Current History, Vol. VIII, No. 3, June 1918: A Monthly Magazine of the New York TimesVarious
History
Current History, Vol. VIII, No. 3, June 1918: A Monthly Magazine of the New York Times
Various
World War, 1914-1918
Coaling having finished, the vessels proceeded north in company. During
the first week of January the Wolf sank the Norwegian bark Storkbror, on
the ground that the vessel had been British-owned before the war. This
was the Wolf's last prize. The last time the two raiders were together
was on Feb. 6, when the Wolf was supplied with coal and other
requirements from the Igotz Mendi. Thereafter, each pursued her own
course to Germany.
RAIDER MEETS DISASTER
About Feb. 7 the Igotz Mendi crossed the Arctic Circle, and,
encountering much ice, was forced back. Two attempts were made at the
Northern Passage, but as the ship was bumping badly against the ice
floes a course was shaped between Iceland and the Faroes for the
Norwegian coast. On the night of the 18th a wireless from Berlin
announced that the Wolf had arrived safely. At 3:30 P. M. on Feb. 24 the
Igotz Mendi ran aground near the Skaw, having mistaken the lighthouse
for the lightship in the foggy weather. Three hours later a boat came
off from the shore. The Igotz Mendi was boarded at 8 o'clock by the
commander of a Danish gunboat, who discovered the true character of the
ship, which the Germans were endeavoring to conceal.
Next day twenty-two persons, including nine women, two children, and two
Americans, were landed in lifeboats and were cared for by the British
Consul. Many of them had suffered from inadequate nourishment in the
last five weeks. There had been an epidemic of beri-beri and scurvy on
board the vessel.
The Danish authorities interned the German commander of the Igotz Mendi.
The German prize crew refused to leave the ship.
The Berlin authorities on Feb. 25, 1918, issued an official announcement
containing these statements:
The auxiliary cruiser Wolf has returned home after fifteen months in
the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. The Kaiser has telegraphed
his welcome to the commander and conferred the Order Pour le Mérite,
together with a number of iron crosses, on the officers and crew.
The Wolf was commanded by Frigate Captain Nerger and inflicted the
greatest damage on the enemy's shipping by the destruction of cargo
space and cargo. She brought home more than four hundred members of
crews of sunken ships of various nationalities, especially numerous
colored and white British soldiers, besides several guns captured
from armed steamers and great quantities of valuable raw materials,
including rubber, copper, brass, zinc, cocoa beans, copra, &c., to
the value of many million marks.
Career and Fate of the Raider Seeadler
A German Adventure in the Pacific
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