Kapitänleutnant Otto Hersing and U-21

[Gunner 87]

Following Facebook groups 'The Great War at Sea 1914-1919' and 'Gallipoli 1915' I thought to share the following information and fascinating account by a German U-Boat Kapitan relating to the sinking of a British battleship which was deployed in support of troops in the Dardanelles. . 

 

Between 1914 and 1918 U-21, under the commend of Kapitanleutnant Otto Hersing, 1885-1960, also known as 'Zerstörer von Schlachtschiffe' or 'Destroyer of warships' and 'Retter der Dardanellen' or 'Saviour of the Dardanelles' was responsible for the sinking of 40 Allied vessels or 113,580 gross registered tons with another 2 damaged or 8,918 tons.

 

Included in Hersing's tally of ships sunk was Scout Cruiser H.M.S. Pathfinder on the 5th September 1914 with a loss of 259 crew, Swiftsure Class Pre-Dreadnough Battleship H.M.S. Triumph, 25th May 1915, with a loss of 78 crew, Majestic Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship H.M.S. Majestic, 27th May 1915, 49 crew lost and French Navy Cruiser Amiral Charner, 8th February 1916 with the loss of 427 men.

 

This very informative 1930 account by Otto Hersing relates to the sinking of HMS Triumph.

 

“Day broke. Ahead of us was the shore, with its beaches and cliffs and hill a bare, burnt yellow. There was no sound of guns. The day’s battle down the coast had not yet begun. The sea was a dead calm – anything but ideal for our kind of work. A periscope had better not show itself too plainly in these embattled waters. We plunged down and nosed our way on to the hive of war further down.

“Ships appeared in the eyepiece. No chance for leisurely inspection. Periscope up for a hasty glance into the lens, a pious hope that the asparagus would not be spied during its few seconds above the glassy surface, and then periscope down. We sighted British battleships off Cape Helles. I could distinguish three big fellows. A glance into my fleet book, and I could tell from photographs and descriptions there that they were giants of the Majestic class. They were firing salvos with their heavy guns, battering the Turkish positions among the hills with tons of high explosive projectiles.

 

“A hospital ship stood near by. Around were dozens of patrol boats, torpedo boats, and destroyers that wove and circled, nervously on the lookout for intruders. Had reports of our presence in the Mediterranean inspired all this elaborate lookout? Whether yes or no, it was clear that the British were using all possible precautions to shield their battleships from submarine attack, while the fire-spitting monsters hurled their shells upon the shore-lining trenches of the Turks.

 

“Rare game for a U-boat,” I cried exultantly to my watch officer, and steered the U-21 cautiously toward the three fire-belching leviathans.

“Periscope in!” I shouted quickly. A destroyer was headed toward us. I don’t know whether it had seen the periscope or no: but I did not want a submarine warning to go out until I had had a chance to strike a blow.

 

“We ran blindly under water for a while without daring to show our periscope. I did not like the idea of showing any asparagus again in that neighbourhood for the present. Our course lay north from the top of the peninsula, towards Gaba-Tepe. There the periscope showed another battleship in front of the northern beaches. My reference shows the vessel to be of the Triumph class. Again the inevitable swarm of patrol boats and destroyers circling around to protect it from submarine attack, like pigmies guarding a giant.

 

“In periscope!” And we dived to seventy feet and headed towards the monster, passing far below the lines of patrol craft. Their propellers, as they ran above us, sounded a steady hum. For four and a half hours after I caught sight of the ship, which was in fact H.M.S. Triumph itself, I manoeuvred the U-21 for a torpedo shot, moving here and there and showing the asparagus on the smooth surface of the sea for only the briefest moments.

 

“In the conning tower my watch officer and I stood with bated breath. We were groping toward a deadly position 0- deadly for the magnificent giant of war on the surface above.

 

“Out periscope!” H.M.S. Triumph stood in thundering majesty, broadside to us, and only three hundred yards away. Never had an under-sea craft such a target.

 

“Torpedo – fire!” My heart gave a great leap as I called the command.

 

“And now one of those fearfully still, eventless moments. Suspense and eagerness held me in an iron grip. Heedless of all else, I left the periscope out. There! And I saw the telltale streak of white foam darting through the water. It headed swiftly away from the point were we lay, and headed straight – yes, straight and true. It streaked its way swiftly to the bow of our mammoth adversary. A huge cloud of smoke leaped out of the sea. In the conning tower we heard first a dry, metallic concussion and then a terrible, reverberating explosion.

 

“It was a fascinating and appalling sight to see, and I yearned with every fibre to keep on watching the fearful picture; but I had already seen just about enough to cost us our lives. The moment that dread white wake of the torpedo was seen on the surface of the water, the destroyers were after me. They came rushing from every direction.

 

“In periscope!” And down we went. I could hear nothing but the sound of propellers above me, on the right and left. Why hadn’t I dived the moment after the torpedo left? The two seconds I had lost were like years now. With that swarm converging right over our heads, it surely seemed as if we were doomed. Then a flash crossed my brain.

 

“Full speed ahead,” I called, and ahead we went right along the course the torpedo had taken, straight towards the huge craft we had hit.

“It was foolhardy, I admit, but I had to risk it. Diving as deeply as we dared, we shot right under the sinking battleship. It might have come roaring down on our heads – the torpedo had hit so fair that I rather expected it would. And then the U-boat and its huge prey would have gone down together in an embrace of death. That crazy manoeuvre saved us. I could hear the propellers of destroyers whirring above us, but they were hurrying to the place where we had been. Our manoeuvre of ducking under the sinking battleship was so unexpected that no hint of it ever occurred to the enemy. We were left in tranquil safety. Keeping as deep as possible and showing no top of periscope, we stole blindly but securely away. When I ventured to take a look through the asparagus, we were far from the place where the Triumph had met her disaster.”

 

Under the command of Lieutenant Commander Otto Hersing U-21 was the first German submarine to make the voyage from Wilhelmshaven to Constantinople via Cattaro and the first submarine to sink a ship using self propelled torpedos. For sinking  Triumph and HMS Majestic Hersing received the Ordre Pour le Merite which can be seen hanging from his collar. Hersing is also wearing the the Iron Cross, Second Class and Iron Cross First Class. The other officers are also of the U-21.

 

Image courtesy of the IWM. 

 

 

[KizmeRD]

1 hour ago, Gunner 87 said:

Under the command of Lieutenant Commander Otto Hersing U-21 was the first German submarine to make the voyage from Wilhelmshaven to Constantinople via Cattaro and the first submarine to sink a ship using self propelled torpedos. 

 

 

Although, just to clarify the timeline, U-21’s torpedoing of HMS Pathfinder (first use of self-propelled torpedoes fired underwater by a sub) occurred on 5 September 1914, well before the U-boat’s deployment to the Mediterranean/Adriatic and the sinkings of HMS Triumph & Majestic in the Dardanelles.

MB

[Tom Wales]

The Germans love their asparagus! Great account - far too lyrical for the daily log (KTB) I thought, then I saw it was 1930, probably his memoirs.

Follow link for a photo of Uboats at Kiel. Looks like U21 on the right next to the Type U19.  U22 on the extreme left sank my grandfather's collier ss Adamton off Tiree in April 1916

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM_U-19_(Germany)#/media/File:U-Boote_Kiel_1914.jpg

[Gunner 87]

2 hours ago, Tom Wales said:

far too lyrical for the daily log (KTB) I thought, then I saw it was 1930, probably his memoirs

Hi Tom,

Yes, you are correct. Otto Hersing is quoted in 'Raiders of the Deep' by Lowell Thomas, Heinemann, 1930.

Thanks for the link, appreciated.

Gunner.

[michaeldr]

Celestino Corraliza has translated Hersing's 1932 book 'U21 Saves the Dardanelles' and published it  with Trident of Miami, USA [ISBN-13: 978-0-9963157-6-0].  Hersing's Chapter V covers the sinking of HMS Triumph. 

In Chapter VII, Hersing tells of finding 
“while cruising in front of the Dardanelles and while entering the straits that the manoeuvre was not one of the easiest. Above all it had to be expected that the enemy would do everything possible to make it more difficult  for German submarines to operate in front of the Dardanelles. I therefore approached the commander of the straits with the suggestion of establishing a submarine base on the Aegean coast outside the Dardanelles.”

Eventually a site was chosen by Hersing on the north coast of the peninsula. A small base plus observation post were established there, together with a telephone line and the position became known as Hersingstand. This was at Karaağaç Liman on the Gulf of Saros [see https://canakkalemuharebeleri1915.com/makale-ler/87-saban-murat-armutak/529-saros-korfezi-nde-gi-zli-deni-zalti-ussu]

Earlier this month I was on Gallipoli and while there I was lucky enough to spend a day with Dr. Jochen Schrader, Thomas Iredale and Bill Sellars, tracing the footsteps of Dr. Schrader's grandfather who had served at Hersingstand in 1915 as Leading Seaman Wolfgang Schrader.

Dr. Schrader has his grandfather's diary and he is working with Tom Iredale towards getting it published in German and in English, probably in 2024. Later this year they will both be speaking on the subject of U21, Hersing and LS Wolfgang Schrader, at the Gallipoli Association's Conference at the RAF Club, Piccadilly, London on 7th October. The conference will be open to members and non-members alike.

See also https://www.gallipoli-association.org/news/2023/our-annual-conference-speakers-announced/

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 27 May , 2023 by michaeldr

[KizmeRD]

4 hours ago, michaeldr said:

Celestino Corraliza has translated Hersing's 1932 book 'U21 Saves the Dardanelles' and published it  with Trident of Miami, USA [ISBN-13: 978-0-9963157-6-0].  Hersing's Chapter V covers the sinking of HMS Triumph. 

In Chapter VII, Hersing tells of finding 
Eventually a site was chosen by Hersing on the north coast of the peninsula. A small base plus observation post were established there, together with a telephone line and the position became known as Hersingstand. This was at Karaağaç Liman on the Gulf of Saros [see https://canakkalemuharebeleri1915.com/makale-ler/87-saban-murat-armutak/529-saros-korfezi-nde-gi-zli-deni-zalti-ussu]

Thank you for posting the link - so much interesting and detailed information (and plenty of other articles too).

MB

Edited 27 May , 2023 by KizmeRD

[Tom Wales]

40 minutes ago, KizmeRD said:

Thank you for posting the link - so much interesting and detailed information (and plenty of other articles too).

MB

Fascinating.

[stevenbecker]

Michael

Interesting, wish I could hear it.

Just to add, I have a mention of Wolfgang

Schrader Wolfgang    ObMatrose Marine shown awarded Ottoman War medal

no mention of what ship he came from, I also shown this man during 1915

Schrader Jochen    Matrose Marine     Naval MG Sects Marine-Landungsabteilung (Naval Shore Det)

Again no mention of what ship he came from

S.B
 

[KizmeRD]

https://www.gallipoli1915.de/marine-landungsabteilung

Officers and men were provided by the GOEBEN and BRESLAU, who, under the leadership of Lieutenant z. S. Boltz marched from Istanbul to the Dardanelles with 44 men and eight machine guns. This troop later merged with the indirect fire observers already on site to form the so-called "landing detachment", which Boltz took over as leader. Almost all of the officers and men had infantry training, since they had been provided as a naval infantry company by the 1st and 2nd sailor divisions in Kiel and Wilhelmshaven and had already been embarked as such on the BRESLAU in Pola in 1913. Even back then, the tasks of the marine infantry were fighting on land, as well as guard and artillery duties.

In total, at least 300 German marines are likely to have been deployed in this unit, what with the replacement personnel. (The organisation of this unit provided a personnel requirement of 210 men in October 1915).

MB

[KizmeRD]

After the Allies withdrew in January 1916…

some units remained with supply, observation and security tasks - a total of around 11,000 Turkish soldiers. Approximately ten to twelve German officers remained with artillery formations of the 5th Army as a German section. The German naval crews of the coastal fortifications under the command of Admiral Merten, the landing detachments and the air squadrons at Gallipoli and Nagara and the crew of the field hospital at Bigahli remained until the end of 1918.

The observation of enemy naval forces as well as the pilot and stage service for incoming and outgoing German U-Boats was carried out by the landing department. Between 1916 and 1918, this unit consisted of about 50 German non-commissioned officers and men and just as many Turkish soldiers, his adjutant and a doctor. 

In order to enable the most complete possible observation of the enemy forces in front of the peninsula, observation posts had been set up at four different points. Each was usually manned by a non-commissioned officer and six men. These outposts were supplied with food and mail twice a week. Every morning, noon and evening, all observations were reported to Kilia Tepe and summarized by radio to the fleet command. The southernmost observation point was at Cape Teke, the second at Gaba Tepe at the former ANZAC landing zone, a third at Cape Suvla, and the fourth had been established at Varila Tepe. This northernmost stand was also called the "Hersing Stand" because it was built on the advice of Lieutenant Captain Hersing. All U-boats that wanted to enter the Dardanelles reported there first in order to take the leader of the landing party on board as a pilot. (This was necessary because the Allied troops had made the entire coastal area difficult to navigate with net and mine barriers). The estimated time of entry for a submarine entering the Dardanelles was communicated by the fleet command to the landing department by radio. This in turn was notified to the command of the 5th Army in order to avoid friendly fire by their artillery. The trip around the coast to the Dardanelles, which was only allowed to take place after dark, took 8-9 hours and initially ended in the Bay of Maidos. The U-boats stayed there for a day or two, primarily to give the crew the opportunity to relax on land. The landing department had built extra accommodation for this, but also provided opportunities for sports and leisure. When leaving the Dardanelles, the leader of the landing party also went back on board and, after passing the barriers, left the submarines at Suvla Bay.

MB

[michaeldr]

2 hours ago, stevenbecker said:

Schrader Wolfgang    ObMatrose Marine shown awarded Ottoman War medal

no mention of what ship he came from, I also shown this man during 1915

Schrader Jochen    Matrose Marine     Naval MG Sects Marine-Landungsabteilung (Naval Shore Det)

Again no mention of what ship he came from

LS W Schrader was born and educated in Constantinople and was fluent in Ottoman Turkish. I understand that he had no pre-war German service and I believe that he enlisted for war service in the German navy in Constantinople. He initially reported to the Captain of the Irmingard, and was accommodated for a couple of nights on the Breslau, before being sent to Gallipoli as a member of the Naval Shore Detachment.

EDIT to add: We should probably wait for the GA Conference lectures (and the book next year) but what I have seen so far does not indicate his having involvement with the 'MG Sects'. As far as I am aware during 1915 LS Schrader was only involved with Hersingstand and the nearby Observation / telephone  post.

Edited 30 May , 2023 by michaeldr

[stevenbecker]

cheer mate,

Yes I also have no record of Wolfgang being with the MG Sects sent to front.

Only one is Jochen, who possibly is no relation.

As to pilots I show this man did that for U 21

De Göben von    ObLt    helped led U 21 through the minefields in the Narrows

While I can find no idea if he was Army or Navy 

[KizmeRD]

Rather than being a surname, might it simply be a poor translation of ‘an Oberleutnant off the Göben’?

MB

[Gunner 87]

After the sinking of H.M.S. Triumph and Majestic, Sir Julian Corbett, in writing the British official history of naval operations, summed up the impact of Otto Hersing and U-21 on the Gallipoli campaign.

“Never before, perhaps, had a military operation been so deeply affected by means so small. For the brilliant way in which the enemy submarine had been handled, both services had nothing but admiration. It was indeed no more than was to be expected from the man in command. For later on he was known to be none other than Lieutenant-Commander Hersing, the determined officer who in April, in spite of every difficulty, had brought his boat U 21 into the Mediterranean by way of Gibraltar, and had thus demonstrated the possibility — till then not credited — of navigating a submarine to the Adriatic without a half-way base of supply. Reaching Cattaro on May 18, with only half a ton of oil in his tanks, he had rested a week and then continued his voyage to the Dardanelles. The grave moral effects of the exploits in which his remarkable feat had resulted could not be disguised. Hundreds of Turkish troops, depressed by loss and failure and demoralised by the heavy shell from the sea, had seen the stampede of the ships they most dreaded; thousands of our own men had seen it and the loss of the ships as well, and they knew there was nothing now but the cruisers and destroyers to support them in their daily struggle in the trenches.” 

Corbett, Sir Julian S., “Naval Operations,” Vol. 3, p. 31, Longman, Green and Co. (London) 1923.

[stevenbecker]

Mate,

You could be right

I notice Wolf in his book mentions these men also

Niebuhr Dietrich    ObLtzS to Kapt-Lt Marine    Military Mediterranean Division MMD - Watch officer U 21 Constantinople Flotilla to U Boat School Crew 4/07 to Commander UB 43 Pola Flotilla 4-16 to 8-16 to Admiralstabsoffizier (BdU) Befehlshaber der U-Boote 6-17 to 1918 (admiral staff officer to the commander of the submarines) U Boat    1915-16    (1888 in Hirschberg died 24-10-63) No ships sunk or damaged awarded Royal House Order of Hohenzollern and EK II & EK I retired 1919 post war sent to Argentina by the naval office in the Reichswehr Ministry in Berlin in 1929 to work in Buenos Aires later WWII Frig-Kapt to KaptzS (Ergänzungsoffizier) naval attache in Buenos Aires 1936-43 (during the Langsdorff Admiral Graf Spee 1939) Abwehr control German agents in Latin America RTG chief of Group IV (special marine service) 1943 to head of the U-Liaison Staff Croatia  1944-45 shown in Klaus Wolf's Book

Buntebardt Hans     ObLtzS Marine    Navigation officer U 21 Constantinople Flotilla to U Boat school Crew 4/11 to Commander UB 83 6-18 U Boat     1914-16    (born 1882 KIA 10-9-18) Sunk by D/C from HMS Ophelia off Orkney at 5828N 0150W. 37 dead (all hands lost) No ships sunk or damaged awarded EK II & EK I and Hanseatic Cross shown in Klaus Wolf's Book
 

Heine Hans    LtzS (Ing) Dr Marine     Ingenieur (Engineer Officer) U 21 Constantinople Flotilla U Boat    1914-16    (not identified) shown in Klaus Wolf's Book
 

Cheers

S.B

Edited 30 May , 2023 by stevenbecker

[Michael Lowrey]

Hans Heine, born on June 9, 1881, was indeed U 21's LI (chief engineer) from the beginning of the war to February 1917. He then served as the chief engineer of the II. U-boat Flotilla. His German decorations are, unsurprisingly, the EKII and EKI. He would also have had some Ottoman and Austrian awards. It's not obvious that he was a Dr.

Ranks:

Marine-Ingenieur (= Leutnant zur See): October 24, 1910

Marine-Oberingenieur (= Oberleutnant zur See): January 27, 1915

Kapitänleutnant (Ing) (the rank is renamed postwar): March 8, 1920

Out of naval service: July 30, 1920

[stevenbecker]

Thank you

S.B