United States. Navy -- History -- World War, 1914-1918; World War, 1914-1918 -- Naval operations, American
The German Navy authorities took me from Wilhelmshaven to
Karlsruhe, where I was turned over to the army. Here I met officers
of all the Allied armies, and with them I attempted several
escapes, all of which were unsuccessful. After three weeks at
Karlsruhe I was sent to the American and Russian officers' camp
at Villingen. On the way I attempted to escape from the train by
jumping out of the window. With the train making about 40 miles an
hour, I landed on the opposite railroad track and was so severely
wounded by the fall that I could not get away from my guard. They
followed me, firing continuously. When they recaptured me they
struck me on the head and body with their guns until one broke his
rifle. It snapped in two at the small of the stock as he struck me
with the butt on the back of the head.
I was given two weeks solitary confinement, for this attempt to
escape, but continued trying, for I was determined to get my
information back to the Navy. Finally, on the night of October 6,
assisted by several American Army officers, I was able to effect an
escape by short-circuiting all lighting circuits in the prison camp
and cutting through barbed-wire fences surrounding the camp. This
had to be done in the face of a heavy rifle fire from the guards.
But it was difficult for them to see in the darkness, so I escaped
unscathed.
In company with an American officer in the French Army, I made my
way for seven days and nights over mountains to the Rhine, which
to the south of Baden forms the boundary between Germany and
Switzerland. After a four-hour crawl on hands and knees I was able
to elude the sentries along the Rhine. Plunging in, I made for the
Swiss shore. After being carried several miles down the stream,
being frequently submerged by the rapid current, I finally reached
the opposite shore and gave myself up to the Swiss gendarmes, who
turned me over to the American legation at Berne. From there I made
my way to Paris and then London and finally Washington, where I
arrived four weeks after my escape from Germany.
It was my pleasure to greet Lieutenant Isaacs on his return,
congratulate him on his escape, and commend him for the heroic courage
and enterprise he had displayed under such trying circumstances.
The _Covington_ (Captain R. D. Hasbrouck) was torpedoed July 1st at
9:15 p. m., the torpedo smashing a hole in the vessel's side and
throwing into the air a column of water higher than the smokestacks.
Engine and fire rooms quickly filled, the ship lost headway rapidly and
in fifteen minutes lay dead in the water.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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