Thank you for correcting the text in this article. Your corrections improve Papers Past searches for everyone. See the latest corrections.

This article contains searchable text which was automatically generated and may contain errors. Join the community and correct any errors you spot to help us improve Papers Past.

Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image

HOSPITAL SHIPS SUNK

PANIC-STRICKEN GERMANS

ON. BOARD

INCIDENTS OF CRAVEN COWARDICE

SPLENDID WORK BY PATROL VESSELS

dice. April 23, 9.10 p.m.)

, London, April 22. Tho Admiralty announces that the steamers Donegal and La Franco wore torpedoed -without warning on the evening of April 17. Tho vessels wore transporting -rounded men to British ports. Owing to tho German practice of sinking hospital .ships, it will be no longer possible to distinguish the hospital ships, because they would become more conspicuous targets. Therefore the Donegal and La. France were not marked as hospital ships, but provided with an escort. Tho Donegal carried slightly wounded, twenty-nine of which and also twelve of tho crew are missing. The La France carried 234 British wounded, 167 German wounded, fifty-two medical staff, and 123 of a. crew. Twenty-three British and fifteen Germans are missing. The patrol boats at the imminent rials: of being torpedoed rescued 152 of the German wounded. The Adn'.-alty later corrects the above report, stating that one of the hospital ships retained her distinctive marking. ) THEIR OWN SKINS FIRST (Itec. 'April 23, 7.30 p m.) London, April 22. The La France carried on board wounded Germans, who had been captured in the recent British advance. These included a partyof officers, some of high rank. The only panic on hoard was due to the anxiety of the Germans to save their own skins. They believed their own submarines would save them. When the rescue ships appeared they thought they were Germans, and shouted loudly to. bring their countrymen to their rescue.—The ''Times." SOMETHING THEY DID NOT EXPECT (Rec. April 23, 8.10 p.m.)' London, April 22. The La. Franco was attacked at 8 o'clock in the evening. A heavy sea was running at the time. A week previously she saw the hospital ship Salta sink, nine minutes after striking a mine in the Channel. The La France did not carry owing to the submarine danger.. During the passage to England the risEs of being torpedoed were discussed with German officers on board. They indignantly denied that hospital ships bearing distinguishing marks had been torpedoed'. Tho "Daily Chronicle's" correspondent interviewed membors of tho crew. All agreed that some of tho German officers behaved despicably, and led a panic-rush for the boats.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. ~ MAD RUSkIoTtHE BOATS (Roc. April 23, 10.30 p m.) London, April 23. Survivors from the La ; France state that two hundred Prussian Guardsmen wcro on board when tho torpedo struck; Tho Prussians made a. mad rush for tho lifeboats, headed by an officer. A British officer shouted': "Go back." Tho Prussian scowled, and said: "You must have .lis." Ho was told to wait his turn. Other Prussians dropped on their knees and implored pity. Meanwhile the stretcher cases were brought on deck, and the first boats lowered without delay. Many vessels camo hurrying to the assistanco of the La France. While the wounded Tommies, many of whom, were helpless, lay on tho decks, the Prussian morale dropped to zero. Some of tho Prussians mado a crazy effort to get into a boat when.it was lowered. It overturned, and the Prussians were thrown into tho water. They fought each other in order to reach another boat containing a number of gravely wounded Britisher soldiers. One of the

British soldiers, whoso log had been severed, lifted himself up the La France staircase on his hands, in order to summon help for a Prussian who was unable to move owing to internal in-juries—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. SCENES ON THE DONEGAL (Itec. April 23, 8.10 p.m.) . London, April 22. The Donegal was a troopship. She was almost in sight of England when she was torpedoed in the stern. She carried men who had been slightly wounded and did not require the comforts of a hospital ship. A strong sea was running, and_ most of the wounded were sea-sick, lying. in their berths. Thero was no panic. Tho. Donegal floated for several hours, and sank forty-five minutes after tho rescuing ship's took off the last mail.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. NEWSPAPER CRITICISM (Rec. Ajjrjl 24, 0.40 a.m.)' London, April 23. The Donegal was torpedoed at eight o'clock on Tuesday evening in the English Channel, and wont down in half an hour, stern ' first. Tho torpedo caused an explosion in the engineroom. The sluis'.s. officers and crew displayed splendid _ gallantry, and the wounded maintained a wonderful calmness; otherwise it would havo been impossible to have saved the wounded. Most of thorn were in their cots below. A largo percentage of them were immersed, and their garments were still wet when they landed. Many of the others \vero without proper clothing, and wore suffering severely from shook. The newspapers sharply comment on the failure of the escort to protect the hospital ships. For three years ships have been carrying troops daily across the Channel, and none have been caught by tho enemy, who must have been doing his best. ATTACKS ON HOSPITAL AND RELIEF SHIPS GERMAN EXCUSES SHOWN UP London, 'April 22. Tho Press Bureau states: "A German wireless message has aecused the British and French of employing vessels carrying the markings of Belgian relief ships for the purpose of attacking submarines. The allegation is untrue.' awl is merely a variation of the equally groundless assertion that the Entente is misusing hospital ships. This is evidently intended as a pretext for torpedoing Belcian relief ships without warning. The illegal and inhuman submarining of hospital ships is tho culmination of a savagery which has brought the world face to fane with a situation unparalleled in civilised warfare. It has no justification in any conceivable distortion of international law or the most brutal creed of necessity. Following: on tho sinking of the Asturias and the Gloucester Castle,! Britain decided to. transport jtho i

wounded in vessels not bearing distinctive markings, and notified Germany of _ tho withdrawal of certain hospital ships. The fighting on the West front is leaving a. very largo number of wounded Germans in our hands, and practically all the ships bringing wounded aro hound to carry a proportion, of Germans. It remains to bo seen whether this knowledge will deflect the German Government from its abominable course." —Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. FATE OF A NORWEGIAN RELIEF SHIP THE ATTACK ON THE KONGSLI. Amsterdam, April 22. Later reports show that the Kongsli was towed (into lyarliour.—Aus.-N.Z Cable Assn. • [Tho Norwegian relief ship Kongsli, bound from Rotterdam with eight thousand tons of wheat, has been sunk in the so-called safety zone. The second mate is missing, but the remainder, including nineteen Americans, were rescued. It is not known whether the vessel was mined or torpedoed.] NORWAY AND"tHE PIRATES SECRET SESSION OF PARLIAMENT. ' Chrlstiania, April 22. ' Tho Storthing (Parliament) has concluded a secret sitting, held to discuss the questions of food and the dangers of navigating the North Sea, in relation to the foreign policy, and decided that strict neutrality must still be observed. . • The report that Norway is about to arm merchantmen is denied.—Aus.N.Z. Cable Assn. ARE WE HOLDING THE PIRATES? LORD CURZON THINKS SO. London, April 22. Speaking at Derby, Lord Curzon, referring to the German submarine warfare, said that the consensus of expert opinion was that the comparatively stationary number, of sinkings per week of British merchantmen does not indicate any lack of success in dealing with the menace. On the contrary, it is believed that the Germans are dispatching fresh batches of submarines each week, and are not waiting for tidings of those sent previously, many of which never return. It is the Germans' obvious intention to maintain tho campaign- at the highest pitch of intensity as long as possible. /The "Observer" remarks that the difficulty is not in destroying submarines, but in finding them and getting them within range of the implements of destruction.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19170424.2.45

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3061, 24 April 1917, Page 7

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,295

HOSPITAL SHIPS SUNK Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3061, 24 April 1917, Page 7

HOSPITAL SHIPS SUNK Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3061, 24 April 1917, Page 7

Help

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert