WesWorld

A very interesting post and quite timely too as I came across this yesterday; 'Operations Upon the Sea: A Study By Freiherr von Edelsheim' a General Staff office, written in 1901.

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/27244/27244-h/27244-h.htm

Ooh! Thanks. Glad you liked it. :D

Frankfurter Zeitung, Sunday, 7 October 1945




London, The German Embassy, Monday, 8 October 1945

The one thing Walter Schellenburg knew that he could not do was rush into his new assignment. For all his studying of the Baedeker guide to London and its environs he was in a quite unfamiliar city, working alongside those he did not yet know, some of whom, he suspected, did not appreciate the monumental task before him. More than that, Schellenburg took it as a given that he was being watched by agents of the British security services; indeed, he worked on the assumption – until proven otherwise – that they had eyes inside the embassy itself.

Thus he began by immersing himself into the routine of the embassy – getting to know all those who worked there – including the locally-engaged staff. The English he had learned in hochschule rapidly came back to him, though the idiom of some of the staff took getting used to. To correct such shortcomings, he visited Prussia House and met with the staff of the consul-general to inquire after a worthwhile tutor of conversational English – and to begin to widen his circle of contacts.


Heavy Cruiser Graf Spee, Sattahip Harbour, Tuesday, 9 October 1945

His ship rode easily at anchor in the inner roadstead, and for the moment Hans Langsdorff was happy enough to play host to a delegation of senior Thai officers and officials. It had been some years since his last visit here, when he was captain of the battlecruiser Seydlitz on her round-the-world cruise. Not that much had changed in Thailand since those days, though the memories of the Thai civil strife had faded somewhat. German commercial firms had to some extent made inroads into Thai commerce, which remained dominated chiefly by Danish firms. Now, however, that could change. With the veritable collapse of the AEGIS alliance bloc he suspected that Thai interests might turn to France, or Germany. He hoped that a good impression by his vessels might help sway local opinions toward the latter option.

Der Tagesspiegel, Wednesday, 10 October 1945

In his press conference today Foreign Minister Thomas Dehler was asked how Germany views the ongoing debate in Belgium and the Netherlands regarding closer relations between those two nations.

“Insofar as Germany is concerned,” he replied, “the nature of relations between the two portions of the United Kingdoms of the Netherlands is purely an internal matter, so long as the rights of all minorities are respected in whatever outcome the two decide upon. The Government has maintained its concern for the rights of the residents of the Ostkantone of Eupen-Malmedy on many occasions, and will continue to do so.”

When asked how the proposed inclusion of the current Dutch and Belgian colonies in an expanded UKN customs union might impact the Pan European Trade Agreement, Herr Dehler indicated that Germany saw great opportunity in the possible entry of the East Indies or the Congo; however, he went on to say, “No formal request has yet been brought forward, and until one is the Government can take no position. But we have initiated discussions with our current PETA partners on the implications of such a move.”


Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Wilhelmshaven, Thursday, 11 October 1945

The recently completed aircraft carriers Großer Kurfürst and Friedrich der Große formally joined the Flugzeugträgerstreitkräfte today as the Fourth Aircraft Carrier Squadron, having completed their operational training.


Survey Ship Komet, 1 dgs 45 min North, 16 dgs 41 min West, Friday, 12 October 1945

Deep below lay the Romanche Trench, an interesting feature of the geology of the sea floor. For the past day the Komet had been streaming her magnetometer and other scientific instruments to map this feature, and would do so for several days more. For her crew it was hard work in the tropical sun; of course, for her more experienced hands, the warm tropics were far preferable to her last assignment in the wintry North Atlantic. The scientists aboard did not seem to care either way; they spent most of their time chattering about something called ‘tectonics’.

Frankfurter Zeitung, Saturday, 13 October 1945

A coalition of historical research groups, including the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Schiffahrts und Marinegeschichte, the Hansischer Geschichtsverein and the Arbeitsgemeinschaft zur Preußischen Geschichte have agreed in principle to fund the reconstruction of the East Indiaman König von Preußen. The first group’s first order of business is raise the funds necessary to conduct research into the construction details of the vessel. A national campaign is expected to be launched soon.


Heavy Cruiser Graf Spee, Sattahip Harbour, Sunday, 14 October 1945

Signal guns exchanged final salutes, and the Graf Spee and her companion made her way towards the open sea. For Admiral Langsdorff, it had been a good visit; he felt a favourable impression had been made on the Thai authorities, a visible reminder that there were other European powers beyond the British, the French and the Danes. His ships were now set on a southerly course, their next destination the British bastion of Singapore. Two cruisers ought not to upset the British lion, or so he hoped.


Inspection Ship Roter Löwe, 54 dgs 50 min North, 41 dgs 55 min West, Monday, 15 October 1945

Fregattenkapitän Richard Zapp walked onto the bridge of the Roter Löwe out of habit. The ship reported weather conditions at hourly intervals, but launched sounding balloons at dawn – and he liked to observe that evolution. For the North Atlantic in mid-autumn, the weather was decent – air temperatures at sea level were almost ten degrees Celsius, the wind not more than twenty kilometres per hour, with only a modicum of cloud cover.

“Our friends are still with us Herr Kapitän,” reported the officer of the deck. “Seetakt indicates that they are maintaining their position to the east of us.”

Zapp picked up his binoculars and looked out into the gloom. Their ‘friends’ – usually a sloop of the Royal Canadian Navy, but sometimes a larger warship – enjoyed making their presence known, even in these waters. At the moment he could see nothing, but the rising sun would lift the horizon soon enough.

“Once we take our morning measurements we will head northeast; perhaps our friends will feel less threatened when we move closer to Iceland.” For Zapp, it made little difference.

Kleine Zeitung (Letters to the Editor), Tuesday, 16 October 1945

Mein Herren,

In these days of peace and prosperity one must seriously ask the question – why does the Government continue to maintain the Danube Flotilla? It is a holdover from the days of imperial grandeur, a dinosaur of misplaced ambitions. Does the Government have designs to add Hungary to the Reich? Certainly not… then why continue to spend money on a naval force that spends half its life in dry dock during the winter months? The nations of the Danube basin – Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Romania – are our friends – there is no need of force to overawe them. The Kriegsmarine costs enough – why continue to expend funds on a Donaumarine to no good purpose?

Constantin Pott, Wien


Der Tagesspiegel, Wednesday, 17 October 1945

In his semi-annual report to the Reichstag Minister of Transport Gottfried Treviranus was able to report considerable progress in construction of the National Motorways system. It now links the port of Bremen with the industrial heart of the Ruhr. Progress has been made on the section linking Göttingen with Dessau across the lands of Thuringia. The motorway from Innsbruck to the Italian frontier has been completed, as are the sections linking Salzburg with Klagenfurt, opening the Austrian provinces to greater levels of commerce. Wiener Neustadt is now linked with Graz, and long-delayed links have been effected between Görlitz and Breslau, Weimar and Geissen, and Lindau and München. The link between Emden and the Ruhr are also nearly complete.

Nearly all the delays from last-year’s appalling winter have been made good. The Minister was confident that the in his next report he will have as much good news to report as in his present summary.



Heavy Cruiser Graf Spee, Outer Reaches of Singapore Harbour, Thursday, 18 October 1945

Graf Spee and Admiral Scheer had made a leisurely voyage south from Sattahip, under the watchful eye of His Majesty’s Royal Air Force at first and, for the last day, the polite escort of a British destroyer. All this Admiral Langsdorff had expected. Though a time of peace, and his visit previously announced, the Royal Navy was diligent in its patrols. No doubt they had more than sufficient practice during the hostilities between China and Chosen, and before that China and the Philippines – there was still much concern at the propensity of China to resolve its differences with its neighbours in a violent fashion. Langsdorff made a mental note to compliment his hosts the professionalism of their efforts.

Rheinische Post, Friday, 19 October 1945

Yesterday evening the recently-formed Stuttgarter Kammerorchester gave its inaugural performance under the direction of maestro Karl Münchinger. The programme featured selections from the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.


Emder Zeitung, Saturday, 20 October 1945

The Hansa Line freighter Trautenfels departs today for South America bearing, among other cargo, the last one hundred of the Chilean Army’s order for Auto Union MUNGA light utility vehicles. The Chilean order had been booked late last year, with shipments commencing in January. A total of one thousand MUNGA vehicles have been delivered to the Chilean Army, who holds them in high repute. Auto Union is hopeful that a follow-on order can be negotiated.


London, The German Embassy, Sunday, 21 October 1945

It was a quiet morning, with most of the embassy staff enjoying a beautiful early-autumn weekend. For Walter Schellenburg, it was an opportunity to read through and annotate the most recent round of journals and publications relevant to Britain’s military developments – Flight, Jane’s – and the provincial newspapers that were often sources for snippets of information. He was thus quite surprised when the door of his office opened.

“Oh, sorry Guvnor,” said the porter. “I hadn’t realized you was working…”

Schellenburg looked up. “You normally work on Sundays?” he asked.

“Just getting an early start for Monday morning,” the porter replied. “Make certain the dustbins are emptied and such-like.” His voice betrayed a certain sense of concern. “I apologize for disturbing you.” With that he closed the door and departed.

Schellenburg put down the copy of Flight he was reading and tapped the end of his pen on the blotter, deep in thought. Aston, he recalled, was the porter’s name. Locally-engaged staff; it was totally impractical for the embassy to operate with a complete staff of German nationals. Of course, locally-engaged staff would not have access to the most-sensitive parts of the embassy, but someone like a porter would have free-range of most of the place – his duties would take him hither and yon. Checking the dustbins for odd scraps of paper would be easy enough, something no one would pay attention to. Having played the role of porter for just that purpose, Schellenburg knew how useful a porter could be in intelligence gathering. Aston would bear observation.

Background

The river Danube, crossing much of central and south-eastern Europe, plays a vital part in the economies of the nations which border it, and indeed the economy of all of Europe by virtue of the international status of commerce upon it. The Treaty of Paris (1856), which brought to conclusion the Crimean War, ended a long period of contention between Russia, which sought political control of the mouths of the Danube, the riparian principalities (chiefly Romania and Bulgaria) that bordered upon it, Turkey, the nominal suzerain of the region and the major maritime powers – Great Britain and France. To assure unfettered access to the lower reaches of the river, to carry out the necessary works to maintain navigation, and to enforce maritime law, the treaty provided for the creation of the European Commission of the Danube, better known as the Commission Européenne du Danube (CED). The CED was invested with authority over the three mouths of the river — the Chilia in the north, the Sulina in the middle, and the St. George in the south – while it was originally intended to exist for but two years – it has continued its work until the present day.

While the principle of freedom of navigation was gradually accepted for the entire length of the river, the authority of the CED was not extended beyond its original remit. Instead a separate mixed commission – which would become known as the International Danube Commission (IDC) – was first proposed at the Berlin Conference of 1878, further provided for in the Treaty of London of 1883 and finally imposed in the aftermath of the Great War. Since that time the IDC and CED, working in concert, and in coordination with the riparian nations, have done much to improve the navigation on the Danube and its tributaries, deepening shipping channels, standardising and raising bridge heights to permit larger vessels to ascend the river, and contributing to other public works.

Commerce upon the River

In the course of the Nineteenth Century private merchants and joint-stock companies offered a variety of shipping services along the length of the Danube, using tow-boats and barges for cargo and small, fast packet steamers for passengers. The Austrian Erste Donau Dampfschiffahrts Gesellschaft, founded in 1829, came to dominate the scene – in 1880 operating more than two hundred steamers and tow-boats and more than one thousand barges. In the years immediately prior to the Great War the Hungarian Royal Danube Sea Navigation Company rose to challenge the leading position of the Austrian firm; yet both firms suffered heavily during the period of hostilities, losing their positions of dominance on the river to competitors.

The imposition of an international regime of control in 1918 also saw the entry of foreign capital in large amounts. Dutch financiers took the lead in reviving the Hungarian Royal Danube Sea Navigation Company while the British Furness Withy combine backed the formation of the Anglo-Romanian Danube Navigation Company which in the 1920s dominated traffic on the Danube. The late 1920s was marked by the appearance of the Russian Black Sea Danube Navigation Company and a revival of national carriers under the Romanian, Bulgarian and Yugoslav flags.

Recognition of the importance of the Danube to the economy of Europe led to efforts by the German Government to strengthen the position of national carriers operating along the river. The support granted to the Bayerische Lloyd and the Süddeutsche Donau Schiffahrts Gesellschaft, and, after 1933, the Erste Donau Dampfschiffahrts Gesellschaft, have allowed these firms to successfully compete with the British and Dutch-backed firms.

Recent Developments

Improving political conditions in south-eastern Europe have fostered the growth of commerce, with a general reduction of customs tariffs spurring industrial development and the export of agricultural surpluses. The opening up of wider trade relations between Germany and the Russian Federation have seen the burgeoning of traffic between the ports of the upper Danube and Russian ports on the Black Sea, and, via the extensive Russian river and canal system, ports well inland across Southern Russia.

Improvements to navigation along the river have allowed for the construction of larger river-sea cargo vessels, which are not only capable of sailing the length of the river but of venturing out into the open sea. The Hungarian Royal Danube Sea Navigation Company pioneered this trade in the middle 1920s, opening a service as far as Alexandria. Today it is quite common to see large river-sea vessels flying the flags of many riparian nations in ports across the Levant, and the opening of such direct links have been important in economic development in both regions. In this regard the most ambitious commercial venture to utilise the river is the Danube Intercontinental Navigation and Transport Company, a joint venture of Bulgarian, Romanian, and Yugoslav interests. From 1939 this firm has operated direct sailings from the inland ports of the Danube right across the Mediterranean and the Atlantic to South America, where the handy size of the vessels employed allows them to reach the river port in Brazil, Gran Uruguay, and Argentina.



The establishment of free ports in such centres as Linz, Bratislava, Csepel (Budapest), and Novi Sad has done much to stimulate commerce and industrial development. Factories in the free ports benefit from duty-free imports of raw materials, which are processed and turned into finished products that are again exported. Workers in the factories of the free ports in turn contribute to the domestic economy though increased purchasing power and taxes.

Challenges

The Danube, as all rivers, is hostage to weather in various forms. Low water in summer can made navigation difficult, while high water in spring – caused by the winter thaw – can bring flooding that halts navigation over much of the river. On the upper reaches of the river winter ice brings an early end to navigation, though in the lower reaches of the river vessels can usually operate year round. In the lower course of the river the fight against silt in the channels is constant. The CED, in conjunction with the Romanian Government, maintains a small fleet of dredges that keep the main routes open.

The greatest challenge to navigation is the strength of the river itself. Where it narrows a vessel may find itself carried away by the current; in the days before the work of the CED and IDC such occurrences were far more frequent than today. The Iron Gates, on the border between Romania and Yugoslavia, remain the most dangerous and difficult of the river’s narrows. Despite the blasting of the Sip Channel (completed in 1896) vessels ascending the river require the assistance of towing locomotives to fight against the might of the river’s seaward flow.

Berliner Abendpost, Monday, 22 October 1945

The Ministry of Transport announced this morning that a proposal will be brought forth to both the International Danube Commission and the Commission Européenne du Danube regarding improvements to navigation in the vicinity of the Iron Gates. The restrictions of the present Sip Channel are seen as a major impediment to river traffic and a comprehensive plan to address them should be investigated as soon as possible.


Lübecker Nachrichten, Tuesday, 23 October 1945

The fleet oiler Burgenland has completed its conversion and has begun its post-conversion trials and working up. She will join the fleet sometime next month.


Heavy Cruiser Graf Spee, Singapore Harbour, Wednesday, 24 October 1945

Admiral Langsdorff read the morning report with a certain sense of satisfaction. The visit of his flagship and her consort, Admiral Scheer, to Singapore had thus far gone well. Exchange visits between his ships and those of the resident British squadron had been quite friendly, and his men had been behaving themselves during their liberty ashore. The only fly in the ointment thus far had been the pointedly hostile and stand-offish behaviour of the Australian flotilla. Given the strength of British forces in the Far East, and the general lack of external threats, Langsdorff wondered why the Australians felt it necessary to station such a heavy force – three cruisers and an aviation ship – so far from their home waters. Their presence at least gave his junior officers something to do – many spent their free time photographing them from hired boats and dreaming of articles appearing in Wehrgedanken des Auslands.

Berlin, Wilhelmstraße, Thursday, 25 October 1945

Foreign Minister Thomas Dehler read the report of the consul-general in Bangui with some alarm. A disturbance had broken out in the Netherlandish colony of Ubangi-Shari, with fighting reported between European and native elements of the colonial army. Not that Germany had significant strategic interest in the middle of Central Africa, but threats to Europeans there could spill over in any of a dozen directions. He picked up the telephone and put a call through to the Tirpitzufer.

“Herr Admiral,” said Dehler, “What is this matter in Central Africa? I want a report, immediately.”


Wirtschaftswoche, Friday, 26 October 1945

The Deutsche Dampfschiffs-gesellschaft “Hansa” has acquired the assets and fleet of the Reederei Franz Nimitz of Stettin.


Der Tagesspiegel, Saturday, 27 October 1945

Late yesterday the Defence Ministry announced a programme to draw down the current strength of the Kriegsmarine’s naval security and coast defence troops, with some units being disbanded while others are reassigned to its mobile landing troops.

Emder Zeitung, Sunday, 28 October 1945

The inspection ship Goldener Löwe is scheduled to depart today to return to her station in the North Atlantic. She has been in port for maintenance and resupply.


Rostocker Zeitung, Monday, 29 October 1945

The latest of the Kriegsmarine’s fleet tenders, the Albrecht von Stosch, completed its conversion today and will embark on post-conversion trials before entering active service with the fleet. She is the last of the six Gustav Nachtigal class vessels presently programmed for the Kriegsmarine, and no plans for further acquisition of the type have been announced to date.

London, The German Embassy, Tuesday, 30 October 1945

There was a knock at the door of Schellenburg’s embassy office; he looked up to see Bosbach, the cultural attaché, standing there. “I would like your opinion Herr Schellenburg,” said Bosbach. “I have drafted a press release and wanted your input before taking it to the Head of Chancery.”

Schellenburg waived his visitor in. Von Richter, the head of chancery, was a self-important busy-body; he could sympathize with Bosbach; fortunately, he himself was independent of von Richter’s purview. “What is it about?”

Bosbach passed a sheet of foolscap across the Abwehr officer’s desk. “An announcement about the formation of the Prinz-Albert-Gesellschaft. I thought it worthwhile to ask the British press to take note of it.” As far as Bosbach was concerned, not only was Schellenburg a voice-of-reason sounding board genuinely interested in fostering friendly relations with Britain.

“Ah,” replied Schellenburg, and he began to read. The Prinz-Albert-Gesellschaft, recently founded by the University of Erlangen and the city of Coburg was a charitable organisation dedicated to promoting international understanding and Anglo-German cooperation. It took its name from Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg, beloved husband of Britain’s Queen Victoria. “It looks quite good to me. You hope that the British might be persuaded to participate in some manner?”

“Yes,” Bosbach acknowledged. “If there is any sort of positive response perhaps His Excellency might be prevailed upon to help find some of his prominent friends to establish a British counterpart.”

Schellenburg thought that a long shot; but stranger things had happened. “I wish you success,” he concluded.


Elbinger Volksstimme, Wednesday, 31 October 1945

The corvettes Drache and Kormoran launched were launched today at the Schichau yard at Memel. They are the latest antisubmarine vessels to be constructed for the Kriegsmarine, and will continue construction until the spring.

Heavy Cruiser Graf Spee, Singapore Harbour, Thursday, 1 November 1945

Kapitän zur See Richard Rothe-Roth looked up at his chief engineer, Fregattenkapitän Wolfgang Kähler, with a look of disbelief and disappointment. “As a senior officer, you are supposed to set an example for the men, and here you are, guilty of being involved in a bar fight, at Raffles of all places! How am I supposed to explain this to the Admiral?”

“It was the Australians sir,” Kähler explained, “We were having a nice quiet time, per orders, and then this group of Australians came into the saloon-bar. They acted as if they were paying us no mind, but soon got around to recounting their version of the last battle of the old East Asia Squadron at the Falklands. The steward of the bar asked them to be off, knowing we were there, and that is when the Australians got insulting.”

“Insulting? How?” Rothe-Roth asked.

“They started by rounding on all of us, saying that we had no business here hanging on to Frenchmen’s coat-tails; and then they used insulting words about the Admiral. I’ll not repeat them…” Kähler seemed quite embarrassed by the admission. “And then one of them used insulting words about you sir…”

“And that is when the fight broke out?” Rothe-Roth seemed to unbend slightly.

“No sir,” Kähler replied. “That was when I suggested that we leave, before a fight did break out. As we got up, one of the Australians got in my face… and suggested that the Graf Spee would be better employed hauling garbage.”

“And that is when you hit him?” Rothe-Roth suggested.

“No sir,” Kähler explained. “I politely asked that he apologize… and he thereupon corrected himself to say that the Graf Spee ought to be towed away as garbage. That was when I hit him.”

Rothe-Roth fought hard to suppress a smile. “Consider yourself confined to the ship for the duration of our stay here. At least the management has refrained from lodging a complaint, so far. I believe I can explain this matter to the Admiral.”


Der Soldatenfreund, Friday, 2 November 1945




Inspection Ship Goldener Löwe, 58 dgs 58 min North, 33 dgs 39 min West, Saturday, 3 November 1945

The calendar still said it was autumn but the stinging spray of a gale and the frigid waters suggested that the North Atlantic winter had arrived early. Fregattenkapitän Herbert Wohlfarth noted in the log that his ship was back on station, relieving the Roter Löwe, which was on its way back to Germany for maintenance. The respite his own ship had seemed brief enough. At least now his ship could take refuge in Nordish ports should the weather truly close in; but the Goldener Löwe had been built to take these seas. Wohlfarth was determined to remain at sea as much as possible – that was their duty.

So... does that mean that Kapitän zur See Richard Rothe-Roth is going to end up in a situation like this?

Let's hope not. :P

Doubtless versions of events will vary, as will claims as to who won the fight!

The Singapore police will not press charges if the management of Raffles does not. The shore patrol will be keeping watch however. Being a hot-spot for mariners, trouble is not uncommon so probably nobody is going to notice or complain too much.

Quoted from "Hood"

Doubtless versions of events will vary, as will claims as to who won the fight!

The Singapore police will not press charges if the management of Raffles does not. The shore patrol will be keeping watch however. Being a hot-spot for mariners, trouble is not uncommon so probably nobody is going to notice or complain too much.

When he is informed of the matter, Admiral Langsdorff will quietly contact the management of Raffles with a formal apology and offer to make right any damage done to the establishment; the question of who won is unimportant. Raffles is a very proper establishment and he regrets that the fight occurred at all.

Obviously, it is time for the Graf Spee and Admiral Scheer to depart and sail on to their next destination.

The Wheatsheaf Public House, Lower Withington, Cheshire, Sunday, 4 November 1945

Walter Schellenburg considered that his day of walking had been worth it. Prompted by an item he had read in The Times several days prior he had taken the train up from London to Manchester, and had then made his way by public ‘bus to the village where he had found a room for a couple nights. He had spent the day exploring the neighbourhood, paying attention to the somewhat odd goings-on in one of the fields nearby, outside of which stood a sign proclaiming, “Jodrell Bank Experimental Station”.

The item in The Times had mentioned the work being done by Bernard Lovell into researching cosmic rays, and while scientific matters did not immediately fall into Schellenburg’s remit, he felt it was something worth looking into, and it did get him away from the stultifying atmosphere of the embassy. With a small camera he had taken several distant photographs of an apparatus sprouting several Yagi-antennas and a few smaller parabolic reflectors. Now, over a dish of Shepard’s Pie, he sat quietly listening to the conversations in the pub, hoping that he might pick up any details of the station’s activities.


Heavy Cruiser Graf Spee, Singapore Roads, Monday, 5 November 1945

The pilot who had guided the Graf Spee out of the harbour had made his way over the side and returned to the cutter that stood alongside the heavy cruiser. In a few moments it would pick up the pilot who had guided the Admiral Scheer, which followed in the Graf Spee’s wake.

Kapitän Richard Rothe-Roth turned in Langsdorff’s direction and inquired, “Orders Herr Admiral?”

“Put us on course for Batavia,” Langsdorff replied.


Berlin, The Cabinet Meeting Room, Tuesday, 6 November 1945

Adenauer paused and looked at his notes. “Herr Blank,” he asked, “these questions in the Press about the cost of the Danube Flotilla… they are beginning to become a chorus. Do we really need war craft on the Danube?”

“I do not have an immediate answer Herr Chancellor,” Blank replied. “I shall have my staff look into the matter.”

“Good, do so,” Adenauer said with emphasis. “If it contributes little to our security I am quite willing to approve its decommissioning; not only would it reduce our expenses, but it would demonstrate Germany’s commitment to peace in south-eastern Europe.” The Chancellor was very much aware of the perceptions of the Balkan states regarding Germany’s economic growth and domination of the region’s trade. It was clear that he wished to reassure those nations that Germany had no political designs upon them.

“I would like your report and recommendations on the matter in two weeks,” he concluded.

Batavia Harbour, Wednesday, 7 November 1945

Salutes were exchanged as Graf Spee and Admiral Sheer entered the port proper and left the outer roads behind them. It had been a short and uneventful cruise from Singapore, but for Langsdorff it was a sea change. Here in Batavia he knew that events elsewhere created a greater stir, and beneath the calm surface of Dutch rule there burbled a nationalist fervour; and he wondered what effect, if any, the presence of his squadron might have on local politics.


Hamburger Abendblatt, Thursday, 8 November 1945

The minesweepers Hallstättersee and Wörthersee joined the fleet today following completion of their operational training. In the Deschimag yards here workers launched the submarines Walfisch and Neunaugen. The city can be proud of its continuing contribution to the nation’s naval security.


Der Tagesspiegel, Friday, 9 November 1945

The Reichstag reached agreement today on a novella to the 1946 Naval Programme, providing funding for a series of small harbour craft of several types. Action on these proposals had been separated from the principal naval construction scheme due to uncertainties regarding the type and number of craft to be procured.

Emder Zeitung, Saturday, 10 November 1945

The inspection ship Roter Löwe arrived in port today following her deployment in the North Atlantic. She is scheduled to undergo routine maintenance and resupply before returning to her station early next year.


London, The German Embassy, Sunday, 11 November 1945

Under normal circumstances Schellenburg would have taken advantage of the day’s fine weather to continue his exploration of the life of the city of London; but not today – for it was what the English called Remembrance Sunday – the day upon which they marked the end of the Great War and commemorated the sacrifice of so many. His Excellency the Ambassador had given the staff strict instruction to do nothing that might be construed as giving offence on the solemn occasion – and so Schellenburg caught up on his report on his visit to the north of the country.

Besides the observations and photographs of the experimental station at Jodrell Bank, he had made an examination of an aircraft plant – from the outside of course – near the industrial estate at Trafford Park, and had taken note of expanded steelworks at Corby in Northamptonshire.

Suddenly his train of thought was interrupted by the distant boom of a cannon; he got up and walked to his office window to open it. The silence was eerie. He stood for a few moments, meditating on the cause for the day’s observance; the Great War had changed Europe forever in many ways.


Bremer Nachrichten, Monday, 12 November 1945

The Deschimag yard here was thronged today with visitors to see the launch of no less than four new destroyers for the Kriegsmarine – Burbach, Freudenberg, Heubach, and Insterberg – the latest of the Allenstein class. Their sisters are themselves nearing completion in the yard, and the four vessels launched today are expected to complete in May of next year.