The Animation of the 1919 German Fleet Scuttle in Scapa Flow

several months after the last guns had fallen silent on the Western Front 52 ships of Germany's high seas feet was sunburned but not by the British they were scuttled by their own crews after seven months of internment at Scapa Flow in the remote islands of Orkney northeast of the Scottish mainland these ships never defeated in battle and many of which proudly bore the names of Germany's kings and Generals now lay on the bottom and the Scapa flows cold dark waters already in 1917 there were ominous stirrings within the fleet social and political divisions between the officers and men of the German high seas fleet had deteriorated badly that summer descent broke out into the open pour rations and working conditions had become intolerable the unrest led to sailors in the North Sea port of bilham's - to defy their officers orders and to walk off their ships in protest as a result two young sailors max Lodge peach and Alden kirbys were executed in a show of force by the Navy's high command but as the fleet rusted away in Harbor the war in the trenches continued Germany now threw everything it had into an all-out offensive initial success quickly ground to a halt and by late summer 1918 the front was starting to crumble with defeat inevitable the Navy's leaders hoping to exonerate themselves planned a last almost symbolic attack on the British the Navy would be shamed they said if defeat came while their ships still lay at anchor sailors who might have been willing to defend against a British attack on their homeland saw this venture not only is something bordering on suicide but as an act that defied the new government's wishes for peace it was the last straw and mutiny broke out sailors refused to raise the ship's anchors and in the boiler rooms of Stoker's extinguished the fires on a number of ships the officers were locked up France hipper the fleet's commander in chief decided to play it tough and call the sailors Bluff he ordered torpedoes to be fired on one of the ships the fully crewed battleship the SMS touring him the orders had already been given when the sailors back down and a bloodbath was only narrowly avoided the sailors now fired up about what had happened left their ships and took to the streets they demanded an end to the war a release of their imprisoned comrades and their own better treatment hip and I made his serious mistake hoping to isolate mutineers on some of the more badly affected ships he sent an entire battleship squadron to another Harbor keel in the weapons manufacturing and shipbuilding tug the ships were greeted by dock workers seasoned by years of industrial action what abena muesli now became a revolution workers sailors and soldiers came together to oppose the traditional stage the communist red flag flew on the mast roads over the fleet's ships from Kiel and villains - the revolution spread inland and then throughout the entire country just days later and 9th of November the German Republic was declared in Berlin it was the end of the Royal House of Hohenzollern as the ex kaiser william ii rode into exile on one train the Armistice ending the war was being signed in another in a railway carriage at Compiegne at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month the guns on the Western Front finally fell silent [Music] after four years and the deaths of more than 20 million the war was finally over for the Allies it was a moment of jubilation for Germany profound demoralisation but for all it was relief for Germany's Navy technically undefeated in battle and still a potent threat the Armistice was an inglorious two feet inside the Armistice provisions was a clause calling for the internment of the high seas fleet in a neutral port the idea was to guarantee Germany's integrity while the peace was being negotiated in Paris hipper sent a senior German Admiral huger from Maire to negotiate the terms of the internment he met with Admiral Sir David Beaty and his staff on the ground fleets new flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth the night of 16th of November the talks were anything but a discussion as Mora had little to say in the matter back in Germany disarmament of the ships was carried out at breakneck speed while ammunition and technical equipment were being offloaded limited supplies of coal food and water were taken on for the period of internment expected to last for only around thirty six days nobody wanted to give the Allies any excuse to resume hostilities finally the ships were ready late in the afternoon of 17th November they set sail for England their first port of call the grand fleet's new base in Ross ice it would be the Imperial Navy's last journey [Music] at Rosyth the British prepared for the Germans arrival so David Beaty theatrically set the stage he wanted the nation as well as his American allies to see the enemies fleets arrival as decisive as a defeat at sea the British public's faith in the Royal Navy had been eroded Chaplin had not delivered the long-awaited Trafalgar like victory for which it had fought although the German fleet had largely remained bottled up for the remainder of the war a massive Allied Armada more than 250 ships of war went out to meet the German ships to escort them into the Firth of Forth all under the humiliating gaze of the world's press for whom the day had been especially staged no chances were taken even the smallest of incidents could be the spark to a disaster as the German ships neared the guns on each allied ship were kept trained and ready to fire on their opposite numbered the German Navy has never forgotten beat his order that the German flag be lowered at sunset and not raised again without permission these were after all still unser and his ships it was now that the rumor started to go around the ships they were on their way to Scapa Flow the huge natural harbour had been the home for the British Grand Fleet for the first two years of the war early on the morning of November 23rd the first German ships arrived in their new home German Admiral Frieda Kruger then a young left Hannett remembered its beauty but also how desolate the floe kafeel as each group of newcomers arrived they were assigned Anchorage positions at the northwest corner of the flow to the south of what was the seaplane base of Houghton British ships of all shapes and sizes fishing boats armed drifters and destroys kept a vigil constantly looking for anything suspicious on the German ships life on the ship soon became intolerably doll each day filled with the same repetitive routine the German sailors did what they could to bring some color to their everyday lives constants would be organized on deck or music played in small groups amateur theatre always provided moments of light-hearted escape the howls of the smaller ships the destroyers would be tied together to a single boy so that spectators could gather on one day while the players would perform on another it was inevitable that the life on the flow would soon become an endless routine there was little else to be done but to occupy oneself fishing or sleeping or sitting around aimlessly watching the days go by gradually the day's became weeks and the weeks months and with every passing day the ships look more and more bedraggled food came from Germany but it was basic and usually of poor quality dance was supplemented by fishing catching seagulls and as time went by the ever-increasing rat population pigs were even kept on board some ships an egg was a luxury that few ever tasted early coal and water were provided by the British and always at inflated prices from time to time news would come from family or sweethearts back home in Germany the destroyer or the light cruiser Regensburg the ship that had earlier taken Maire to meet with Beatty would bring the mail across this simple service helped the men feel they haven't been forgotten vitamin deficiency and the poor died inevitably led to a significant decline in the men's health there are even cases of scurvy something unheard of in modern navies despite this the British did not even provide a dentist as fast as possible the interne fleet's commander from Reuter sent crews back to Germany more than a thousand officers and men went back in the first week of December it was a chance for Reuter to get rid of troublemakers on the flag ships sailors roller-skated constantly over the steel decks of the big frets right above his cabin the revolutionary sailors made his life so difficult that he decided to make the light cruiser Emden his new flagship before each group left for Germany however they were subjected to her final humiliation a baggage search which was often nothing more than a chance for the British to steal what few memories and keepsakes these sailors had managed to keep to this point as the peace talks progressed it became clear that the Allies really wanted the surrender of the feat to be formally carried out the peace terms were earner us specifically Germany had to admit culpability for the wall and consequently pay the bill for Europe's recovery the Germany would not be allowed to keep the current strength of its Navy was clear a limit on the new Navy was set at 15,000 men with old battleships no submarines and only ten destroyers being proposed the question remained however what do they do with the interne German feed each allied nation wanted something very different the Americans for example wanted the ships taken to sea and sunk the French wanted to be allowed to rebuild their Navy at a terrible price it had poured its national resources into the land war and now wanted to be compensated initially the British not wanting to give anything to the French also wanted the German ships sunk they then decided that they should get the lion's share since they had lost the most ships in the war as the signing deadline in Paris approached Reuter had to guess what his options were he didn't think any German would sign and feared hostilities might be resumed whether fun Reuter took the decision himself or was ordered to do so by his superior Fon Tata is still unknown he maintained that it was his decision and his decision alone the only option he saw to prevent their seizure was to sink them in Orkney Midsummer's day 1919 started like any it would end like no other as the light breeze gently rippled the waters and with a clear blue sky overhead the great battleships of Vice Admiral Fremantle's first battle squadron put to sea he'd been asked by the new commander-in-chief of the Grand Fleet Admiral Madan against his wishes to complete a torpedo training exercise Fremantle knew that these final days before the Armistice signing could be very dangerous just before 1130 Reuter signal to scuttle was raised on the engine it looked innocent enough paragraph F which date again roughly paragraph 11 confirm at 1216 the single Bell was heard to tell and as the former flagship predicted Rose has started to list her Bell warn the British of what was happening it wasn't long before other ships also started to go down the 1254 the kerning Albert ten minutes past 1:00 the first of the battle cruisers marker and five minutes later another battleship come Prince William within a half hour she was followed by five more battleships Kaiser closer Corps first Prince vague and fluid bird Kaiser and and Koenig and the first light whose address room was followed by two others women and curled just minutes later ten minutes before two second battle cruiser zeidlitz rolled over onto her starboard side she looked like a beached whale and later many visitors would mistake her for the outline of an island as soon as reuters signal was given sailors started to leave their sinking ships very soon the whole flow was covered with boats and scattered with all manner of flotsam a scene of chaos against with background of shouts of terror panic and jubilation the sound of rushing water explosive sounds of ships rolling and sinking Machinery scraping across decks as they had no clear line-of-sight the Destroyers received royal disorders much later but like the bigger ships they now started to go down British guard ships darted around pell-mell trying to get the crews to get back on board threatening and machine gunning groups of cowering sailors seen on the flow was one of absolute chaos strangely they also seemed to waste time taking down the defiant flags that have been raised apparently symbolism seemed as important to some British officers as keeping the enemy's ships afloat one by one boats were collected and the German crews consolidated on the decks of British battleships amidst the chaos one unlikely group of eyewitnesses was caught it was a group of children from strongness public school on a special day outing with their teachers around 300 had been aboard an Emirati tug the flying Kestrel it was both frightening and exciting as soon as Fremantle ships now way out at sea received the news that torpedo exercise was immediately abandoned and they raced back as the squadrons flagship revenge came back into the flow buying could be seen starting to sink onboard a British battleship a young midshipman tie David remembered catching sight of the German battleships final moments just as his own ships anchors were being weighed at 215 and 245 two more of Germany's great battle cruisers went down Thunder town was the first and then der flinger as mark code gone down crews on the der flinger had witnessed their final moments singing an old hunting song vol off-camera Hardin her commander had warned his officers the previous evening to be ready in case the British were to try anything as soon as Reuter signal was received carefully prepared planning immediately went into action deep in the bowels of the ship sea cops were and to allow seawater into the house and once open valve threadings were destroyed and wheels thrown overboard making closing them again impossible every possible entry point for the water to speedily spread through the ship was then opened in the same way ventilation shafts bulkhead doors portholes and condenser hatches around 2:45 dirtling had joined the others already at the bottom of the flow as she went she rolled over onto her port side going down fast by the bow only her after 'it's says her and dora still visible as the iron dog slid into the deaths about head started to collapse the last cries of a dying ship attempts to Beach the light cruiser brimstar were only partially successful she rolled over just as she was entering shallow water in Swan bestow Bay some extraordinary time-lapse photographs captured the scuttles progress one showed the light cruiser Karlsruhe slowly sinking from sight over a period of an hour another showed the battleship Marat rolling over the trash at her starboard side I find a copy it was all over the last ship Germany's latest battle cruiser Hindenburg went down she was in shallow water and settled on her keel only her funnel and at low tide her turrets still visible by the end of the day the Germans had successfully sent more than 50 of the 74 internships to the bottom the British had only managed to Beach 18 destroyers as well as for light cruisers and one battleship at the bar dinner in just two hours 80% of what the Germans would eventually sink that day had already gone to the bottom on his flagship in front of assembled British and German officers Reuter was publicly berated by Fremantle privately the British Admiral felt differently he admitted that any naval officer faced with the same decision that had faced Reuter would have acted in the same way that night reuters men slept on cold steel huddled together on deck the bedraggled and wet sailors spent their first night as prisoners of war on British battleships however they must have been proud of what they had accomplished but it wasn't over they would spend another 7 months in captivity it wasn't until March the 31st 1920 that the Forgotten sailors of Scapa Flow would finally make it home front Trotter was on the key side to welcome them back the day after the German ships had gone down there Rex became a problem at low tide fishing boats would run onto their house but there were also benefits locals immediately started stripping what they could from the beach destroyers there was a fortune to be made from the precious metals but before any large-scale salvage work could be started the ships that had been being were cleaned up and passed on to the various Allied navies either to be incorporated or to be reverse engineered to discover their secrets or to use as target ships with high scrap-metal prices a number of professionals decided to approach the British Admiralty and buy some of the wrecks what had taken a little over three hours to sink would not take more than 17 years to bring back up to the surface a number of smaller boats the Destroyers were successfully raised but it was the men of Cox and Danks who pulled off what would become the greatest Salvage in history their leader and their inspiration who was a young 36 year old engineer Ernst [ __ ] [ __ ] might not have been an expert in Salvage but what he didn't know was the scrap metal business he was confident he could learn the rest in 1924 he bought the salvage rights to two capital ships as well as over two dozen destroyers immediately he started work on the lighter destroyers he used them to learn and develop new methods using a specially converted German drydock and rows of powerful winches Cox used the ebb and flow of the ties to naturally lift the ship's on the bigger ships however he developed a way for workers to enter the submerged hull spaces no matter what the outside conditioners were airlocks were built out of old boiler tubes welded together and assembled like towers above the upturned howls when Cox finally stopped he'd lifted some of the greatest ships of the German Navy the Hindenburg was the first big challenge divers had to work in the dark feeling their way around inside the house until patches could be applied to the hulls and the water pumped out one by one the enormous ships were brought back up to the surface it was slow and painstaking work success always remained elusive once we floated the huge upturned house and to be towed back out to sea across the very often dangerous waters of the Pentland Firth before being finally broken up the man who took over carried on what Cox had started but brought a better business mind Robert Watson McCrone was not only able to lift ships but he was also able to do it profitably consumer Krone were helped by the knowledge of one man Tom Mackenzie he was also an engineer but he'd done a lot of work for the Navy and his salvage experience was invaluable starting with the bayan in 1933 the balance of the German fleet was raised and finally at the end of 1939 just before the second world war broke out the battle Crusader flinger was also brought up throughout the war she'd been laying with her how upturned before being taken to the breakers in early 1946 she'd arrived just days before her old Chaplin rival Jellico's flagship the antique had been towed to the same yard today dirtling as bell continues to ring it hangs outside a small church on the island of Eros gay on Scotland's west coast the work brought much-needed employment to the flow it even brought a new kind of tourism it's ironic to think that this massive loss of shipping actually saved Orkney from the worst ravages of the Depression years today across the flow nothing visibly tells the story of what happened that day but below the waters the wrecks of seven ships remain three battleships and four light cruisers you can see many of the artifacts in orbit is two museums but some including some of the ships bells were given back to the German Navy and of course the greys of nine German sailors who died as a result of the scuttle eight of these sailors was shot on the day in the panic and the chaos all of them were carrying flags of surrender the last was the young engineer was shot two days later he was a prisoner of war on a British battleship these sailors were the last German casualties of World War one [Music] if you'd like to support more films like this you can you can either make a small donation or buy a signed copy of any one of my books if you do either thank you go to shop scapa flow 1919 calm [Music] you [Music]

Channel: Dreyer1916

Views: 249,192

Keywords: scapa flow, scapaflow, scuttle

Id: o1Vn2lkX2yA

Length: 23min 50sec (1430 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 05 2019