BOATS IN THE ICE

Evening Star, Issue 16625, 7 January 1918, Page 8

BOATS IN THE ICE

DANISH EXPLORER'S STORY. Something went wrong in the early days of Germany's submarine campaign—that is certain (writes Mr Archibald Hurd in the ' Fortnightly Review'). What it was the Germans have not, of course, revealed, though probably the explanation is very generally known throughout the Empire. We may find, possibly, a clue to the mystery in a letter which appeared in the ' Bystander' of 12th April from its Copenhagen correspondent, quoting Knud Rasrmresen, the Danish explorer, in reference to the imprisonment of 30 German submarines in the sound. The explorer stated that the boats were trapped in the narrow part of the sound, just above Helsmborg, two days after the new <rubmai;ine campaign began. They were all making north for the same Baltic base, .evidently oil their way to the " war zone," when, the east wind blew the loose ice together, and it was freezing hard—" 12deg Celsius at least." Soon all the submarines were in a solid pack. They were moving with only .their periscopes up. Some of them smelt danger in time, and managed to rise. 31iese got wedged in with their docks showing. Others were caught under the ice, only their periscopes showing." Rasmussen continued : " I myself walked across the ice to them, and my mate even tried to look down aperiscope. Then the "toe-slip (that is, loose ice), which always drifts under "£he pack, snapped the periscope tubes. The submarines perished miserably. Some, after,, three days' imprisonment, tried to get away under the ice. I know that seven were smashed in and all on board drowned."

The explorer added that he had told Prince Harold of Denmark about the occurence. Whether that is or is not the complete explanation of the miscarriage of German hopes, we- shall probably not know until after the war ; but at any Tate some detail in the enemy's carefully-elabo-rated preparations, extending over a period of many months, went wroni, with, the result that not only were German hopes not realised, but they were shattered.