To the Last Salute: Memories of an Austrian U-Boat Commander

Forty-One. To the Last Salute

blood to execute this maneuver in the face of a rain of shells and, simultaneously firing, to avoid the torpedoes. They have already given up hope for their boats, which are riddled with shrapnel. Dead and wounded lie everywhere on deck; it cannot continue this way much longer. In the middle of the bombardment, there is an immense explosion on the stern of an English cruiser! What happened? U-31 had lain in wait overnight south of Durazzo when she saw the enemy armada travel toward Durazzo. American vessels kept her from the route to the enemy; she was discovered through hydrophones and was pelted with depth charges—but Rigele, her commander, persisted and steered toward the group of English cruisers. Then her periscope was discovered and fired at, the whole enemy line turned away, and still Rigele accomplished the feat by sending two torpedoes after the turning Weymouth cruiser; the torpedoes demolished her stern and helm. For one moment the battle stopped. Then a last attack followed from the destroyers, it was again repelled, and Durazzo was free. One hour after the torpedo encounters of U-31, the enemy was out of sight. Forty-One.To the Last Salute The wildest news comes tumbling out of Albania. No one can verify it. Guerrilla bands of up to a thousand men, well armed, are forming in the rear of the army. Any scattered groups of soldiers that fall into their hands are plundered, and the officers are murdered without exception. Only those who speak Slavic are let go. In Durazzo—so the rumor goes—those sick with malaria, with high fevers, must clear out of the hospitals and march off, their blankets on their shoulders, just as they are when they get out of bed. The steamers cannot carry them all. Many are left dying in roadside ditches. TOTHE LAST SALUTE 183 Troops arrive in the Bocche almost nonstop; they storm the railway cars in Zelenika, the terminus of the Bosnian railway. With them come the most horrible and incredible reports, spreading unrest and suspicion everywhere. One evening some of us U-boat men are invited on board the Cleopatra, a steamship of the Austrian Lloyd, the German residence ship. During the entire evening a peculiar wistful mood prevails, very heartfelt and yet very wistful. And on parting we Austrians encounter deeply sad looks. The next morning we understand the significance of those looks. We learn from the Germans that Austria-Hungary has surrendered! Now everything happens in rapid succession. Cleopatra puts out to sea in the evening, a sorrowful departure from old friends who, with the K.u.K. U-boats, have stuck it out to the end. But there is no time to give in to emotion. Within the individual nationalities, discord springs up: Slavs against Hungarians and Italians, Germans against Czechs. Bolshevist members of all races and nations agitate for general chaos. And above all this—burning in everyone and irrepressible—is the longing for the homeland. Reports arrive that, on their way home, the disbanded troops of the Isonzo Front ravaged and plundered through the valleys of Tirol and Kärnten; the men from those areas get restless. The German U-boats go home. Some, which are not in running order, are blown up and sunk. No one knows any details. That is what torments us most. The officers fear that the enemy fleets will force their way into the Bocche, so they don’t feel secure with their crews anymore . Insubordination begins on all the ships. For months the men have heard from undercover agitators that it is the officers who have caused the war, that they artificially prolonged it for so long—all the mistrust is directed against them. 184 TOTHE LAST SALUTE Then an order arrives from the Emperor: no armed intervention against insubordination or lack of discipline! Therefore you can only negotiate with the crew. Then the 30th of October dawns. By the order of His Majesty the Emperor and King, the navy is informed in sparse language: the entire navy, the vessels and floating fleet installations, and all construction on land passes into ownership of the new Yugoslavian state. The non-South Slavs are free to continue serving under the new flag. Everyone else is granted permanent leave. In the Bocche we are to continue normal duty until the final surrender order has been...