HELIGOLAND FORTRESS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16925, 10 August 1918, Page 2 (Supplement)

HELIGOLAND FORTRESS.

HORRIBLE CONDITIONS.

DESERTERS STRANGE STORY.

' • An .officer of the German Naval Service, t' who deserted and who is now in Holland, • '-f gives a vivid account of the horrible con- £. ditions prevailing on the island fortress I ; of Heligoland. "It has often been said," 1 he states, "that this island commands the I' "approaches to our coast. That is not true. Heligoland only commands a sea area that lays within the reach of the land guns on the island. And there is a .considerable expanse of water that intervenes between Heligoland and our forti--1 fled island, Wangerooc, that lies about six miles to the mainland, commanded by our Minsen fortifications. And as every naval man knows that it is impossible to hit a moving object beyond 15 or 16 miles, there remains an expanse of water between tho Heligoland and Wangerooc fortifications wjiich is at least eight miles wide, through which waterway an onemy vessel can navigate and enter the Jade sea. But I would not adviso our enemies to make such an. attempt, because the sea area between Heligoland and Wangerooe, that extends beyond tho ranges of the land guns, is thoroughly mined and a passago is impossible. The laud force on tho island itself is omposed of between 8000 or 10.000 men. ji'here are enough provisions and munitions on the island t5 withstand a naval siege for eighteen months, should it become impossible to send even a loaf of bread or a bullet. It has been suggested that a few tons of high explosives dropped by a fleet of enemy; aeroplanes would wipe the island from the face of the sea. The people who make these suggestions do not know the defences of the place. ..Those who are in "command of our" enemies' naval forces , know 'the impossibilities confronting such . a venture. :■ / . Is Like Gigantic Hotel. Imagine a body of men, from 8000 to } , 10,000 stationed on the/little island which ' is hardly one mile long and one-third •f' . mile at its widest. Would I be accused ■. of bordering on the fantastic if I said that the whole island is like a gigantio hotel, storey after storey'of when has been .•: built towards the bowels of the earth? Every inch of the surface of the island '■<.■- has been coated with concrete fiat is

' from 15 ; to 32 feet thick. My fellow officers were in the habit of joking about it by remarking that the only fear they '■- v"had was that some day the island would W sink,through its immense weight. And I /•;;, still'modestly claim that our naval base ' at Heligoland cannot be taken by any . 'collection': of - enemy 'naval forces. l ■ ' But there is one tragic- drawback to our 11 invincible island. ■ There is one enemy ■ which is slowly but resolutely eating into /. -■: the '.-': very i core %of our .' mighty $ race. ■«.-•" Disease ! " That is our mightiest enemy * v which is undermining our ( otherwise invin-i■;-scible ■ stronghold- <Diseases,'of the most % I malignant and vicious] varieties; diseases ;:;,as the result of natural-; causes; diseases 1 1 for which : our ' foremost medical scientists

could not account and diseases to which , names have not ! so' far;; been ■. given, are ■■ .the". supreme, 1 unchallenged enemies which are to-day ruling the island. •- - Too Many, Men on Island.

-/; -I have never ''able to fathom.why / the high command has deemed it' neces- / sary to maintain such a large force on the . island. Fifteen hundred men could man- :}/■ the place "amply and another five hundred .could look after the harbours, but for maintainings a force, of .from, 8000 .to ; -.y 10,000 I ' can find' no/, explanation, and j I i/:. : have- not been able to find another brother • officer who; could explain their presence '■■' in the < face, of ; such v harrowing diseases ' ' and V pestilence ■:■■ that is ■ prevalent * now ■ at th a place.' In my Judgment there are :*•;'; from 6000 to 6000 men too' many on that ' little island. 5 1 '/, , ■<••■ '•> < \t. Besides this force of military, /there are' J - ; nearly; 590 • civilians, about ; half, of ," that ; number being the remainder of the original' inhabitants of the place.' .:■. >,\

.;"/;i Modern Form, of '-■ Disease. 'In the island there is a ,very peculiar ■' modern disease /to'/ which .'a-' recognised ' name has riot yet been given. - This disease " is popularly known as , the itching disease. . I,have had an' attack of this ? malignant pestilence, - but very lightly, but world no :''. a doubt "-j have ]; become % one ;of < its serious '•I';victims had it not been ]my good 'fortune ■;■)! -to be stationed in , the south-east harbour, •• which, ia comparatively immune ! ; to 'the ]i) rage ; . of the \ various and varying diseases ly that : rule supreme in the , island proper. Si' was in the comnany of two brother officers / when? I first felt the* attack. My first "';, scratch brought about a serious ' exchange ' ■; of dances : between my companions. They I, smiled? and one of i them • told -me that it was s a certain ;■ form •of disease that hail ' made its appearance in the island since th» lost year or\ so./ , They advised me to !at once go and be jexamined by the specialists at the hospital, : : :;.'. .<• -,~> . On entering the waiting room of the hos(?i;, pital I found a line of perhaps 200 officers waiting, and from the way they behaved ■ '/■- 1 judged that they were . all affected ;by "v •■; the '. same '■■ disease. ■ Many of ■ them were --' suffering such, a degree of; pain that , they were going through all kinds of gymnaav. tica. f And ;a , few of ; them were rubbing : > : their'affected parts ' against the ; wall, like an .unwashed vehicle horse. 1 '; : /-/ \ : H%t. '•In, the-" course; of treatment the patient •■ is ordered to ; hold his arms ; horizontally ■;- forming : the body into the shape., of a 'it,- cross. An attendant, with a brush in hand ;/- puts a coat'of some substance around your ». wrist about three inches wide. Over this ■,: . coating; on the patient's wrist a handcuff about two inches, and aJifllf is put. * .-■ ThesehandouHs are suspended from the '•;'" low ceiling with rope .from pulleys;. and ']» the * ends of ,'the' ropes are ; fastened to the ';' poles three : feet high,/which ? are in turn V•■: -fastened';/ to tie ■■: -.floor) one on : the right .[ and 1 the y other ; on , the left. . " Then '- the ; patients arms , are ,;'[■ hoisted until? the body feels as though it is being stretched. Then .the same attendi ant puts a coat of that ' abominable sub- , stance all over your : body, as though you were a 'dirty,' old statue and he;, was kal- :; somining yon ? for exhibition. "■'•- The , pain caused by this brushing is almost beyond ' - human endurance as it is beyond description, '- v- }'; ' 'ok' •'' Seasons for Deserting. •"" \J : I decided! would desert, and desert at the first favourable opportunity. That night I, laid my plans thoroughly. I ,-' would take ray crew for a, trial submarine •; surface cruise and ■ head straight to the • Batch coast, beach my vessel and make shore. :•. I knew that every member of the ■-;'.'crew"; would be happy to follow my example. • On the following day such an oppor- . tunity came within my grasp v ;A, flotilla of eight undersea boats were ordered for a 50-mile cruise! to the wost. Our naval patrol west of Heligoland had ! reported that during tho last two or three days English'mine-sweepers had been assuming a bolder attitude, and in some instances vessels •' whose displacement our patrols could not make out had como within 30 miles of Heligoland.' ''• :> V - Had Hit Submerged Mine. •I had made a surface cruise of only two ;'; hours' when I received a wireless from the "-; next vessel to my left, whose position was : about 20 miles north-west to me. informing me that he had /lit a submerged I turned and made for the locality at the ', highest speed j-1 could command, but on ; arriving at the. place found streaks of oil. . After t having, made my report, I started b ostensibly, If or Wilhelmshaven. But, in- ; stead,'l turned straight west and made for ;—on the Dutch coast. y { ■ .• * ; ■;;';., Besides my subordinates, .'two brother ; .• : officers and three civilian' inhabitants of , Heligoland, ; there ' were ;30. of the crew ;■-:' who were happy to join me ,in deserting , our vessel. r"Our. vessol was damaged be- > yond : ; repair, so now it lies somewhere : ;.;- along ; the Dutch coast. V Since raising my ■ ■ : voice against our .higher•-command's.- bar- < barism I have received many letters from ] ; '■: my countrymen ;in Holland, : who unload ; |: themselves of the ; most profound ;■ abuse i ;v that ;.' they ■' can"; put into. writing. 4'; My ! answer to; these-people. is::."lf you do i ] • not : like ' our ; deserting the; fatherland >go i £lnd serve it yourself; itiis-easj'.t.i become" < JjatrffltA fcom a v *.afe distanced '':■ v.:'. i]}