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Deutsche Press #2
Dateline: Wilhelmshaven/Berlin, August 22, 1914 |
Kaiser Honors KM
Light Forces |
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In an impressive ceremony on board F r i e d r i c h d e r G r o ß e --the
super-dreadnought flying the flag of Admiral Ingenohl, commander of Germany's
High Seas Fleet--the Kaiser has yesterday honoured the officers, sailors and
airmen of the German submarines, torpedoboats, and fleet air arm. After a
two-hour speech full of praise for the men waging their life every day in rather
inconspicuous actions in the service of their country, the Kaiser awarded 23
Eiserne Kreuze II. Klasse to submarine and torpedoboat commanders. A unique
honour was bestowed upon Korvettenkapitän Hans Fritz, commander of the fleet
airship L3, who was the first naval officer in this war to receive the Eiserne
Kreuz I. Klasse, a still rather rare decoration.
From the Kaiser's speech
"The submarines, torpedoboats, and airships are the needle-sharp points of the
trident", the Kaiser said in his speech (supposedly referring to the earlier
well-known quote "it must be o u r fist that holds the trident"). He continued
with pointing out that the K.M. light forces were daily carrying the war to the
very coasts of England. He likened them to "the dagger at the throat of the
shopkeeper nation" and gave special mention to the fleet air arm whose
reconnaissance reports were vital for the German war effort. "A rowboat cannot
put to sea from England without our finding it out within a couple of hours",
the Kaiser boasted the exploits of his Zeppelins, and he closed in saying that
the war fought by the K.M. light forces were a hard but invaluable school for
Germany's sailors that would forever ensure German command of the seas.
Zeppelin L3
In fact we could confirm by use of independent, reliable sources that the
service of the German airship L3 under Kapitän Fritz must have been invaluable
for K.M. reconnaissance during the first weeks of the war. Being airborne over
the Bight whenever possible, the Zeppelin has already submitted well over a
score sighting reports to the K.M. high command, and there is in fact substance
to the German claim that the British navy cannot move in the North Sea
undetected. Whether this situation that must undoubtedly be considered quite
depressing for the RN is the sole reason for the lack of aggressive moves on
part of the so-called Grand Fleet we cannot say at this time; but the fact that
the close blockade of German ports everyone expected at the beginning of the war
has so far failed to materialize must certainly be seen as closeley linked to
the ongoing naval supremacy of the K.M. in the German Bight.
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Deutsche Press #1
Dateline:
Wilhelmshaven/Berlin, August 20, 1914 |
Germany Rules the North
Sea
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According to reliable offical information, the first weeks of the war have shown
German naval power ruling supreme in the North Sea and its approaches. The
notoriously overestimated Royal Navy has not yet dared venture from its ports to
face the full might of Germany's High Seas Fleet. In spite of the ridiculous
claims of the left-wing press of certain neutral countries (undoubtedly
influenced in their opinion by generous payments of British gold), the opening
phase of the naval war has been a glorious success for the proud fleet of His
Imperial Majesty Wilhelm II.
The terror of the shopkeeper nation
On the busy Bergen sea route, German commerce raiders have been able to inflict
heavy losses on British contraband shipping without even the slightest attempt
of interference on part of the self-styled Grand Fleet. The latter is still
hiding in its den at Scapa Flow, gnashing its teeth and moaning its own
impotence to challenge German command of the seas. Backed up by heavy vessels of
the surface fleet as well as elements of the submarine and fleet air arm, the
Kaiserliche Marine light forces, the terror of the shopkeeper nation, can roam
the open sea at will. Heavily dependent on overseas trade for the conduct of its
war effort and without the means of holding open the vital arteries connecting
it with the outside world, perfidious Albion will soon find it impossible to
continue its unprovoked and unjust war against the peace-loving German Empire
and will hopefully be forced to the negotiating table in the not too distant
future.
K.M. high command does not fall for rumours
It appears that the British government was busy over the last weeks in spreading
rumours that claimed that an expeditionary force of considerable size would be
shipped over the English Channel to disembark in the Low Countries to assist the
French and Belgish land forces in their ill-considered invasion of German soil.
Reliable official sources have informed us that the K.M. leadership as well as
the Great General Staff were never in danger of falling for this obvious product
of British propaganda. "Let me make this very clear," a high-ranking navy
official was quoted as saying, "never, and I repeat, never would Britain dare
risk its tiny army in a hopeless adventure on the continent" and he continued by
stating that nothing would be more welcome to the German navy, "but not even
Haldane and Churchill are that crazy I am afraid". Accordingly, the K.M.
refrained from being provoked into any hasty action by the threat of an invasion
that in the judgement of the entire leadership of the armed forces is nothing
but fantasy.
High Seas Fleet proves its high state of seamanship
Meanwhile the High Seas Fleet, under the personal command of Admiral Ingenohl,
has proven its high state of seamanship by successfully completing a highly
complex maneuver at the very mouth of the Channel. For purposes of the exercise,
it was assumed that there would be the need to tow home some light elements of
the fleet after they had incurred damage in combat. Naturally, given the
defensive stance adopted by the British fleet and the superiority of the K.M.,
this situation is not likely to occur in reality, but, as Ingenohl stated, "we
prefer to be prepared for every, and I say every, eventuality". The maneuver was
completed with the speed and exactitude that was rightly expected from the
highly professional German crews, and the two torpedoboats that had to play the
part of the damaged vessels were towed home without any delay or accident. A
delighted Ingenohl was afterwards quoted as saying "there is nothing, absolutely
nothing the proud fleet I have the honour to command has to fear--and certainly
not the totally incompetent navy of that fat uncouth chain-smoker." (It was
generally understood that with this less than generous remark the Admiral was
referring to the civilian head of the British admiralty, Mr. Churchill.)
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