THE SINKING OF THE LUTZOW

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3192, 17 September 1917, Page 5

THE SINKING OF THE LUTZOW

VIVID STORY OF THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND TOLD BY A GERMAN SURVIVOR The final scones on board tho German flagship Lutzow during the naval battle of Jutland, whon some.of the newest and largest of the German battle cruisers, wcro. battered or sunk by, Admiral Beatty'e British'squadron in "June,. 1916, were vividly described by P. Krug, one. of the Lutzow's survivors, in a pamphlet which has just been, published in Holland (states, a correspondent in. the, New, York "Evening Post").. It is believed to., bo tho first detailed story, of that great, battlo from tho point of view of the German sailor to reach the public eye. Torpedoed by a British warship, early in. the engagement, the Lutzow, which was tho flagship of Admiral Hipper, was. hammered unmercifully by the, big-guns of the British vessels, and soon became a complete wreck, a "ship of tho.dead," as Krug describes her. According to. his. stoi-y, twenty-seven German sojlofs weretrapped in tho Diesel dynamp'.room. before, the battle had been long in pi.o-. I gress, and remained; there, when' the, Luti zow, a disabled hulk, was abandoned and I sent to. tho bottom by a torpedo from a. German destroyer. Two. of these, I oned men had been driven, insane and were kept tied by their shipmates. The First Direct Hit. After describing the first part of the battle and telling. how the. arrival of British battleships, turned, the tables on the Germans, Krug writes ;r----"SudderJy tho. entire ship is roughly, shaken. Tho colossus..'heaves far over, and everything that is not fixed is upset. The.first direct hit! The torpedo pierces the fore part of the ship.. Its effects are terrible. Iron, wood, metal, parts, of bodies, and smashed ships' implements are all intermixed, and the electric light, by chance spared, continues, to. shino upon this sight.. Two decks lower, in the. Diesel dynamo room, there, is. still life. That compartment has. not been, hit, and twenty-seven men, in the prime of life, have been spared, but tho chamber is shut off from all others, for the water is rushing into all sections, They are doomed to death. Several 38-centi-metre shells squarely hit their mark, working terrible havoc. The first hit the wireless department. Of the, twelve.living men who a monient ago w.er'e seated beforo the apparatus, there is nothing more to be seen. Nothing is left but a smoking heap of ruins. : The second shot again pierced tho fore part of the ship. The entire fore part of the vessel, as far aa the Diesel motor-room, was past saving. "Another broadside meant for the Lutzow fell short, but a torpedo-boat ciose by disappeared, leaving only a few odd pieces of wood and a smashed lifeboat drifting round. It is now half-past seven, and the hostile circle grows ever smaller.The Lutzow. and the Seydtitz he- with their bows deep in the water; both are badly mauled; The fore port of the Lut> zow was in flames. Shells burst against the ship's side in rapid succession. A terrible sight is presented on board tho Lutzow, and it needs iron nerves, to lcqla. upon it coolly. Hundreds have lost their lives, while many have lain for hours in torture, and the fight is. not yet. over. The bow is now'crushed m and IB entirely submerged. The four screws arealready sticking half,out of, theiwate, so that the Lutzow can only make eight to ten linqts an hour, as against the normal thifty-twp. Admiral Transfers to the Moltke. "The Admiral decides to transfer to the. Moltke. He gives orders to tarn and getaway from the scene of the .fight, but the Lutzow bos not .gone amile. Moreshe receives a broadside of 3S-xentimeteo shells. Tho entire ship was filled. witli the poisonous fumes of the.shells, and. any one who failed to affix his gasmask was doomed to be suffocated. It was three-quarters of an hour Wore tho lighting installation was restored. Then, for the first time .could tho extent.pt the damage wrought by the sa rp m Wj One of tho shells had Jandedan the sick bay. Here there were °i%tLre.B doctors and fifteen.attendants, besides 160 to lbO wounded. Of all those only four remained alive. These four were nurled u ; to;tlie next compartment-by .tho air F*"™; there they lay unconscious. The Lutzow was now a complete wreck. Corpse drifted past. From the bow* t up to the Krst fTiirty-centrimetre gun-turret the ship lay submerged. Tho,;otacr gun-tur-rets were completery.disabled, with the guns sticking .out in all directions. On deck lay* the bodies of the sailor* in their torn Worms, ' m -tho midst of the empty shell-cases .Rom. the masts fluttered torn flags, twisted signal lines, and pieces of' wire, of the wireless installation. .Had not the lootout man and. the'three officers on the commander's bridge given signs of life, the Lutzow would- have truly resembled a ship of the ;dead. Below, oil the battery deck, and' in. the coal blinkers,'there still lay innumerable .wounded, but'there was no longer a doctor to attend to them. ! "Night came,on and hope was entertained, of-getting away without a further' encounter. But. at .8 o'clock in the night news of the approach of two British: cruisers and five destroyers was'received: and just at'that critical time the fore and middle bulkheads gave way. Wounded Left Behind. "Orders were given to quickly carry the wounded to the stern. ..Then the order rings 'but:' 'All hands muster, in division ''order abaft'.' A- tumult: arises on' tho lower deck, for everybody is now-bent'on-saving?his'life. It is: impossible in that short-space of time to bring up all tho 'wounded, for, they are scattered, everywhere. Eighteen men had the good fortune to bo carried up; but all the rest who could not walk or. crawl had tojje left' behind.- The twenty-seven, men shut up in the' Diesel dynamo chamber had heard the order through the speaking tube, for many, mad % with anguish, screamed through the tubo for help, and it was learned that two of their number lav bound because they had become j insane 'Inspired by their sense'of duty, these seal«d-up men had continued, to carry on' their.work in order to' provide the ship'with light. The torpedo-boats how quickly took off of the Lutzow, and those' left behind were doomed to death. It was resolved that™ piece of the vessel should fall .into'the enemy's hands. Ah order was given and a torpedo cleft the waters. Justvthen seven hien wero to'be' seen running like madnion round the rear deck. Overfatigued as they were they had'-aspar-eritlv- dropped off to.sleep.and only -just awakened. As the torpedo exploded the Lutzow's bow quickly dipped; and tbe stern roso until she stood- on end.; lnen she'heeled over and'eauk,; forming a. groat' whirlpool .that within it into thedepths. When the roll was 'called it appeared tnat there wcie 1003 survivors of the Lulzow; 537 men had perished' in the battle."