A particularly nasty incident took place on 19th August 1915: U-27 (Kptlt. Wegener) was sunk by the Q-Ship HMS Baralong (Lieutenant Godfrey Herbert RN). Herbert, enraged about Germans in general and U-boat warfare in particular, ordered that all German survivors, among them the commander of U-27, should be executed on the spot. Although the British Admiralty tried to keep this event as a secret, news spread out to Germany and the infamous “Baralong” incident – a war crime which was never prosecuted – had its share in promoting cruelty at sea. Once the Germans learned about the Q-Ships, U-boat skippers tended to be more careful and quite frequently the U-boat escaped or even sank its attacker. http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Baralong_Incident http://www.mii.connect.ie/journal/2006.pdf
Very interesting Annie. I will be honest this is the very first that I have heard of the incident. It goes to show that none of the combatants were above the occasional "atrocity".
Hi Annie I have been looking around on the net for info , pictures etc of HMS Baralong after finding out that my Great grandfarther served on her during the Great War. I have a newspaper cutting from the fifties about him briefly telling what he did during the war. I Just hope he wasn't part of the party that shot the Germans allegedly in cold blood!
Welcome to the forum Baldrock. It would be interesting if you could tell us what your grandfather did and what you have found out so far. Please do put up an introduction of yourself in the introduction thread and if we can be of any help with your research please do not hesitate to ask. We look forward to reading your posts and becoming an active member of the forum. Sniper
