NAVAL WARFARE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21538, 9 January 1932, Page 4

NAVAL WARFARE

THE GERMAN SIDE OF THE .CONFLICT "The Log of a U-Boat Commander, or UBoats Westward, 19U-1£|18." By Ernst Hashagen, Commander, late Imperial German Navy. Illustrated, with Maps. London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons (10s 6d net). " Two Lone Ships: Gocben and Breslau.' By Georg Kopp. Translated by Arthur Chambers. Illustrated, with Maps. London: Hutchinson (10s Cd net). It cannot he said that the book which has as its subject the Great War in one or another of its many aspects commands quite the same interest to-day as it did some years ago. War books are becoming almost as numerous as Edgar Wallace “thrillers.” Nevertheless, like each work of that prolific writer, a volume such as “ The Log of a U-Boat Commander" contains something different, so that while the adventures of German submarines and the experiences of their crews may be by no means new to us,_ there is yet enough new and informative matter ' to hold the interest and fire the imagination. . Commander Hashagen tells of his wanderings in the Channel and the North and Irish Seas in command of a German U-boat. One of his most spectacular actions, and one which had a strange sequel, was the sinking by torpedo and gun fire of the British decoy ship Q. 12. The “ master ” of the vessel was taken aboard the submarine, and for 19 days cruised with the Germans and saw them as they really were. Twelve years later Commander Lewis stumbled across his captor’s name in a book by the American Lowell Thomas. He communicated with Commander Hashagen, with the result that his former enemy appeared with him on the same platform at a League of Nations meeting in Reading. Commander Lewis spoke on the Q-boat aspect of the war, while Hashagen gave some of his ■ experiences as a submarine commander. The life of the crew of a U-boat, as revealed by the author of this book, was an unenviable one. Confined in a steel shell with little or no chance of escape if the boat were sunk, “no ‘.coolies, but brave, and willing,: Germans to a man, they saw nothing, trusted blindly, and carried on quietly when bombs and depth charges fell round their steel walls. Such were the men who served their Fatherland during the great struggle. Regarding the English side of the question, the Q-ships and their war against the submarine, we quote Commander Hashagen:

Even supposing that one admits the very existence of the decoy ships as a fair warlike stratagem, then surely their crews must, from the moment at which the White Ensign is hoisted, conduct themselves ae man-o’-wars men. In the Baralong this was not the case. After sinking the U-boats the Englishmen fired at defenceless seamen swimming in the sea. This statement naturally raises a doubt in the mind of the Briton, but attempts either to verify or disprove it were unsuccessful. In his “Raiders of the Deep” Mr Lowell Thomas remarks: One of ' the Q-ships, the Baralong, became the centre of an ugly controversy. The Germans complained that some of the decoy vessels, _ upon sinking submarines, killed survivors struggling in the water._ The Baralong was cited os a specific case and was made the object of international complaint. It is to be; apprehended that _ Commander Hashagen’s accusation, coming at a time when statesmen are endeavouring to further world peace and forget _as much as possible the recent conflict with Germany can hardly have a pacifying effect. The illustrations in this book are particularly fine photographs taken aboard the various submarines commanded by the author and are of more than usual interest. G. W.

Goeben and Breslau “ Two Lone Ships ” also gives us a picture of the other side in naval warfare during the great war. The author of this book was on board the Goeben —the fastest ship in the Mediterranean —when in August, 1914, she and the Breslau made their thrilling escape from the Allied fleets and successfully dashed to Constantinople through the Dardanelles. The account of the latter part of this escape is not very clear, though the author’s style is sufficienty dramatic. At the Narrows, it appears, the Turkish authorities first refused the vessel permission to enter the straits, _ and then, when the smoke of a British pursuit squadron appeared on the horizon, granted a safe passage. The writer continues: — But supposing the English squadron were also given permission to enter? •Or ■ supposing the English decided—as in the last extremity the Goeben and Breslau would have decided—upon a forcible entrance? Time dragged on in feverish tension. When _ the British admiral requested permission to enter, it was refused. He did not dispute this..- Had the British attempted to fight their way through they would certainly have succeeded. The coast defences could hardly have offered successful resistance to the squadron. After gaining the Black Sea the fugitives became attached to the Turkish navy, though retaining their German crews, and performed valuable work in harassing the Russian fleet in these waters. Such daring did they display that the Goeben earned the respectful title “ Devil Ship.” Battered and maimed as a result of many unequal contests, she survived the war, and is still attached to the Turkish navy. Georg Kopp, as has been stated, is a lively narrator, and there is plenty of action in his description of the fast hit-and-run warfare in which the two lone ships took part. During the greater part of the time he was in the wireless room, and he is thus enabled to speak with knowledge of all that passed—for the isolation of the Goeben and Breslau made the wireless rooms essentially the nerve-centres of the vessels. The book is illustrated with sixty photographs, some of them of unusual interest, and several maps: G. W.