded one. The hero smiles. "It has gone now," ho says, and runs his finger down the front of his shirt., Ho was the steersman, they inform me.' "Er war besoffeti" adds jestingly the man from I'V 6en, and the victim joins in the laugh at his suggested .lack' of sobriety. But what do they think of the wart 1 Well, the Berliner, a highly intelligent Teohniker, thinks it will still last for a long time-rrperliaps a year or more. Germany cannot be beeten on land. Impossible,they have so many reserves — and such good men too. His brother, who is big and strong, is amongst them. For the Russians they have the provorbia' German contempt. The others are. not sufficient in number to check them. The cost of it appeals to them as terrible. And England and France, they complain plaintively, have bo much money. " A Pessimist. And when are their battleship? com ing out? Not yet, no—but when they are ready , they will come. But they are obviously despondent on that head. Their demeanour reveals that clearly. Tho man from Essen is frankly pessimistic. "It will be with our army as with our navy," he says, turning away his head with an expression too deep for words. Dieser verdammte Kriegl adds eloquently a third. The participation of England is a sore point, and the use of Indian troops still sorer. They anxiously inquire if there has been a rise in the price of foodstuffs, and their very anxiety throws light on the German situation. They confess that with them the price of flour and meat has gone up very considerably. They were eating Kriegsbrot on board ship, and for it they had evidently iifl great relish. They jest about it. and compare it with sausage. But it is evident that their warlike fervour has been 6adly chilled. The Share of the Arethusa. It has been officially stated that all tho cruisers which took part in the action of Sunday returned to port. They came silently and ungreeted, with as little demonstration as if they, had been engaged in nothing more serious than patrol duty. The Lion, it will be recalled, led the British line, and began to pour upon the Blucher the deluge of shells which ciippled her, but by the, time the Blucher had ceased steaming the Lion herself bad been .hit by a chance shot and her speed reduced. At this moment the Arethusa was at hand. In 'spite of aircraft, submarines, and the fire of the big guns, she went at full speed towards the damaged, Blucher. When close in the Arethusa swung round. She was greeted with a salvo from the Blucher ati short, range, but every shot went wide. They were the last the Blucher fired. Before, the smoke had cleared, the Arethusa discharged two torpedoes and both got home. As tho Blucher sank the light cruiser changed her course and lowered boats to pick up survivors, of whom there were 15)5, including eiglit officers. They have already been landed. Each of the German sailors was' provided with special- life-saving apparatus—a cork belt and an inflatablo apparatus fastened about the shoulders. The latter is made of rubber' and is about 24in. long by lOin. -wide; it can be blown up by the wearer in a moment, and is made so thnt when in use the air-feed pipe comes opposite tho mouth. The Germans deolare that any sailor who loseß this article is liable to a fine of lis.

As the Germans were helped into the boats a strange scene took place. They took every article of value thoy' were wearing, such as rings, purses, and watches, and implored our men to accept them as tokens of their gratitude. "Oil land," said one, "we can beat you. but here, no." Another man admitted that in the raid on the Hartlepools and Scarborough tho crew of the Blucher suffered 11 casualties as a result of the British shore-gun fire. The Zeppelins seem to have steered clear of. anti-aircraft guns, and whatever damage they may be able to inflict on the undefended countryside they offer no terrors to a warship.

1 gather that the Derffiinger and Seydlitz only just got home. When last seen they were little more than afloat, and the latter was on fire. The Dcrfflingsr lmd svery sun out of notion and was damaged a stem by. & torpedo,