THE GREAT SURRENDER

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 12, 14 January 1919, Page 7

THE GREAT SURRENDER

GERWAN FLEETS LAST VOYAGE. OTJT OF THE MIST. AN OBSERVER'S STORY. ON" BUATID H.M>. QUEEN KI.IZAI-.FTII. THF. HfN- WISH. TORONTO. November £>~ V<xir : '.ini-' '■' a sppcwl <':ibli' from Jam**. Tuohy. in London. Adniim.l ■M 4U rw, ,l n ° c\>mmandiHl the surrender ing <;.tt:i.. ii rivet, said to Admiral Beatt y -\ou ;!n.ler*tanJ w- are drrven to thi.-. Tti-re !r , n» child-life ler; in U.-r----many. Al'. ■u-c ilyinc of hunirer. We ask You tf> ar.-ej-.t ih.- lull crews instrarl of only hill the personnel. We rann.>t feed them and we dre.id more trouble. Admiral Beatt\ refu-ed thi« request, whereupon the 'Jerman eomnrander it ■>- dared a document for Admiral Healty t<i picn. stipulating th.r the ilertnan crPW> wnuld n it he -.11 tri-at-'d. -Tell rhem they arc i-vtmin? tn F.nr lan' J .: th.it will l.c enough." Sir IJavid reph ,, ,;. Tearing nr - > t , ' , .1 »rument. Noveminr 21. Thf <un w.-nt .!>■«;•. yesterday "n the nm.-t wonderful da\ ir .ill U" , ! n_' lntori of the war at tea. A ureal navy, rm,-<> prnud in it- y,.un_- strength and him imp. rial mi-- or.. £A\r in the in rnuuinto an ijrn 'mini. Uf r.iptivity more than thr.e siMire of lit- biuge-t and In-st ships. The finest i.-r-fl- vi tue German fleet. at a heavj i-u«t < ' t.i\e- and debt, alike the -ym'nol ..( the ep..-.nr of rer. :er. i them«-'l»es a- :n«-ta.-.> to mc Allies. \- 1 write the rapt:vp ship- le but .i few mile.- j»a\ in Hritn-h waiert-. list l.o:;nd ti rr.i.-i rv ami ,m. It is the tniijn - rail.in.-c , ; a :vr-\ winch I'--t it- -oui I -*-.it-■:■•■: the -rene fr-m) m» tiaa-hip o\ tne Bnti.-h on".man<ter-in-<'hirf. Never ha- a paseant -•- majestically demonstrated the ir.ic'ul uf r.ritain'- navy. ■wh.H- iirr dominion.-. Awtral>a. ibnadJ, Pomh Afn .i an; New ZeiUani. had a pLa.-e in the s;>e-tn.lf. American and

Fronoh warships were there, but above al! it ais the day of the British Navy's supreme for its unceasing \iffi!anvT a.n«i nnrelentmc n M.-ci-— pre-*urc on the \ilaij- •>! lirnnin. For trie last two or thrw day* the 'iraiid Heft lias breathed a qun'kenins and ele.ctr.fied air. Sinw the ni£:ii ■ f the armvstice. when fia? s;ir.j itnl danovd on the iorecastl- , ile-'k with seamen and marines, •very chip atta-hed to the fleet, from tiie flagship to the fu-e-iest motor launeii. *ia.- been full of joyousnees. restraini'd in exprei-ion. but real, i •■., the Vueen Klizabeth antkipa.ticin of the surrender day- ha> in-rrej_s,Nl almost hour by hour a- m&saji's hashed hundreds of m.lni through the air to .ml from the German Jiiph sea command-j-r-. C-omins from the Koenigsberj:. thr historic mertinu b»'----t-we*n Ailmirals IWatty and Maur.r was Voani. In the mountain that evenine th" ditty y. an. , .jf!a-"r- rrcon.nrnrtf J th.' seem , mi x:>» for mc wita .-i inn: ty. t-hu ' \:'ertafiun r>f the unbelievable dimax drove all other thoughte from my mind. pa.-sl'd from mouth ;•' m iuth and the. of .■,i. , ''rr,f ! -« .ti;* , ever, morn but it wa- rtill a omtrullrd emotion. Naval vr.cn pr"ten,l to hi> aun«m<>t.ional ie!]\ t-h. I if r-onrpp. WARNKU i!i VY -T \TV. OF WAR EXISTS. Karly in i.ne aftcmonn tan noticc-i>«-e po-ted. the words .•: which Uesprve to be put on rfcortl. < Ine follow.-: ■ !.«t it be impressed on all officers and mm that a state of war .-\i-t.« during t ii> armtsticf. Their relations v. ith orriiTrs and men of the Clerman navy, with »hora they may now be broujrht in contact, arc to be etrirtly of a formnl riwra.'tpr. In dealing with tb<» lat•■ne.my. »ii In courteous, the methods by which they wased war must not he ■'orpitten. No inu;rna.t)ioiu.l i-ompli-ments are to be paid, and all conversation ls forbrdd-eji except lq to the i.T,n>ediate business to hx> transacted. "If it should -be neceseart- to provide food f r the (German and men. they should not be entertained, but it fhoul! iic pnrvpd to them in ;i f>la< , »'

r[XH.ial!y ajurt. If ;t should NJi<"<*f>giapp t<l accept food from the G,rtff request > to m.id- for it to by ■•"imila.rly K^rved.' , The injunctions against anything that appear to i*e f with xh- pm>ray are in keepinc with the attitude of mind of both "l:i'ir- .in: men toward tne German-. I rxj' r v-H.ina.rj' rrcumstancps, nuboily i- moro macnaniruou= to h U-aten 100 than tne British n.-iva! ofTicer >;r seaman, but I b/av not met in these three ilays ■i "inele mj.r>. whether in hirh position '■" th. humblest r.ink. who ha- the lejst .ompassion. The pre-ent fiiemy and hi.- fV-et am r-ti!l Huns. \! thriun-h mo-t navul men a'lm:t tie '""rnan «iir/aei" craft in the mirly rtay.. o! thp war generally obsf<rvp<l tne iau r ii' humAnrtv it i? to be remember*"**! "mat German offr<-cr> save! from German s'Mpj gunk .it liisht in Ausust, ' ; 'I4, hm; in the fao?? of their r".-.-urr-. Kven if that, and mtren i !-e Ao:ild V*> fursrottiT there remains Vir ■ r.pvjtahl. Jroni intercour-e Titii thr ii»rman who sailed under the Pnt. ::.!- of the im;>eri»-U 'iernian na\y. KEADV KOIt ACTION. A -fund notice was issued, bearing M.tiaturv of < rt-offry IlLike, com. mander nf ih>- yi>een The notice out the time-table and routine °f sailing, and iiere ram? the aignifica-ut reminder ''Immediate rpadine=s for action is to be assumed." Infinite metruotiona witp reP'riJinr the of training turrets an 'i (funs. "It in hoped." the notice eaid. "that arranf-einent,. U uiy b<. , ma<k- to allow aii t v ~.p lat ' c.f.rjoa.u shipe." KniniJy dime tie remarkable Eote e\er p,,-ted, certainly on thk ship, •""J probably on any ship:" Tfle tattle fleet will meet thr German flwt." it wa* jreneraltv known that under the termb o; the arinirtut thr. G-erman s bips w *e UL.Lrnted and manned oniy by naT i?atinc rrewr, but the navy d«l not in taking <-har«c«-s. Trwu-bery w as not. expectwi. but all was ready to ''Inw the 'inrman ship* out of tbc water snouid any tri -k be attempted. On tne r>r<-cen in- night the Grand lay at it* moorincs'in the Firth of /■° rth AxSob,- the bridge were the riestroyrs and srabmarines--1 among them was the Frp.neh »nnrinr«i <-~mw T Admiral Aube., ftying Ue fia- of Gvaeeet, schicJj,

Vith the two destroyers, represented the I French navy in ihe final art of the great drama. a. prominent place was taken by the ships, of a partner nation in t-he strugsrlc_ the New York, flagship of. Admiral R<ximan. with Admiral Sims and hi.s staff on board, and the Florida. Wyoming and Arkansas, CX>LONIES HF.rivESEKTED. Panada was above the bridge with the firpt battle squadron, and Australia and i New Zealand were below with the second hat tie-cruiser squadron. Throughout the the flagship wils in touch by wireiless with the Ccrnan fleet, noting its IproCTTess to the place of rornlezvous. At jj o'clock in thr mnrninp: the fleet v.a= 'reported seventy miles from the spot. •The Crerman emoy- wtio ramr from the iKoenijrFhen: -tateil that their fleet would i>e unable to .-t,-am more th.in twelve knotf an hour, ana th.it would be speed jenoujrh for pumutuality. ! A few minute.- before 4 o"elork the iuttle squadron. \M hy the R»'ven<je the llagshifj of \ i't?-.\diuiral Madden, tx'sran to move. The icig had lifted after five ri*_\c- arri the lower air was Hear. ( loud> hid the nv>nn .in.l stars and mnde the nisrht dark. Silently in the darkness .-hip followed ship down to the open sea. an ominnus and awe-inspiring proceesi'-'n. the blark shapes of each indistinctly ajrainft .i sky canopied by a snv.idffi , of smoke. Tlie yueen Elizabeth took her p'aiv at thy rear end of the line. At daybreak the ijrand Meet was at sea. and in the jrrey mornins mi-t the i»quadniii« took tti.'ir positions in two column? e,i..'h in a nin™!e hue. IWITION OK HONOrU. )>t.v,-en tiie lines were several CTUi-er.->. ineludine the Hrancti. Boaduea. Fearle**Kaijr Llrry and lUenheim. to n:'t as reptirtinß shij*-. In ihis order the i Irani Fleet ap|iriKii-hed the rendervoua, "\ [-...-ition Uit. .">o decrees 11 M. l."nc. 1 de»rtv ill VV." An-urdinj to the procramme. the cruiser squadron »i-> ,:n,. neet the Herman fleet at ten miiiiit.- after 9 n'doi-k. but the poi-itiun iii the irrejtest honour was t,> be lilW-d by iMr * ardiff. of the >ixth cruiser squii'i ron. for she was "X'< direct tho mnteme<nt o: the lietinan main font an i order them to proewd it possible at .i of j twelve kni'ta." ! Mh.hi s oMo.-l5 the <un sl.one dimly J through a rift in the -Lite srey clouJr*. | Mere and there ill the sk\. the grey melted into lurrit bha-ies >i blue and brnk re.l. *>ut a hw --till hunp over the j water and confined tin , vieion to tive or j >.\ iiale-. away to th-e I eolith, we knew there were >hij>s. Uit in i 1 U. ... ~ t !«.,.>♦ tWtm*n !

a line which meauured at least fifteen - obviouMy tht-re wore ships which were nut to b< , seen. Now and ttxTi in the distance one could pick out dimly the outline of a battleship, but to identify | :t »i- another matt. r. >o th.- two lin--i mo>t-d toward the unrominp enemy. j Half p;v.-t eisrht f.inif ami with it a [report thit t >c i>-man fleet had been nig-hted by oar d<~«troyer«. An hour ] [ passed and th* , n=nn£ sun to tinjie ' the sky with sold. >>n¥cntlv. tnree. | j four or iiv.' miles away on the fitar- ! board beam, then- caJiie into view & saLL-n.'v IxiUoon towed by the Cardiff. , F:r«t there was a mere faint speck of s 'grey mi*l, with a flight fmoke trail j j stretrh:n<r out below it. Then behind j , the Cardiff there from the murk the first of the (iermin shipe. At thrre s miles they appeared to be little | ni'irc * hum pluwlv mo\ uiir i-iirioucttos r ■•oinins abrej.it. The British tleet ; j turned by squadrons sixteen points out : •ward. bark on its own track j and retaminc positions on both 6id«* ! ] ,of the i.i'rmins to e-K'ort them to the anchoricr* , . The order of the I in the northern and twuthtrn lines u'-i..-? ' | thu« reversed. ■ I between the rnni" the Cerman«, led by the Cardiff ai>! looking like a | pffaoril o: leviathan-; l--d by a minnow. jOver them (lew a Krithsh airship. First' '-am<* tht ba tr '.e-i-r - .; i->'r>. hea-ieil by the a tsbip -vihich carries the .-T»rs '"i the Rink battle of January, 1913. TTw .Moltkc and Hind-nbur ? fo'l- . 'lowed and then the which c also was badly battered in the l>o£jrfr . ! Kank enpigemTit, and finally the \on i IW Tann. whiph. aworrling "to thr 7 ports, rufferi-d heavily in th<- naval air raid at f'uihaven. Nine battleships followed at intervals .J of three cuible letiirthti. Five r.h:j« <i! ] ihe Kaiser <-U_-s <-aroe fir«t. then the , Bayprn. and tb<'n of the Koonigs- _. clat.-i, whos«> names tiie jrla«>es ' could not di«vrn. A mil P and a UaL c lern %va.s ttic Kin; (Try. and at the same , interval tiie I'haetfm of the British first c crui-sers. The Castor, flying the pennant of ("onimfviore Tweedle, »immander of thr flotilla.*, had fifty- German de-troy .'-urrounde-i by nearly 150 t British. pj rNIQt'E IX WORLD'S HISTORY.

i This bald description of the plan of the operation will not conrey t,i the 1 mind any conception of the scene, but it 'meet be placed on permanent rvcord, for • ;t indicates the disposition of hostile 1 rjch as never had been seen before and ' will in all likelihood never be seen isiin. ' The operation* wore perfect, bojh vi ■ orgunUation and execution, l-'roni a purely puiiit of view, the ' pageant was rohhed of come of it,- . br th« low mist which blurred. 1 all our limas and refused to y:eld to tne I cold brilliance of the sunshine. !>ut the " -iinificj.no- of th. nn-etin;; and the pm- ■' i'p<Mun was w-iTo important than its ■ appearance. ' , Men in uniform, watohing; the (lermaji •' t*!nps come into view, vied one with ■ another in identifying them one by one, 1 :><"imetimen with the aid of books and, i isilliouetu , -. But underneath the mamen- , tary excitement 'if determininp; whether i tins or th.it sh.p was the ■llirrdenbur;; or ' the Derfflinjjer. thc.-e wae <U--\> satns- • .faction that the ted.ou* of tne - navy Mad hcPli ftlltil!e<l. There wfrr om: ' it two littlf evidence* of this which did . :M->t escape notice. K'T example, there wa.- a curtain tonality m the hoisting at t tne peak of the Klizabeth oi the ' erisUm llown by the Lion in the Jutland Battle. Part, tl the Union Jack had been phot aaav. If thp Germajis wiio ? . could be -cell on the deckd of their ships troubled to scan the tlajr. it must have |arou.»ed bitter thonfrhta in their nunds. ! the jiiettiiable pleasure of the 'tWt in work well done was shown un- ~ mUtakably by cheers from tin? ships in ' the northern line as they passed the stations beyond the yueen Elizabeth on 1 their way to the hartxiur. PYom a ' dozen ships, as they came abreast of the tlairship had hoisted the blue pene imnt, übere came four full-throated '' J given ;n tribute, not <>oly to ' Admjral lienttv personally, but the majestic, living force whose destiny lie control.-. s Destkoteks separate fi/jtw.uv. ■' j The other heavy ships of the Grand t Fleet iiad. left Uie fliijrsiiip -well behind • v. lien thp 'Jenrtan and British destroyers > came out of the mi.«t. In ordered array r flotilla after flotUla moved across the eea. The Germans were completery eni eased by the Britißh. So vast was the f area they coy*red that both the head c stkl the rear of the cohnnrr? stretfied . avay into the bfiw and were lost to i sight. The eyf couJd not comrt than. ' Tbor were a trernsiuiDfiS , aniittda.

All this time tho grnat fleet, guarded by the fleet, vrhich encircled it, Teas moving slowly at an almost funereal procession, certainly not the twelve knote stipnlnted by Admiral Maxirer. .towards the anchorage appointed for tbe (iermans off May Inland, a rock island .which stands iv the middle of the Firth of Forth, and some miles to the eastward of the bridge. PrweDtlv a< the • iermsn ships came to rv.-t. it was snen jthat on every side of 1 hem were thnr British ward- : . Then the main body of jthc (Jrnnd Fleet made ita way bark to. |the stations iron! which it bad started early in the morning. As the < ( >iieen il-ll izabeth steamed nlnns the lint* she was dveerwl a~ain nnd apa:n by the mmi !who crowded the deck* ..f the"-Inn- she leads. '

I The ,lay came to a pw-nlisrlv f'.ttins .rlose. About ~n hour lH*for P noon the konuuander. in runtVren:* uddretspd the I-Mlowuifj sierra.] to tli.- (1,.,. t It «a^ PH'rivmi beyond doubt by tbt- Onnans: "The i Iprmaii t!a<j will u> hauled down at >..., to-day. It will not be lioiated ucain without permis-iion." •The Herman ship- w,, rp tivirur the |(.prnian naval tlajr at the maintop \t j4 0.-io,k all hand, oa the Queen Fliza jM,h ij piped aft. They had as«. k u W,,n ' waitin S, for a nv\t minute cheers for iw ! ~ . .", '" ,or the e-nramnnder-inehief w,. r « called for and g,v Pn With a deafening heartinew Admiral IVatty acknouledped the tn iw'^d^/th.r ,^,?' ' funic out." ' l naM ' '"