"A GLORIOUS SCRAP."

Wanganui Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15343, 4 October 1917, Page 8

"A GLORIOUS SCRAP."

| BOUT OF GERMAN SEA RAIDERS. HUNS' CATASTROPHIC FIVE i MINUTES. THRILLING STORY. It is questionable whether any event in the war has given more genuine satisfaction to Englishmen than the "smack in the eye' 1 administered to the cut-and-run German sea raiders somewhere about the Dover end of the English Channel during the small hours of April 21st last. These little excursions have never profited the Germans much, and as a rule, the damage they have contrived to do to the "fortified towns" they have (according to their c wn communiques) dropped shells :nto, would hardly exceed in value the price of the shells themselves. But what annoyed Englishmen vastly was .the /act that on several occasions the raiders «emingly got off scot free. On this last occasion, however, they were not so lucky. As usual, they fired at random in the direction of the land, and their objective in this case was apparently Dover a perfectly legitimate target, be it said, for Dover is, as we must all admit, a place of very considerable naval and military importance. It is also a fairly big target to miss entirely, even when firing more or less by guesswork on a dark night. But the Germans contrived to fire, it is said, over sixty shells, not one of which touched the town itself, nor did any material damage in its environs, whilst a score <r more of them were despatched on a work of supererogation, which was to plough up a field already ploughed, some two or three miles outside the town. How these two British ships engaged and defeated the six German sea raiders rather constitutes a thrilling story of the sea that is worthy of the pen of Captain Marryat, is told in official language below. The battle, though \t lasted only five minutes, was replete with all manner of excitement; indeed, the official story presents a picture of sea warfare that has never reen surpassed in fiction. Two British destroyers tackled six German destroyers. They went straight for them, rammed them right and left —"hammered them to a frazzle" as the Yankees might say—one of them locked in tight embrace with its German victim—fought them with guns, rjfles, pistols and bayonets, sent two, and m all probability a third, to the bottom, and drove the others limping back to therr lair. A TALE WORTH TELLING. The ensuing official story of 'he Dover patrol's brilliant and thrilling fight is compiled from accounts of officers and men concerned. It may be remarked that the Admiralty's tale does not tally with the Berlin story of the fight. Berlin admits the loss of two <.hips, but magnifies our two destroyers into quite •i big flotilla, which suffered even worse than our Admiralty claims Ihe German squadrons did. One of our tlestroyers was "clearly observed to nuk stern first" by the crews of the German flotilla" ; another was hit amidships by a torpedo which caused such a severe explosion that "it is highly that this vessel sank" ; whilst a thud was "badly holed in the port bow, her bridees shot to pieces, and she was on fire astern." The Germans also claim to have damaged two other British boats bv gun fire, and dismiss our official reports of our casualties contemptuously. THE ENEMY SIGHTED. The British destroyer leaders Swift and Broke, on night patrol in the Channel, on April 20, were proceeding on a westerly course when at 12.44) a.m. the Swift .sighted an enemy flotilla on the port bow, proceeding in the opposite direction at high speed. The night, though calm, was intensely dark, and when first sighted the enemy was within 600 yards' range. Simultaneously the fire-gongs on board the German destroyers were heard to ripple down the line, and in a blaze of flashes they opened fire. The Swift instantly replied, and fee commanding officer, Commdr. Ambrose M. Peck, decided without hesitation to ram the leading enemy destroyer. At his first order the wheel was wrenched round, and the Swift, with every occupant of her bridge temporarily blinded by flashes, drove straight for the enemy. Now, it must be realised that the operation of ramming one of a line of destroyers dashing through pitch darkness at between 20 and 30 knots is an exceedingly delicate one. An initial miscalculation of a few degrees of helm, a few revolutions of the propellers more or less, spell failure. Failure may, and probably does, mean being rammed by the next boat in the enemy line. LIKE A HAWK. The Swift missed, but shot through the line unscathed. She turned like a hawk upon a quarry, and, in turning, neatly torpedoed another boat in the line. Again she dashed at the leading boat, which once more eluded her, and, without firing another shot, made off into the darkness at full speed, with the Swift in pursuit. On first sighting • the enemy, the Broke, commanded by Commander Edward JA. G. K. Evans, C.8., was steaming astern cf the Swift. Upon the latter altering course to ram the leader, the Broke launched a torpedo at the second boat in the line which hit her, and then opened fire with every gun that would bear. _ .

The six enemy boa-ta, stoteA-ng f-uxio-as-ly for full speed, emitted a dull glow from every funnel, which lit their upper works and enabled the captain of the Broke to decide on his tactics. Holding his course for a moment to gather speed for the blow, he swung round to port and rammed the third boat at full speed fair and square abreast the after funnel. Locked together thus the two boats fought a desperate and literally hand-to-hand conflict. The Broke swept the enemy's decks at point-blank range with every gun from main armament to pompom, maxim, rifle, and pistols. . . In the meanwhile the remaining two destroyers in the German line poured a devastating fire upon the Broke. The foremost guns' crews were reduced from eighteen men to six, and Midshipman Donald A. Gyles, R.N.R., in charge of the forecastle, though wounded in the eye, kept all foremost guns in action, himself assisting the depleted orews to load. , While he was thus employed a number of frenzied Germans swarmed up over the Broke's forecastle out of the rammed destroyer, and, finding themselves amid the blinding flashes of the forecastle guns, swept ait in a shouting mob. The midshipman, amid the dead and wounded of *is guns' crews and half-blinded by blood, met the rush single-handed with an automatic revolver; he was grappled by a German, who attempted to wrestle the weapon from him. Cutlasses and rifles with fixed bayonets being among the equipment of the foremost guns' crews~in anticipation of just such events as were now taking place, the Germans were promptly bayoneted by Able Seaman Inprleson. The

remainder of the invaders, with the exception of two wfco lay down and feigned death, were driven over the side. Thei two exceptions were subsequently made prisoners. GERMAN TREACHERY. Of the original six German destroyers, there were now three remaining in the line. Two minutes after ramming, the Broke succeeded in wrenching herself free from her sinking adversary, and turned to ram the last boat in the line. She failed in this achievement, but as she swung round, succeeded in hitting this boat's consort on .the stem with a torpedo. Hotly engaged with these two fleeing destroyers, the Broke then attempted to follow the Swift in the direction in which she was last seen. A shell, however, broke in the boiler-room, disabling her main engines. The enemy was then lost to sight in the darkness. Still carrying considerable way, the Broke altered her course and headed in the direction of a destroyer heavdly on fire, whcee crew, on sighting the Broke, send ud loud shouts for mercy. She was burning fiercely, and, regardless of the danger from her magazines exploding, the Broke steered towards her, still moving slowly through the water. The shouts and cries of "Save! Save!" were redoubled, when the .Germans unexpectedly opened fire. OUT OF CONTROL. The Broke being then out of control and unable to manoeuvre or extricate hereelf, silenced the treachery with four rounds, and then, to ensure her own safety, fired a torpedo and hit the German destroyer amidships. In...th'fc- meanwhile the Swift had continued her pursuit of the leading boat until injuries she had received in the earlier phases of the action, though in themselves slight, prevented her from maintaining full speed. She thereupon abandoned the chase and turned in search of fresh quarry. The outline of a stationary destroyer was presently sighted in the darkness ahead, and as she drew near a confused noise of voices resolved itself into more distinct and evidently organised sounds, as from a large number of men shouting together in time. Warily, and somewhat perplexed by the uproar, the Swift approached with her guns trained on the stranger. This presently resolved itself into the sinking German destroyer that had been rammed by the Broke, whose crew were bellowing in unison: "We surrender! We surrender!" GERMAN SUNK. With a not unreasonable suspicion of treachery the Swift awaited developments. Apparently realising their breath would be wanted for more energetic measures, the crew of the German destroyer presently stopped shouting. She heeled slowly over, while her ship's company hastily took to the water, and sank stern first.

As no other enemy appeared to be in sight, and the action, which had lasted approximately live minutes, appeared to be over, the Swift switched on searchlights, and lowered boats to rescue the swimmers.

The Swift and Broke then proceeded to exchange details of the action by the medium of a flashing lamp and (the Broke's circuit having been cut) an electric torch. Their ship's companies gave vent to 6ome pardonable exhilaration by cheering each other out of the darkness till they were hoarse. The British casualties were comparatively light, and the spirit of the wounded is epitomised by the conduct of the Broke's helmsman, Able Seaman Wm. G. Howies. This man, who, though hit four times by shell fragments, remained at the wheel throughout the action, and finally only betrayed the fact that he was wounded by reporting to his captain, "I'm going off now, sir," and fainting. A number of wounded presented themselves at the sick bay for the first on the day following' the action. Their excuses were various, but that of a stoker with a piece cf shrapnel still in hie head is perhaps the most ingenious: "I wps too brsy, sir." he explained to the surgeon, "along of clearing up that rubbish on the stokers' mess-deck."