“We Surrender! We Surrender!’
With a not unreasonable suspicion of treachery, the Swift awaited developments. Apparently realising their breath would be wanted for more energetic measures, the crew of the German destroyer presently stopped shouting. She heeled slowly over, while her ship’s company hastily took to the water, and sank stern first.
As no other enemy appeared to be in sight, and the action, which had lasted approximately five minutes, appeared to be over, the Swift switched on searchlights and lowered boats to rescue the swimmers.
Swift and Broke then proceeded to exchange details of the “bag” by the medium of a flashing lamp and (Broke’s circuits having been cut) an electric torch. Their respective ship’s companies having given vent to some pardonable exhilaration by cheering each other out of the darkness till they were hoarse, both British destroyers anchored and patiently awaited the dawn.
The British casualties were comparatively light, and the spirit of the wounded is epitomised by the conduct of the Broke’s coxswain, Able Seaman William G. Rowles; this man, though hit four times by shrapnel, remained at the wheel throughout the action, and finally only betrayed the fact that he was wounded by reporting to his captain, “I’m going off now, sir,” and fainting.
A number of wounded presented themselves at the sick-bay for the first time on the day following the action. Their excuses for this delay were various, but that of a stoker with a piece of shrapnel still in his head is perhaps the most ingenuous:
“I was too busy, sir,” he explained to the surgeon. “Along of clearing up that rubbish on the stoker’s mess-deck.”
III. The Drifter Patrol, Dover
Another German destroyer raid into the English Channel on the night of February 14th-15th, 1918, had for its objective the destruction of the Auxiliary Patrol Forces on outpost duty. This much was evident from the deliberate and systematic manner in which, once touch was established in the inky darkness, the attack was carried out. A large force was chosen for the enterprise, comprising ten at least of Germany’s largest and fastest destroyers; that these succeeded in sinking seven armed fishing vessels and returning to their base without being intercepted by the British patrols proper can only be ascribed to accurate foreknowledge of the disposition of these forces (information readily supplied by aerial reconnaissance), and the luck of the Devil who favours his own.
The raiding tactics of German destroyers have already been described in detail. It will be admitted that they provide the enemy with an initial advantage of which he might reasonably be expected to make the most. Indeed the wonder is not so much that they were not intercepted in the inky darkness of a thousand square miles, but that they did not make more of their opportunity.