'Hit abaft the second funnel,' I shouted down to the control room." Then a frightful explosion followed, and we were all thrown against one another by the concussion, and then, like Vulcan, huge and majestic, a column of water two hundred metres high and fifty metres broad, terrible in its beauty and power, shot up to the heavens." "I saw that the bubble-track of the torpedo had been discovered on the bridge of the steamer, as frightened arms pointed towards the water and the captain put his hands in front of his eyes and waited resignedly. I could follow its course exactly by the light streak of bubbles which was left in its wake." "The death-bringing shot was a true one, and the torpedo ran towards the doomed ship at high speed. " A slight tremor went through the boat - the torpedo had gone." 'Stand by for firing a torpedo!' I called down to the control room.' 'War is war, and every horse the fewer on the Western front is a reduction of England's fighting power.' I must acknowledge, however, that the thought of what must come was a most unpleasant one, and I will describe what happened as briefly as possible." 'But it cannot be helped,' I went on thinking. 'Oh heavens, horses! What a pity, those lovely beasts!' I saw the crew cleaning the deck forward, and I saw, with surprise and a slight shudder, long rows of wooden partitions right along all decks, from which gleamed the shining black and brown backs of horses." I saw the captain walking on his bridge, a small whistle in his mouth. "The steamer appeared to be close to us and looked colossal. Here he describes the attack on a cargo vessel in April 1916. von Spiegel commanded a German U-boat during the First World War. "I saw that the bubble-track of the torpedo had been discovered."Īdolf K.G.E. Ship losses dropped dramatically and the supply route from America to Britain The introduction of the escorted convoy helped saved the day. Over 1,030 merchant ships had been sunk and Britain was only six weeks awayįrom starvation. By April, when America declared war, Britain was almost on its knees. Reasoned they could starve the Brits out first. The Germans knew it would bring America into the war. Neutral ships (such as those of the U.S.) would be sunk on sight. Their policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. In February 1917, with U-boats available in quantity, the Germans again declared Afraid that America might join the war, and mindful that they didn't have enough subs to do the job right, the Germans suspended their campaign - but only temporarily. President Wilson protested to the Germans. American public opinion was outraged, many clamoring for war. One hundred thirty-eight Americans were among the 1,198 lives lost in the Lusitania sinking. Fifty ships were hit between February and September including the liner Lusitania. They declared a war zone around the British Isles within which they would sink any allied merchant vessel on sight. The Germans realized they didn't have to capture a merchant ship, just sink it - crew and all. In February 1915 the German government announced its solution to the problem - unrestricted submarine warfare. Therefore, the submarine was considered a useless Additionally, the submarine could never carryĬrews to man captured ships. Submarines, filled with exposed piping and crammed with machinery, had Naval opinion considered the submarine an ineffective weapon for blockading anĬountry.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |