GERMAN FLEET'S SURRENDER.

Otaki Mail, Volume 26, 9 May 1919, Page 4

GERMAN FLEET'S SURRENDER.

IMPRESSIONS OP AN EYE WITNESS.

•i A most interesting account of the ' surrender of the German Navy is i printed in the latest number of the 1 "Wangauui Collegian," from the pen ; of an" 'old boy of the College, Lieut. C. iG.'Harper, of H.M.S. Indomitable. , According to Lieut. Harper, the Ausi tralia (flagship of the squadron) was j-told off to receive the surrender-of the 1 Hindenburg, the Now Zealand that of the Derftlinger, the Indomitable the Seydlitz (flagship), and the Inflexible the Moltke and tho von dor Tnnri. Speaking of his own impressions, on the'lndomitable, Lieut. Harper says:— "About 0.45 a.m. on the morning of ! Xo.vomhor 2.lst I . . . saw at last wliat . I had been waiting four and a-quarter l years to see—tho funnels of a German

battle cruiser appearing through the mist about four or five miles off. Tho mist was lifting a bit, and what I did see was a groat fleet, composed of some of tho world's finest ships, following a small British light cruiser, and being lod, without protest, into its enemy's chief base. We wade them out one by one, all the old familiar names and pictures, first Seydlitz leading the battle cruisers, then each class in turn. Their ensigns flying, crews on docks, and keeping good station, they came slowly steaming along. It was, I think, one of the most tragic sights I have ever seen. We didn't know quite what to fool; whether to be glad that our four arid itquarter years' troubles were over; whether to be disgusted at the timidity 'of the Hun; or whether to bo disappointed that our last chance of annihilating them was now gone. 1 believe the last was the general feeling, but the whole tiling seemed so incredible that ft 11 we could do was to sit and stare at them, not quite sure whether we were'dreaming or not. It meant the utter collapse and downfall of a very great t'lhipre. Not even Rome, Spain, France under Napoleon, and similar Emipres, fell like this. After fifty years or so of preparation to "wrest the trident" from the hated English, and after telling everyone that "Jutland marked the ' end of Euglish supremacy on the seas," here was this licet following a light cruiser into harbour without firing even so much as a rifle. As I said before, it left us all speechless.

"When we came to May Island, the guard force turned to let the two fleets go in first. After the five battle cruisers and battleships came Bayorn, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Prinzregent Liutpold. and Harkgraf. Then seven light cruisers and forty-nine destroyers—a remarkable sight, because there were four flotillas of our destroyers escorting them, and the North Sen seemed to bo covered entirely with destroyers. The Germans anchored in five lines east of. Inchkeith. This was about 5.43 p.m., so we sent the commander and one or two other officers to Seydlitz to accept their surrender and make sure Ihey had no ammunition on board. We had received a signal that at sunset the German flag was to bo hauled down and not hoisted again without permission, and at sunset we came on deck to watch it happen. All the German ensigns came down to the minute. We then held a short thanksgiving service. Next morning wo went alongside Seydlitz, and were piped over the side in the usual manner. Wo went up to the gunhouse of the second turret, where we met a German warrant officer. This fellow was bursting with' fraternity and moderate English, and we gathered the following from him. He had spent all the war in the ship and said, as we already knew, that she was very nearly sunk at Dogger ' Bank and Jutland. He said so many ' were killed at Jutland that no one ever ' knew the correct number. The easual--1 ties and damage in the fleet had such a democratic effect that the men decided. within a few days of Jutland, j never to fight us again There were mutinous outbreaks whenever ships '. .were ordered out. Host of this iui'or- , mation, by the way. was well corroboI rated by the other ships. The end I came when the High Seas Fleet was | ordered out. to fight us about a week , before the armistice was signed. This j was the first and only time- ihey had j been ordered out with that sole object. The men at om-e mutinied and weiyi i ashore. They were arrested and im- ' prisoned in hundreds. The remainder I therefore put the officers xmder arrest ' and went to rescue the prisoners. Seydlitz lost ten men in the fighting that i followed. When the armistice was signed the men, on the principle of 'peace at any price,' insisted on having it carried out to the letter. Most of the officers wanted to blow the ships up, but the men handed them over for fear of offending us and causing us to start the war again. Apparently. they realised that what they got at Jutland was only a taste of what they would get next rime, snd rather than have even that taste again, they were prepared to sell their souls.

"I then wandered about'tie ship with one of our people who spoke Hunnish quite well. We were particularly struc-k with the healthy and cheerful appearance of the men and the smart appearance of the officers. All the men wore little red ribbons to aiiew that they "were revolutionaries. The officers were,, on the whole, a goodlooking 10t., ; mostly Prussians, with fair, close-cropped hair. The senior ones looked very sullen, and took" iittlt notice of us. The junior ones; and particularly the midshipmen," looked sad and depressed and gazed at. us rather li£e~ go.TTM Strifes .waiting through- a field. I couldn 't help feeling sorry for ■pSSiI (Qiigl. STEB still 'diseipline >remaining, because the men fell'in'by divisions.for out captain's inspection, and Jhejf treated us with due respect. Tie commodore (Taegert) was a really nasty-looking Prussian. He saluted onr captain when he came over the side and then turned away with a sneer on his face and shrugged Ms shoulder^

The ' delegates' went where they liked and were always presont when any of their officers spoke $0 any of ours. They spoke to their own officers with their hauds in-their pockets, and smoking cigarettes. Tho German destroyers looked as if they could not be fought, or even go to sea, in anything except, a calm.

"The next day, November 23rd, a large number of Hun destroyers were taken to Seapa. We could hardly resist coming on deck every now and then to make sure it was really tho German Fleet anchored between our lines. It still seemed incredible. Also one began to feel absolute disgust for these people who were quite content to surrender themselves to their enemies without any attempt at resistance. They must have no sense of shame or honour at ajl. At noon on November 24th there was another tragic spectacle. Tho German battlecruisers weighed and formed into line. Then Lion (flagship of the Battle Cruiser Force) came down the harbour, slowed down, and the Germans fell in astern of her and followed her out. Tho First Battle Cruiser Squadron followed astern of the Huns. Again no attempt at resistance, 'no attempt to sink themselves or any of our ships; thcy were like beaten dogs slinking away with their tails between their legs. The rest of the Hun destroyers, ten of them, were taken away, by twelve of

ours. "Ouce more it happened next day, Monday, 25th. At noon Canada led tho five Kaiser class battleships out to Scapa. The funeral procession this time was followed by tho 2nd Division. In the afternoon the Snd Light Cruiser .Squadron took three Hun light cruisers out. Now, us there were only four German battleships and four light cruisers left, with an equal number of each kind of ours left to look after them, our part of the business was finished. At 0 p.m. we weighed and went up harbour to our billets just. below Forth. Bridge. : What a miserable •'home-coming.' The war is over, after four and a-quarter years' waiting for 'Der Tag,' after drilling, exercising, practising-, learning all about the enemy ships, malting ourselves familiar with their appearance, aud habits in action, holding ourselves ready 'to meet them at a few hours' notice, dreaming of the groat battle, and how we would crawl homo afterwards, having blown them all out of the water, and lost half our number in doing so. After all these.dreams of glory hero we are: our last chance gone, no battle, no victorious homecoming, no more war. We met them, it is true; we met them after four and a-quartor years' waiting, and they had come to meet us too. And they hauled down their flags! I wonder if anyone has ever experienced such a terrible anti-climax."