THE EX-KAISER’S HIGH SEAS NAVY

Taihape Daily Times, 4 March 1919, Page 5

THE EX-KAISER’S HIGH SEAS NAVY

GOOD STORIES OF HUS BATTLESHIPS AND U BOATS

Of the memorable isurrendjcr of German war fleets to British “ SeaMight ” many -stories are told which are sure to become historic.

In a cupboard of one of the renounced U boats a British commander named Hooper found a letter which had been written by one of the German under-seamen. It is addressed 1 ‘ to a British brother -seaman, if he will read it; written in' a watch below my bunk on the surrender trip to England convoyed by the German warship Helgoland. ’ ’

The letter goes on: “A memorable date in history, Nov. 20, 1918 (the day of sailing from Germany to surrender) No other country could have defeated Germany. This country has broken herself against all the enemies. She would have stood up another year without Austria, Bulgaria, and Turkey helping her. The German people all had real patriotism, but real patriotism was lacking in the leading classes.

HOW JUNKERISM DESTROYED GERMANY

"Those leading classe s made it their point to reap fortunes, no matte)- which, way the Fatherland was drifting. They didn’t care how much the lower classes wore suffering under the hardships of the war. The rich themselves could buy everything as in times of peace; only the poor had to suffer.

The poor grew more sad and discontented. When they attempted to raise their voices, then wore quietened like traitors and an unpatriotic lot. The rich wore squeezing al the money they could out of the people, like you would squeeze an orange. "So the poor working man and the soldiers were thinking a f last: ‘I don’t care whether I become a French, British, or American subject so long as I get at a little better than this. ’ "All at o'nce came the breakdown. Soldiers refused to do their duty, first a few, then more, and then the whole Fleet; and the leading people saw with astonishment that they who thought thmselvos almighty were powerless.

"Inside itHvelvc jhours th)e whole system broke down. It was' undermined. No friendly /feelings linked the two classes .together. Each had lived for themselves. "The rich class had looked down upon the lower class in the same way as an ordinary man would look down upon an ass. Now they pay the penalty losing the war. "The Germjan capitalist got beat by the English, the German labourer will also have to pay, but they would have got him to pay anyway. Lose or win there was nothing for him to gain —bis own rich countrymen took out of him all his patriotism by the way- they treated him.

“Thus the German worker lost all sense.and feeling of his national pride, and so Germany broke down.

“In time of prime she was a country hard to beat in the sense or order in all things. But now it is disorder, because its people did not unite. The blame lies with the loading class, but there is excuse for them—we are all human. It is a hard thing to rule a nation. ’ ’ A good coincidence story is told of two United States officers, Li cuts’ Fulsher and Muller, who were brought into Harwich by the' U cruiser 152 which torpedoed the American transport Ticonderoga in mid-ocean on 30th September. At that time Messrs Fulcher and Muller were on the Ticonderoga, and they were kept on the U 152 for forty-five days till all the U boats wore recalled to Kiel Then, in surrender week, the two U.S. officers were brought to England to be set free by the very boat that torpedoed them.

1 Ono of the Hun destroyers sent over ! the North Sea to surrender in the | Firth of Forth struck a mine and sank. 1 Most of the crew were saved, DISCIPLINE GONE MAD. One submarine Idn die way lv ©r broke down, but at last sue was towed disabled into an East Coast port. In ono of the boats which surrendered were two members of the crew who made every effort t 0 avoid the return to Germany. They had been ordered to embark on a transport proceding in the evening, but meanwhile had hidden in the mfctoKlaunch conveying them out to sea. They were discovered in time, 'and at the point of a revolver were persuaded to go on board the transport. Stern measures had to be taken with one German officer who refused to sign the guarantee of surrender conditions of his craft. The return transport was delayed several hours owing to the obstinacy 0 f this German officer.

Quite often on German vessels coming into British ports as part of the programme of the Teuton renunciation of world-quelling sca-power, there were dramatic scenes caused hy the fact that some members of the skeleton crew wore members of

the Soldiers’ Sailors’ and -Workers’ Council,, and were newly-declared enemies of Hohenzollernism. One British commander examining a surrendered Hun battleship went aft to the captain’s cabin and found Hun sailors smoking in the captain’s lobby, and oven in* his cabin, where they were lounging about on the sofa and sitting on the table. Many were wearing armlets (indicating that they acknowledged the Soldier’ and Workers’ Council). CAPTAIN WHO SOBBED.

The German captain rose punctiliously and said in excellent English: “You will need no explanation, sir, for my presence here. You see tow things are.” The British officer returned the salute, and said sternly in German: “You will please converse with me in your own language. And you will also order these men out of these

quarters.’ There were tears in tbe eyes of the German captain as he extended his arms pathetically. “ Order these men!” he exclaimed, “what would be the good?” “Very well,” -said the rifish officer and he swung to the disaffected Germans, “Look here, you men,” he thundered . out, “If I have any more of this insubordination I’ll put the lot of you in irons. Attention!”

Every man sprang stiffly to his feet. Cigars and cigarettes disappeared; talking ceased. "Fall in, there!” ordered the British commander. "And you,’ he pointed to a German petty officer, "you take these men away; and clear the lobby, too. .Sec that they behave themselves or 111 know the reason why. That’ll do.' Carry on!”

The petty officer stiffened, saluted, and rapped out a word of command. The cabin was empty. The German captain’s head was on the table. He was sobbing. "Now,” said, the English commander, "when you have quite finished, I will give you your orders.” SCHEDULING THE REMNANTS It is understood that some more or less unserviceable U boats remain in German ports. It is one of the missions of our admirals now in German, waters to take stock of these, as Avell as of the remnants of the German surface navy.

Germans are stating that we shall find thirty or forty fewer declassed U boats in their harbours than we have expected. They say that thles thirty or forty have been lost or sunk by our anti-submarine devices without being reported to our Admiralty. If that be so, then we have despatched something like 200 IT boats since the war began, whereas our Navy authorties have up till now recorded) only 150 or .160.

It is very interesting to learn from some of the German sailors that on some of the Gorman ships there was an impression that our ISTavy was in something like the same state as their own —honeycombed with mutiny and Bolshevism.