German Battle Cruiser "Seydlitz."
(One of the ships which bombarded Scarborough.)
It was somewhat difficult, owing to the isolation of the German ships, to form an idea of the discipline which prevailed on board. It was evident that on most of the ships there were representatives of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Councils, as the members could be readily distinguished by their white armlets. Indeed, there is probably some truth in the report that when the German ships surrendered, the crews confidently expected that our ships, the crews of which they believed to be on the verge of mutiny and Bolshevism, would make common cause with them, and they must have been considerably surprised when Admiral Beatty refused to negotiate with the Council representatives. There were undoubtedly disturbances on some of the German ships whilst they were at Scapa, and it appears to have been due to a rather serious case of insubordination that Admiral Von Reuter, who was in command of the German ships, changed his flagship from the "Friedrich der Grosse" to the "Emden."
On the other hand, the simultaneous sinking of the German ships on 21st June, 1919, proved conclusively that a certain discipline still prevailed, for the scuttling was undoubtedly organised and carried out with (from the German point of view) very commendable precision and thoroughness.
The scuttling of the German ships on 21st June, 1919, has already been briefly referred to in the earlier part of the book, but as the writer was privileged to be an eyewitness of the events of that afternoon, the reader will perhaps pardon the intrusion of the personal element in a more detailed description of the sinkings.
German Battle Cruiser "Moltke" at Scapa Flow.
German Battle Cruiser "Derfflinger" at Scapa Flow.