He was at least pulled from the water alongside Hose however, his condition is a bit up for debate. It can potentially be surmised that the actions of the crew regarding him and Hose’s plan itself might betray his condition but it will be clarified soon.
Remember the Rainbow Redux: An Alternate Royal Canadian Navy
He was at least pulled from the water alongside Hose however, his condition is a bit up for debate. It can potentially be surmised that the actions of the crew regarding him and Hose’s plan itself might betray his condition but it will be clarified soon.
it seems like the survivors might have got a good streak of luck after all but im not sure how thats going to work out. obviously that small boat doesnt have the fuel to make it all the way back to canada and american ships are not allowed to assist the canadians in getting home without breaching neutrality?
Scorched Seas
As with many a time throughout the history of warfare, luck proved herself to be a fickle mistress. Due to her lack of proper communications, Leipzig was forced to deploy a messenger into San Francisco by steam launch to arrange a meeting with the Consul General. As she approached her anchoring point off the 3 mile territorial limit, her lookouts spotted a merchant ship making speed in the Gulf of the Farallones. The steam launch was quickly dispatched on its mission with the cruiser moving to investigate the merchant, which was soon identified to be flying the British Red Ensign. Her signal man repeatedly ordered the merchant to stop by lamp however, it seemed like the Germans would have to work for their prize. The merchant was ignoring all hails but with its rather pedestrian top speed of 12 knots, the outcome of the chase was never in question. She eventually lost her head start and was quickly being gained upon. A shot across her bow promptly ended the chase and the merchant came slowly to a halt. Close enough for a visual inspection, the boarding party identified the vessel as the New York & Pacific Steamship Company owned SS Colusa, registered to London.
Even from a distance, the Germans soon realized the ship was beginning to settle further and further down into the water. By the time they had come close enough to begin boarding actions, the crew of the Colusa had already entered and lowered their lifeboats. Colusa’s Captain remarked that “If you want my ship so badly, I recommend hurrying.” A small volunteer force entered the ship but upon close inspection, the wireless set alongside any relevant documents were found destroyed. The deck of the vessel was packed with bagged coal and a large number of small boats, obviously planning for some kind of extensive at sea refueling operation. It seemed the had crew opened as many sea cocks as possible before abandoning ship, the volunteer party was quickly forced to leave as the flooding had bypassed the capacity of the pumps aboard. The loss of such a large stock of coal so early was a devastating blow to continued operations in the area, Fregattenkapitän Haun would later state, “Watching the Red Ensign slowly slip beneath the waves, clutching it’s cargo of black gold all the while hurt me to no end. Our vessel still had a sizable reserve aboard but such a loss so early after our defeat of the Canadian’s somewhat stifled the morale of the crew.”
SS Colusa moored at an unknown pier sometime before her untimely scuttling.
The 57 strong crew was taken aboard Leipzig but would not have to wait there long. The German Consul General stationed in San Francisco would arrive later that night by a local yacht, stepping aboard shortly after 1730 hours. As requested, the Consul had brought a sizable amount of fresh and canned food stuffs which were largely donated by German families living in the area. Leipzig had been the talk of the town given their grand entrance and prompt trouncing of another warship essentially on the doorstep of a major American city. If it had not been for the ever-present fog in the area, it was rather likely there would have been yachts packed with spectators watching the engagement. Of somewhat more interest to Haun though was the information present in a small pocketbook exchanged between the two individuals. The Consul had been filtering information from any resources possible, newspapers, wireless broadcasts, even the salt encrusted murmurings of sailors at the local docks. It seemed that somehow, the Canadian had acquired a pair of submarines in order to reinforce their now depleted defenses on the coast. Haun himself had heard rumors of this days before but had largely dismissed it off hand as war propaganda, the Consul informed him the ships were indeed real and stationed on this coast. Contacts in British Columbia had collaborated a newspaper report published in The Daily Colonist with supposed sightings amidst the locals and dockyard workers of the ship’s presence in the harbor.
Haun had invited the Consul to dinner aboard and during this event, the pair spoke of future plans. The Consul informed Haun that Rainbow herself had been denied any amount of coal under American neutrality law, positing that his case may be held similarly. With them being potentially denied coal given the amount they currently possessed and their aggressive actions directly off their coast, Haun was not particularly fond of sailing into harbor under the guns of the Americans. It was decided that Leipzig would sail North in search of enemy commerce until she depleted her fuel, after which she would return to San Francisco and hopefully be allowed to take on coal. The presence of the submarines did complicate matters somewhat however, the Consul brought up an even greater point. The area in which Haun proposed to sail was sometimes referred to as the ‘Graveyard of the Pacific’ due to its unpredictable weather and treacherous coastal areas, the most commerce would likely be functioning in this location. As the Consul departed after their meal, he pledged that he would return to the harbor and seek out a suitable local pilot to guide him on his mission. In preparation for departure, the prisoners and injured men Leipzig carried were loaded aboard the yacht to be taken ashore. The continued care required for all of these men would degrade the provisions and manpower of Leipzig in the future. True to his word, a small vessel approached Leipzig at 2300 that night and left behind Manfred Baumann, a pilot formerly employed by the Dollar Steamship Company.
With their provisions restocked somewhat and a fairly knowledgeable local pilot aboard, Leipzig departed northward towards Canadian waters shortly after midnight.
Even from a distance, the Germans soon realized the ship was beginning to settle further and further down into the water. By the time they had come close enough to begin boarding actions, the crew of the Colusa had already entered and lowered their lifeboats. Colusa’s Captain remarked that “If you want my ship so badly, I recommend hurrying.” A small volunteer force entered the ship but upon close inspection, the wireless set alongside any relevant documents were found destroyed. The deck of the vessel was packed with bagged coal and a large number of small boats, obviously planning for some kind of extensive at sea refueling operation. It seemed the had crew opened as many sea cocks as possible before abandoning ship, the volunteer party was quickly forced to leave as the flooding had bypassed the capacity of the pumps aboard. The loss of such a large stock of coal so early was a devastating blow to continued operations in the area, Fregattenkapitän Haun would later state, “Watching the Red Ensign slowly slip beneath the waves, clutching it’s cargo of black gold all the while hurt me to no end. Our vessel still had a sizable reserve aboard but such a loss so early after our defeat of the Canadian’s somewhat stifled the morale of the crew.”
SS Colusa moored at an unknown pier sometime before her untimely scuttling.
The 57 strong crew was taken aboard Leipzig but would not have to wait there long. The German Consul General stationed in San Francisco would arrive later that night by a local yacht, stepping aboard shortly after 1730 hours. As requested, the Consul had brought a sizable amount of fresh and canned food stuffs which were largely donated by German families living in the area. Leipzig had been the talk of the town given their grand entrance and prompt trouncing of another warship essentially on the doorstep of a major American city. If it had not been for the ever-present fog in the area, it was rather likely there would have been yachts packed with spectators watching the engagement. Of somewhat more interest to Haun though was the information present in a small pocketbook exchanged between the two individuals. The Consul had been filtering information from any resources possible, newspapers, wireless broadcasts, even the salt encrusted murmurings of sailors at the local docks. It seemed that somehow, the Canadian had acquired a pair of submarines in order to reinforce their now depleted defenses on the coast. Haun himself had heard rumors of this days before but had largely dismissed it off hand as war propaganda, the Consul informed him the ships were indeed real and stationed on this coast. Contacts in British Columbia had collaborated a newspaper report published in The Daily Colonist with supposed sightings amidst the locals and dockyard workers of the ship’s presence in the harbor.
Haun had invited the Consul to dinner aboard and during this event, the pair spoke of future plans. The Consul informed Haun that Rainbow herself had been denied any amount of coal under American neutrality law, positing that his case may be held similarly. With them being potentially denied coal given the amount they currently possessed and their aggressive actions directly off their coast, Haun was not particularly fond of sailing into harbor under the guns of the Americans. It was decided that Leipzig would sail North in search of enemy commerce until she depleted her fuel, after which she would return to San Francisco and hopefully be allowed to take on coal. The presence of the submarines did complicate matters somewhat however, the Consul brought up an even greater point. The area in which Haun proposed to sail was sometimes referred to as the ‘Graveyard of the Pacific’ due to its unpredictable weather and treacherous coastal areas, the most commerce would likely be functioning in this location. As the Consul departed after their meal, he pledged that he would return to the harbor and seek out a suitable local pilot to guide him on his mission. In preparation for departure, the prisoners and injured men Leipzig carried were loaded aboard the yacht to be taken ashore. The continued care required for all of these men would degrade the provisions and manpower of Leipzig in the future. True to his word, a small vessel approached Leipzig at 2300 that night and left behind Manfred Baumann, a pilot formerly employed by the Dollar Steamship Company.
With their provisions restocked somewhat and a fairly knowledgeable local pilot aboard, Leipzig departed northward towards Canadian waters shortly after midnight.
Gunshots and Indigence
The evening of August 11, 1914 has been rightfully described by one Canadian historian as ‘the dousing of anxious embers with gasoline.’ NSHQ in Ottawa had been frantically sifting through information regarding a naval action off San Francisco that morning however, many officials within the organization had their doubts regarding the validity of such information. There was no denying that some kind of action had taken place, firsthand reports of extensive naval gunfire offshore had come from reliable sources in the area but otherwise, the situation was a mess. It was accepted very early that the engagement had to be between HMCS Rainbow and SMS Leipzig, SMS Nurnberg or both German cruisers, what was not clear initially was the result of such an engagement. Ottawa was under no misconceptions regarding Rainbow’s deteriorated material and personal condition, the conclusion that she had been lost was an incredibly troublesome but likely event. Shortly after 1800 hours that evening, the British Consul General reported to Ottawa the following message, “RECEIVED REPORT THAT LOCAL YACHT LEFT SAN FRANCISCO TO UNKNOWN LOCATION PAST GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE. OWNER IS A GERMAN, ASSUME RENDEZVOUS WITH GERMAN WARSHIPS, WRECKAGE RECOVERED BY LOCAL FISHERMEN.”
NSHQ had been skeptical of any reports of wreckage found floating in the area over the past days due to the false alarm set off by Rainbow jettisoning flammable material in preparation for battle. Mere conjecture from the report was unhelpful however, the information of the yacht leaving to potentially meet with a German ship was very troublesome. The debate was finally put to rest at 2200 hours when Ottawa received a the dreaded telegram from the Admiralty in London.
“URGENT URGENT RECEIVED FROM FOREIGN OFFICE THIS HOUR, SOURCE US AMBASSADOR TO BRITAIN. US CUSTOMS REPORTS LOCAL YACHT HANDED OVER 49 DECEASED AND 5 SURVIVORS FROM HMCS RAINBOW. CONFIRMED WRECKAGE OF RAINBOW RETRIEVED AS WELL. GOD SAVE CANADA”
This information was promptly forwarded to NSHQ which attempted to initially censor the revelation to the general public. It was rather obvious that the loss of Rainbow might completely unravel the tense situation on the West Coast. The Militia had already been mobilized days before however, anti-German sentiments were already at the breaking point, it was unlikely that such news would assist in calming the cities down as large percentage of Rainbow’s crew had been locals or sailors living in the area. News of the tragedy was successfully withheld until the next morning as residents all across Canada woke up to bold text plastered over every newspaper’s front page. The ever-vigilant Daily Colonist was one of the first BC based papers to print the story in it is August 12 morning edition, headline being brutally simple and to the point.
“H.M.C.S. RAINBOW SUNK OFF SAN FRANCISCO BY GERMAN WARSHIP: HEAVY LOSS OF LIFE.”
The local reaction was initially one of widespread grief. In an interview taken by CBC in 1978, Miss Joy Phillips recounted her experiences on that day.
“As one would expect from a girl of only 10 years, my understanding of the day in question was not entirely grounded in reality. My father George was the dockyard superintendent since 1905, so we lived on the base until war was declared in 1914. We stayed with Captain Hose at the old wardroom near the Naden Gates of Esquimalt and developed quite the warm relationship with the sailors of his ship and the many others at the yard. The sailors from Rainbow made me and my sister a doll house in their spare time. They furnished it entirely, made all the furniture including hand stitched bed sheets and even a stove with a wick inside that smoked out of a chimney. They did this all out of their own pockets, we were definitely spoiled children. One of my fondest memories was from the Christmas of the previous year, all of the children on the base were assembled in the wardroom on Christmas Day. I remember Santa Claus coming through the dining room window with a big burlap sack on his back. It was not until many years later that I realized it was Captain Hose, who must have climbed a tall ladder to reach the dinning room window as it on the second floor! Oh, yes, I apologize for my rambling, it was a truly wonderful time in my life. My mother took me and my sister into Victoria to get groceries for dinner that day and as always, I wore my naval cap with its HMCS Rainbow ribbon. That cap was one of my most treasured possessions, a gift from one of the ships sailors. When we made our way into the downtown shopping district, it was clear something was wrong. Large crowds of people had gathered through the streets, they stood around piles of flowers and photos of men both young and old. I remember one of the men turning to look at me and bursting into tears, likely at the sight of my hat. Mother ushered us past all of the commotion with tears in her eyes and into the shops throughout the morning. As she went to finish her errands, I remember hearing the sound of breaking glass and looking behind me. A pair of men were fighting in front of one of the local stores, the front glass broken into thousands of pieces on the ground below. Angry shouting and bystanders jumping into the melee caused our mother to cut the trip short and ran with our little hands in hers until we had reached a few blocks over.”
It was later established that the Anti-German Riots of August 12 occurred due to an altercation in front of Ernest Schaper and W.W. Glass, a tailor shop. A Victoria local had spoke disparaging words to the Austrian cobbler on duty, who had followed the man out into the street and confronted him. The glass storefront was shattered in the ongoing fist fight and as bystanders joined in, the cries to ‘give the Hun a wallop!’ rung throughout the street. Victoria had not been a particularly friendly place to perceived and actual Germans in the past days however, all of the pent-up frustration, resentment and fear exploded into a deadly mid-day riot in downtown Victoria. The mob was bolstered by the groups of grieving citizens lining the streets that day, soon joined by Canadian Navy Reservists on leave. The sailors had been thrown out of the Kaiserhof Hotel bar earlier that day for drunken trouble making to the foreign bartender, the men had apparently been slighted by the man’s mere presence and began kicking up a fuss. Demands to display the Union Jack over the bar was met with disdain, resulting in the men loudly singing ‘Rule, Britannia’ before being thrown from the establishment. The sailors spun tales about Germans inside the bar celebrating the sinking of Rainbow. The now over 500 strong mob quickly descended on the bar. All of the furniture inside was destroyed and thrown from the broken windows, the alcohol pilfered, survivors verbally assaulted and a pair of Union Jacks proudly displayed from the room of the establishment. After destroying the German Club at Government and Courtenay and the former German consulship, the mob made it’s way down Yates Street, leaving a trail of shattered and broken businesses in its wake.
Kaiserhof Hotel and it's bar after the carnage of the anti-German riots, guarded by police officers the following day.
Establishments such as the Victoria Phoenix Brewery, Moses Lenz Wholesale, Pither and Leiser Store, E.J. Geiger’s Plumbing, the New England Hotel and many more were almost completely gutted. Rioters ran through the streets with their loot, some distributing it while other hoarded for themselves. The riots ran uncontrolled as their numbers swelled to over 2,000 people at its peak, local police and firefighters stood on the sidelines unable to face the moving wave of angry flesh. Over 150 militiamen were brought into the city to assist the local police and just before 1700 hours, the mob was dispersed amidst a barrage of gunshots. The 17 year old son of a supposedly German grocer was pulled out into the street and beaten by the mob when he attempted to defend his fathers store, the vengeful father in question soon followed with a revolver and shot a pair of rioters dead. The authorities had enough at this point, they had been ordered to intervene if any major property destruction such as arson occurred, but a shooting far outweighed such measures. As the night approached, the rioters retreated amidst the firing of militia rifles and police revolvers skyward. 2 rioters lay dead, over 30 were injured and almost 100 people were in police custody. The damage was evaluated to be equivalent to $2.5 million Canadian dollars as of 2020. Contrary to their goals, the rioters had ransacked largely local establishments or stores which simply had German employees or names attached to them. The Daily Colonist would blatantly lambast the troublemakers that had devastated huge portions of Victoria, stating in an article on August 13, “In nearly every case the premises wrecked belonged not to men of German birth, but to local British citizens.”
Businesses in the greater BC area rushed to publish ads similar to these in any available newspaper space, proclaiming their innocence to try and avoid the wraith of any future rioters.
In order to prevent further unrest, NSHQ alongside Premier McBride organized various military exercises the following day to try and instill some confidence back into the community. Lacking torpedoes and anything resembling formal training, the newly acquired submarines were spotted touring the harbors of Victoria and Vancouver alongside marching militiamen in the streets and the booming of naval artillery on the coast.
A photo of one of the recently purchased submarines motoring through Victoria Harbor, August 13, 1914.
Far from being affected by the antics ashore, the Hun on the high seas were up to their own brand of chaos on August 12.
NSHQ had been skeptical of any reports of wreckage found floating in the area over the past days due to the false alarm set off by Rainbow jettisoning flammable material in preparation for battle. Mere conjecture from the report was unhelpful however, the information of the yacht leaving to potentially meet with a German ship was very troublesome. The debate was finally put to rest at 2200 hours when Ottawa received a the dreaded telegram from the Admiralty in London.
“URGENT URGENT RECEIVED FROM FOREIGN OFFICE THIS HOUR, SOURCE US AMBASSADOR TO BRITAIN. US CUSTOMS REPORTS LOCAL YACHT HANDED OVER 49 DECEASED AND 5 SURVIVORS FROM HMCS RAINBOW. CONFIRMED WRECKAGE OF RAINBOW RETRIEVED AS WELL. GOD SAVE CANADA”
This information was promptly forwarded to NSHQ which attempted to initially censor the revelation to the general public. It was rather obvious that the loss of Rainbow might completely unravel the tense situation on the West Coast. The Militia had already been mobilized days before however, anti-German sentiments were already at the breaking point, it was unlikely that such news would assist in calming the cities down as large percentage of Rainbow’s crew had been locals or sailors living in the area. News of the tragedy was successfully withheld until the next morning as residents all across Canada woke up to bold text plastered over every newspaper’s front page. The ever-vigilant Daily Colonist was one of the first BC based papers to print the story in it is August 12 morning edition, headline being brutally simple and to the point.
“H.M.C.S. RAINBOW SUNK OFF SAN FRANCISCO BY GERMAN WARSHIP: HEAVY LOSS OF LIFE.”
The local reaction was initially one of widespread grief. In an interview taken by CBC in 1978, Miss Joy Phillips recounted her experiences on that day.
“As one would expect from a girl of only 10 years, my understanding of the day in question was not entirely grounded in reality. My father George was the dockyard superintendent since 1905, so we lived on the base until war was declared in 1914. We stayed with Captain Hose at the old wardroom near the Naden Gates of Esquimalt and developed quite the warm relationship with the sailors of his ship and the many others at the yard. The sailors from Rainbow made me and my sister a doll house in their spare time. They furnished it entirely, made all the furniture including hand stitched bed sheets and even a stove with a wick inside that smoked out of a chimney. They did this all out of their own pockets, we were definitely spoiled children. One of my fondest memories was from the Christmas of the previous year, all of the children on the base were assembled in the wardroom on Christmas Day. I remember Santa Claus coming through the dining room window with a big burlap sack on his back. It was not until many years later that I realized it was Captain Hose, who must have climbed a tall ladder to reach the dinning room window as it on the second floor! Oh, yes, I apologize for my rambling, it was a truly wonderful time in my life. My mother took me and my sister into Victoria to get groceries for dinner that day and as always, I wore my naval cap with its HMCS Rainbow ribbon. That cap was one of my most treasured possessions, a gift from one of the ships sailors. When we made our way into the downtown shopping district, it was clear something was wrong. Large crowds of people had gathered through the streets, they stood around piles of flowers and photos of men both young and old. I remember one of the men turning to look at me and bursting into tears, likely at the sight of my hat. Mother ushered us past all of the commotion with tears in her eyes and into the shops throughout the morning. As she went to finish her errands, I remember hearing the sound of breaking glass and looking behind me. A pair of men were fighting in front of one of the local stores, the front glass broken into thousands of pieces on the ground below. Angry shouting and bystanders jumping into the melee caused our mother to cut the trip short and ran with our little hands in hers until we had reached a few blocks over.”
It was later established that the Anti-German Riots of August 12 occurred due to an altercation in front of Ernest Schaper and W.W. Glass, a tailor shop. A Victoria local had spoke disparaging words to the Austrian cobbler on duty, who had followed the man out into the street and confronted him. The glass storefront was shattered in the ongoing fist fight and as bystanders joined in, the cries to ‘give the Hun a wallop!’ rung throughout the street. Victoria had not been a particularly friendly place to perceived and actual Germans in the past days however, all of the pent-up frustration, resentment and fear exploded into a deadly mid-day riot in downtown Victoria. The mob was bolstered by the groups of grieving citizens lining the streets that day, soon joined by Canadian Navy Reservists on leave. The sailors had been thrown out of the Kaiserhof Hotel bar earlier that day for drunken trouble making to the foreign bartender, the men had apparently been slighted by the man’s mere presence and began kicking up a fuss. Demands to display the Union Jack over the bar was met with disdain, resulting in the men loudly singing ‘Rule, Britannia’ before being thrown from the establishment. The sailors spun tales about Germans inside the bar celebrating the sinking of Rainbow. The now over 500 strong mob quickly descended on the bar. All of the furniture inside was destroyed and thrown from the broken windows, the alcohol pilfered, survivors verbally assaulted and a pair of Union Jacks proudly displayed from the room of the establishment. After destroying the German Club at Government and Courtenay and the former German consulship, the mob made it’s way down Yates Street, leaving a trail of shattered and broken businesses in its wake.
Kaiserhof Hotel and it's bar after the carnage of the anti-German riots, guarded by police officers the following day.
Establishments such as the Victoria Phoenix Brewery, Moses Lenz Wholesale, Pither and Leiser Store, E.J. Geiger’s Plumbing, the New England Hotel and many more were almost completely gutted. Rioters ran through the streets with their loot, some distributing it while other hoarded for themselves. The riots ran uncontrolled as their numbers swelled to over 2,000 people at its peak, local police and firefighters stood on the sidelines unable to face the moving wave of angry flesh. Over 150 militiamen were brought into the city to assist the local police and just before 1700 hours, the mob was dispersed amidst a barrage of gunshots. The 17 year old son of a supposedly German grocer was pulled out into the street and beaten by the mob when he attempted to defend his fathers store, the vengeful father in question soon followed with a revolver and shot a pair of rioters dead. The authorities had enough at this point, they had been ordered to intervene if any major property destruction such as arson occurred, but a shooting far outweighed such measures. As the night approached, the rioters retreated amidst the firing of militia rifles and police revolvers skyward. 2 rioters lay dead, over 30 were injured and almost 100 people were in police custody. The damage was evaluated to be equivalent to $2.5 million Canadian dollars as of 2020. Contrary to their goals, the rioters had ransacked largely local establishments or stores which simply had German employees or names attached to them. The Daily Colonist would blatantly lambast the troublemakers that had devastated huge portions of Victoria, stating in an article on August 13, “In nearly every case the premises wrecked belonged not to men of German birth, but to local British citizens.”
Businesses in the greater BC area rushed to publish ads similar to these in any available newspaper space, proclaiming their innocence to try and avoid the wraith of any future rioters.
In order to prevent further unrest, NSHQ alongside Premier McBride organized various military exercises the following day to try and instill some confidence back into the community. Lacking torpedoes and anything resembling formal training, the newly acquired submarines were spotted touring the harbors of Victoria and Vancouver alongside marching militiamen in the streets and the booming of naval artillery on the coast.
A photo of one of the recently purchased submarines motoring through Victoria Harbor, August 13, 1914.
Far from being affected by the antics ashore, the Hun on the high seas were up to their own brand of chaos on August 12.
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Gunshots and Indigence Chapter Note
A quick note as I forgot to mention it last night, this riot is largely based off the Anti-German riots caused by the sinking of Lusitania in May 1915. As this is another very traumatic event for the local public already teetering on riotous behaviour, I’ve commandeered it for my own purposes with some differences.
www.capnews.ca
www.timescolonist.com
Victoria's Forgotten Race Riot
Mobs had sought vengeance against the city's Germans, but succeeded only in shattering their own downtown
www.capnews.ca
The night Victoria rioted
How the sinking of the Lusitania on May 7, 1915, sparked anti-German violence
www.timescolonist.com
yikes not a good time to be a german in canada i guess. would that newspaper even be allowed to report on such recent military news, would that be seen as divuleging military secrets and there being some kind of fine from the government?
Entirely appropriate for the circumstances. I would have been surprised if there hadn't been widespread rousing of rabble after Rainbow's loss became public.
i could be wrong but i thought i remembered him cutting down the navy and its budget while also lobbying hard to get dreadnoughts? i wonder if he will double down on that pledge to try and save face if all of this comes back to bite him.
Hitchhikers May Be German Raiders
August 12 proved to be a very uneventful day for the crew of Leipzig, at least initially. It had become painfully obvious that their presence had been too effective in stopping shipping all across the coast. They met nothing besides American flagged merchants, fishing trawlers and yachts as they chugged ever further North at a pedestrian 10 knots. It had seemed the SS Colusa was one of her kind, her fellow vessels staying in the safety of port. The weather had been clear and hot throughout the afternoon but mercifully for the crew, a light rain had come through to provide a small reprieve. As the cruiser approached Cape Mendocino off the California coast at 1700 hours, lookouts on duty reported a trail of smoke coming from the horizon. This was initially believed to be yet another American flagged ship but as the distance between the two ships began to close, the Germans noticed something was wrong. The ship was moving fast, likely approaching 20 knots, far too quick for any normal merchant vessel. Especially strange was the amount of smoke coming from her stacks as she moved at such a pace, far lighter than it should have been. It was decided to investigate the vessel and as Leipzig slowly crept up towards her top speed to intercept, the lookouts aboard only became more confused. The ship possessed a cruiser stern alongside a trio of funnels amidships, likely identifying marks of an enemy warship. Leipzig and her crew prepared for battle once again as her officers tried to make sense of the situation, they had sunk the only threatening surface combatant on the coast and this silhouette definitely did not match either sloop based out of Esquimalt.
The minutes ticked by tortuously as the tired men stood at their action stations, only for the lookouts to relay more information. A warship was not what lay in front of them, the lookouts described the high sided, ornately dark hull and superstructure festooned with lifeboats. The crews eased somewhat but this ship seemed to be flying the Red Ensign alongside another strange white flag from the foremast. Unable to jam the communications of his enemy, Leipzig was essentially forced to make contact at this point. If she was to be reported by this ship, they might as well take her as a prize, the speed shown could make her a useful tender. Her signalmen communicated with the British ship once they were within range, ordering her to stop and prepare for inspection. Strangely, the merchant promptly acknowledged the request and began to bleed off her steam. A boarding party was quickly put together with Fregattenkapitän Haun personally leading the inspection. With the distance closed to well within visual range, the situation devolved into a somehow more confusing mess. The ship in question was identified as SS Prince George, flying the Geneva Convention flag of a hospital ship alongside a similar red cross on white background painted on her central funnel. As the boarding party rowed towards the strange vessel, a group of men in naval uniforms opened the side cargo loading bays and threw rope ladders down into the water below. Their guests quickly clambered up the ladders and fanned out throughout the ship, boots clattering and bayonets glistening as they went. Haun tipped his cap to a pair of civilian crew members quickly walking past as made his way to the bridge. When he arrived, he found his Luger was of better use in it's holster. His crew had already locked down the bridge and the nearby wireless station, seizing control of the thankfully intact equipment.
There he came face to face with a pair of men, one clad in a naval uniform and the other wearing some style of civilian officers’ uniform. Lieutenant Saul turned out to be an officer within the Canadian Naval Reserve while the other man, Dan Donald, was the ships regular civilian captain. Introductions were rather curt as Haun began to question the men regarding the condition of their ship. Both Canadians were quick to maintain that they were indeed a military hospital ship on their way to rescue and assist survivors from a recent naval battle off San Francisco, listing off their personnel and facilities to the German officer. Haun informed them that he had wounded aboard and asked if they would treat them, to which they agreed. Jumping to another point, he was quick to point out that their ship was not properly painted as in accordance to the Geneva Convention. Military hospital-ships were to be distinguished by a painted white outside with a horizontal band of green about a metre and a half in breadth, the port side was painted in such a manner but the starboard side was not, the red cross on the funnels should have been placed on each broadside as well. This alone was grounds to seize or sink this ship. Even with that being said though, the state of the ship was obviously one of chaos, this ship could have very well been pressed into service by the desperate Canadians. Haun was not jumping to become the first German warship to capture or sink a hospital ship, even with perfect justification, British newspapers would paint him as a lowlife criminal to all corners of the planet. He would wait on the bridge for his team to finish their sweep, any implements of war would instantly render this ship void of any protections and given their infractions already, the ships true purpose was already shrouded in mystery. This plan would prove to be the correct course of action upon closer inspection of the Captain’s cabin. Within a safe was a collection of handwritten papers, detailing the ships actions and objectives thus far. It seems the civilian Captain was ordered or otherwise felt it pertinent to keep a log of all activities likely to report to his civilian superiors at a later date, this would prove the ships undoing. As Haun perused these logs, he discovered the original requisition information for a tender alongside the orders to move down the coast to rendezvous with Rainbow. This was the damning evidence he required, hospital ships must not be used for any military purpose and acting as a tender to a naval ship fell under this rule.
SS Prince George in her civilian guise before WWI, her cargo entrances low on the freeboard can be seen easily here.
After it was properly communicated to Leipzig that they were taking the ship, Haun and his men rounded up the crew placed them all into one of the many spacious hospital areas for safe keeping. The prisoners numbered 31 Naval Reservists, 54 crewmen/engineering staff and 6 medical staff. Haun was somewhat disappointed in the fact that all of the engineering staff seemed to be very stereotypical white Canadians, part of him was hoping to encounter a crew comprised of Lascars as the British called them. A non-white engineering crew might have been able to be paid off and kept aboard running the ship, freeing more of his men for other duties. It was no matter; he would make do with what he had. As Haun was assigning guards to the prisoners, the Head Nurse barged her way over to the Officer with a guise of rage on her face. One of the guards swung to point a bayonet at the approaching woman, only to be met with her equally sharp tongue. Haun would later state, “I had not met a woman previously with such a way with words. One of the guards I had initially stationed with the prisoners was rather young, perhaps early 20’s at most. He turned to meet with woman bayonet forward, presumably to protect his commanding officer from any harm. The woman stared directly passed the bayonet in her face and began unleashing a verbal torrent on the boy, as would a mother scolding a child. For the dignity of the sailor, I had to step in.” The Head Nurse informed Haun that under the Geneva Convention, hospital staff were not permitted to be made prisoners of war and must be allowed to continue their duties. Additionally if the Germans were to capture this ship which they were employed on, they must guarantee the hospital staff equal pay and allowances corresponding rank within their own navy. Haun did not protest to woman as she was indeed correct and if nothing else, these medical staff could be very helpful in treating his own wounded.
Haun quickly returned to Leipzig to consult with his pilot and officers, this capture could change their situation on this coast completely.
en.wikipedia.org
The minutes ticked by tortuously as the tired men stood at their action stations, only for the lookouts to relay more information. A warship was not what lay in front of them, the lookouts described the high sided, ornately dark hull and superstructure festooned with lifeboats. The crews eased somewhat but this ship seemed to be flying the Red Ensign alongside another strange white flag from the foremast. Unable to jam the communications of his enemy, Leipzig was essentially forced to make contact at this point. If she was to be reported by this ship, they might as well take her as a prize, the speed shown could make her a useful tender. Her signalmen communicated with the British ship once they were within range, ordering her to stop and prepare for inspection. Strangely, the merchant promptly acknowledged the request and began to bleed off her steam. A boarding party was quickly put together with Fregattenkapitän Haun personally leading the inspection. With the distance closed to well within visual range, the situation devolved into a somehow more confusing mess. The ship in question was identified as SS Prince George, flying the Geneva Convention flag of a hospital ship alongside a similar red cross on white background painted on her central funnel. As the boarding party rowed towards the strange vessel, a group of men in naval uniforms opened the side cargo loading bays and threw rope ladders down into the water below. Their guests quickly clambered up the ladders and fanned out throughout the ship, boots clattering and bayonets glistening as they went. Haun tipped his cap to a pair of civilian crew members quickly walking past as made his way to the bridge. When he arrived, he found his Luger was of better use in it's holster. His crew had already locked down the bridge and the nearby wireless station, seizing control of the thankfully intact equipment.
There he came face to face with a pair of men, one clad in a naval uniform and the other wearing some style of civilian officers’ uniform. Lieutenant Saul turned out to be an officer within the Canadian Naval Reserve while the other man, Dan Donald, was the ships regular civilian captain. Introductions were rather curt as Haun began to question the men regarding the condition of their ship. Both Canadians were quick to maintain that they were indeed a military hospital ship on their way to rescue and assist survivors from a recent naval battle off San Francisco, listing off their personnel and facilities to the German officer. Haun informed them that he had wounded aboard and asked if they would treat them, to which they agreed. Jumping to another point, he was quick to point out that their ship was not properly painted as in accordance to the Geneva Convention. Military hospital-ships were to be distinguished by a painted white outside with a horizontal band of green about a metre and a half in breadth, the port side was painted in such a manner but the starboard side was not, the red cross on the funnels should have been placed on each broadside as well. This alone was grounds to seize or sink this ship. Even with that being said though, the state of the ship was obviously one of chaos, this ship could have very well been pressed into service by the desperate Canadians. Haun was not jumping to become the first German warship to capture or sink a hospital ship, even with perfect justification, British newspapers would paint him as a lowlife criminal to all corners of the planet. He would wait on the bridge for his team to finish their sweep, any implements of war would instantly render this ship void of any protections and given their infractions already, the ships true purpose was already shrouded in mystery. This plan would prove to be the correct course of action upon closer inspection of the Captain’s cabin. Within a safe was a collection of handwritten papers, detailing the ships actions and objectives thus far. It seems the civilian Captain was ordered or otherwise felt it pertinent to keep a log of all activities likely to report to his civilian superiors at a later date, this would prove the ships undoing. As Haun perused these logs, he discovered the original requisition information for a tender alongside the orders to move down the coast to rendezvous with Rainbow. This was the damning evidence he required, hospital ships must not be used for any military purpose and acting as a tender to a naval ship fell under this rule.
SS Prince George in her civilian guise before WWI, her cargo entrances low on the freeboard can be seen easily here.
Haun quickly returned to Leipzig to consult with his pilot and officers, this capture could change their situation on this coast completely.
Lascar - Wikipedia
He just handed the British press ammo to paint him as a pirate seizing a ship sailing for a humanitarian mission
from what ive read it looks like hospital ships also are required to be painted in the white and green paintjob, so her being improperly painted could have been another reason. if the germans found the original plans for a tender and then the orders to go find rainbow, that does seem suspcious even if it was not the current purpose of the ship.
OTL, I am pretty sure that Prince George, in the configuration described here, was also carrying coal and other supplies for Rainbow.
I can easily see the Canadian government statement.
"The vessel Prince George was initially taken into service to be a tender for HMCS Rainbow, however it was quickly realized that following any sort of battle having a hospital ship available would be of more benefit. Therefore Prince George was converted to a hospital ship instead. This work was underway when news of a potential battle was received and Prince George sailed before the conversion was complete. We regarded the humanitarian mission as more important than completing the paint job and as we assumed the Germans were honorable foes they would understand that men's lives were more important than paint and let this suffice. We were apparently wrong about German honour and we advise all nations with hospital ships and medical personnel in harms way to take note"
I originally thought that as well however throughout my research, I found no substantial evidence that Prince George was carrying coal for Rainbow at this time. It could very well have missed something however, my guess is that the sources stating Prince George carried supplies was inferring that since she was originally taken as a tender, she would be carrying such cargo. In reality, I believe the RCN dropped the original tender idea and went for a full hospital ship, which is how I have described her here.
I may very well be incorrect and I have left enough room for corrections if need be.
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How would you tell the difference between carrying extra coal for extended cruising/ high speed and coal carried for another ship?