Great Britain -- Defenses; Imaginary wars and battles
"Shortly before three o'clock on Sunday morning the coastguard at
Lowestoft, Corton, and Beach End discovered that their telephonic
communication was interrupted, and half an hour later, to the surprise
of every one a miscellaneous collection of mysterious craft were seen
approaching the harbour: and within an hour many of them were high and
dry on the beach, while others were lashed alongside the old dock, the
new fish-docks of the Great Eastern Railway, and the wharves,
disembarking a huge force of German infantry, cavalry, motor-infantry,
and artillery. The town, awakened from its slumbers, was utterly
paralysed, the more so when it was discovered that the railway to London
was already interrupted, and the telegraph lines all cut. On landing,
the enemy commandeered all provisions, including all motor-cars they
could discover, horses and forage, while the banks were seized, and the
infantry, falling in marched up Old Nelson Street into High Street, and
out upon the Beccles Road. The first care of the invaders was to prevent
the people of Lowestoft damaging the Swing Bridge, a strong guard being
instantly mounted upon it, and so quietly and orderly was the landing
effected that it was plain the German plans of invasion were absolutely
perfect in every detail.
"Few hitches seemed to occur. The mayor was summoned at six o'clock by
General von Kronhelm, the generalissimo of the German Army, and briefly
informed that the town of Lowestoft was occupied, and that all armed
resistance would be punished by death. Then, ten minutes later, when the
German war-flag was flying from several flagstaffs in various parts of
the town, the people realised their utter helplessness.
"The Germans, of course, knew that, irrespective of the weather, a
landing could be effected at Lowestoft, where the fish-docks and
wharves, with their many cranes, were capable of dealing with a large
amount of stores. The Denes, that flat, sandy plain between the upper
town and the sea, they turned into a camping-ground, and large numbers
were billeted in various quarters of the town itself.
"The people were terror-stricken. To appeal to London for help was
impossible, as the place had been cut entirely off, and around it a
strong chain of outposts had already been thrown, preventing any one
from escaping. The town had, in a moment, as it seemed, fallen at the
mercy of the foreigners. Even the important-looking police constables of
Lowestoft, with their little canes, were crestfallen, sullen, and
inactive.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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