21st June 1919, sunshine and calm heralded a wonderfully
warm and still Mid Summer’s day. Little did the British first
battle squadron realise as they sailed from The Great Harbour for
manoeuvres in open sea that by nightfall one of the most extraordinary
events in naval history would have occurred.
For seven months the remaining maintenance crews of the Imperial
German Fleet had been interned at Scapa Flow following the Armistice
in November 1918, which had ended the fighting on the Western Front.
Now they were anxiously awaiting news of their fate on the eve of
its deadline, unaware that it had been extended by three days. Meanwhile,
the victorious Allies were already squabbling over how the German
prize ships should be distributed among the conquering navies.
This was of grave concern to the commander of the German fleet,
Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter. Considering the possibility of outright
German surrender, he had even requested that he be sent home and
for his government to send their own officials from Germany to carry
out the final act of humiliation. To complicate matters even further
the German navy was in complete disarray with near-mutinous crews
and communist collectives creating havoc aboard many of the ships.
Von Reuter’s dilemma was profound. The surrender of the fleet
would be a painful ordeal for him personally, but considering the
additional possibility of Allied treachery he also had to contemplate
a way out worthy of the High Seas Fleet, which might at the same
time restore German honour. Thus, to the astonishment of all those
who witnessed it, at 12.16 on the afternoon of 21st June 1919 the
first ships of the German High Seas Fleet, one of the most powerful
fighting forces in naval history, began to sink.
“There has been a long expressed wish for an account
of the last few months of the existence of the German High Seas
Fleet. In the following work I try to fulfil this wish and endeavour
to give full details to justify the scuttling” - so begins
the original account of the greatest scuttling in naval history
by the commander of the interned Imperial German Fleet, Vice Admiral
Ludwig von Reuter. This fresh translation and additional chapters
by wreck historian Simon Mills is a golden opportunity for British
divers to read first-hand what really happened in Orkney 86 years
ago. Of particular significance is the von Reuter family’s
agreement to allow Mills access to their private papers, with the
result that images never seen outside of the family are included
for the first time in this limited edition.
It is fitting that the launch date for this book was the 21st June.
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