1111I"IW~III~I,!illl"I'11I111tJAA 005 0221

SECRET

WEEKLY INTELLIGENCE REPORT

ISSUED BY THE NAVAL INTELLICENCE DIVISION, NAVAL

S T A r F, ADM I R A L T Y, F RID A Y, FEB R U A R Y '2 I, I 94 I

PART I: WEEKLY NAVAL NOTES

Current Events U"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII~NAA.OO5.0222

Enemy merchant shipping losses have been satisfactoryrecently. As a result of the operations in connexion with thecapture of Kismayu, nve Italian ships totalling 28,055 tons havebeen captured and sent to Mombasa, the German Uckermark,7,021 tons, which scuttled herself on being intercepted, subse­quently sank, the German Askari, 590 tons, has gone ashore nearBrava, an Italian tanker and three other ships have been foundscuttled in Kismayu. In an air attack on Massawa carried out byaircraft of the Royal Navy during the night of February 13 onemerchant ship was sunk outside the northern barbour and a hitwas probably scored on a ship alongside the jetty. One or twoenemy mercha.nt ships in Mogadishu harbour probably sufferedseverely when bombarded by H.M.S. Shropshire onFebruary 13.

~During the night of February 13/14 Naval aircraft over the

Mediterranean attacked a convoy o[ four mepchantmenescorted by two destroyers 30 miles south of Lampedusa. Theaircraft attacked with torpedoes by the light of flares, and onedefinite hit was made a second being considered possible. Afterthe attack three o[ the merchant ships and one destroyer pro­ceeded, leaving the other destroyer laying a smoke-screen wherethe attack had been made. One ship is considered to have beensunk. The Italians have probably sustained another loss in theMediterranean as R.ilr. submarine Rover has reported a SliC­

c""slul attack on a tani-er.

HDuring the night of February 15/1(; Swordfish attacked 1n

escorted merchantman "'ith torpedoes thirty miles east of Sfax,in Tunisia. The ship, believed to have been the juventus, 4,920

1(V10172-3 !3

totalling 32,806 tons, were proba!,ly sunk. Four British and twoGreek ships arrived safely at l'unchal,. MadeIra, on February14, one Norwegian and one Bntlsh ShIp re:,-ched San Miguel,in the Azores, on February 15 and 16 respectivel~, another Nor­wegian arrived at Gibraltar on Febfllary 17, and It IS hoped thatthe remaining three ships whIch separatedfrom t~e convoy mayalso have escaped. One hundred and SIX SUrvIVOrs from theships known to have been attacked were lilnded at Funchal andsix others were picked up by the ocean boardmg vessel CamltO.

From the evidence of survivors there appea~s to be httle doubtthat the enemy raider was a Hipper class crUIser. The Germanpress and broadcast first claimed to have sunk 13 ShIpS of theconvoy but later announced that all .the ships had been sunkexcept one which "had been me~clful1y allowed to remamafloat" in order to act as a rescue ShIP.

HIn addition to their other activities the Coastal Comm;end of

the R.A.F. has provided ;eir escort for convoys dunng the week35 fol1ows:-on February 12. 13 and 17 for seven each day:on February 14 and 15 for eleven each day: on February 16,for fourteen: and on February 18 lor nme: or for 66 dunng theweek as compared with 86 last week and 86 the week before.

~~. "The British score against the Italians in the air unfortunately

declined last week. This may have been p;ertly d;lC to thedecrease in enemy action which has tor some aays beenapparent in North Afri:=a ~here Gennan aIrcraft seen] to havetaken the place of Itahan m some attacks. The score for theweek, as far as it is knov~'n at present, is 11<; InUre than 7: 2 COil1-­

pared with the revised figure of 15: -1 for last week, which con­tains two more C.R.-122 destroyed on February 10 1Il addItIOn tothe losses recorded in last week's table, and 1-1: 3 for the weekbefore.

-1 II

tons, which sent out an SOS that night, was sunk. H.M. sub­marine Truant reports having sunk the largest ship (approxi­mately 3,500 tons) of an escorted convoy bound for Tripoli dur­ing the afternoon of February 11. H.M. submarine Utmostattacked a westbound escorted convoy about fifty miles west ofTripoli on February 12. One torpedo hit a merchantman of8,000 tons. This ship was still afloat four hours later but herstern was awash and the escort had left her.

In northern waters Blenheim aircraft scored direct hits on asmall tanker off Bergen on February 14; smoke was seen comingfrom the stern and oil burning on the water all around her.Later on the same day a ship of some 3,000 tons anchored justsouth of Texel was attacked by Blenheims and a direct hit madeon her stern. A German:controlled Norwegian ship, theRyfylke, 1,151 tons, going south with fish and mails is reportedto have been torpedoed and sunk by a submarine off Aalesundwhere her crew and passengers were safely landed.

On February 15 the German wireless announced that a warshipwhich had sunk 86,000 tons of shipping in the Atlantic hadarrived home and a voice which purported to be that of a memberof the ship's company then broadcast an account of what wasobviously the Admi'ral Scheer's attack on Convoy H.X.84 onNovember 5, 1940. It is possible that the Admiral Scheer has infact sunk 86,000 tons of shipping in the course of a cruise lastingseveral months though not" in a few hours" as the broadcasterclaimed. The total tOIlnage sunk on November 5 was 23,331tons. A more interesting point is whether the Admiral Scheerhas now returned to Cennany and whether she was the shipsighted by H.M.S. Ramillies in the North Atlantic on Fehruary 8.It would be reasonable to expect her to return now afterhaving been so long abroad, hut the possibililcy that the broad­cast w;es fr;eudu\cnt ,md based on signalled reports with intent tornislcad us as to her ,vhereabollts, cannot be ruled out.

Februai)T l:~

15

Cr 42

3.I .

\ ]dacchi.I 200i

2: - i

G.50.

I.

S.79.!I TotaL~.

-,----

..

The S.L. (S) 64 Convoy, consisting of 19 ships, homewardbound from West Africa was attacked by ;en enemy fO,.ider onFehruary 12, about 200 miles cast of the Azores. The fulldetails of the attack "re not vet known, but it is believed thatseven ships (live British, one Creek, and one Norwegian)

2

The first figure given in the tahk under a Type indic;etes thenumber destroyed: th" second gIves the number probablybrought down.

I!IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII~NAA.005.0223

._-'---__1

- H.M. Auxiliary Patrol Drifter Eager at 1430/12 shot down aJ u.88 which had been attacking her I1l the estuary of the Thames.During the night of February 15/16 antl-aircraft fire ashorebrought down an aircraft of unspecIfied (ype and forced downa Ju.88, the crew of which surrendered. Two mghts.later threemore were destroyed by the shore defences. In addItIOn to theseten German aircraft were damaged dunng the week compared

with four last week and eight the week before. 1 111111111I1111111111111

+-j 1J1Joo5o~LIt is perhaps of interest in view of the recent political develop­

ments in the Far East to note that the Japanese Naval Forcesin So'uth China waters have lately been reinforced by one battle­ship: five cruisers, two aircraft earners and twelve destroy;!"s,and that some of the crUIsers and destroyers h"ve been maklllguse of Camranh Bay (South-Eastern Indo-Chllla).

Once again the losses suffered by the Italians have beenheavier on the ground than in the air, even taking no more thanthe exact figures reported, apart from the "some" and" several" destroyed during the attacks on the Sicilian aero­dromes of Catania, Comiso and Gela (night of February 14/15)and on that at Brindisi (night of February 15/16) as 17 weredestroyed and two more probably destroyed in the attacks onaerodromes in Rhodes and Karpathos between February 10 and13, a seaplane was set on fire at Brindisi, and two more aircraftwere destroyed on the ground at Gura on February 16-in all atleast 20: 2, according to present information, compared with33: - last week and 21: - the week before. In addition tothese no more than three are recorded as having been damagedthis week compared with seven last week and six the weekbefore. There are no exact figures available as to casnaltiesinflicted on the Italians by the Greeks.

HAccording to the latest figures which take in the belated report

of 6 CR.42's destroyed and one of the same tyne probablyd?stroycd on the ground during the raid on Rhod~s during themght of February 11/12 the ItaIia:n losses during the weekending February 12 carne to 32 destroyed, 39 destroycd on theground and 20 probably destroyed. This brings the score sincethe beginning of the war to 513 destroyed, 366 destroyed On theground and 227 Drobablv destroved. These losses :He inaddition to those il;flicted by the G-recks.

February.12131415161718

Ju.88. Do. 17. Me. 111. Me. 109. I Uuspec. Totals.

.-

" 2 -" :

: - I : -

I 2 : .- I : 4 : -: - I : -I : -3 : 5: II : I I :

5

It is to be regretted that the increased activity of theGermans In the Medl(erranean IS not refleded by a correspondingnse l1l their losses III that area . .In splle of the presence of theirraIders over Malta and CyrenaIca on several occasions duringthe. week no marc than three of th8lIl were certainly destroyed~nd. a !?urth wa~ probably brought down--all of unspecifiedl¥pes. l wa J~.88 s arc ~la1Tlled as ha'ilmg heen da,maged. Thus!ne score ag~lJ1st them. IS 3: 1 and two damaged compared with;): 1 and two darnagcd last week.

~he~ score against the q-f:rrnans in air Llids over this KingdomanCt !torne waters for thIS \veck sIlo','vs a decline to 1~-{' 1 corn­pared with the 13: 3 for last week "nd 13: 1 for the wecl~ befo~e.

4

During the week yet another; African port has passed fromItalian into British hands-Klsmayu. It}S the best port IIIItalian Somaliland to which it was added on J line 30, 1926, afterha\'ing been peacefully transferred from G~eat Bnt":lIl to Italyon June 29, 1925, in recogm(lOIl of the a;;slstance gIver: to theWestern AlJies during the Four Years War. Dunng theintervening year Kislnayu had hc~n capltal. of a s~parateadministrative area called by the ItalIans Oltregiliba. Klsmayuhas been improved by the Italians dunng lhelr ownershIp andils population is perhaps 10,000 of whom, however, there wereless than a hundred Itahans.

It has had a rather unsettled political history since. SeyyidBargash-ibn-Said, Sultan of Zanzlb"r, founded the place 111 1872,where the coast is sheltered from the monsoon by the Island from.. k't S" 'f NIl' 1,I'S Wah bUIlt the\VhlCh KIsmaYl1 ta CS 1 5 name. Cl l, ,

little castle in Arabo-portuguese style. In 1875 tbe KhediveIsmail the Magnificent, who was then engaged in establishingan Eayptian Empire, sent a Scottish officer in his service namedMcKillop to annex the little town to Egypt, and it waS threemonths before Khedive could be persuaded by the British torecognize the sovereignty of the Sultan of Zanzibar and recallthe intrusive Egyptian expeditionary force.

Ten years later a German, Herr Gustav Denhardt, obtainedfrom Ahmed, Sultan of Witu, or of "Swahililand," the sale andcession of the coast to the south o~ Kismayu and from anunspecified " Sultan of the Somalis ," who may have been theruler of Goshia, of the coast between Kismayu and the mouthof the Juha about ten miles to the north. These territories wereproclaimed a German Protectorate on October 22, 1889, andwithout doubt Kismayu would have been absorhed into theGerman Colonial Empire but for the Treaty of July 1, 1890, bywhich, in return for Heligoland the Germans abandoned thisProtectorate to Great Britain. The coast on either side ofKismayu was, accordingly, taken under British protection onNovember 19, 1890, and transferred to the rule of the ImperialBritish East Africa Company which had obtained a lease ofKisrnayu itself from the Sultan of Zanzibar on April 6, 1890, and,by al,'Teement with Italy, had set up an Anglo-Italiancondominium in the town two days later. The Companyassumed the administration of the Protectorate on either side ofKismayu on March 20, 1891, and four days later thecondominium was ended by a new Anglo-Italian agreementwhIch made the Juba River the boundary between British andItalian territory.

On July:H, 189:', the Company returned the Protectorate, butnot Kismayu, to the Crown, and terminated its lease of Kismayuin 1895. Zanzibari administration, under the control of theBritish Consul-General at Zanzibar, WlS restored on July l, 1895,but Kismayu, with the rest of the Sultan dominions on the main­land between German East Africa and the mouth of the .Tuba wasleased to Great Britain at £l1,O()() a year, on December 14,1895,and was incorporated in the East Africa Protectorate onAugust 31, 1896. When Italian interest in Colonial affairs,which almost disappeared after the Battie of Adowa in lH96, hadbegun to revive, the British, in the interests of trade, obliginglyleased an enclave of 150 yards square at Kismayu to Italy onJanuary 13, 19()5, alll! gave a right of way from the enclave

6

via Gobwen to Jumbo on the Italian bank at the mouth of theJuba. The rent was .fixed at £1 per annum. B~fore theexpiry of the lease, whIch was renewa~le under certam condi­tions after 33 years, Kismayu, as mentioned above, was cededto Italy and once more had to change its allegiance.

Ii!I\I\I\III~II\I\III\,"NAA.005.0225

A Red Sea DiaryThe following is an extract translated from the diary of one of the

officers of the Italian submarine Macalle whIch was left behmd byhim on the islet of Barr Musa Kebir in the Red Sea on which he wasC8.staway after the loss of his ship on June 15, 1940. In places thewriting is illegible. Although the author was plamly suffenngacutely-on a sunstruck rock in the Ked Sea in Junc-from hiShardships, the lack of food and the bad quahty of the mea~re ratronof welter, it may be hoped that he survived Lo be rescued, even rf only{is a stretcher casco

" .... After having charged our batleries and cleaning theaccumulators as well as possible we continued on OUT course. Thesea is rough and we feel sick when on the surface. Twice I suffered(rom cramp in the stomach, and throughont the day I have hadsevere gripes. Last night we arrived at our ordered position.

To-morrow we start OUT patrol.The diving-planes (?) heLYing suffered some damage, and tempcmlry

repairs having been made of ..., all this has not prevented thefornlation of an unplea~ant smell in those quarters. There lS noimprovement in the condition of foodstuffs, only c.old food asstandard menu ... only milk in the mornings, WhICh althoughcold is the best nourishnlCllt.

June 13-ThursdayWe dive at dawn. Same as yesterday. Slow speed while

subme~rgcd-frorn tilnc to time at periscope-depth, in order toexplore the area. Most of the crew stationed forward are sick, wedon't know what causes this or why they have [ever and pams andfits of von1iting and crarnp, T was there this lllorning t~ check .oneof the motors, a real disaster, dirLy and D1essy, an exceptlOnal sLtnk.Last 111ght it was rough and some of then1 suffered, so that there, wasvomit and excrement in the . . . (?) I believe that most of themwere affected by each other. In the after section we are all well,I have had constipation, and since I left I have not been able to usethe W.c., but under the new sysLem I don't even give it a thought.

7

11111111111111111111111111111!111 III

NAA.005.0226

This evening we expect rough weather again-we are at about20 metres depth and rolling just as if we were on the surface. Weshall surface in about au hour's time. The temperature is about39 degrees, 102·2 Fahrenheit-breathing is heavy.

We surfaced at 1915 in a rough sea which makes us roll. Havingstarted up the engmes and begun to charge the batteries, I went tostretch myself aft, m the. hope of bemg able to rest, but it wasimpossible. The bunk was moving to such an extent that I had tolash it. At midnight I got up very drowsy; after ten minutesI went on watch. I was very sick, after which I felt better. I ...and smoked a cigarette-the first of the day. I returned to my postand fclt fnghtfully sleepy. I could barely hold out until four o'clockwhen I was relieved.. My thoughts were at home and I can scarcelyWalt for the tIme to retUITt in order to obtain some news.

June 14-FridayWe dived at the usual hour, at about seven. A loud crash forward,

but I do not know what this ccmes frcm.

About ,midday I find out that the whole crew aft is in a very badstate. ~ e fear that thlS IS due to some escape of chlonne from thealf-c:.lfldltlOnmg-cornpressors. The effect of this gas nlakes theruvomit and they all seem dead-drunk. They cannot utter one wordand make odd noises. About fifty have been affeeted by this, andamongst them one luore severely than the rest, i.e., the TorpedoPetty Officer, who can barely stand on his feet. We have rem;iinedsubl~lerged a ~ong time and the air-consulllption has been heavy:to-mght we WIll have to charge up for some time. I went to rest at2030, but I was not sleepy. There was no means of going to sleep.r reheved the watch at midnight and after a time the starboard motorma~es ~ strange noise and some parts COlnc loose. \Ve stop theengule m order to make the necessary repairs~this at 0215, notexact time, but approximate. We start up the engines again lofinish charging.

I examine thoroughly the working of the flooding-valves (1)and was about to check the intensity of the charge, when I felt aheavy bump, the whole boat shook excessively within the spo.ce of afew seconds; a senes of thumps and I felt the submarine reel underthe blows. An ambush. In no tin1e the submarine heels over to90' to port. The . . . which r was holding in front of me nowserve as . _. . . The crew, who were sleeping at their posts withthe exceptlOn of the watch, get up and in their eves I can see lossof control. .

To put an p:nd to our queries, we hear the voices of the Captain,wllo con1illUlllcates through the speaking-tube with the sccond-in­command, who is stationed in the interior of the submarine. Iremain aft, trying to keep the crew calm. But they are shaken and

S

it is difficult to understand what has happened. But what we doknoW is that we are on the surface or at least at a few metres from it.We prepare the rescue diving-gear, they are insufficient in numberfor the complement aft. The collision-doors are open and you cansee right through to the Control-Room, where one can see a crowdof men without knowing what they arc doing. The speaking-tubefrom the Control-Room informs us that we are on the surface and(orders us) to remain calm at our diving-stations.

I reply that it is necessary to send somebody to close the seacocksbecause I see water in great quantities pouring into the pumpmgengines, so much so that I fear that the water is penetrating into theauxiliary room and consequently into the after battenes. I see astoker closing some valves; a Pefty Officer Electrician coming aftgives me SOUle details of the situation.

Some of the crew are already on deck and others arc going there.Subsequently I [md out that one of the after batteries is giving. outsmoke or steam without being able to smell the chlonne WhICh 1S 111

small quantities.Having hea.rd this I go to explore the position and to sec how things

stand. 1 give orders io the crew to remain at their posts and thatI will lell them what is to be donc.

At 0215 I go to the Control-Room, the crew continues to leave itin couples, using the rescue-hatch. These operations are directedby the Chief Engineer. The crew continues to leave, a.nd 1 helptwo Felly Officer Electricians to leave the Control-Room, afterwhich 1 insist that the crew aft leaves to con1e lo the Control-Room.I order them to abandon the stern and come to the Control-Roon1.The saIne thing in the bows. I fInd luvself at a moment in whichno one is ready to go up and I go up with the first of those in thebows.

On deck 1 see the M acalle on her port side. I fed sure that she willnever put to sea again.

FroIn the building slips to such an end.

June l5~ SaturdayOn deck a quick roll call is held, including the many who are

injured, and it was not easy to get them on deck.vyre start work on salvaging the foodstuffs and other articles.

The deck is practically fnll. Owing to low-tide the hoat is inclinedto heel luore and lnore, which makes it advisable to suspend actionand send cverything on shore. In the meantime the dinghy islowered for the transport ashore of provisions and Inembers of theCrew.

I dive into the sea and swim to the shore. The distance is notvery great <Ind with four strokes I touch bottom.

"

11

illlllllliilnlll~I~III~NAA.005.0227

June 16- SundayI slept like fl,e dead, a heavy sleep. As soon as 1 woke up, T made

an aHernnt to distill smuc water but I did not succeed. I triedby means-'- of two bottles and also by means of a filter I but I wasunable to obtain even a drop.

I wandered like a . . . ill the hopes of flllding foot!. Hungerhas made its appearance, which was not felt yestcrd"y. I find somevery ;;mall shell-fish, which I ate; the stuff incre<csed my thirst,as it was salty.

At midday the lunch consisted of one shell-fish a head, a realSunday.

What impresses Inc most are the sick men, three of these mentionnumbers and make strange renlarks. One twists from one side tothe other ill search of water and they all have visions of eggs, :Ashand aerophll1es-to me it's like being in a madhouse, one of themis ill a pitiful condition, thin as a rake, he 1'oUs fr01TI side to side tothe point of exhaustion and today he can hardly speak. His eyesare wide open, his lips aTe burned wilh thirst, and he hasn't thestrength to keep on his feet. All these sick men arC lhe despairof nearly all of us, nobody can bear the sight or them, and they allmake fun of tllcm. It breaks my heart. They are not ill throughtheir own fault but through .' therefore they are being helpedhere although nothing can be done.

follows the current and rapidly drifts away. It is 1730. The sub­marine has ceased to exist; inglorious ending if you like, but shehas set free every rnan of her crew.

On shore we work with alacrity, we are facing the only hopewhich is left to us, to send some sort of message to ask for help. Weare about 30 miles away from Port Sudan, an Anglo-Egyptian port.H help comes from there it means that we will be interned in aconcentration-camp. The Captain decides to try for the Eritreancoast, which lies fifty miles beyond.

The departure, which had been fixed for the next morning, is putforw<lrd to to-night. We all rush to m<lke ourselves useful and theexpedition is fitted out with all the me"ns at our disposal, provisions,compass, sail, electric torch, in fact, all that can be found on thiSsunburnt soiL

At 2135 the expedition leaves under favourable conditions;the wind is favourable and the ':)e<t is calm. The expedition is underthe cOlnmand of a midshipman and is composed of three men inall, the .', one sealnan-a real bull- -and a midshipman. qurdestiny depends on them. Good wishes arC not sufficient. Wereturn to our hideout, Inade of scrub and boards, but it protectsus from the wind. After such a heavy day we did not see food,only a spoonful of water in a glass, this is all for to-day and I alngoing to rest.

The bottom is rocky. I landed ashore after falling several timesand grazing my leg, which I had already knocked when we ranaground. The first streaks of daylight can be seen and we canclearly see our plight. The submarine is listing to such an extentthat it is not possible to open the hatches without letting in water.

We continue to try to recover provisions, but the escape of chlorineis very strong. . . .

One cannot do more! Some of the respirators are recovered, buteven these are ill-adapted for our particular need.

Ashore we check the stores. I believe that there are 53 botties ofliquor and Ailet mineral-water, two cases of biscuits, a tin of bacon,three tins of jam, all we have. Ashore there are 45 of us in good health.

All we have is less than what we normally consume at one sitting.

I make a tour of the island lo find out where I am. The wholearea does not exceed 500 square metres, there is a strong wind, and'the isbnd is in part covered with sand and in part with scrub.

Where we landed there is a signpost with "INTREP..We find SOIne stones laid with a certain regularity; one can see thatin 1936 there was an expedition to take topogmphical bearings.

The island is completely deserted.

1 return on board in the hopes of being able to make myself useful,but as I see, nothing can be done, we 11lake plans and nothing else.I return to the shore and lie in the water. I was sleepy but I cannot rest.

I return on board for another attempt to get. below, but this timealso I am obliged to give it up. Up lo a little while ago I had heardsome machinery still running, but then nothing further, and accordiugto what I was told by the last man to go inside the submarine, therewas no tllnre light, the batteries were run down through some leakage.

A last party goes on board at about 1700 to make a final effort torecover provisions from the food part of the submarine, by attemptingto flood one of the compartnlents aft.

Having opened the hatch, little water enters and only entersafter a rush of air-bubbles: this lneans that the interior is com­pletely fioocled, leaving only an air-pocket which is graduallydisappearing.

The crew is leaving wilh the dinghy. . .. The boat slowly liftsher bows, then with increasing sl)(~ed slides backwards, levels upalmost vertically ,md disappears. My old ]'vfacalle, in which I havespent ne<lrly three-afld-a-h"lf years, has ceased lo exist; but beforelea.ving us she has left us on a rock and safe. After she disappears,we se(~ nothing for several seconds, then later a large patch of oiland then the engine-Too111 telegraph gives us its last salute in theshape of. . . . S01nething else is seen in the distance and everything

10

Tn the afternoon doing some experiments I fell into some hotwater and burnt my stomach.

At 1900 we had out first meal from the provisions, one biscuit,one small plate of bacon, not more than 20 grammes, and a thimble­ful of Ailet waler, with a drop of brandy.

The roof of my mouth hurt me while eating. After this meal Isucceeded iu distilling some water but I only made a little, theproduction will be begun tomorrow. I went to rest at 1030.

June 17-Monday

I slept heavily. I woke up. The first complaint from one of thesick men who was askiug for a pal; he wants to speak to the Captain,saying that he is going to die either today or tomorrow.

He wishes to be buried with all Christian honours. This is today'sgreetings. A Petty Officer Electrician came, who yesterday dranksome seawater and thought last night he was dying, as he had suchcramp in the stomach, but today he is feeling better.

During the day I suffered very much from thirst, so much so thatat one moment I thoughl my tongue was covered wi lh fishscalesand I could not move it. I have been looking out for the aeroplanes;according to my calculations our searchp3rty might have arrivedtoday but in vain. I was a long time in the water, where one doesn'tfeel so thirsty, but il is terribly weakening. Getting out of the waterlast night, I was unable to walk at first; I walked with greatdifficulty, which gave me a shock. The meal at midday consistedof the usual shell-fish, which was alive and I had 10 pull off its legs,and I felt sorry, I had to kill it.

In the evening, biscuits with jam and a drop of water, this timenot Ailet but distilled water made by my system aud which gavegood results. f believe that after one day, including the night, itwill be possible to double the amount we are consuming at present.

After supper we were disillusioned by the sight of a ship, but I sawa light gjving coloured signals, and in my excitement I mentionedit to the others, so much so that all of us saw the light, but it was notcertain and we fired a rocket from the highest point of the island, butup to now nobody has been seen to come.

Tomorrow morning, I am on watch at the distilling-plant.

June 18-TuesdayThe sick man is worse, whereas the others arc improving.

I drank two seagulls eggs with Fernct (Bianca) which has givenme new strength. At lnidday another "zabRglione" (usuallyyolk of egg beaten up in Marsala) with eggs, sugar, coffee, and adrop of Fernet. Found it very good and substantial.

12

IIU11,llli~I~IIIII~II~II~~Afternoon plans. Bathing. NAA.005.0228To my disappointment I thought to find the usual biscuit with

something, hut nothing whatsoever. I felt 111.Water has increased in quantity, but has depreciated in quality,

and the distilled stuff, which smells of rubber, has heen mIxed WIthorangeade, but was not sufficiently diluted.

At 1530 and 1600 we heard some gunfire to the north; they sayit was a good omen. The gunfire sounded more like a bombardmentthan a naval hattIe.

June 19~Wednesday . .We are still waiting. Waiting and wondering, but. there IS nothmg.Lunch to-day was seagulls Ii la broche. I could not eat them. I

think it is due to stomach trouble.At eight o'clock this morning I went into the W<lter and having

got a mouthful of salt water, I began to vomit, to such an extentthat I became unconscious. When I carne to, they had to carry mebodily ashore, and brought me to life with water and slappmg my facc.

As a second dish at lunchtime, a thimhleful of zabaglione likeyesterday and a shell-fish. I couldn't digest the shell-fish, so thatin the afternoon when I returned 10 the water T started to vomItagain, hut not so luuch.

At 0230 today the Torpedo Petty Officer died and has been releasedfrOlll his sufferings.

Life here is becoming unbearable. Swimming lessons.....The stOYV is continl;ecl from this poil1t from repmis received in

the Aclmira'rty and fron1 an article in the Italian Press. __"""!:

The six-foot dinghy with two oars and a make~hitt sail in whichthe midshipluan and two others started on June 1,j 111 the f<l1nt h~peof bringing help for the rest of. the crew ll1anaged. to reach Itahanterritory in Eritrea neas Bas Kasar, nearly 100 ml1t~s away on thethird day. From a frontier post they were able to send a messageto !dassa\va.

Early on June 22 a British reconnaissance aircraf~ sighted thesurvivors frOln the .Nlacalle on the islet and a tug WIth an annedparty \V'l.S sent [roul Port Sudan to take ttlei~l off. The, tug arrivedlater in the morning but lOL1Hd thztt the SUrV1V()r~~ had already gone.

In the intervai, i1; the' \vnnls of an Italian ;JxLiclc " VVhat "vas thesurprise of the crew ,"vhen at da~<,In they saw advancing towardsthenl the black hull of the rescuing submarine. T11 the distance andat fLfSL Liley thought it to be British anel inlll1ediately prepared tosdl their lives d~.ar. Then as she gradually advancf'/l she. wasrecognized to be one of OUTS."

This sublnarine took the survivors on boarel.lc;

14

PART II: STATISTICS

British Shipping!lmlll!!I!!IIIIIII~

NAA,005.0229N t'ooo"<t'tt)l"-l"-<:':l (£IO'l l"- O"""l"­t'ooO'l"<t'.-<'<1'<:':ltt).-<tr:lNtr:l"'t' ....(£)OC!(£)(D<:':l"''-<OC.Ol''- ~"'-to"'- ....- e-.f"';C'l~ ......---

\-I

2

4

10

258

131511

:J97

48

4195

123129

53

5123

No. of ShipsConvoyed.

-----c-

Convoy Routes.

2463318:J2763

76 I32 I

g? 1= =67 I 1 I ­

9 1 245j-l-

27 3 73 i 3 1----------1--------1------

Totals 2,:i38 545 83 2,9GG! 7 3 i ----_. -'-1__- --'---_--'---_--'---_---'1_ I

I I' Lost by EnemyI~.2 Action.- -- ----~-- ~~I ~l- I 2§

j I ~ ~ 3r~ .~c~ ~ ] 3 8

>ll:t; ~:.::: ;;:: 0 .... 0 ~ <1.l I 0 0"- ..... ..., ~ 8 S ;:::i ~ ~$

Z ~..t. 7;- -. ------ --+---+-----+---:-----~~_+_--'-i----;--

CONVOYS. Th2 followil1g table shows the number of ships, British,AHiL'd alld Neutral, \vhich have sailed in escorted convoys during the last.WQck alld since die beginning of the war ~ together with the lossesfrom cnemy action :-

Methil outwards . . 200Liverpool outwards .. 228Orfordness-Methil . . 696MBthil-Orfordness . . 619Gibraltar outwards . . 60Gibraltar homewards .. 26Halifax homewards . . 110Sierra Leone homewards 101Channel Convoys . . G7Clyde to Methil 188Sydney, N.S.,

homewards 43

Of these, three British ships of 15,365 tons were sunk by submarine(compared with three of 15,622 tons in December), two of 2,071 tonsby mine (two of 5,490 tOilS in December), hvo of 3,544 tons by aircraft(one of 4,360 tons in December) and none by surface craft (one of 2,301in December).

One Greek ship of 4,929 tOIlS was sunk by submarine and one Greekof 4,;'181 tons, and. one Dutch of 6,256 tons by airrraft (one Dutch shipui 6,552 tons in Df.~ccm!Jer). No neutral ship \'',--is lost in convoy in]allLl1ry but it is no,v knovvn that one Swedisll ship of 1,246 tons wassunk by submarine \vhile in convoy in December. The revised figuresfor lm:;;es in December' have been added in brackets for purposes ofciJmparison.

JANUARY CONVOYS

Return of Ships Convoyed and Losses due to Enemy Ac.tionwhile in Convoy during January, 1941

11111111111111111111111111111 ~IIIINAA.005.0230

I

I

Italian ShippingThe Bay oj Biscay

The tanker Clizia, 3,698 [OIlS, left Gijon on February 9 and arrivedat Bilbao the next day with 3,000 tons of petrolenm. The Capo Lena,4,820 tOllS, left Vigo on February 12 and arrived at Bilbao on February 14.

The Spanish Atlantic CoastThe Burma, 2,896 tons, which was wrecked during the night of Jannary

21/22 broke in two, and when last reported attempts were being made tosalve bolh halves on a " no cure no pay" basis.

The JlI(,diterranean and AdriaticThe Derna, 1,769 tons, arrived at Barcelona from Genoa on February 14.The troopship Garibaldi, 5,278 tons, is reported to have been hit in

dry dock during the bombardment of Genoa on February 9.The JWJenius, 4,920 tOllS, sent an SO S to Tripoli at 0121/16. This is

probahly the ship sunk by Swordfish eluring that night.H.M, submarine Rover has reported making a successful attack on a

tanker off the South of Italy. A merchant ship is also thought to haveken Slink during an attach: by Naval aircraft on an Italian convoy ahout30 miles south of Lampedusa,

H.M. submarines Truant and Utmost have each reported torpedoinga merchant ship off Tripoli.

Black Sea

Italian ships at Constantza, Roumania, have been ordered to keepthe In<lXilnUn1 stock of fuel and water.

Indian Ocean

Since the report made last week two more Italian ships, the Leonardoda Vinci, 7,515 tons, and the ~71,1anon, 5,597 tons, are known to havebeen cCtpturerl soon after they left Kismayu. There were sixteen shipsat Kisma}'u in January, ann at the time of going to press fourteen havebeen accounted for. Five Italian ships were captured whcn thcy tried

17

Indian OceanFor a full account of the Gennan and Italian ships which were at

Kismayu, see" Italian Merchant Shipping."

The PacificAccording to a Press report the Elbe, 9.179 tOllS, has sailed from Kobe.

On January 22 she loaded 4,200 tons of oil fuel at Yokohama.

The AtlanticThe Babitonga, 4,422 tons, was alongside at Santos on February 13

and took in 986 tons of diesel oil in drums which had been discharged bytwo Brazilian ships which had arrived from Montevideo. The Nordcrncy,3,667 tOllS, at Para, Brazil, raised steam on February 11 and was still inthis state of preparation on February 14.

European WatersEn clair messages were sent out by the Robed Me:ohring on

February 12, when she was passing through ice in the Baltic, using thecall sign of the Orotava, 3,344 tons. This latter ship may therefore havebeen lost or else taken over for war purposes.

The Gennan controlled Norwegian Ryfylke, 1,151 tons, is reportedto have been sunk by a submarine off Haugsholman, near Aalesund,while carrying fish, mails and passengers from Northern Norway. Allthe passengers and crew were landed safely at Aalesund.

The Patagonia, 5,898 tOllS, which was thought to have been sunk inthe Baltic last November is reported to have been seen in Emden in thebeginning of January. As she was a timber ship she probably remainedafloat and was towed into port.

The Gneisenau, 18,160 tons, and the General Artigas, 11,254 tOIlS,

are reported to hllve been seen in Hamburg between December 15 andJanuary 17, armed with 4~in. guns fore and aft and anti-aircraft rnachine­gnns on boat decks and bridge. They carried on their decks thirtybarges of a-It. draught fitted virith chains and slings. There were abouttwenty other transports of approximately 4,000 tons each in the port,several of them having tanks OIl board.

The German-Swedish Shipping Agreement has been prolonged toJuly 1941 with little alteration except that freights for wood and pulphave been increased. Sweden's Baltic tonnage will be used lor tradewith Germany, but not for German trade \vith other countries.

The Germans have recently spread reports of a German-Russian planfor the creation of a large merchant fleet which will trade between theAmericas and VJadivostock. Swedish reports state that this fleet willnot exceed twenty ships in 1941 though some German rcports claim thatLwo hundreu. will be used. The Russians are certainly anxious to buy01' chartCI Swedish vessels for trading in Lhe PacifIC and elsewhere,

The risboa, 1,800 tons, arrived at Valencia on Feoruary 11, and theProcida, 1,842 tons, left Valcncia all the sarnc day for Marseilles_

German Shipping

The Black SeaThe IVorbnrg, 2,392 tons, and the Larissa, 1,819 Lons, arrived at

Tstanhnl on Februarv 12, and on the same cilv the ,-1rkadl>1, 1,756 tonsleft for 130urgas in -Rm,mall.ta, The Cu.rde-'ia, 1,357 tons, arrived at13ourg2.s Oil February 11 .,dth 3,000 4t>Jitrc JnlElS and 5,000 '20-liirc emsof ?;.rrny iud.

GCiTl3li shivs at Const::mza, EounHnia, have heen ordered to keepthe m8.Xin'UIIl ·stock of Tllel and water.

1(.:;

Th.e Mcd£ten'aJ1,eanThe Ankaru, 4,768 tons, which was reported in November and

DeC'.ernher as being at Trieste fitting out as a transport is believed to have:::'J.ilefl from P,denTlo on February 10.

(C40172-3) c

BRITISH LOSSES DUE TO ENEMY ACTION

have been stUlk by a raider on the same day_ The J1.fandasor, 5,144tons, was bound from Calcutta Lo Durban and reported. that she wasbeing attacked by a raider on January 24.

The J.lJ.1aplecmt-l't, 3,388 tons, bound from Boston to Preston, with acargo of steel and wood, was torpedoed on February 6 about 265 milesW. of the Bloody Foreland. There has been no further news of her andshe is now presumed sunk

Losses during weekFebruary 10-16.

Tonnage.No. ofShips,

Total losses up toFebruary 16.

1----Tonnage.No. of

Ships,

---------~------

I

to escape on February 11, and all these have now reached Mombasa.The German Ta"ne"jels, 7,840 tons, and Askari, 590 tons, sailed beforeFebruary 7 ; the former has not so far been reported but the latter wentashore south of Brava. The Uckertnark, 7,02 I tons, which was inter­cepted when she tried to escape, attempted to scuttle herself and subse­quently sank after being taken in tow. The Italian tanker M arghera,4,531 tons, and the Moncalieri, 5,723 tons, and two other unidentifiedships were scnttled at Kismayu. The Italian tanker Pensilvania, 6,861tons, and the ('rerman tng K1:onga, 192 tons, arc thought to have gone toMogadishu.

The AtlanticThe Monbaldo, 6,214 tons, which is at Para, Brazil, raised steam on

February 11.

Attacks and Minings-. ---_.-

·;II--11,98~ 307 1,691,984I 276 169 438,486

- -- 71 aSS,6iS2 i 818 130 365,209

1 - 4 15,628

,__-_-__111 + 2_8_1 4_9_'_3'_-5__

___...:T~o::t:::al:::s~..:...'..__.o !:l,08:J 709 2,946,780

BRITISH SHIPPING LOSSES DURING WEEK ENDINGFEBRUARY 16

SubmarineMineSurface CraftAircraftCapturedOther causes and

cause unkno\vn.

Total losses up toFebru;uy 16.

No. ofShips.

-------~. -

I Tonnage.

. '~--"---1-3,-0-83------709--1-- ~:946,78(\

1 5,172 183 8'02,274293 910,449

No. ofShips_

Losses during week IFebruary 10-16. \

----_._.._---- [

Tonnage. ---I,

Sinkings,

I

I,

BritishAlliedNeutral

BELATED REPORTS

19

Fate of ere-,v(approximaLe[lgm-e::; only).

All lost..

No survivor;;;.

24 saved.

I) save(1, 1 missing.

Xotknovm.

Po::,'ition and Cause.

Off the Humber. J\tinc

i..(. I,nU m. \V.S.vV. 01 Cape I

St. ,Vincent:. Sub- Imanne.

l:~_ nl. N. by E. of IBuche. Aircraft.

180 1Il. N.N.v\'. of j

f(()c~all. Suhmarine. I\'V.N. HI. af Blacksod i

Eay. Aircraft. '616

20J

1.473

[0,5lG

Ton­nage.

--'--'--'--_._-----

Name.

BrandenburR(Convoy H.G.53).

John Dunkin(Trawler).

A rtlllt!' F. Col'­Will.

Fhzl7bet/{ Jf(~rie

(Ex-FrenchTrawler)

Thumas Dcas(Trawler).__ I

The Greek Pers£'u~, 5,172 Lons, is the only Al1i~ii ship ddlnilely knownto have becn lost t~lls week. She was bound from Alexandria to Belfastand was ~u1l1~ on.I'ebnlarYJ 12 in the raide:r attack on (onvo;' S.L.(S.)64.FU~l. det8/~S 01 tIllS att.a(~k are not :vet available but it is feared that fiveBnl1sh snIps of 23,710 tons and one Norwegian of 3,924 tons may alsohave been sunk.

Date. i

---

Feh, 16

Fch. 13

Feb. J 1

Feb. 13

Feb. 10

(C4UI72-3) D

4,679,51);31,18518,2556

9" B:-itish ships of 19,364 tons_I Allied ships of 10,442 tons

13 ships of 29,806 ton".Total

--- _._---'--_._---- '----- ---'---------- - .

Totals

The losses are in a.ccordance with information received up to 1200on February 18.

With the addition of the British Il.1aplf'cott1t the losses la~~t "\'i.',~l, rlO\~

amount to:-

BritishThe British tugs Deanbruok, 149 tons, and Lea, 168 tons, which were

sunk by -mine in -Tilbury' Basin -on November 2, 1940, have been raisedand put ashore at \Vest Tilbury. They have, therefore, been removedfrom the tables 01 sinkings.

Tv,,'o ships, the A/n'c S'tar and the Aiandasoy, which arc long uverdueat their destinations, are now presumed to have been lost through enemyaction. The ,.!Jfric Slur, 11,900 tons, homeward bound from MOllLc"i'ideo,sellt out a raider tlistrcss signal on January 29, when she was in muchthe same position as the i!.-'urylochus, 5,723 tons, which was reported to

18

1!11::IIIII!il"lill~li~:II~NAA. 006.0232

Overdue ShipsThe British Afric Slar, 11,900 tons, due at St. Vincent, Cape Verde,

on January 31, and the British AIandasor, 5,144 tons, due at Durbanon February 4, are both now presumed to have been lost b yl enemyaction (see SINKINGS, ATTACKS, and MINIl\GS). The owners ofthe following ships have been informed by the Admiralty that theirvessels are now so gravely overdue that they' must be presumed lost :---

3,729

5,5975,1033,1741,509

Antonis (Greek)

Barneveld (Dutch)Stanpark (British)Florian (British)Portugal (Belgian)

---Name-.----I-X~~-~----;~om ---i---- ·_~-o---~----~~:~~-

--------''----'--------'--------St. Vincent, Cape I, Rosario .. ., I Jan. 25

Verde Jan 4Freetown Jan: 151 Capeto\':l1 J"' Jan. 26Capetown Jan. 12 Freetown .. Jan. 27Obarr . Jan. 18 ! New York . . Jan. 29Gibraltar Jan. 8 i l\l.tethil ., .. Jan. 30

-----'--- --_...-----_... -. __ .

The following ships have this week been reported overdue at theirdestinations :-

Name. Ton- IKn:ts.!nage. From To Datedue.

Sandefjord (Norwe­gian tanker).

]<etty Bro1.!ig (Nor.we~

gian tanker).Speybank (British) ..

8,038 10 Capetown Ja.n. 9 Freetown Jan. 23

7,031 10 Bahrein Jan.22 Lourent;:o :reh. 9l\'Iarques.

5,154 10 Cochin Jan.25 Port Feb. 12I Elizabeth.

Imports •m ConvoyImports into Great Britain by ships in convoy this week shml",.'ed a

welcome increase to 933,382 tons, twice as much as the amount importedlast week, Twenty-eight tankers brought in 284,127 tons of oil comparedwith only 43.139 tons in the previous week. Cereals amounted to 144,478tons as opposed to 00,490 tons, eleven ships being fully laden with wheatand grain and four with maize. Other food imports totalled no morethan 93,840 tons compared with 119,883 tons last week but 27,987 tonsof sugar were brought in and one ship had a cargo of 12,750 tons ofmolasses. Mineral imports totalled 250,255 tons, the corresponding figurelast week being 164,208 tons, and two ships were fully laden with pigiron, three with steel and one with iron are. One ship had a full cargoof sulphnr and three carried phosphates. Timber amounted to 47,849tons compared with only 4,000 tons last week, five ships being ladenwith pit props, General cargoes and sundries totalled 112,833 tons. morethan twice the amount for the previous week. Many aeroplanes and alarge number of lorries were imported as well as field kitchens, tractors,cannon-shells and machinery of all kinds,

20

January 30.

Reported at Gydnia, Jan­nary 24. (Graded C.2.)

December 21 Not seen at Kiel on January9 or 30.

Dec. 14, 1940 Alongside. Reported to beat Gydnia, February 6.(Graded B.2.)

February 5.. In Bauhafen.

Kiel

Wilhclmshaven

Hamburg

PART III: NAVAL INTELLIGENCE

Tirpitz

Schlesien

BattlecruisersGneisenauScharnhorst

Old Battleships :­Schleswig-Holstein

2, The latest known disposition of German Main Units is as follows :­

Battleships :­Bismarck

Germany J~~II~~!~~~!Based on information received up to February 17, 1941

Mai'n Units1. A Hipper Class Cruiser was again reported by air reconnaissance at

Brest at lH)O on February 15; the cruiser was in the dry dock off theGrand Bassin dn Nord Est. It appears probable that this was the shipwhich attacked Convoy SLS,64 in position 37' 12' N" 21' 20' W, atabout 1135 011 February 12, (See paragraph 5,)

IPocket Battleships :-

Admiral Scheer.. Probably in position 80 15' N., 25° 14' W. at 2035, January 29.Lutzow .. Kiel January 30. . Alongside.

Aircraft Carrier :~.. Graf Zeppelin Kiel

SUmJARWES 1:" BORDEAUX

February 4, 1941.

[To face pa.ge U.

II

tI

{)'iII!11

I

8-in. Cruisers :-­Hipper ..Prins Eu{{cn

Seydlitz ..

6-in. Cruisers :­Leipzig ..

Ni1rnberg!{olnEmden

..}..

Bremen

:: }KielKiel

July 3,1940 Not at Kiel July 15. Re~

ported at Gydnia Decem~ber. (Graded C.2.)

One at Kiel on January 30in dry dock. One at Brestin dry dock on Feb. 15.

January 9 .. Fitting out.

Has never been definitelylocated since torpedoedby H.M.S. Salmon onDecember 13, 1939.

Dec. 21, 1940 Not seen at Kiel on January30.

January 30. . Alongside.

21

23~1,11,\'II\lii',I~I'I\~\II~~~

NAA.005.0234

On the same day in the North Western Approaches a Sunderlanddropped two depth charges fairly close to a German U-boat

west of Achill Head. It is !lot considered that the U-boat was

On the night of February 1O{11 a warship sighted a U-boat 250north-west of Butt of Lewis. This U-boat probably moved slowlyand on l'ebruary 13 sank a tanker which had straggled from an

""jliar'd bound convoy.

ANALYSIS OF SHIPPING AND BARGES IN LOW COUNTRIESAND OCCUPIED FRENCH PORTS

November, 1940, to January, 1941Delfzijl and Emden

L Reconnaissances of these two ports have been infrequent and incom­plete during the period in question, but no significant concentrations orchanges have been observed. A slight apparent increase of shipping andbarges was reported towards the end of November, foUmved by a slightreduction at the beginning of February. These changes are, however,probably largely explained by differences in the weather conditions underwhich reconnaissances were carried out. Barge figures are also consider­ably affected by movements in the canals round Delfzijl.

Rotterdam2. Recollnaissances of Rotterdam have also been few and incomplete.

There have been no appreciable changes in the quantity of shippingreported. The numbers of barges reported show a considerable increasefrom October 29 to January 3.

On the night of February 1O{11 an unusually heavy aircraft mine­laying raid was made on the Humber proper (west of Spurn Point) and,(he>Humber sweepers have achieved record successes in dealing with the;·ffit-uation.

16. It is believed that exceptionally heavy aircraft minelaying, possiblythe heaviest to date, took place off the East Coast on the night of February15{16. H.M. Minesweeper Southsea was damaged by mine off TyneeJ1tr~nce on February 16.

17. Campbeltovm was mined on Febmary 9{1O and a number of mines·has~'since been destroyed.

18. Moored mines were found on l'ebruary 10 2500 St. Catherine'sPoint 6! miles, some three miles N.E. of the position where Acheron wassunk on December 17.

19. Moored mines have also been found off Newcastle, New SouthWales, in position 33' 17" 30' S., 151 0 47' E. S.S. Niblin was sunk inthis neighbourhood on December 5.

20. The British Empire Olter has reported striking a mine 25 milessouth-west of Hartland Point.

21. On February 10 aircraft sighted numerous" black bulbs" floatingjust under the surface· of the water in 51° OS' N., 2° 20' E. (off Dunkirk).

Aiycrajt Activity

. 7. Air offensive activity against this country and shipping has con­tmued on about the same scale. There has been a tendency for bombingattacks by day and night to be made over a wide area without any apparentprincipal objective. The number of enemy aircraft engaged has shownslight signs of increase. '

8. Meteorological flights have not operated regularly. The North Seaarea has been covered on most days by two aircraft, but the flight fromTrondheim has operatcd on three days only.

9. The F.W. aircraft from Bordeaux ha.s operated singly on weatherreconnaissance to the west of Ireland throughout the week. On twodays there have been three other F.W. aircraft operating; on the firstoccasion, February 13, a special reconnaissance was carried out to thewest of Brest, apparently covering the return of an enemy surface unit.

10. Reconnaissance activity has beert'on a'small scale.11. Attacks on convoys and shipping have continued, for the most

part on the East Coast. Much of this activity has been carried out bysingle aircraft operating at dusk, and in a number of cases off the N.E.coast. of Scotland s~lipping has been bombed and machine-gunned duringthe mght. Only slIght damage to a few ships resulted from these attacks.F.W. aircraft attacks on shipping have beeIl; very few; one A/S trawlerwas sunk.

U-Boats

12. The German V-boat which attacked a homeward bound convoysouth-west of Portugal on February 9 made a further attack on the 10thand sank one ship. H.M.S. Deptford promptly attacked a contact:but the U-boat was not destroyed and may perhaps have moved southward(0 a position between ihe Canaries and Cape Verde Islands.

22

Destroyers3. The latest location of destroyers of Roeder and M aas classes by

photographic air reconnaissance is as follows:---,-Kiel Jan. 30 4 (one in dry dock).Wl1hehnshaven Feb. 5 2 (in Tirpitshaven).Bremen Jan. 9 6 (four fitting out).Hamburg Dec. 14 1Bremerhaven .. Feb. 5 0Brest ., Feb. 13 1

Waider Activity

4. At 1135/12 a raider distress message was intercepted stating thata convoy was being shelled in position 37"12' N., 21' 20' W. It waslater established that the convoy was SLS.64 consisting of 19 ships.

5. The evidence of the survivors leaves little doubt that the enemyship was a Hipper_ class cruiser. In this case it must have been theone engaged by H.M.S. Berwick on December 25, 1940.

6. It is not yet known exactly how many ships in the convoy weresunk. Ten ships are missing at present.

i! 1II':lllllilllllllllil~l~NAA.005.0235

3, This increase may be partly due to the laying up of barges duringtbe winter, bnt large variations in the numbers of barges at Rotterdambave frequently been reported in the past, probably owing to varyinglengths of river having been covered and to barge movements in the river.Antwerp, Flushing and Terneuzen

4. Little change has been reported in the shipping and barge totalspresent in these ports during the period under review.

5, Shipping totals have shown a slight tendency to decrease, butbarge numbers increased slightly between November 23 and January 4,probably owing to the laying up of barges for the winter at Antwerp.Ostend, Dunkirk, Calais and Boulogne

6. Between November 1 and January 3 shipping and barges in theseports showed a tendency to decrease, but since the latter date a gradualincrease has been noticed.

Cherbourg and Le Hal',"7. Shipping in these two ports decreased fairly sharply during Novem­

ber; subsequent variations have been of a mino!' nature and consistentwith normal trade.

Barge numbers have decreased fairly consistently during the wholeperiod, but the reduction since the beginning of December has beenslight and appears to have been due mainly to movements in the Tan­carville Canal.Brest and Bordeaux

8. Changes in the total shipping present in these ports have not beengreat over the whole period, but there was a fairly steady increase atBordeaux between November 9 and January 12, since when a slightreduction has been noted.

9. It is considered that fluctuations are probably due to trading. Thereis always a large concentration of ships at Bordeaux, but the ships appearto change from time to time, though there are some ships apparentlylaid up there.

10; TENDENCYBarges.Ships.

Slight decrease of Doth.Steady.Very slight decrease.

Considerable increase.Very slight increase­

'\-vinter lay-up.Decrease of both during Novem ber, subseq uently

steady but inclined to increase again graduallyduring January.

Fairly sharp decrease Slight decrease.during November,then steady,

Little change overperiod, but fairlysteady increase atBordeaux betweenNovember 9 andJanuary 12.

Dellzi}l and EmdenRotterdamAntwerp, Flushing and

Terneuzen.Boulogne, Ostend, Calais

and Dunkirk.

Brest and Bordeaux ..

24

Cherbourg and Le Havre

SPECIALLY ADAPTED BARGES BOULOGNE 8,2.41

s Ide view

(~\ 5\ IDDIMENSiONS

LENGTH 125 -135 FT.BEAM APPA-OX. 15 FT.

perspective

P I an

~~ iJl!!r?f -,®e: =J

side view

rtrn ~N'--__-----J--Imfr.I 12S-135fT. '

P I a n

~/.--- F~"/~ I. i : l ~ EMPLACEMENT FOR

\ I I - ? A. A. GUN: i: i : I AlTEFtNAilVE POSITIONS

"1 I i II I I .1 ~

_=="-=_ I'"';::L..----"t-;r.

DOOR

/

'h~Ie:Ai

pI

bipIOJ

)0'''1Cj

p'sl~

coB

grBre

is,tola

fJRA

B

c

B

.

,.:"-

'"....><0

"Q.

Q...~..w..

l'\

/'

III

/ ~

~0

.D

....0

.-

~~~ Q)

Ic "'0

(G ia. ~.;; ~., U

..~

Q) i

~"~1~

It

l~~~

$;';

i\ !, ''/,

1

J!11~

~~J

Go/f'ij'qlSummary"fl,Qver the whole period shipping in Dutch, Belgian and NorthFr~~qhportshas shown a very slight tendency to decrease, particularlyd:1:l\1l:ig, the month of November. In Bordeaux there was a tendency forsi1tipjJj~g to increase belween November 9 and January 12; since thel;ltt~rdate, however, shipping in that port has been somewhat reduced.

':',Ii. The number of barges in North French porls have also apparenHyd~Wfeased slightly over the whole period, particularly during November;thetehas, on the other hand, been an increase of barges at Antwerp,and particularly at Rotterdam, which may, however, be due to thelaying-up of barges for the wmter.

IIIIIIIIII~~IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISPECIALLY ADAPTED BARGES NAA,005.0237

1-. Low oblique photographs of Boulogue taken on February 8, 1941,show for the first time the constructional alterations which have beencarried out on the bows of barges. There appear to be two variations. intreatment :-_.

Type A. (See attached drawing.) The sides have been cutaway, revealing a flat inclined surface leading from inside the holddOWII towards the waterline at the bows. The inclined plalle ispointed and is not more than one foot above the waterline at thebow.

Type B. The sides are cut away at approximately the samedistance from the bows as in type A, but photographs show that theexit from the forward hold, instead of sloping gradually down towardsthe bow, has a step in it, estimated at approximately one fooi,high.There appears to be no good reason served by having a step insteadof a gradual incline, aud it would lessen tbe depth of the hold availablefor vehicles.

In 'addition to this difference between the two types, the deckiug hasnot been removed forward either side of the exit from the hold. Theforward bold is closed from the sea by a door.

2. Although the position of the superstructure on the barges seems tovary considerably. in all cases it takes much the same form, viz., arectangular wall, possibly of concrete, approximately two feet thick andfour feet high, open at the rear. Type A barges have two of these supcr­stDlctures each, the after one being a complete rectangle.

3. These barges may be of the self-propelled type. They have clearlybeen designed for the transport and rapid disembarkation of A.F.V,s,for which tbey appear to be quite suitable. In both types the actualbow is of normal shape, i.e., slightly pointed, which allows the barge toretain its manceuvrahililY withoul undue detriment to the unloadingof vehicles. The superstructure would be suitable for mounting a lightanti-aircraft gun, awl numerouS experiments seem to have been carriedout for the most suitable position.

25

•

(C40172-3) E27

">:",::'"",';'

l'IIIIIIIIIII~llillllllllllllllllItaly NAA.005.0238Based on information received up to February 17, 1941

Enemy Surface CraftThe situation at Kismayu, which was captured by South African troops

on February 14, at present appears to be that, of the 16 ships originallythere, the following were captured on February 11 after leaving the portwhere they had heen since June, 1940: -Adria, Ermina Mazzella,Savoia, Manon, Leonardo da Vinci. The German Tannenfels and theAskan sailed before January 7; the former has disappeared, but the latterhas gone ashoFe south of Brava. The [Jckermark was intercepted,attempted to scuttle herself and suhsequently sank while in tow. Fourships, including one Italian tanker, were scuttled in Kismayu. Twoships, the Italian tanker Pensilvania and the German tug Kionga, arethought to have gone to Mogadishu. This leaves two out of the sixteenstill unaccounted for.

Air reconnaissance of the Ionian Sea area reported on February 12 aconvoy of two destroyers, four merchantmen of 4,000 tons and two of6,000 tons off the north coast of Sicily, course 230 0

• On the followingda.\". an Italian hospital ship of 12,000 tons was sighted S.E. of Sicily inposition 36° N.. 16° 14' E~ course 25° .

1J4i;ube±~}~."a'resu1t of improved weather conditions and the clearing operations,

tl1:1).1::\:~~ye been undertaken in many sectors of the Danube the ice on the·"fyeI'ha:s broken np and the flow of water has restarted. An ice blockiI~}'1~~er-Hungary. however. is causing serious flooding of the surround­Wg.¢duntry and has so far ~efICd the efforts of th~ military engineers and<l.~I:?,planes who are attempting to blow It up. 1he lo~er reac~es of t~er1V~t'::lre clear. There IS only a short stretch still unnavigable In

Y.\tgdslavia while oil barges are reported to have left Budapest for Vienna."Qtiite apart from the floods caused by ice blocks, the melting ice both

in the Danube and its tributaries is bound to raise the height of the riverco~sidembly and cause more flooding in certain districts. This will alsoC~ii~f; a hindrance to navigation as the tugs and barges will not be able tog~ithrough the bridges.

A Forecast of Improvement in Ice Conditions in N.W. Europel Navigation in the approaches to the Baltic (the Sound and the Great

Belt) might be practicable with ice-breaker assistance by March I, and isunlikely to be delayed later than March 20. Nonnal conditions areilllProbable before March 15 and might be as late as April 1.

2. German Baltic ports and the Riel Cahal maybe workable with ice­breaker assistance by March 7, but might be delayed a further two orthree weeks. Riga and Danzig will be of little use before April.

3. German North Sea Ports. River Elbe to Brunsbiittel might bepracticable as early as March 1 or as late as March 20; Hamburg a weeklater. Emden probably as for Brunsbutlel.

4, Stockholm is probably still jnst workable with considerable diffi­culty. Navigation there is unlikely to be normal before the middle of1\J~¥ch, or perhaps two or three weeks later.

Ice Conditions

Roumania

White SeaClosed.

Baltic.GULF OF BOTHNIA. All ports closed, and those at the southern end

are unlikely to be re-opened before April.

GULF OF "'INLAND. All ports closed.

BALTI~ SEA. Karlskrona is ~he only Swedish port still open, and theBaltic States ports are probaoly the only ones approachable on thesouthern and eastern shores. DanzIg and Riga must by now be almostclosed.

APPROACHES TO BALTIC SEA. The only traffic is by ferry from Swedento Denmark across the narrow ~eck at the northern end of 'the Sound.There may also be a ferry serVIce across the Great Belt but it is morelikely that traffic is over the ice. '

It will be appreciated fr?m the above that traffic in the Baltic is almostat a standstill. MIld C0D:dlhons spread to the western end for two days orso, but cold easterly wmds. have now returned. It is unlikely that a,retun~ to anythlll& approachmg normal conditions between the North Sea:­a,?d Gcrma~. BaltIc ports can occur before the middle of March. In theKattegat, Goteborg (Gothenburg) is being kept open with difficulty.

North Sea.

Milder weat~cr was experienced at German ports from February 8 to12,. but cold wmds have now returned. The situation is much the sameas It was ~ast ,:eek. Emden~is c1?sed, the Jade and Weser are probably'>?pen to ~Ig ShIpS, and the Elbc Impracticable above Cuxhaven. There,I:" much fce between and around the Frisian Islands, and out to the 15;hthon~ h~e off Denmark's western seaboard. lee is probably im cue';'trable mSlde the 100 fathom line north ot the Skaw, and floes of va~ing'tlllcl~ess up to 12 mc~cs wIll be .cncountered in the Skagerrak to theeastward 0; ~~O~?. 90 .E.. even Il1 deep water, particularly near theparallel of;,8 0,) N. whIch 1S approximately the track of the out-flowing~tream from the Baltic. Fast ice extends four or five miles from thesouthern coast of Norway each of Kristiansand.

Denmark StraitNo appreciable change.26

Roumania has declared. a mined area off Constanza extending to29° 04' E.; with pilot stations 5! miles from C. M,dia and 4! from'C. Tuzla. This extends five mIles to the eastward of a danger areadeclared in June last.

(C40172---.-3) E 2

A SwordfIsh with flares and three with torpedoes carried out a rat hunton theTripoli trade ronte on the night of February 13/14. A convoy ofabout four- merchant vessels with two escorting destroyers was located offthe east coast of Tunisia on a course of 15°. Torpedo aircraft attackedby the light of flares, the moon being overcast by cloud, and claimed onedefinite hit and another possible. After the attack three merchant vesselsand one destroyer proceeded, leaving the second destroyer making asmoke screen. Shadowing aircraft reported a large discoloured . patchbut observed no sinking ship or wreckage. The reports of the aircraftparticipating in the attack were conflicting and A.A. fire from destroyerswas intense, but it is considered that one of the enemy vessels was sunk.

VALONA. Two reconnaissance Blenheims reported a ship of15,000 tons, five of 10,000 tons and ten of between 3,000 and 5,000 tonsin Valona on February 10.

LIBYA. During the recent operations against Benghazi importantnaval support was given by patrolling the coast, moving up supplies andopening up of ports after recent mining. Tobruk is.now open, thoughsome trouble is still being experienced from mines, Derna can be usedby very small ships and Sollum is likely to be opened as soon as sweepersare available.

H.M.S. Aphis arrived at Benghazi on February 10, and the port isbeing opened as soon as practicable.

In addition to the Tiberio and Maria Giovanna, already reported, twoother auxiliary schooners, Zinngarella and Madre del Grazie, were capturedduring the operations off the Libyan coast.

Italian SubmarinesAn Italian U-boat was heavily, and possibly fatally, depth-charged

on February 10 by a Whitley aircraft in a position about 75 miles south­west of Rockall. The U-boat surfaced, making a lot of smoke, andengaged the aircraft with gunfire before submerging or sinking.

There has been no other sign of any Italian U-boats in the North­Western Approaches, but two or three have been at sea apparentlywithin or near the Bay of Biseay.

MiningOn the night of February 12/13 twelve mines were laid by aircraft in

Benghazi harbour.

Tohruk, Derna and Sollum are being cleared but three casualties haveoccurred off Tobruk.

On the night of February 14/15 a minelaying attack was made onMalta harbours. A number of mines were fixed off the entrances to theGrand Harbour and Marsarnxctt Harbour, and one in the GrandHarbour off the Custom House. Some fell on shore and exploded.

Enemy Aircraft ActivityMALTA. Malta was visited by encmy aircraft on the night of

FebnIary 10/11. On the first occasion three aircraft came from thenorth and dropped bombs at Halfar and Kalafrana. These fell in the

28

II:IIIIIIII:IIIIIIIIIII~IIIIIIIII., NAA.005.0239

'~~\~nd there was no damage and no casualties. ,On the second ,occasion;~;formation of four aircraft approached from the south-west and crOssed."JJie.i,SI'lnd, where they were engaged by A.A. fire, and there was a possible

/.1litona Ju.87.;;.iThe. island was again visited by enemy aircraft on the night of"j"e],ruary 13/14. Five enemy aircraft bombed individually, carising,"slight damage to a hospital, killing three patients and seriously injuring%iX>others. Damage to civilian property was slight and only six civilianswere slightly wounded.

o On the night of February 15 there was a series of raids, bombs were'dropped in the Grand Harbour, Sf. Elmo and Tigue areas, and also in'iQ~ sea. There were a few civilian casualties. Fighters were up butthere were no interceptions. It is confirmed that mines have been laid.off Valetfa and three have been exploded in Senglea.

Reconnaissances of AerodromesCOMISO. Photographs taken of aerodromes on February 15 show at

'Comiso eight ]u.52's, of which one was burnt out, eleven H.E.lll's, oneS.79 and 16 unidentified fighters. At Gela seven bombers and nine-dark camouflaged fighters were sighted.

CATANIA. A Glenn Martin made a photographic reconnaissance ofCatania on February 14. The photographs did not cover the wholearea, bnt they show twelve ju.55's, eleven H.E.1l1's and eight C.R.42'sin the northern half. Visual reconnaissance reported a total of twelveJu.52's, thirty bombers and twelve fighters.

Enemy Ports and other ObjectivesCALATO. On the night of February 9/10, eight Wellingtons dropped

:20,000 Ibs. of bombs on Calato aerodrome, setting fire to buildings andburning out ten Italian aircraft.

COM150. Wellingtons of 148 Squadron attacked Comiso and Cataniaaerodromes on th: night of February 11/12. Aircraft dropped bombs in"Small stIcks, 1cavmg the target and returning betwcen each stick at 20 to:3?-minute ~nte~als. They. were successful in destroying at least fouraIrcraft at Catama and starting fires at Corniso and Catania.

MASSAWA. An attack was carried out on February '13 on the InnerHarbour. There was probably one hit on a ship at the jetty, where asubmarine ar:d a supply ship were reported by reconnaissance. Onemerchant ShIp was sunk outside the Inner Harbour and a secondmerchant ship was possibly sunk either by a torpedo or a bomb.Destroyers were attacked in the Main Harbonr and there was oneprobable hit on a large destroyer. There was heavy close range fireand the attack was hampered by Cant".

ASSAB. On February 12 and 14 Assab was bombed by the R.A.F.On th.c first occasion 500 Ibs. of bombs were dropped and on the secondOccaSiOn 2,000 lbs.

Suez CanalSix ships including the Christian Huygens of 15,000 tons which had

oeen held up by the block in the southern part of the Canal have arrived.at Suez. Through traffic proceeding northward started on February 12.

29

tI.

31

Osprey

British Brandenburgattacked.

l{erorled by Greek Min­i."itry of Marine.

!lllllllllllllilllll~.III~NAA.005.0240

British Arthu.r F. Corwinattacked.

Interrupted signal fromunknown Ship.

British Siamese Princeattacked.

British Dlackattacked.

H.eported by NorwegiallL ,·1. Christensen.

H.eported by H.M. ship.

WESTERN AREA36: 10 N.-16 : 38 W .. 360 11l. 263"

Cape St. Vincent.

.MEDITERRANEAN

37.45 N.-23: 50 E.. S.E. of 'I

Pbk'v'<-l Island, Gulf of Athens.

U.S.S.R.

COAST OF A"RIC'\05: 02 N. -12: 48 W., 210 m. 177')

Freeto\,,'n.36: 41 N. --20: 24 Vil. 2!O tn. 105'"

San Miguel, Azores.

NORTH-WESTERN AREA.58: 49 N.-06: S3 W., 58 ll1. 285" Reported by H.M. trawler.

Cape Wrath.GO: 20 N.-IS: 58 W., 180 m. 3:~T'

Rockall.55: 16 N.-IS : 50 W., 340 m. 27W

Bloodv Foreland.59: 53 N.-12 : 13 W .. 198 11l. 290'

Butt of Lewis.61: 13N.-18: 10W.,390m.295"

Butt of Lewis.

t~ia~;';t:dl~~ grouplflg of the following reports of submarines or ofa following geographical expressions are used:~

North of S5 : 00 N., and West of the Orklleys andShetlands, aud of 01 : 00 W.

The area East of 02 : 00 E., to the North' of50 : 00 N.. and East of 01 : 00 W., to the Northof 6f : 00 N.

The area between that line and a line runninghom Dover to Cap Gris Nez.

West of that line as far as a line running fromthe Lizard to Ushant. .

West of the Channel, South of SS : 00 N., andNorth of 36: 00 N.

The area South of 36 ; 00 N., and West of Tarifa,Straits of Gibraltar.

1529/13

0635/10

Before1350/121845/14

0240/12

2040/12

En.emy Submarine Acfivili~

0340/14

2040/17

0233118

NEW RANKS FOR RATINGS

The Russian press of December 4 announced the introduction ofHew ran~s fo~ the Soviet Navy. The changes were not unexpected asnew,' deSIgnatlons and additional ranks had been introduced into theN~C.O. cadres of the Red Anny several weeks earlier.

<" The Channel "

., Western Area "

«':North Sea"

.. African Coast"

FLEET OPERATIONS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

Bombardment of Genoa~ February 9The following fuller account of the operations against Genoa is 6f

interest.

In the. afternoon of Febnlary 6, six destroyers, in units of one or tW()

ships, sailed unobtrusively eastwards to rendezvous with the Test of theforce. The· remaining ships sailed at dusk. feinting to westward as ifcovering a convoy. They turned east after darkness in three units toavoid detection. No aircraft were detected and the Fleet altered courseto the north-east after dark, passing between Iviza and Majorca. Therewas a flat calm and extreme visibility. The six destroyers. joined forcesa.m. February 8. During the day one civil and two French militaryplanes sighted the Fleet.

After dark the Fleet proceeded towards Genoa at 21 knots. Two<destroyers carried Qut W IT diversion east of Minorca at 2345. Therewas extraordinarily good visibility until the moon set at 0519, but subse­quently there was a slight haze, and visibility decreased proportionately.No patrols were encountered. H.lVLS. Ark Royal was detachedindependently with three destroyers at 0400. A navigational fix passingHyeres light and excellent navigation brought the bombarding force intothe exact position off Portofino as dawn broke on Februarj 9.

Fire was opened at 0714 and continued until 0744 when the forcewithdrew sQufhward.

The sale opposition was some ineffective fire from two 6-in. guns andslight A.A. fire directed against our spotting aircraft. Evidently acomplete surprise was achieved. The targets were obscured by morninghaze and the bombardment was indirect, using back horizon laying and'gyro training. Initial salvoes fell as anticipated, and fire was greatlyaided by aircraft spotting.

H.M.S. Ark Royal rejoined at 0900 and the force withdrew atH.M.S. Malaya's best speed. Two shadowing aircraft were shot down byfIghters and two Fiat B.R.20 bombers attacked at 1140 but 01:1ysucceeded in dropping fom· bomhs 1,500 yards from the nearest shIp,after which they retired northwards. There was no further attack.

The F.G. of the attacking force attributes the success of the bombard-I.:.•.ment under difficult conditions to the meticulous ca.re taken by officers ,Iand to unbelievable laxity on the part of the enemy. Favourable weatherconditions assisted the withdrawal.

Fully confirmatory reports give the damage caused by the bombard­ment as follows:-

Large fires in Allsaldo's Electrical and Roiler Works, in the mainPower Station, Dry Docks, and around the Inner Harhour, and hits onoil tanks, marshalling yard and merchant vessels. According to theItalian press very extensive damage was dDne to buildings.

From all reports received it is evident that the bombardment was most '~successful as regards both material damage and moral effect. It issignificant that no Italian communique was issued for 30 hours afterthe bombardment.

30

3. Starshina, 2nd class. 3.

32

~1111111111~III~illlllil~llllll~I NAA.005.0241

Minesweeping in the Humber

33

'<:/"",'Jilview of intensive enemy minelaying at other ports a scheme of:"~Inergency Mine Clearance had been drawn up, in order to deal with a",_:~iPtilar eventuality in the Humber.

',fOn January 15, 1941, between 2045 and 2130,. appr?ximately.fifteen.enemy aircraft were reported to be engaged m mmclaymg operatIOns III

thcHumber, mainly to the westward of Spurn Point.

The port was closed at. 2130, and the Emergency Mine ClearanceS:cheme wa, immediateiy brought into operation. By 2300 'one S.A. shiphad begnn sweeping in the channel from No. 6 Upper Burcom BuoyWHumber Light Vessel. One pair of LL trawlers followed after the

.S.A. ship in the same channel. By 0800 on January 16 a two-cablechannel from No.6 Upper Burcom Buoy (0 H.3 Buoy had been sweptby S.A. and LL ships, and day sweeping of the same channel wasbegnn. This was completed by 1230 and the Humber was opened withreservations at 1246. S\veeping was continued throughout the day, andthe full length of the approach channel was swept a third time with bothS'.A. and LL ships. The port was opened without reservations, exceptfor the anchorage, at 1458.

In view of previous experience at other ports, it was decided therewas a distinct possibility that the mines might not become operative forsome time, and the scheme of sweeping was re-arranged accordingly.This embraced continuous day and night sweeping, with the approachchannel as the first consideration. It was further decided to keep theport open until the first mine was detonated, and then to stop all traffic.while an even more intensive sweeping programme was carried out.

On January 17 Aiglon was docked for alterations to her S.L\.. gear,a jury rig being fItted with a 25-ft. 12-in. wooden spar, suitably trimmed.This work was pushed forwatd night and day, and completed onJanuary 22.

I3y the evening of January 18, LL trawlers had steamed over 200 miles(or about 36 hours continuous sweeping); S.A. trawlers had steamedabout 250 miles (or about 48 hours continuous sweeping); and all theanchorages had been searched by S.A. and LL sweeps.

It was therefore possible to relax somewhat the intensive sweepinguntil the first mine was exploded, but at the same time sweeping thechannel as far as possible in front of incoming and outgoing convoys orimportant ships. During this respite, the opportunity was taken to allowthe crews some form of stand-casy, and to remedy any defects in thegear which had developed.

This stand-casy was enforced on January 19 as dense fog prevailedall day, and consequently the port was again closed at 1612, in casemines had become operative during the past 24 hours. Sweeping on anonnal scale was resumed on January 20, and the port was re-openedat 1122, after the channel had been swept by S.A. and LL ships. Fogagain intervened on January 21, and only a small amount of sweeping-could be carried out. The port was closed during the afternoon.

",.n~')".'l:'{~"

,;~t·

Old Ranks.

~: }Krasnoflotets.

KommandirOtdelenie.

~:}Starshina { ~:6. Apparently none. 6.

In Tsanst days thc rank of Midshipman (Russian" Michman ") wasequivalent to our Sub-Lientenant. It is now reintroduced as the designa­tion of the highest non-commissioned rank in the Soviet Navy.

Nearest BritishEquivalent.

[1. Ordinary and A.B.I..2. Senior A.B.

(RM. equivalent isunpaid LanceCorporal) .

3. Leading Seaman.

Petty Officer.Chief Petty Officer.Nearest equivalent,

Master-at-Arms orWarrant Officer.

For the Coast Artillery, Naval Aviation and Naval Infantry, the rankswill be those now adopted for the Red Army, viz. :-

1. Krasnoannets.2. Efreitor.3. Mladshi Sergeant.4. Sergeant.5. Starshi (Senior) Sergeant.6. Starshina.

Apart from designations of rank, all ratings who have signed on forthe extended service are to wear chevrons on the left arm as follows:--

For 5 years extended service 1 gold chevron.For 10 years and over 2 gold chevrons.For 15 years and over 3 gold chevrons.

The Commissar far the Navy, in a preamble to the new Order, statesthat the new ranks have been instituted to increase the responsibility ofChief and Petty Officers and leading seamen with the object of strengthen­ing discipline, perfecting training and edncating the sailor. Althonghnot specifically mentioned, it is probable that.the new Order h:,-". as aforther object the strengthenmg of thc authonty of the CommIssiOnedOfficers. The old leading seamen title, "Kommandir Otdelenie," hasbeen abolished, and the word Kommandir is now confined to the Officerclass only. It is possible that to add to the prestige of the CommissionedOfficers the present mode of address " Comrade Captain-Lieutenant"or " Comrade Captain 2nd rank," etc., will bc replaced by the adoptionof the word "Kornmandir" as an eqnivalent to our "Sir." TheTsarist expression of acknowledgement « Tak Tochno," similar to ourH Aye aye, Sir," is already ~eing used by junior ~aval Officcr~ inreplying to Flag Officers, and It would be eqnally sUltable for ratmgsto use the words "Tak Tochno, Kommandir" when acknowledgingOfficers' orders.

6. Michman.

4. Starshina, 1st clasS.

New Ranks.1. Krasnofiotcts.2. Senior Krasnoflotets.

A careful study of the mine plot indicates that the mines were laidin groups of three, with from three to five cables between each mine onlines of bearing fr~m Spurn Point Light House, Grimsby HydraulicTower, and m the Channel from the Boom Gate Vessel.

Lessons Learnt.1. The Port need not be closed immediately after mines have been

laId, but it is vitally necessary to do so a.nd stop aU traffic as soonas the first mine is found.

2. ,-!,hc value of a prepared scheme In advance for intensive mine­sweeplIlg.

3. Accnrate observalion of the numbers and positions of mines laidcan be of the greatest assistance to subsequent sweeping operations.

35

36

II 1IIIIIIilll!IIII~II~NAA.005,0242

the fo~lowing day.mopping up operations were continued. Two.·1';·;rtl;pr c1eanng sweeps In the Convoy Anchorage were carried out'.P1.licTfu,4a,cY 27 and 28, and the anchorage was opened at 1744 on the 28th:.

was detonated by War Duke, with her new consort Gwenllianand one by Aiglon on the 28th, in the Southern Examinatio';'

lru<;h<lTa.ge. On January 29, two more mines were detonated to theBoom, while clearing the area for work to be carried out in

This brought the grand tota.l up to thirty-six. By the eveningTm';""Tv 30 the Sonthern Exa.mination Anchorage and Northern

Anchorage had been searched thoroughly with S.A. andand were opened.

Itconld now safely be assumed that the port was reasonably clear ofmines, except pe~haps for stray ones in out-of-the-way corners. The·operation of cleanng the intensive lay of mines was therefore completedin eigbt days from the time of their becoming operative, during whichtime fog prcvented sweeplllg on two days. The operation cost two ships.The Luda Lady was mined while carrying out her sweeping, but for­tunately without loss of life; the St. Cyprus was mined while proceedingout of harbour all urgent work while the port was closed.

Defects in sweeping gear were few, and these were remedied duringthe two days of fog. No maYf,>1n of ships was available, and a con­siderable delay in the clearance would have been inevitable had a Donnalnumb~r of defec~s ~leveloped. In ~~ticipation of a second minelayingoffenSIve of a sImdar nature, addItIOnal 1.,L sweepers appear to beessential, especially as fue force available has been reduced by thecasualty to Luda Lady and subsequent damage to Ben Meidie in collision.

An analysis of the mines destroyed leads to the conclusion that thedelay action settings were of the order of 6t days. The 36 mines so fardestroyed C3.Il be classified as follows:-

By S.A. ships 17By LL ships 7Othcrwise accounted for 10Exploded by ships 2

Total

January 22 was a clear day and sweeping was begun at dawn. Itappeared probable that thernines would have. become operative duringthe previous night, and a full intensive sweeping programme had there­fore been arranged. The Fitzgerald, being fitted with S.A. gear, Type C,was ordered to sweep in advance of the LL trawlers. She completedher sweep of a two-cable channel from No. 6 Upper Burcom Buoy tothe Boom at 0940, wIthout having detonated a mine. At 0948, theBenachie towing a skid and sweeping throngh the boom gate, detonateda mine. The port was immediately closed, and all traffic stopped, exceptfor S.A. and LL sweepers. The LL trawlers War Duke and Luda Lady,following almost immediately astern of Fitzgerald, completed their firstlap between No.6 Upper Burcom Buoy and the Boom without inciderit,and had gone one mile on the retnrn lap, when at 1031 Luda Ladyexploded a mine close on her starboard side and subsequently sank.At 1110, the tug St. Cyprus proceeding out of harbour, exploded a mineunderneath her, close to boom gate, and sank almost immediately with ­the loss of one life.

Meanwhile Fitzgerald had anchored in the Northern ExaminationAnchorage to repair a defect to her S.A. gear. When the St. Cypruswas mined she got under way in order to go to her assistance-,and while proceeding there with her S.A. gear running she detonateda mine. She was able to pick up many survivors from the St. Cyprus.but her S.A. gear was now found to be out of action.

Fortunately the Aiglon was by this time undocked, and she wasordered to begin sweeping the two-cable channel from No. 6 UpperBurcom Buoy to Humber Light Vessel. Her debut was most successful.and she detonated two mines at 1524 and 1623.

At 1630 Fezenta and Drummer Boy, who had been sent out to relieveWar Duke and Luda Lady, detonated a mine in the channel close tothe Sea King wreck. Thus, during the day, every type of sweep-S.A.,Type A; S.A., Type C; LL, and skid·-had accounted for mines, andthe channel was swept right through from No. (3 Upper Burcom Buoy toHumber Light Vessel. Altogether seven mines were accounted for.

The following day, January 23, dense fog again intervened, and nosweeping was possible. One mine was, however, accounted for, thuspreventing a blank day. On January 24, the fog stin prevailed, andno movements of any sort were possible.

The fog had lifted sufficiently hy dawn on January 2~, and sweepingwas resumed. Ten mines were detonated betwecn dawn and dark.Aiglon detonated three, Fitzgerald four. and the Mark V LL's three.By 1300 the channel had been swept thoroughly by S.A. and LLsweeps, auQ. the port was opened at 1309.

The second phase of the emergency operations began 011 January 26.While further prccautionary sweeps were continued in the channcl, finalclearance of the anchorages was started, and widening of the channel toa width of four cables was carried out. Fonr mines were detonated byAiglon dming th~ day, and onc by LL trawlers. Two more explosionsbrought the day's bag np to seven, making a total acconnted for up­to-date, 32 mines.

34

;$(iJ;~Yl'man<1.tbirth as 29,400 RM., and of a female at 11,000 RM.i.:".Itl?"e whole. population is thus worth 1,625 milliard mafk.s;;":~~~8ribed as t~e ""organic capital" of the Reich, or fivetiirici')~t3"'real capItal. To thIS Professor ReIter would add other>~~lues generative (the ability to produce children) and cultural';J(i\lP~city for useful .invention); for these, however, he does not/'~j'fer monetary eqUlvalents. The duty of developmg all thispdlential capital is being attended to by the State; and, ProfessorReiter concluded, "the burden of looking after mental

'oelicients, cripples and epileptics, as well as those who dislikework, is to be ,:onsiderably lightened." It is impossible not topnk up thIS slUlster statement, from an official source, with thef!1any reports of the mysterious deaths of patients in GermanJ,Ilental hospitals, and with the rumours, current in Germany,thatthese patIents have been used for the purpose of experimentswith new soporific and lethal gases.

Public opinion in Sweden remains predominantly anti-Nazi,and the Swedish Government continue their safety-valve policyof resisting moderate German pressure, but yielding when itpasses a certain point. The Germans have been putting pressureupon Sweden to allot half the space of her shipyards to Germanshipbuilding, using the threat of withholding steel supplies. TheSwedes, after resisting the original demand, have now consentedto assign a smaller proportion of their shipyard capacity, amount­ing to about one-fifth, for this purpose. Sweden is subjected toGerman propaganda, as well as pressure, and the recent visit of aparty of German journalists, led by the head of the Press Depart­ment of the German Foreign Office, was judged by a Swedishnewspaper to be the beginning of a planned propaganda offensive.Another newspaper, referring to the discovery of Nazi spies atGothenburg, remarked that "many patriots have tried to persuadethemselves that Nazi activities in Sweden arc harmless, but theselatest revelations have rudely awakened such naive souls, whilefor others they conlirm what has before been feared and sus­pected." A recent Swedish home broadcast contained a warningagainst foreign propaganda, particularly that aimed at Swedishyouth. The speaker said that it was as much the duty of theSwedish people to defend themselves against foreign propagandaas to defend Uleir country militarily.

Jt is said that, as the result of a Danish request, the Swedishpress was asked by the Swedish Foreign Office not to publish thenews of the German seizure of Danish torpedo-boats.

Cfl

il.III'II\liillllll~II~II~NAA.OO5.0243Scandinavia

PART IV: POLITICAL

GermanyThere is further evidence of the Nazi leaders' attempts to keep

up civilian morale in Germany. Goebbels spoke at Hamburgearl~er in the month on the well-worn theme of a people's waragam~t a Br:hsh plutocracy that must be liquidated. A weeklater III J?erllll he declared that Germany was fIghting for theconstructlOn of " the first great Socialist State on earth." Hessat Breslau claimed that " the Fuhrer desired anything ratherthan war, because he wished to realize his plans for improving!he standard of hving of the German people"; the present pausem the war, he also asserted, was in Germany's favour. Bothspeakers were at pains to combat any signs of war-weariness,which from all accounts is more prevalent than any fear ofdefeat. Defeat, indeed, is said to be little discussed, but fewGermans are enthnsiastic any longer about either the war or itsoutcome. One recent visitor to Berlin found a widespread hopethat a heavy bombardment of Britain in the spring would forcethe British Government to a compromise peace, and reported thatmany In lllgh places had httle expectation of a declsive victory.

A well-lllformed German who left his country before Christ­mas gives the following account of the attitude of those Germanswho desire the fall of the Nazi regime. They are, he says,practically despairing: the military successes of 1he Fuhrer,>combmed wlth the increased terrorism of the Gestapo, havedepnved them of any. ~ope of a Nazi collapse. Their feelingtowards Bntam ts dlvlded. They have only contempt forBntrsh propaganda, and they regarded the failure of theNorwefii~n campaign as an. irretrievahle dis.a~ter. Many ofthem, It IS true, have a genUlne respect for BntIsh resistance inthe face of aerial" Blitzkrieg," but they are convinced thatwhen Great Britain is invaded-which they regard as inevitable~an improvised defence will be no match for German efficiencyand long-range phnning. Moreover, while they desire a Britishvictory as a means of destroying Hitler and Hitlerism, they fearthat Bntam's refusal to state war aims is an indication that (asGoebbels has repeatedly asserted) a super-Versailles treaty isbeing planned in the event of a German defeat: such a con­clusion to the war is opposed by even the most determined anti­Nazis.. In these circumstances, and with a people unarmed,ur:rcslstJng and cowed, there seemed at that time (according tothlS observer) no chance of a counter-revolution in Germany.

The Presldent of the Reichs Miuistry of Health has assessed inmarks the value of human beings in Germany. By a compli­cated process of mathematics he computes the value of a male

36

a9

Neutral observers have recently reported a change of attitudeamong the Netherlands population. For a long time after theGerman occupation they were mainly inspired by an angrycontempt for the Fifth Columnists and traitors of the Dutch Naziparty led by Mussert. The German troops behaved reasonablywell, and the Dutch people in general seemed to have concealedany ,,:ctive dislike of them..There were, indeed, isolated reports ofdefimte sabotage, but nothmg to suggest an organized campaign.Latterly, however, according to neutral reports, the mood haschanged, and there has grown up a sullen hatred of the Gennans.The latter stIli behave" correctly" and there is little evidenceof a decay of discipline. But the Germans, under the influenceof the Nazi Herrenvolk theory, are said to have manifested anassumption of superiority which infuriates the Dutch and hasnow produced a much more definite feeling of hatred.

il,IIIIIIIII'[I~III~IIIWIIIIIIIIINAA.OO5.0244The Low Countries!'

t1rpupils and teachers refused to visit the HitlerYouth exhibi­)lin Oslo. Very well, says Fritt Folk, the Quislingite news"

er , the pupils have "voluntarily renounced higherC<).tion," and an awkard question has found a simple solution.

'<'iduction in the number of pupils and teachers in higher schools;, ,save coal, allow school buildings to be used for otherr;:'.i;'b.~i:esSary purposes, and provide the labour market with " ai;>;;~elcome addition of youth who have chosen to adopt manual'·;;'labour instead of continuing their studies."

'·oj_,

<'.;;·tn Denmark there is reported to be a widespread patriotic<movement among students, many of whom have given up theirsJ;tidies in order to travel about the country speaking and'Strengthening the nation in its efforts to preserve freedom and

'nationality. The various youth organizations are workingtogether for the same purpose. While the Swedish press hascalled the German seizure of Danish torpedo-boats" a new andlong step towards Denmark's complete subjection and absorp­tion," that action is likely to have intensified Danish nationalfeeling. An indication of the strength of. this feeling is to befound in a recent pamphlet by Dr. La Conr, a Danish historian,which is described in the Nordschleswigschc Zeitung. It is saidthat the pamphlet forecasts a long war and a British victory,ridicules the Clausen party, calls the German" New Order" the

. abolition of freedom, and says that Germany is in a state ofspiritual slavery andi that those willing to serve Nazism aremerely manonettes.

Encouraged by their parents and teachers, several hundredpupils in schools in Southern Norway went on strike against themclusion of Quislingite propaganda in the school syllabus, and

as

pagsnyheter, however, disregarded the request and defended itsaction on two grounds. First, to suppress the news would havelent weight to the view expressed lately in aspeech to the Anglo­Swedish Society m London by Mr. Harold Nicolson that Swedenis refused freedom of expression. (Mr. Nicolson's remarks onthe isolated and encircled situation of Sweden, the attempted dis­integration of its national unity by foreign influences, and hishint th?-t the Swedish censorship prevented the truth about thewar bemg known, had touched the Swedes in a sensitive spot.)Secondly, Dagsnyheter could not feel that it was damaging toDenmark to publish the information: on the contrary, since theDanes did everything they could to prevent the German action,the news was therefore rather favourable to Denmark.

In Sweden there is much sympathy with the Norwegians intheir present plight, and this has found practical expression, but,according to Swedish press reports, both gifts of money and ofwooden houses have been stolen by the German troops. TheSwedes believe that there is bitter feeling against them inNorway: "Everywhere it is said we have lost the right to becalled a brother people since we allowed the transit of Gennantroops to and from Norway and the free passage of slave trainsfrom Norway." This is presumably an allusion to Norwegianworkers recruited for labour in Germany. There is reason tobelieve that the Germans have also sent by train through SwedenNorwegian traitors in the shape of recruits for the NordlandRegiment.

The Norwegians appear to be deriving encouragement fromthe attention excited in all free countries, including Sweden, bytheir "unarmed resistance": they are growing proud of theposition which they have achieved among the German-occupiedcountries. The increasing severity of Nazi and Quislingitepressure seems only to make popular resistance more obstinatelyunited. Himmler's visit to Norway has brought about a changein the attitude of Quisling and his followers towards the questionof Norwegian independence. In recent speeches Quisling­whose style as an orator was lately reported to show signs ofimitation of that of Hitler-has been careful to qualify the hopeswhich he has expressed of ultimately restoring full independenceto Norway, and the German authorities are openly discouragingundue confidence in this respect. Their construction of perma­nent defences and military accommodation reveals theirintentions.

The most reliable evidence of this attitude among the Dutch is.to be found in the German and German-controlled newspapers,which report a large number of p.rison sentence~ and fines forsabotage, insults to Germany and listenmg to Bntish broadcasts.Among recent examples are sentences of 18 months on a nursewho chalked up insults to Hitler on trees in The Hague, and on abutcher who swore at a photograph of the Fiihrer, while theGerman newspaper in Amsterdam has lately declared thatheavier sentences will be imposed for listening in to " the lyingB.B.C." The same newspaper states that, in spite of the lawagainst defacing coins, many people in Holland wear the imageof Queen Wilhelmina,cut from coins, and calls this" a demon­stration against the New Order in Europe." It also mvelghsagainst the widespread whispering campaign and the snow-ballletters organized, apparently, by opponents both of the Gennansand of the Dutch Nazis; and it attacks the Catholic and Pro­testant Churches for poisoning the peoples' minds against theNew Order. (The Roman Church in Holland has d?cla.red a banon the Dutch Nazi movement.) One of the orgamzations mostantagonistic towards the Dutch Nazis is the Netherlands Union,itself a totalitarian or " corporative" movement designed topromote good relations with Germany within the limits of Dutchnationalism. The newspaper of the Umon has recently beenurgin& the need for nation.al regeneration, while insisting that" dunng a foreign occupation the natIOnal element cannot findits full expression. In the meantime the Netherlands can preparefor peace, justice, and self-detennination." As long ago as lastJuly the Union claimed a membership of two million (or nearlya quarter of the population), and the figure is said to have risensteadily in the last six months.

Similarly in Belgium ther,e has been a marked revival ofnational and pro-British sentiment.. Popula~ belief ~ a B~itishvictory is reported to be overwhelmmg and IS combm~d Wlt~ agrowing hatred of the Germans, who are suspecte? of mtcndmgto maintain a permanent control of the Low Countnes. Althoughcriticism of King Leopold is said to continue in som? circles, themajority of the people, who are un?-ware of the posslble lmrlica­tions of the meetmg which he IS believed to have had wIth Hitler,apparently admire the way in which he has remained aloof andregard him as their chief hope. Food conditions are said to beworse than under the German occupation during the last war:there is no coffee or fish, little meat and bread, such butter as isavailable is bought up by the Germans at considerably morethan the official price. Nevertheless, in spite of efforts in somequarters to support Mr. Hoover's schemes for feeding thecountry, there is reported to be general real17,atlOn that reltef fromabroad would be impracticable.

40

,

. France I J~I~I~~~~!~!'~~n Marshall Petain and General Franco emerj;"ed fromthetr'e~a:tions at. Montpellie.r, they were ,~cclalr:'ed by the'arce, accordmg to Radio Lyons, but nothmg could be'oil tlleir faces." Nothing of any real slgmficance can beinto the French and Spanish press and radlO accounts of the

;,'tfug, and the subjects of the conversat1OllS .remam <;bscure.'rt11e most part Vichy has. used !he occ::,s1On f?r mternalpaganda, while Paris has tned to gJ,:,"e th~ lmpress10n that thel.>lems facing France and Spam are ldentical, and are wholly,,x l,ie to the iniquitous British blockade. It IS of mterest th,,;t

."~~~man propag:an~a, .which ma.d? much of Ge;,er.al Franco s¥(sitto Mussoltm, dlsmlssed t1:e. VlSlt to Marshal P.etam as pur;}y"rnatter of courtesy, descnbmg the conversatIOns as of a:~I,'heral character." In the absence of authoritative reports. it.''''ould be idle to speculate on the rumours that the chief ~OPICS

~'fdiscussion were food problems and the effect on AXIS poltcy of:iJ.ieltalian reverses in North Africa. There appear to have b~en'~p',furtller developments during. the week in the reconstructIOn,a~.jhe Vichy Government, With or Without Laval, but M.'J=,:~yrouton, the Minister of the Interior, who was suspected by.th~Germansof having been instrumental in the fall of Laval, ISt(j;'be sent as French Ambassador to Argentina.

"'After the Armistice the promises of the Nazis to treat France~~herO,uslY, ",nd their offer. of co-operation, gave some hope toWe Frcnch m the occuplCd area. It was thought that th~

Ge,rmans might show moderation in a country completely at theirll'1e,c)'. To-day, however, all such hope has disappeared. Thecorrect and disciplined behaviour of the occupymg troops maypossibly still deceive superfIcial observers; but it is ,:een by themajority to be nothing more ilian clever showmanship.As oneFrenchman has expressed it, " the old instinct of pillagmg ,andlooting of the Hun hordes, the cunning, treachery and bad huthof the Emperor Frederick, are still, and always will be, .theguiding principles of tl,e Germans." ~at the French partJcu­b,rly resent is not the fact that the spOIls go to the vlctor-aIla.tural accompaniment of defeat-but that the vlctor asse~ts,,Vith,all the art and clamour of propaganda, thathe IS spanngFra.nce to establish with her a genuine co-operal1on under Inspl~n. :for a new Europe; actually he does everything in his powerlpruin her. The Germans, in fact, as they have done before, aresl:).pwing themselves at once masters of the art of ruthless~::E'p19itation and exponents of gross psychological blundering.

41

Psychological misjudgment is aho evident in the Germans'plans for ensuring the co-operation of French industry. At first,it seems, they counted on the enthusiastic collaboration, notpeerhaps of the working class, but at least of proprietors anddirectors. They found in practice, however, that owners ofdamaged factories bore them little love; and that the profits heldout to the owners when production was severely limited by war'damage or by shortage of raw materials were so meagre as tooffer no incentive to co-operation. Moreover German indust­rialists have demanded " protection " from French competition,and, under the pretext that the British retain big interests inFrench concerns, have pressed for the absorption of these in0cerman industrial combines-a move hardly designed to con­ciliate the French. There has been much passive resistance atthe top, just as there has been much sabotag-e and ca'canny atthe bottom, of French industry; and Laval IS believed to havebeen extensively-and expensively-" buying off" the more non­co-operative arms manufacturers.

In both zones of France renewed hope of a British victory isreported to be accompanied by some suspicion of British peaceaims. The close association of recent British Governments withas is alleged, French politicians of the Left is taken as indicating;that Britain will attempt to impose a particular form of govern­ment on France after the war, instead of allowing her liberty toorder her own affairs. Such a belief is fostered by propaganda,whIch even asserts that Communist activity in France is sup­ported by Britain. It is common for the Vichy wireless tostigmatize as the three pro-British enemies of Marshal Petain" Communists, the old demagogic parties, and adherents ofGeneral de Gaulle." Under these propagandist influences, it isnot perhaps surprising if support of General de Gaulle is depre­cated by many who fear that the leaders of the Free Frenchmovement may be " run " by H.M. Government after the war"and that if this is done France will be anything but free. Never­theless there is evidence that the exploits of the Free Frenchforces are followed with interest and pride by many Frenchmen.and that the earlier suspicion of the movement has declined.

FRENCH EMPIRE

The situation in North and West Africa is still obscure. Everynew British success in Africa places Marshal Petain, AdmiralDarlan and General Weygand in a stronger position as holders ofthe two trumps, the French Empire and the Fleet. It is difficultto judge how long they can put off the moment when they will beobl.iged to come to ter~s with Germany. General Weygand'sattitude IS sllll emgrnahc: faced with the German desire forcontrol of the French North and North-West African ports,

42

11111111111111111111111111111111111111

NAA.005.0246

jilarly Bizerta, Casablanca and Dakar, he has on1el."S t~<]j'rench North Africa intact, and has taken pains t<;i

<1i<;;t.· rumours regarding the use of French Af.rica;.1:>Y'I\Y"nd Italy. :r~ere is eyidence to show that thearitlY'fmce would wIlhngly resIst German actIOn; the attitudeleet is more doubtful, in so far as Admiral Darlan, who is

iry anti-British in sentiment, is in complete control, andbe unlikely to co-operate with Great Britain. He would,

'v;er presumably carry out the orders, which 1!he Viohyirmnent declare they have given, for the scuttling of war­'rather than their surrender to Germany. Marshal Petain,

. ver intentions he may have to counter excessive German11re, is still doubtless hoping to postpone a compromise until

. . ,Iting heralded attack on Great Britain has produced some'~~l$.;j~"tiJll von Hentig has concluded his mission to Syria, where

-.,;tj'~{q9mbined the official status of a negotiator for Syrian par-,ftiBf'pation in the Franco-German barter agreements with the:~official status of an agent provooateur. He may well have~r1e. trouble among the Syrian Nationalists, whom he found lessamiable than he had expected, and one result of his visit is~e1y to be an extension and improvement of German propa­g~nda. On the offic}al side he appears to have had little success~1f.• the French HIgh Commissioner, General Dentz, who is~p.re concerned with the prosperity of the territories under hispll"rge, than with conciliation of the emissaries of the)Vilhelmstrasse, By all accounts General Dentz is more of a,§<?lgier than a politician or a diplomat, bluff, genial and straight-f9.j"ward. He appreciates that Syria and Lebanon, which are inI:):ged of imports of food, arc more likely to profit by an exchange9~goods with Iraq, Turkey and Palestine than by a one-sidede?,port ,of goods to Germany. Relations with Palestine, ofcourse, are not easy, in spite of the willingness of the Britishauthorities to allow a degree of commercial intercourse for­bylden in other parts of the French Empire. But General Dentzappears anxious for a sufficient improvement in relations toensure the feeding of Syria, while at the same time he has madeit clear that by treating with Palestine he is not swerving fromhi§ fixed allegiance to Vichy. He is no friend to the Free FrenchNovernent, and it is likely that his conciliatory policy in Syriav\>111 act as a further check on the growth of a movement whichli"s already to contend with indifference and fear. GeneralI\ergeret, the Vichy Air Minister, visited Syria in January"'itensibly in connexion with the future organization of the AIrlJ'9T.ce. He enquired into the loyalty of the air personnel andWeIr fitness as a fighting force. He is reported to have impressed1.l.J;',on all ranks the need to resist any attack made on Frenchcolonial territory by British or Free French forces.

43

Spain"y/>

lMrayspreached the gospel of imperial expan.a:1soexalted the bellicose virtues of the Italian.. fO convince his people that Fascism had

. with the means to conquer and develop an. tfheconquest of Abyssinia and Albania and the

> ofthe Italian stranglehold on Libya provided himuse to call himself" the Founder of the Empire."

.;ti.est>', were achieved only by dint of great sacrifices on""ffheItalian nation. Fascists, however, were able to'vthe end as justifying the means. But it was with

.' •....able misgiving that the majority of the Italian nation~llf~tkedhalf-heartedlyon the war last June. Mussolini no(]6~1itJelt that he had chosen his moment well, and after theSfiff\1encollapse of France, which seemed to remove thepossibility of any direct attack on Italy, many of the moreapathetic Italians probably found comfort in the thought thatthe war would be brought to a rapid end. They may even havethought that the opportunism of their leader was likely to bringthem considerable benefits at relatively small cost, and theirconfidence was undoubtedly heartened by the easy capture ofBritish Somaliland and Graziani's temporary advance intoEgypt. The events of this month have shattered such prematureconfidence, and Italians cannot but realize now that they havesuffered a defeat of the first magnitude. Abyssinia and EastAfrica are in grave danger. Cyrenaica has been lost and thesecurity of Tripoli is endangered by the advanced positions ofthe British army. The" founder of the empire" has not onlyjeopardized the safety of Abyssinia, but he has enabled theBritish seriously to threaten the older Italian colonies, whichhad been acquired by the patient efforts of those wise Italianstatesmen who governed Italy towards the end of the last andthe beginning of the present century.

The British have wrested the initiative from Mussolini andforced Italy to stand on the defensive and watch them advancingslowly nearer to her mainland and occupying positions whichwill enable enemy bombers to fly more often and moreregularly over Italian towns. The time seems to be approachingwhen Italians at home will be made to feel the real horror of thewar. The bombardment of Genoa, besides impressing Italianswith the reality of British mastery in the Mediterranean, willhave brought the war to their very shores. Fear of furthersimilar bombardments, as well as the fear of increased air raids,will prey on them andgreatly intensify the unpopularity of the war.

All reports point to the widespread dislike of the war, and it isinteresting that the discontent should be particularly markedamong the wounded soldiers and airmen who have remrned

45

Ii IIIIIIIIII~IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII~NAA.OO5.0247Italy

There have been no trustworthy reports of the subjectsdiscussed at the meeting of Mussolini and General Franco atBordighera.

It is now clear that recent Italian reverses have begun tohave a considerable effcct on morale. Reports that the navalbombardment of Genoa has beell more effective in this respectthan thc fall of Benghazi bear out the argument, already. putforward in W.I.R., that the Itallan people are comparativelylittle intcrested in events oversea. Nevertheless the fall ofBenghazi, when after a. delay of several days the public wereinformed of some of Its ImphcatIons, must h,,:ve meant more tothem than the earlier reverses of the campaIgn. The town ISknown to them as the capital of Cyrenaica and as an importantnaval and air port. Cyrenaica had been developed underFascism at great expense of money and publicity, and theexcellent administration under Marshal Balbo ranked as one ofFascism's proudest achievements. It is not long since theambitious scheme of settling Italian peasants in Cyrenaica wasfitst undertaken; houses were built, roads and aqueduct, con­structed, and land cultivated, and Italians were encouraged tolook to the future for a profitable return on this vast outlay ofmoney and labour.

44

of any conclusions reached at the;i\ET9~}l,~~!~~n~sal Franco with Mussolini and Marshal Petain.8" surmised that the Generals made it clear to

f'OlldlllO before his departure where the limits of Spain'sif$'rjilif,,;ry c(mmlitm,ents lie.

N,miOUS speculation as to German invasion intentions, againstbackground of acute f?od shortage, are prevalent throu~h?ut

the country. Dlsumty III the Falange lllcreases; al.s? fnctionbetween t~e Ministry for Foreign A~airs .and t~e mlhtary andbusiness Clrdes. The trend of. publIc opmlOn IS away from.apro-Axis policy. The accu~a~on of the. Falan~e and certamsections of the press that Bntam IS allowmg Spam to starve nolonger carries. much weight, since the knowledge that theblockade IS bemg relaxed for shIpments of wheat has filteredthrough to most sections of the public.

Greece continues to beat back all attempts by the Italians ata counter-offensive and to make local gains, but wintry con­ditions transport difficulties and shortage of material havemade further advances more and more difficult. A stabilizationof the Albanian front may possibly take place in the near future,and would be likely to have a depressing effect upon Greekmorale, hitherto very strong. Rumours published in Americaabout Gennan mediation between Greece and Italy have beenflatly denied in Athens, and it was stated that Greece sought forno negotiations during the struggle and would carryon the fIghtto the bitter end wllich would only be when Italy was defimtelydefeated. '

46

;1(I

i

~ " " . ',' '-

G\rmany is tryi,!? to get her way in the Ba,lI,<.il.n~/1(Y<,PPW~TpolItics and the ,,:ar of nerves." . The. Yllgqsl";'ifl?t\i1f~MIll1ster, M. Tsvetkovltch, and the Foreign .Mrnlstet,,~.'9JJ~~~t::+Markovltch, have been to Berchtesgaden for a conveisatiorii\V~'bh;Hitler. All that they were expected to give, according to GetrriMl'statements, was an indication of what their Government wOlil1qdo in the event of " new developments" in the Balkans: The.Yugoslavs would fight if attacked, but wish to keep neutral aslong as possible: it seems likely, therefore, that the Germansplan to ensure Yugoslav acquiescence in the occupation ofBulgaria-which now appears not only inevitable but imminent-and so to isolate and weaken Yugoslavia. If hostile forcesappear on her Bulgarian frontier, Yugoslavia loses most of nerdefensive strength. Rumours that Germany has proposed areadjustment of Yugoslavia's frontiers have so far received noconfirmation.

On February 17 a joint statement was signed by Turkey andBulgaria reaffirming the friendship between them and exchang­ing assurances of non-aggression. Preliminary talks were begunby the Turkish Government some weeks a~o, in the hope ofstrengthening any chance of Bulgarian reSIstance to Germanpressure, but the negotiations were overtaken by events. Germaninfiltration into Bulgaria-unopposed, and in some quartersapparently even welcomed-has already gone so far that theagreement can now have little political significance. However,as the first clause of the agreement states that the two countries" consider it an unchanging basis of their foreigIl policy toabstain from any ag/,,'Tession," the Turks may count this as anassurance that Bulgaria will not help Germany either againstTurkey or Greece. German propaganda is already representingthe agreement as a gain for the alleged German policy of pro­moting peace in the Balkans. "The pact," says a C',;,nnanbroadcast, " is regarded as a proof that Britain's plan to extendihe war to the Balkans has been frustrated."

Numerous reports from Bulgaria have referred to the feverishrepairs which arc being carried out on roads and bridges invarious parts of the country, the special arrangements whichhave corne into force on the railways, the improvement of aero­dromes, the establishing of dumps of oil and anti-aircraftammunition, and the mobilization of the Bulgarian army. Alldispositions have been made for the occupation of Bulgaria inthe near future on the Roumanian model, and it appearsprobable that German troops may be moved not only by landbut by sea from Constanza, where some 45,000 are reported tobe held in readiness, with the ships to carry them. Any hopesof Russian support held by anti-German Bulgarians can hardlyhave been sustained: Moscow, at a moment when her Bulgarian

47

lilllllll~~I~II~I~IUNAA.005.0248The Balkans:

from.th~ th~atre of operations.. They Tel'!,t~,it.seel'l15, tragIcstories of the lack of food, medical supplies, ammunition andaircraft at the front, and although, by recent del;ree;·no one mayvisit the wounded except with a special permit, s1;tcll; stories arecircnlating rapidly and are having a depressing effect on Italianmorale. Italians now speak openly of the grafta,nd Peculationin Fascist circles and they attribute the poor q~lityof theIrequipment to the fact that the Fascist chiefs haye·pol;!<etedmuc!:rof the money originally allocated for armal1)en1:$. .There ISindignation with the regime for having broughLhumiliation ?nthe army by letting it embark on the African campaigIl so 111­equipped. Anti-Fascist pamphlets have recently been circulatedamong the troops and there are signs of renewed (l.ctivity .ofCommunist propaganda at home. Meanwhile theunpopulantyof the Gennans increases as Gcrman soldiers and sailors, as wellas airmen, arrive in the country.

There is evidence that since the beginning of the year stocksof coal for the railways have been desperately low, and fromFebruary 1 the quality of coal gas was reduced throughout thecountry. While some of the difficulties are no doubt due ~o

failures of distribution from storage points within Italy, It ISprobable that total stocks themselves are not large. It is k.nownthat stocks in the early months of 1940 were on the pomt ofexhaustion, and although imports and production during the yearwere above normal, it is unlikely that any considerable accumu­lation of reserves has been possible or that any drop in the rateof German supplies can yet be viewed with equanimity. !<temporalY drop is, indeed, belIeved to have occurred III

December and January, as a result both of severe weather and ofthe dislocation of traffic in Germany.

NAA.005.0249

I

7he Baltic States I

the war, an authoritarian order based on national sociaIisi)1 qrfascism being contrary to the ideals of a politically mature Sta,t¢and a hindrance to progress. He was convinced that democracywould return to Europe after the war. , .

~llllllllllllilll~IIIIU

" It would be truly inspiring for us and liberty-loving peopleeverywhere," said Mr. Willkie, giving evidence on the" lease­and:Jend " Bill before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee," if the Bill could be adopted with a uon-partisan and almostunanimous vote." Mr. Willkie's general attitude could be

49

U.S.A.

In Soviet eyes the Baltic Smles of Latvia, Lithuania andEstonia are now a part of the Soviet union. But their loss ofsovereignty has never been recognized by either Great Britainor the U.S.A. For this reason fue deadlock between GreatBlitain and the U.S.S.R. which has arisen from the question ofBritish assets in the Baltic States, the requisitioning of Balticships in British ports by Great Britain, and the technical problemsinvolved in the repatriation to the U .S.S.R of those seamenwho wish to return, is likely to continue.

Meanwhile conditions in the Baltic countries are reported to bevery unsettled. Public men have been arrested and deported,some of them disappearing completely from the knowledge oftheir relatives. According to the organ of the Baltic Evangelical

.Mission, patriotic organizations have been dissolved, and publicmemorials of fue war of liberation ·from Russia have beendestroyed. Whereas there was little or no unemployment inLatvia under the regime of President Ulmanis , and altl10nghthe German population has been transferred to the Reich or toGerman Poland, the same paper says that hundreds of men arenow out of work; and that prices of essential products have risenin some cases by 80, and in others by as much as 300, per cent.Some months ago, it is reported, the German representative inKovno drew the attention of the Soviet authorities to the existenceof underground anti-Nazi movements in Lithuania. It appearsthat faked copies of the Volkischer Beobach!er had been secretlyprinted with articles designed to prove that famine reigned inCentral Europe; in one such forgery speeches by Hitler andMr. Roosevelt were printed in parallel oolurnns in order to offera choice of views of the New Order in occupied territories. It is,of course, not impossible that forgeries of this kind are Russian­inspired.

anxiously looking to her for gnidance, seems to.,no more than give out in Bulgarian a broadcast

de,dieat<~d to Art and Science,"H.M. Minister has been withdrawn from Bucharest, an~ the

status of Roumania is now that of a German-occupied terntory.He is reported as saying that Roumania is enti~ely in the German..grip, that the German forces there are now estimated at between300,000 and 400,000, and that although the Germans are atpresent backing General Antonescu, ~ey are keeping tJ1e .IronGuard in cold storage for eventual use m the future, An mCldentwhich illustrates General Antonescu's completesubseryience to·the Germans is that he consented to the repatriation to Gennanyof the Polish wounded in Roumania, and met a British protestwith the argument that it was a purely domestic affair.

Continued German interference in various forms is makingthe food situation in the Danubian countries very serious. Theheavy German requirements of gra}n and livestock de~iveries arefar in excess of what these countnes would voluntanly export.Their difficulties have been aggravated by heavy transport ~on­

gestion caused by the m?ven:ent of German troop~ mto·Roumania and of raw matenaLs mto Germany. Roumama andHungary arc apparently the worst sufferers. According to .onereport, a complete, if temporary, reversal of former condItionshas taken place. Instead of carrying food off to Germany, the'Germans now have to provide 60 per cent. of the food require­ments of their troops in Roumania from Germany and othersources. The dairy produce is said to come from I?enmark.The extent of Germany's stranglehold on the Danubian coun~

tries is shown by the fact that she recently vetoed a proposedbarter transaction between Hungary and Vichy, on the groundthat the Reich had a prior claim to any Hungarian food surplus.

Although Hungary has been for a long time submitted. to·German pressure, has yielded to German eCOn01ll1C, polItIcaland strategic requirements, has adhered to the Three PowerPact and has allowed the passage of the Gennan forces intoRou:Uania there is nevertheless reason to believe that she docsnot always' give the Germans all they ask. An influential sectionof Hungari";n opinion has never be~n pro-German, stIll.1~ss

pro-Nazi, and has never abandoned Its sympathy With Bntishand American ideas of democracy. A speech made by CountBethlen on February 10 to a representative gathering of Hun­garians, who greatly applauded it, shows at ~east some indep.e~d­ence in thought. The speech was an analySIS .of the the pohtIcalconflict in recent years between the vanous Ideologies. CountBethlen said that although a dictatorship has raised Germany upin her darkest hour, dictators could not continue to exist after

48

tihderstood, were it not already well known, by his allusion tothe Dictators as." a couple of madmen" and to their followersas" a bunch of robbers." The Committee approved the Bill,with. some slight amendments, by 15 votes to 8;' it is now beingdebated in the Senate, and there is no reason to suppose that anynHlical amendments will be made to it. Me Hopkins, back withfirst-hand information from Britain, is reported as saying, " Idon't think Hitler can lick the British, but they badly needsome real help from us." His conclusions will have lent weightto the arguments of the supporters of the Bill. The latest GallupPolls show that 58 per cent. of those voting are in favour of theBill, and 14 per cent. give it a qualified approval. The com­monest qualifications are that the time limit shonld stay in theBill, and that no United States ships or troops should be sentabroad. 86 per cent. of the voters are opposed to the entry ofthe United States into the war, and 61" per cent. would notfavour war with Germany even if United States ships carryingwar material shonld be sunk by German submarines.

Increasing attention is now being paid to Me Hoover's.proposals for feeding the populations of the smaller German­occupied countries. He has waged a determined and skilfulcampaign, has secured at times immense publicity, and has, tosome extent, divided American public opinion into two camps.His appeals have been not only to humanitarian sentiment andthe generous sympathies of the American people, but have alsoevoked a response from those who wish to obstruct or delay aidto Britain. Last December the question threatened to become arnajar issue, "to divide the American people," as the NewYork Times then remarked, " at a time when they cannot affordto be divided." A British official statement of policy, and thepublication by the State Department of its appreciation of thefacts, seemed for the time to have quietened the dispute.

On February 16 Mr. Hoover broadcast from Chicago his planfor food relief by means of soup kitchens, which he proposesshould be tried first in Belgium. The plan, which, according toMr. Hoover, is being considered by the British and GermanGovernments, would be conditional on undertakings by Germanywho "kept her part of the agreement in the last war."Mr. Hoover evoked American ideals, gave some grim andemotional reminiscences ofthe ravages of famine in the last war,and declared that in a month eight million people in Belgiumwould be without food unless it was brought from outside. Butthe Germans regularly boast that they have food enough and to·spare for all Europe, they have looted food from al! the occupiedcountries, and with Germany lies the responsibility for feedingthe inhabitants. A powerful section of American opinion believes

50

that the conquered peoples can be helped only by being freedfrom the oppressor, and that it is more important to en~ure thatthe British people should be fed, the .United States becoming<' not only the arsenal but the larder of democracy."

FaT East IIIIIIIIIIII!!III~IIIII~~!IIIINAA.005.0250

There is sofar no sign of any agreement having been reached<it the peace conference in Tokyo between Thailand and Indo­'China, It is believed that Thailand is making, as was expected,large territorial claims, and it seems probable that she has at leastthe covert encouragement of the Japanese, who may well exactfrom her, in exchange for their support, a price in the. shape of,econolnie or strategic concessions. For what it is worth, a broad­cast from the Thai Government Broadcasting Station onFebruary 15 denied that Japan had ever alluded to the possibleuse by her of bases in Thailand, and referred to the friendlyrelations existing oetween Thailand and Britain, betweenThailand and Japan, and between Britain and Japan, " bothlovers of peace." In the meantime the Thais are reported tohave broken the terms of the armistice by sending military forcesinto Indo-Chinese territory. This proceeding, if not carried outin collusion with the Japanese, would provide them with avaluable excuse for sending their own forces to various points inIndo-China, on the pretext of seeing that the conditions of thearmistice were being obeyed.

There has been much speculation as to the nature and timingof Japan's next steps in her programme of southward expansion.These might take the form of a sudden attack or of stealthyapproaches, and they might be directed against Hong Kong,Burma or Malaya, or against less vital anelless defensible insularterritories, such as Borneo, outlying parts of the Dutch EastIndies, or Portuguese Timor, in which Japan has of late shown asignificant interest. It is, however, questionable whetherJapan's growing desire to avoid war with the United States canbe reconciled with the support for Hitler's spring offensive whichhis alliance with Japan entitles him to expect.

Both Britain and the United States have taken precautions.The defences of Malaya and Manila have been strengthened, andthe new American naval budget contains a proposal for increasednaval and air establishments in Guam and Samoa. This pro­posal, according to Asahi, is part of an American plan to" encircle" Japan. It is not surprising that such precautionsshould be misinterpreted, for to the totalitarian mind a simpleprecaution by another country is aggression, while totalitarianaggression is, of course, no more than a precaution. It seems,

51

~IiiII!

~jl,~! I

il"

PART V: SPECIAL CONTRIBUTIONS

]he Admiralty does not necessarily agree with the opinionsexpressed in Part V of" W.I.R."

.Being an Account of Lord Halifax's Passage to the U.S.A. inH.M.S . .. King George V," January, 1941.

It is hard to say exactly when rumour first switched over fromthe routine topic of " When the ship's company will next getleave" and started to prophesy about the Big Event. It musthave coincided with the sudden interest in the state apartmentswhich had lain nntenanted since the ship commissioned.. By thetime these had been brought to the first degree of readmess theoutput of rumours had ceased and guesswork ha~dened into fact.We were to carry Lord HalIfax across the Atlantic to take up hispost of Ambassador in Washington.

For some time before this, secret preparations of all kinds wereafoot, notably in the catering and domestic; departments. Newservice sheets and towels had to be humamzed by washmg andironing. Water-tightness tests we~e carried out on the hot waterbottles for the lady passengers. Extra table mats had to be cutout of corticene by the shipwrights. The first flush of orange­coloured water was run off from all the taps In the state apart­ments. Catering presented difficulties. Extra mess traps wereeasily acquir~d from th~ Flagship, but the local townsh~p wassadly lacking in proviSIOns. The unsuspectmg officers messwere put on short milk rations so that enough fresh mIlk for thepassengers could be collected and put into cold storage for thevoyage. Finally the essential food supplIes were I'roduc.ed by anAdmiralty department whIch IS n~rmally occupIed wIth. moreoffensive mallers; they even conjured np some magmfJcentmauve tulips and some chrysanthemuIlls. All this caused muchsecret boat traffic with the Flagship, who capped their attentionswith a box of the Commander-iu-Chiefs cigars, for it wassuspected that a certain Cabinet Minister might come on board towish the party Godspeed and mIght not relIsh the Long Panatellasaffected by the wardroom.

Sure enough when the great day arrived the I,'rime. Mi.nisterand Mrs. Churchill lunched with the Commander-m-Chlef m theAdmiral's cabin. Mr. Churchill seemed very pleased with theprogress of the war but lamented the duplicity of ~ur " B "~turret which should he felt have been quadruplets mstead of

53

however, that Japan has been impressed by the firmness whichhas been shown, and the many warnings about Japaneseextremist policy that have been given, in Great Britain, theUnited States, and Australia. These warnings have been rein~forced by Admiral Nomura, the o.ew Japanese Ambassador tothe United States, who told the Washington correspondent of aTokyo newspaper that the Japanese people should not under­estimate the power of the United States to wage total war, aud byPresident Roosevelt himself, who said at a press conference thata war in the Pacific, involving the United States, would notcurtail the amount of aid that country can' send to Britain.

The Cabinet spokesman in Tokyo is' now reported to haveaccused" certain foreign countries" of circulating exaggeratedreports atfd to have declared that" although Japanese-Americanrelations are causing some concern, it cannot be concluded thatthe situation will lead to war. Both Governments, he alleges, aredoing everything in their power to avert such a contingency." Heexpressed, as if in reply to American advice to American citizensto leave the Far East, a hope that the Japanese in the Americancontinent would pursue their avocations undisturbed by sensa­tional reports. This may indicate that Japanese official opinionis tending, for the moment at least, towards moderation: to afear of war with the United States is added uneasiness about theinternal economic situation, and misgivings have lately beens~own in the Japanese press about the prospects of a GermanVIctOry. On the other hand, Japan's relations with Germany arcnow very close; she professes hopes of reaching an agreementwith Russia, which would make her easier about her northernfront; at any rate she is working hard to this end; she also hopesthat General Chiang Kai-shek's trouble with the Chinese Com­munists may weaken his position; she is herself in a strong posi­tion with regard to Thailand and Indo-China; and in the lattercountry, as well as in Formosa, Hainan and the neighbourhood"of Hong Kong, she has concentrated military and naval forces.All these factors, combined perhaps with a feeling that now ornever she has a chance to expand to the southward, at theexpense of the British Empire or the Dutch East Indies, or both,may still cause extremist couusels to prevail.

52

Transatlantic Mission I

~i 11111!lllllilllll~illlNAA.005.0251

twins. Throughout the afternoon passengers' baggage and foodcame on board from destroyer, sloop and boat, and by tea timeit was" All visitors clear of the ship." Mr. and Mrs. Churchillwere working in a short visit to the Fleet and with them wasMr. Harry Hopkins, Mr. Roosevelt's special envoy. They allfound time to wave us goodbye from a headland nearby, and aswe left harbour the Shore Signal Station flq.shed a message fromthe Prime Minister: " All good wishes for a prosperous voyageand all success to Lord Halifax's mission." So· we passed outinto the long winter twilight lifting bravely to the swell.Destroyers had been detailed at a moment's notice to act asescort until clear of the submarine area, but the operation hadbeen kept so secret that they had received no sailing orders anddid.not know to what position they were taking us. That eveningour destination was announced to the ship's company asAnnapolis, but the actual route was known to few. We sighted afew trawlers in the first two days but afterwards we sightednothing more until our arrival in American waters.

The passengers consisted of Lord and Lady Halifax, theCanadian Minister of Supply and his staff, and an assortment ofAdmirals and Generals from both sides of the Atlantic.Mr. Peake, '" Foregin Office Counsellor, who was an excellentflag lieutenant and master of ceremonies, and a sprinkling of ladysecretaries and valets, brought the total up to 18. All werekeenly interested in the ship, the voyage, and everything thatwent on, but this did not prevent most of the ladies from paying asilent tribute to the majesty of ocean by going into purdah for afew days. In justice it must be said that Lady Halifax really waswriting letters at this period.

The weather was not favourable for deck hockev but darts,bridge and a Sunday night cinema in the wardroom helpcd topass the time. Nearly every forenoon Lord Halifax spent sometime on the bridge before visiting a turret, an engine room, thesick bay and so on. He even visited the dental surgery, on thestrict understanding that the visit was unprofessional. Nor didhe mind being asked in the blackout of night action stationsWhat the hc meant by using the wrong ladder, and hadn'the been in the Navy long enough to know the ship's orders? AtMatins On Sunday he read the lesson; there was just enoughheadroom, although the chapel is on the middle deck.

We struck one westerly gale with steep short seas. Portions ofthe fixture list were sadly mishandled, ladders were crazilyspiralled, and cahle reels tossed about, while both breakwaterdoors vanished completely. In the resulting water carnivalbetween decks, quite a number of uubelievers discovered that

54

illlllll~iliilll~I~RINAA.005.0252

water really did come in through the ventilatron if you did notput the covers over. For sometirnetherewere ~everaldIstressedareas forward, but at last the waters receded and pedestrianscould once more see their ankles. By this ctime we had enteredthe Gulf Stream and the temperature of the sea rose 12" in anhour. Great balls of phosphorescence rolled about the Iore~astleand sheets of phosphorescent spray spattered thebndges.St. Elmo's fire dartced about the rigging and aerials and severalmost respectable quarters were accused of breaking t~cblackout.Finally the mainmast was struck and a stout wlfcless leaddissolved in tears of copper.

On the last day Lord Halifax visited the me~s decks, and spoketo the ship's company through the broa~casting syskm. Fromboth the speaker's words and the hearers comments It was clearthat passengers and crew saw eye to eye, and that from all anglesthe voyage had been a success. I:ord and Lady Halifax ,-",ostkindly presented a shIeld to the slnp, for mter-part competItIOnat such sports as might seem best. The wardroom presented thepassengers with a " Crossing the Atlantic" certificate.

While farewell scenes were taking place in the wardroom aftersupper, the ship herself was greeting her first American friends,in the form of Delaware fishers, strung out along the hundredfathom bank and displaying a prodigal amount of light to ourunaccustomed eyes. At dawn the ship arrived off the Capes ofChesapeake and headed for Annapolis.

We were met oft the Capes by the Lansdale, one of the newestAmerican destroyers, and escorted up the Bay, proudly flymg anAmbassador's flag. (This had been manufactured by the SIgnal­men and painter under the diplomatic eye of Mr. Peake,) Theday was cold and misty, and little could be seen as :ne steamedthe 120 odd miles to Annapolis, past the mouths of nvers whosenames recalled the" Salute to Adventurers" of John Buchan-­the J ames, York. Rappahannock and Potomac. Overhead thenews hawks swooped and circled, and we were able to see somefine aerial photographs of the ship in all the papers next mommg.

Our arrival in the anchorage was spoiled by heavy rain, whichcontinued all the evening. This was particularly disappointingbecause the President had taken the unprecedented step ofcorning out to meet the Ambassador in his yacht, the Potomac,and would probably have come on board If the weather )lad beenbetter. As it was, he passed close down the starboard sIde, c1o~eenough for the Royal Marine Guard and Band to pay theIrrespects, before the Potomac was brought to anchor at a sho.rtdistance from the ship. Lord and Lady HalIfax and our Captamwent on board for tea. The President was most friendly and

55

they say, is the only White EIlsigIl in captivity--a result, Iimagine, of one of -the frigateactiolls of 1812. We were notshown this: perhaps theythought it mightbe recaptured.

Although we sa", only a smaJIPartpf the buildings and nothingof the grounds, we had aIL earned our supper when we weretransplanted to the0ffi.c~rs'Club. It was one of those informalparties which Am~ric\lns always do so well. Even allowing forthe mellowing effect of manhattans and rye highballs, it wasabundantly clear that American feeiing is wholly and completelypro-British.

All night the ship had been oiling, and in the morning greatlighters of fresh provisions came alongside. The decks were soonloaded with cases of apples, oranges and grapefruit, bUIldles ofcelery, onions and lettuce, and cans of fresh milk-a cheerful sightafter any long sea trip, and at this stage of the nation's histOlythe onions alone would have made many a British housewife'smouth (and eyes) water. So after a seventeen hours' stay andwith our mission faithfully performed, we steamed down theChesapealse, escorted again by the U.S.S. Lansdale.

The pamphlet reproduced opposite has been dropped by the R.A.F.over Invasion Ports and other parts of Gennan-occupied territory.Whether or not it increases the fears of the German invaders, it shouldserve to hearten and amuse the French, Belgians and Dutch.

An English version is given below: _1. Before the Invasion

1. The sea is vast-cold-.stormy.2. HO\v many more times must we practise landing manreuvres?3. Do you think we shall ever arrive in England?4. Do you think we shall ever get back safely?5. \Vhen will the next English air-raid take place?-To~day__~in

the morning-=-at nooIl----in the afternoon-in the evening-at night?

6. "Vhy doesn't the Fuhrer come with us?7. Our petrol dump is still on fire!8. Your petrol dnmp is on fire again!9. Who has cut our telephone wire again?

10. Have you thrown my comrade into the canal?11. Can you lend me a safety-jacket-a life belt?12. What 'do you charge for swimming lessons ?13. How many invasion trips do I need to win the Iron Cross,

1st Class?14. Seven-eight~_nine.

15. We will journey against England!(French only,' " Sez you! ")

57

entertaining, and, his gesture ip coming {lUt to welcome theAmbassador w.as much apprecIated, and was also popular inthe press. WIth the President were Mr. Butler the BritishMinister (who had been holding the fort as Charge d'Affairessince the death of Lord Lothian), Colonel Knox, the Secretary ofthe Navy, and Admiral Stark, Chief of the Naval Staff. Theselast two, who correspond to our First Lord and First Sea Lordc'!-me on board afterwards for a quick look round the ship. It wa~'hinted that the twenty-four-hour limit imposed on our stay couldbe extended at the least excuse if desired. .

. The President was most touched on.hearing of all the prepara­tI?ns that had been made to recelye hIm on board. Knowing ofhIS mfirmlty, we had made speCIal ramps with armrails at theright height, across the catapnlt and across the sill between thequarterdeck and the wardroom. It had been intended that thePresident's yacht or destroyer should come alongside abreastthe catapnlt deck, and that he should be hoisted in by the sea­plane crane, on a tray adapted from the top platform of one ofthe accommodation ladders. He said that if he had known allthis he w()uld have come on board, weather or no.

In the dog watches, fifty midshipmen from the Naval Academycame on board, and were shown over the ship by the Gunroom,who reaped an unexpected reward. "They didn't suppose, byany chance, that their guests had two or three old gramophonerecords they didn't need." They supposed wrong, because aWhip round at the Academy produced over three hundredrecords. In the same way, a rumour got round that the ship wasshort of current readmg matter, and this resulted in hundreds ofcopies. of Lite, Time, the New Yorker and the Academy'smagazme, Lo!!., of all ages and dates, being presented to the ship.They were most welcome, as we had been reduced to re-readingthe advertisements in last October's Blackwood's.

In the evening about two dozen officers went ashore to visit theAcademy and dine at the Officers' Club. We did the five-milepassage to the shore in an ex-rum-running launch, which hadbeen captured in the palmy days of Prohibition. I had neverquite believed the films of American colleges, sports stadiums andpublic buildings, which all seem to have been viewed through apowerful magnifying glass, but a short tour of the NavalAcademy, Annapolis, settled all doubts. One look at the messroom, which must be well over a thousand feet long, and where2,600 midshipmen were busily employed on supper, was enoughto show the scale of the place. Allhough the oldest midshipmenare over twenty, the Academy is 1'.1'. and each young gentlemangets through a quart and a half of milk a day. At Annapolis,

56

Invasion Phrase~BookIIIIIIIIIII!I~~IIIIIIII~IIIIIII

NAA.005.0253

"

11. During the Invasion1. The swell-the stOllll-U1C mist-the gale.2. We are sea-sick. Where is the basin?3. Ts that a bomb-a torpedo--a shell-a mine?4. Look out! English M.T.B.S-destroyers-cruisers-battle­

ships-bombers !5. Our ship is capsizing-sinking-burning_expJoding!6. Our section-platoon-company-battalion_regiment_is

drowning.7. So are the otherS-lhe whole division-the whole Army

Corps!S. Once again a ship is sinking.9. Where is our fleet-our air force?

10. The sea here reeks of oil.11 . Here even the water is burning!12. See how beautifully lhe Captain is burning!13. Charles-Willie-Fred_John-Abraham is burnt to ashes­

drowned-minced up by the ship's screws.14. We must turn back!15. We journey against England!

(French on.lv: II That's your funeral! ")

HI. Alter the Invasion1. 'We've had enough!2. They arc still in hespital.3. Where did you get that lovely cold- lumbago-pleurisy-

shell-shock?4. We're the only survivors.5. Tell me, please. where can we see the ca~ll.a1ty lists?6. What does England look like?7. Once upon a time there was a GenTIan fleet.8. There are now many English air attacks.9. \A/hen does the next invasion take place?

10. It will take place on 1st, 15th, 30th, January, February,March, April, ~ray, June, July, August, September,October, November, December-194 1, 1942, 1943, 194~,

1945, etc.I L. Not l' Not thou! Not he! Not we·! Not they! But

perhaps you!12. We journeyed a.gainst England.13. We want to go home!

(N.B.-An English pocket phrase-book will be handed free of chargeto every German wlto journeyed against England, on his arrival in anEnglish pri~on-camp.)

(C41Ji72--3) 2,250 & 65 "!/4!

•11111!'IIII!III~illll~llll~ IIII!I

NAA.005.0256

4. Achtung! Englische E·Boote-Zerstorer­Kreuzer - $chlachtschiffe - 3 .i ,1 .) !,~ !

S. Unser Schiff kentert - versinkt -brennt - explodi ert !

6. Unsere Gruppe - unser Zug - unsereKompanie - unser Bataillon - unserRegiment geht unter !

7. Die Anderen' - die ganze Division­das ganze Armeekorps auch !

8. Schon wieder geht eins unter!9. Wo ist denn unsere Floece - unsere

Luftwaffe?10. Hier riecht die See so nach Petroleum!II. Hier bremlc sagar das Wasser!

12. Schauen Sie, wie schon der Herr Haupt­mann brennt!

t3. Der Karl - der Willi _ der Fritz ­der Johann - der Abraham istverkohlt-ertrunken - von denSchiffsschrauben zerfleischt.

14. Wir mjjssen umdrehen!15; Wlr fahren· gegen Enge,land!

IU.Nach der InvasionI~»,ir.habe~:gen~g !i:~ Sle' sfird,no:c'h im'mer Im'Lazarett.3~ W9 haJ)enSJe sichden schonen Schnupfen

~den Hexenschuss -die Lungenent·zundung - j den Nervenschock ­geholt 1

4. Mehr ist von uns niche Ubrig geblieben.

s. Bitte, We kann man hier die Tor:enlistenmaleinsehen?

6. Wie'SiehtEnglan"d elgentUch aus?7. Es gab einmaJ elne deutsche Floece.8. E~ gibt sehr vleleenglische Lwftangriffe,

9. Wann findet die r1achste'lnvasion statt I

10. Am I.. 15" 30. Januar. Februar, Marz, April,Mal, -Junt, Juli, Augusc;. September,Oktober! November, Dezember ­1941, 1'142;·1943, 1944,1945 ... ,,,w.

I L leh'ntcht! Du 'niche! Er nkht! Wirniche! Sie auch nrcht t Aber Ihr vieJ~

-Ieicht?/2. Wir fuhren gegeh Engellarid !13. Wlr wollen helm!

Zur Beachtung: Eln englischer TaschendoJ­metscher wird jedem deuts :hen Engfandfahrerbei seiner Ankunft in einem englischen Kriegs­gefangenenlager unentgeltfich Clusgehandigtwerden.

4. Attention! ce sont des vedettes lance­torpilles - des contre-torpi!!eurs. descroiseurs - des cuirasses - des bom­bardiers ang',ais !

5. Notre bateaU chavire - coule - brule ­fait explosion!

6. Notre escouade- notre section - notrecompagnie - notre bataillon - notreregiment est engloutl (ou engloutie) !

7, Les aut res - toute la division - tout recorpsd'armee-l'est (au Ie sont) aussjl,

8, Un autre bateau est en train de couler.9. OU est notre flotte - notre aviation r

10. La mer empeste Ie mazout, iei!It Meme j'eau brule icl !

12. Regarde comme notre capitalne brulabien!

{3. Charles - Guillaume - Frederrque ­Jean - Abraham est carbonise- estnoye-·est dechlquete par les helices.

14. II faut faire demi~tour!

IS. Nous partons pour !'Angleterre. (Tampis pour vous !)

III. Aprils !'invasionI.. Nous en avons ass~z !2, lis sont encore a l'hopitaL3. OU avez vous attrape ce bea!.l rhume ­

ce lumbago - cette p:euresie ~ cettecommotion cerebraie ~

4. Notls sommes res seuls qui nous nous ensoyons tires.

S. Ou peut~on consu'ter fa fiste des tues 8\:disparus, icl. s'il-vous-plait r

6. Pouvez-yous me decrire l'Angleterre17. II y a\.ait une lois .line flotte allemande,B. Ily a un tres grand nembre de raids

anglals.9. Quand la prochaine Invasion doit~elle

avoir lieu ~

10. Elle doit avoir lieu Ie ler, 15,30 janvier,U~vrjer, mars, avril, maio juln, juiJI ~t,

aoGt, sept~mbre, octobre. novembre,decembre - 1941. 1942, 1943, 1944,1945, etc.

II. Pas mol! Pas toj! Pas lui! Pas ncus !Pas eux! Mais peut·etre vous/

12, Nous sommes partis pour l'Angleterre!13. Nous voulons rentrer chez notls!

N.B. Un manJe' de conversation eil iangu(~

anglaise sera distribue gratuiwment a chaqu,~

envahisseur iors de son arrlvee au camp deprisonniers en Grande-Brecagne.

4. Pa~ op! B,itsche E-booten - torpedJ2.gen ~ kruiscrs - sJagschepen.­bommenwerpers !

5. Ons schip kapseist - zjnkt - brandt ­vtiegt in de lucht !

6. Onze groep - afdeeling - compagniEbataillon - regiment verdrinkt !

7. De anderen- de heele divisie _. hegeh'zele legercorps verdr'lnkt ook!

8. Daar zinkt weer een schlp !9. Waar is onze vloot - onze luchtmacht '

10. Wat stinkt de zee hier naar olle 1

II, Hier staat waarachtlg het water In brand

12. Kijk eens hoe mool de kapitein In brancstaat!

13. Karel-WiHem-Fr)ts-Johan-~Abraharris vel"!<oold - verdronken - tot paFgemalen door de schroeven van helschip.

14, We moeten omdraaien!15. Wij varen gauw naar Engeland. (Arm~

bllksems !)

HI. Na de invasieI. Wij hebben er tabak van!2. Zij liggen nog steeds in het hospltaal.3. Waar heb ie die mooie vel"koudheld

opgeloopen -spit-Iongontsteklng­7.~'nuwstoring ~

4. Oat's alles wat er van ons over is,

5. I<unt U mij ook zeggen waar ik deverlieslijsten kan nakijken r

6. Hoe zlet Engeland er eigenlljk uit?7. Er was ereis een Duitsche vloot,8. Er zljn vee I Britsche luchtaanvailen.

9. Wanneer is de volgende invasje~

10. Op den I sten, 15 den, 30 sten JanuarJFebruari, Maart. April, Mei. Juni, Ju1i,Augustus, September, October, No­vembr;r, December-194l, 1942, 1943,1944, 1945, enzoovoorts.

II. Ik niet! Jlj niet! Hij niet! Wij niet 1Niemand van ons! MI~schlen jij wei r

12. We wilden gauw naar Engeland !13. Wij willen naar huis!

N.B. led ere Dultsche reizig~r naar Enge~

land krijgt cen Engelsch zakwoordenboekjecadeau, zo.odra hi] 'In het krljgsgevangenkampis aangekomen.

DER KLEINEINVASIONS.

DOLMETSCHER

I. Vor der InvasionI. Die See 1st gross - kale - sturmlsch.2. Wie oft mUssen wir nach Landungsmano.

ver liben l3. Ob wir wehl In England ankommen

werden r4. Ob wir heil zurGckkommen werden r

s~ Wann ist der nachste englische luftangrifflHeute morgens; mlttags ; nachomittags; abends: nachts.

6. Warum fahrc der FUhrer niche mit?

7. Unser Benzlnlager brennt noch Immer!

8. Euer Benzlnlager brennt schon wieder!

9. Wet .'hat 's'c:hdh"WledeT- -das'Tetefi:)'tik:t'Oeidurchgeschnitten ?

1'0. Haben Sie mein'en Kameraden in den Kanalgeworfen?

II. Koonen Sie mir erne SchWlmmweste ­einen Rettungsring - leihen?

12. Was kosten bel Ihnen Schwimmstunden?

13; Wle viele 'InvasiC:msfahrten brauch' ichfUr das E.K./l

14. Sieben - acht - neun.IS. Wirwerden gegen Engelland fahren 1

II. Wahrend der InvasionI. Der Seegang. - DerSturm~ - Der Nebel.

Die Wlndstarke.2. Wir sind seekrank. Wo ist der Kubel ~

3. 1st das eine Bombe - ein Torpedo­eine Granate - eine Mine?

PETIT MANUELDE CONVERSATIONPOUR L'INVASION

I. Avant l'invasionI. La mer est vaste - froide - houleusp.,2, Com bien de fois encore devrons-nous

faire des exercises de debarquement?3, Pensez-vous que nous arriverons jamais

en Angleterre l4. Pensez.vous que nous reviendrons jamais

d'Angleterre?S. Quand Ie prochain raid anglais aura~t~il

lieu?- Aujourd'hui, dans la matinee,amidi, dans I'apres~midi,dans la soiree,dans (a nult.

6. Pourquoi est~ce que ie Fuehrer ne viempas avec nous r

7. Notre depot d'essence continue debrOler!

8. Votre dilpot d 'essence a recommence abrO;er!

9. ·Quia~em::ore--'t:olJ,?~-fi'Ot\"!r -HgM-te-te~

phonique?10. Avez-vous jete man camarade dans Ie

canallI J. Pouvez~vous me preter une ceinture.

une bouee de sauvetage?12. Quel prix prenez~vous pour les let;ons de

natation'13, Com bien d'invasions dois~ie faire pour

receyoir la Croix de Fer de lere classe ~

14, Sept-huit-neuf.15, Nous partlrons pour l'Angleterre!

(Qu'lls disent.)

II. Pendant l'invasionI. Le gros temps-la temp@te-lebroui!.

lard -la violence de I'ouragan.2. Nous avons Ie mal de mer. Ou est !a

cuvette?3. Est~ce une bombe - une torpille - un

obus - une mil'lc l

1111111111111111111,11111111111

NAA.005.0257

I. V66r de invasie/. De zee is groat _. koud - stormachtig.2, Hoe vaak nag moeten w'exerceeren om

't landen op een kust te leeren ,3. Zullen we ooit in Engeland komen ?

4. Zullen we heelhuids weerom komen ~

5. Wanneer komt de volgende Britscheluchtaanval 1 Heden - morgen, mid~

dag. namiddag, avond. nacht.

6, Waarom reist de Fuhrer niet met onsmee 1

7, Ons benzinedepot staat nog steeds inIichter laaie !

8. Uw benzinedepot staat alweer in lichterfaaie !

9; YVle he-eft onze teiefo6hfeidlng' nou weerdoorgeknipt ~

10. Heeft U mijn kameraad in de gracht ge~

smeten ?II. Kunt U mij een zwemvest - een redding.

gordel leenen ?12. Hoeveel kost het am bl! U zwemmen

te Iceren 113. Hoe dikwijls moet ik aan een invasie~

tocrt meedoen om het IJzeren Kruiste wlnnen l

14. Zeyen - acht - negen keer.15. Wij zullen gauw naar Engeland yaren !

(Pions! Pions! Pions I)

H. Tijdens de invasiel. De deining --de storm - de mist - de

orkaan.2. Wij zijn zeezlek. Waar is de kwispe­

door?3. Is dat een bom - een torpedo - een

granaat - een miin ?

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