"BLATANT LIES"

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 97, 24 April 1940, Page 9

"BLATANT LIES"

GERMAN LEADERS

RIVER PLATE BATTLE

COLLAPSE OF MORALE

That the scuttling of the Graf Spec outside Montevideo was the result of a coliapse in the morale of the German crew was the opinion expressed by Captain W. E. Parry, of H.M.S. Achilles, speaking at the dinner given by the Royal Society .of St. George, last night. That collapse of morale, he said, was the effect of all the blatant lies which the Germans were telling everybody, including their own people.

r Captain Parry said that they had spent many hours working out the probable German strategy, and it was iquite obvious, in studying German history, and the ships they were building, that they were going to attack our trade, which was the life-blood of the Empire. ■

"We knew,", he said, "there would be two kinds of attack upon our trade —one by submarines, and one by surface ships. As we all.know, the submarine attack started right away with the sinking of the Athenia, and we saw at once that the Germans were going to disregard air international law that safeguards the lives of merchant sailors, and they were going all out to terrorise them. I think we could have told them that that would not work.

"We had also expected an attack by surface raiders, and were rather surprised because nothing of the sort happened in the first month of the war. :Then the Germans decided that they would send- out one of the pocketbattleships which they had obviously built and designed for the purpose of commerce raiding." / "WISHED WE HADN'T." Captain Parry related how the British squadron had been informed of the movements of the pocket-battle-ship by means of radio signals from ships which were being attacked, and the commodore of the squadron was faced with the problem of what to do. The Graf Spec at that time had been for some, time at sea, and: her most likely course was to make for home; The commodore decided that they must be prepared for an attack on the trade going to the River Plate. They first recognised the! Graf Spec as a warship, and then as they came nearer they saw she was a pocket-battleship. The words of one of the crew expressed their thoughts—"6.l4: We sighted the Graf Spec—five minutes later, we wished we hadn't."

"The result of that action, I think, is fairly well known," said Captain Parry, "but why did the.Graf Spec retire before a weaker force? There are jmany possible, reasons. The captain ihimself said that he had to repair damage to the ship suffered in the action, and he also said he had heard stories that other battleships were in the'offing. But. frpm-the stories we. heard from the British' prisoners on the Graf Spec I can't help feeling that the explanation is a. different one." The ? captain of the GfafrSpee had" definitely? ") told the ship's1' company \ha\. they .could run away "from .the larger ships and easily defeat .the smaller ships. Both these statements were untrue. He said there would be "no Coronel and Falkland Islands."

"There is no doubt in my mind," said Captain Parry, "that when the crew of the Graf Spec found themselves facing smaller cruisers!, unable to run away from them, and being severely hit, their morale became seriously affected. I have no official intelligence as to whether or not the morale of these Germans went, but I can't help thinking that is the only possible effect of all these blatant lies the Germans are telling everybody, including their own people." . The result of the battle, said Captain Parry, was that the Germans had tried no more surface raiders. Instead, they had invaded a country over the waters of which they had not got full control. He had no doubt as to what would be the outcome, but it might take time. ■ Captain Parry was replying to the toast of "The British Navy and Mercantile Marine," proposed by Mr.. J. S. Barton, C.M.G. Sir Charles Norwood replied on behalf of the Navy League.