We now come to one of the most dramatic incidents of the war, as far as it affected the naval forces. Early in November, 1918, the mighty German fleet at Kiel had revolted. Soon after that came the cessation of hostilities, following on the signing of the armistice. Included in the terms of the latter were, it will be recalled, certain severe provisions concerning the surrender of a large part of the German naval forces. The time for carrying out these provisions had now been reached. At sunrise of November 20, 1918, twenty German submarines were surrendered to Rear Admiral Reginald W. Tyrwhitt of the British navy thirty miles off Harwich. These were the first U-boats to be turned over to the Allies by Germany. Admiral Tyrwhitt received the surrender of the German craft on board his flagship, the _Curaçao_. The submarines proceeded to Harwich in charge of their own crews. They were then boarded by British crews and interpreters, and proceeded to Parkston Quay, near by. Twenty additional submarines were to be surrendered on the following day. Other U-boats were handed over later in accordance with the armistice terms. CHAPTER XVII SURRENDER OF THE GERMAN FLEET A most dramatic event was the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet. The British Grand Fleet, accompanied by an American battle squadron and French cruisers, steamed out before dawn in the morning of November 21, 1918, from its Scottish base to accept the surrender of the German battleships, battle cruisers, and destroyers. The point of rendezvous for the Allied and German sea forces was between thirty and forty miles east of May Island, opposite the Firth of Forth. The fleet which witnessed the surrender consisted of some 400 ships, including sixty dreadnoughts, fifty light cruisers, and nearly 200 destroyers. Admiral Sir David Beatty, commander of the Grand Fleet, was on the _Queen Elizabeth_. The German warships, strung out in a single column almost twenty miles long, were led into the Firth of Forth between twin columns of Allied ships which overlapped the Germans at each end. The main Allied fleet, extending over a line fourteen miles long in the Firth of Forth, began to weigh anchor at 1 o'clock in the morning. The Scotch mist which for days had obscured the harbor was swept away by a stiff breeze, and the moon shone brilliantly out of a clear sky. The ships quickly took their stations in the long double line they held throughout the day. British battle cruisers led the way, followed by dreadnoughts. Admiral Beatty's flagship, the _Queen Elizabeth_, led the squadron in the northern column. Five American battleships, the _New York_, _Texas_, _Arkansas_, _Wyoming_, and _Florida_, commanded by Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman, fell into line behind Admiral Beatty's craft, balancing a British squadron similar in power in the opposite file. All the battleships of the Allies were ready for instant action in case of treachery on the part of the Germans.