ejwalshe Posted 3 April , 2020 Share Posted 3 April , 2020 The German High Seas Fleet decided to sink as many of its own ships as possible to prevent them from falling into Allied hands. In total, 52 of 74 ships were sabotaged to keep them from Britain, France, Italy and the USA. Most of these nations wanted a share for their navies, and knowing she could not have them all to herself, Britain wanted the ships scrapped to prevent other nations from gaining naval superiority. On the morning of 21 June 1919, the British fleet left Scapa Flow for exercises, and Rear Admiral Sydney Freemantle, commander of the 1st Battle Squadron guarding the ships, planned to return two days later to board and seize the ships. Already occupying Germany west of the Rhine, the Allied Powers expected Germany to accept all articles of the Treaty of Versailles by 23 June, and threatened to occupy territory east of the Rhine if all demands were not met. German Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, following orders he had received after the breakdown of negotiations, seized the opportunity with the British fleet having just left the harbour, gave the order to scuttle all ships as his crews opened seacocks, torpedo tubes and portholes to flood them, and once again hoisted the flag of the Imperial German Navy. The final battle casualties of the Great War occurred on this day, with nine German sailors killed and sixteen wounded by the British during brawls when they refused to help save the ships. For his part, von Reuter was imprisoned along with 1,800 of his men, but was released the following year. Upon his return to Germany, he was praised as the man who had preserved the honour of the German High Seas Fleet (in typical fashion, Freemantle had anrgily accused von Reuter of having behaved without honour). Of the 52 ships scuttled in 1919, seven remain at the bottom of the sea today. They are registered under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, and provide some of the best shipwreck diving in Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucycutler Posted 4 April , 2020 Share Posted 4 April , 2020 Wow! Really interesting. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 4 April , 2020 Share Posted 4 April , 2020 (edited) An interesting book concerning the salvage of some of the ships of the sunken High Seas Fleet from Scapa Flow. Might be of interest to some of our readers... Published in 1973 & reprinted in 2003. Thanks, Bryan There are several photos showing the various salvage operations on the ships. A couple reproduced here. Edited 4 April , 2020 by RNCVR . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garwood Posted 4 April , 2020 Share Posted 4 April , 2020 `The man who bought a navy` by Bowman is also an excellent read about Mr Cox and his salvaging of the fleet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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