Evening Star Newspaper, April 20, 1930, Page 83

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASRINGTON, D. C, APRIL 20, 1930. 11 ——— One Stray Shot That Sank 1,850 Men Capt. Lothar von Arnauld, terror of allied shipping during the World War. BY C. C. McCANN. HE German terror of the deep, com- mander of the famous submarine ' U-35, so ferocious and daring in battle that, despite the combined efforts of the allied forces, he sank 204 of their ships, is, nevertheless, a man so humane that he risked his own life and crew to save a little monkey abandoned on a rapidly sinking enemy ship. That is Capt. Lothar von Arnauld de la Periere, the greatest of U-boat operators during the World War and commander of the cruiser Emden, whose sense of humor enabled him to enjoy heartily the “diplomatic breach” fiasco in which he was involved recently at New Orleans. The “international” incident grew out of Gov, Huey P. Long's “informal” reception of Capt. von Arnauld, who called to pay an official visit. ‘The governor leaped out of bed clad in green- striped pajamas to greet the commander’s party. The governor’s informal attire brought a de- mand for a formal apology from the German consul, Rolf Jaeger. The following day the ludicrous, semi-serious affair was amicably set- tled after Gov. Long, attired in borrowed for= mal dress, steamed up to the Emden aboard a borrowed river boat and offered apologies for his pajamas, which he thought “were pretty nice, anyhow.” Later, Capt. von Arnauld, as he sat in a com- fortable armchair in his trophy-filled cabin on the Emden, was in such a good humor after discussing the incident that he was induced to relate his war experiences. This man, who de- fled death under the net, mine and destroyer infested European waters for two and a half years, recounted a tale of high adventure that some day will form a glamorous page in the history of world heroes. COMMISSIONED in 1906 as a sublieutenant, . he served at varlous posts, including that of torpedo officer on the original cruiser Emden, i Capt. Lothar von Arnauld, Whom the Gov- ernor of Louisiana Recently Received in His Pajamas, Is the Former U-Boat Commander Who Sank 1Two Hundred and Four Allied Ships During the World War—~Here Is Story. which was sunk during the war. When the war broke out he was aide-de-camp to Grand Ad- miral von Tirpitz. Unable to tolerate the in- active life at headquarters, he entered a sub- marine school in 1915 to prepare “for some real action.” In 1916 he was given command of his first ship, the now famous U-35, and the “real action” started. The U-35 sailed from her base at Pola, on the Adriatic Sea, and a few days later Capt. von Arnauld encountered , his first enemy ship, which nearly turned out to be his last. She was a peaceful-looking merchantman flying a Dutch flag and apparently bound for Malta. Capt. von Arnauld was “very cautious on the first cruise” and brought his boat to the surface at a safe distance from the big ship. He signaled for her to bring over her sailing papers for identification. Presently two small boats were lowered from the ship, but they would not come toward the submarine, so the captain began to maneuver his underwater craft around the ship. “She looked perfectly innocent,” he explained, and he smiled at the recollection, “but I had my watch officer, who had more experience, to pass his judgment on her. He said he was certain that she was just a Dutch steamship. But I was still skeptical.” By this time the two small boats, loaded with men, had drifted 200 or 300 yards astern of and the boatloads of men. The ship was risking the lives of her own men to get the sub. “Get below and dive!” Capt. von Arnauld said he shouted. The hatches banged down and the U-35 began to plunge. The water was lapping high up on the coning tower when sud- denly the captain discovered that the watch officer had failed to reach the hatch in time and was struggling to hold on to the mast wire as the boat sank lower. ‘The sub was ordered back to the surface, and while the “Dutch” ship rained shells around her the crew pulled the drenched and frightened officer into the hatch. The U-35 disappeared beneath the surface and Capt. von Arnauld had experienced the first of his thousand ad- ventures as a submarine commander. “We tried to maneuver under the water to get a shot at that Q-boat, but when we poked our periscope out of the water about 15 minutes later she had gone,” the captain explained. AI’I'ER this thrilling encounter, Capt. von Arnauld began his first cruise of the Medi- terranean Sea, which within three weeks raised him to the rank of one of the leading U-boat commanders of the Germany Navy. On this voyage the U-35 sank 54 allied ships, the great- est number sunk on a single cruise by any sub- marine. When she returned to her base at Pola The Lonsdale taking her last plunge after falling prey to the doughty German U-boat commander. their ship. To play safe, Capt. von Arnauld submerged and came up near the small boats, believing that if the ship had concealed guns she would not endanger the lives of her own men by firing on the submarine. As the crew of the U-35 climbed out of the hatches there was a loud clanking of chains on the “Dutch” boat and the disguising covers over two big guns were removed In a moment there were two flashes of flame and smoke, and shells shot geysers of water over the submarine with 54 flags, representing the scalps of her vic- tims, flying from her masthead, the city went into a frenzy of delight and the new commander and his crew were showered with honors. Capt. von Arnauld described this cruise as uneventful, saying: “We had very little diffi- culty. We kept a close watch and eluded enemy traps. Whenever we sighted a victim, if she were an unarmed merchantman, we would signal for her to stop and bring over her papers fa a lifeboat. Then we could order the ship Battle flag of the U-35, a treasured war momento of Capt. von Arnauld, from whose private collection of photographs, made during the term of the U-boat service, the pictures on this page were taken. abandoned. When there were not too many destroyers around, we would give the crew plenty of time to get their luggage off. After sinking the ship with gunfire or by explosives placed aboard, we would tow the crew mnear shore and bid them farewell.” Records of the allied nations show that Capt. von Arnauld never sank an unarmed m:r=- chant ship without giving warning, and he cften risked his own life to help the crews of his victim ships to reach land safely. Amongz the genial commander’s many relics of the war are letters from ship captains whom he took to his base at Pola as prisoners of war. Each expresses appreciation for the generous courtesy with which they were treated while held on the U-35. The crews were always released, as the submarine was too small to carry them. As Capt. von Arnauld recounted his ex- periences a playful spaniel pup romped around - the cabin on the Emden, and the captain was asked if he had had any pets on the U-35. The question resulted in an unusual tale which revealed the humane nature of the man who during the war sent more than 500,000 tons of shipping to the bottom of the ocean with hun- dreds of human lives aboard. “One day I stopped a steamship,” he said. “Tables were set on deck for dinner, but I had to upset that meal. All about us allied cruisers were patrolling, and we already had a bad reputation. We hurried the crew off and, after firing a shot into her side, we were preparing to dive when I saw a little animal racing up and down over the tables. “I ordered the watch officer to rush aboard and save whatever it was. It turned out to be a monkey with a bad disposition. She bit the officer once and escaped, but was recaptured and brought about the U-35. We luckily got under the surface before any of the cruiser patrols arrived. “The little animal became quite friendly with every one on board except the cat. They used to have some terrible fights. When Winter came we had to send Fipps—that was what we named the monkey—ashore. She was placed in a zoo and a year or so later I visited her, but, despite our past friendship, Fipps failed to recognize me. I was really disape pointed.” THIS man who risked his life for a monkey ‘™" then told of a horrifying encounter with the French troop transport Gallia, which he sank with the loss of about 1,850 lives, one of the major maritime disasters in French his- tory. “It was a freak shot that sank that big ship Continued on Sirteenth Page