"A GREAT BLUFF"

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 162, 3 April 1919, Page 6

"A GREAT BLUFF"

BRITISH NAVAL OPERATIONS IN THE BALTIC

REMARKABLE STORY

The adventures oE the five British light cruisors and eight destroyers which were sent to the Baltic mainly with the object of aEsistiiiff refugees to escape from the Bol.shevild form a remarkable story, as related iby n member of the crew of one of the. cruisers, who is now back in Enylaml.

When the warships reached Riga, he gays, they found the town occupied by a motley population of Germans, Russinns, Estho'muns, Bolsheviks, and Englishmen, and these lastniimed greeted the British warships with every demonstration of Joy and relief. During the war they had lived under conditions of great difFood was terribly scarce, ano. as much as i!Ss. per pound was paid for butter and 30s. per pound for tea or coffee, The squadron hud bombarded tfarva, blown up ii bridge, and destroyed the railway communications, in order to cut off this retreat of the Bolsheviks; and the Kvtlioninns were <iriving the Bolsheviks back. The British Consul informed the Admiral on his arrival at Riga that after the bombardment of JSiirva, in which a few Bolsheviks were killed, the Bolshevik;, by way of reprisal, committed terrible atrocities against 200 Esthonians, a large number of whom, after toeing tortured, were hanged by the wayI g jj e " Tlio British subjects implored to be taken back to England; but they were told that the squadron would protect the town, which it was expected the Bolsheviks would attempt to enter at any moment. As a matter of fact, the whole thing was little more than a great game of bruit, for rue mo-t that the squadron could have done was to wnash up the town and then get clear—the Bolshevik force being e«Unu'.te<l nt something like 15,00u men It worked well, however. The Conimnnder of the Eighth German

A rniv was sent for and told that, in acenrdanco with the terms of the nrraisticc. the German troops must assist in maintaining order in Riga; and battalions of Germane were sent out to prevent the llolalieviks entering the neightw.irini: villages. It was explained to the Germans that the Fleet had come to see that they evacuated Riga as quickly as possible, but tbat in view of the disorders thev must do their share in restoring nltnirx to a normal condition before they could return to their Fatherland. There can be no doubt that the Germans believed Hie British force to be very much stronger than it actually was, and that there were n large number of additional warships near nt hand in the month of the river. An official announcement was issued that if there Here anv disturbances i , ) the town the ships' Kims would opon fire. On the morning of December 30 the British subjects were taken on board the warships,.which were cleared for action; and about seven o'clock, in consequence of nn outbreak of rioting in one quarter of the town, one of the cruisers fired a few shells at intervals of live minutes. A message was then received that the rioting had ceased. That night a motorl.oat was sent out to keep guard at the •river-mouth in case the Bolshevik warships attempted to come out, and a light cruiser at Heyal was prepared to eive warning by wireless. Three Bolshevik warships wliL-h had attempted hi bombard Bevnl were all sunk, and tiin same night some of the British sailors were sent to patrol the town. Tilings had, however, considerably quietened down by now; but not permanently, for early'in January further disturbances' had to be subdued.

One afternoon the poor people broke into one of the German stores, with tho result that the Germans fired into them end killed several jneu. Tho condition of the people was most unhappy, owing to the lack of foodstuffs; but two shiploads of provisions arrived early in January, just before the "British squadron was obliged to abandon the operations and leave for homo.