AS OF OLD

An Engagement When Pistol and Cutlass Revived Memories of Notable Sea Fights of the Past

A friendly ghost of the old grappling and boarding days at sea came to give the color of romance to one of the encounters between British and German ships in the latter part of April, 1917. And a touch of ancient charm is given to the experience in the fact that the hero of the engagement was a gallant and daring midshipman, for the honors really fall to Midshipman Donald Gyles of the good ship Broke—a British destroyer.

Appropriately too, it was a dark and calm night. The Broke (whose commander was Capt. Evans, the antarctic explorer) and the sister destroyer Swift were steaming leisurely in a westerly course on patrol duty. Suddenly, quite in the vein of romance, the lookout of the Swift made out, not more than six hundred yards distant, a flotilla of six German destroyers. Here was a how-d’ye-do, when you consider that a distance of a thousand yards is a disagreeably close range in these days of far-speaking guns. The Germans were the first to fire, but the Swift lost no time in making reply and also put on steam in an attempt to ram the foremost enemy destroyer. She failed of her purpose and ran beyond the enemy line, but turning about she sent a torpedo into one of the enemy ships and made a second dash at the leader, which again escaped a ramming and took to flight. The Swift gave chase.

The Broke was giving excellent account of herself meanwhile. She had torpedoed one of the enemy and then opened fire with every gun. The other enemy destroyers were frantically working for full speed. The Broke swung around and rammed one of them square abreast the after funnel, so that the two boats were locked. Then began the desperate hand-to-hand conflict reminiscent of ancient days. The Broke raked the enemy’s decks point blank with fire from big guns, maxims, rifle and pistol. Two other German destroyers came to the rescue and poured a furious fire on the Broke, killing twelve of the eighteen men of the gun crew.

A HAND-TO-HAND FIGHT ON DECK

It might have been that at such a disadvantage the Broke would fall speedy victim to superior numbers. But something more than numbers and preponderance of force enter into the audit of the militant; and the “something more” in this instance was the spirit and understanding of Midshipman Gyles. Although wounded in the eye he kept all the foremost guns in action, himself helping the sorely reduced crew to load. While he was occupied in this way Germans began swarming over the Broke’s forecastle from the rammed destroyer, and to escape the blinding flashes of the forecastle guns began pushing aft, roaring and shouting like a frenzied mob. A graphic account of what happened was published right after the event:

“The midshipman, amid the dead and wounded of his own gun-crews, and half blinded himself by blood, met the onset single-handed with an automatic revolver. He was grappled by a German, who tried to wrest the revolver away. Cutlasses and bayonets being among the British equipment in anticipation of such an event, the German was promptly bayoneted by Seaman Ingleson. The remainder of the invaders, except two who feigned death, were driven over the side, the two being taken prisoner.

“Two minutes after ramming, the Broke wrenched herself free from her sinking adversary and turned to ram the last of the three remaining German boats. She failed in this object but, in swinging around, succeeded in hitting the boat’s consort on the stem with a torpedo. Hotly engaged with the two fleeing destroyers, the Broke attempted to follow the Swift in the direction she was last seen, but a shell struck the Broke’s boiler-room, disabling her main engines.”

Courtesy of Hunter.

Through the North Sea

Night and day the Allied Fleets patrolled the North Sea, watching for U-boats and waiting for the German Navy to act.

Thus freed from pursuit the enemy ships made off swiftly and disappeared in the darkness. In spite of her disability the Broke made such headway as her crippled engines were capable of in quest of the Swift. Soon a burning German destroyer was sighted and immediately its crew saw the Broke they rushed to the rails shouting for mercy and begging to be saved. Disregarding the danger and unsuspicious of treachery the Broke steered slowly toward the burning ship. The German crew redoubled their plea, “Save, Save,” and then suddenly opened fire on the vessel coming to their rescue.

The Broke in her crippled condition was not able to maneuver for safety, but she had her guns and happily they served her. She silenced the German with four shots and then, the desert of baseness, torpedoed the German amidships.

The Swift had a somewhat different experience. She had, owing to impaired speed, abandoned the pursuit of the first destroyer, and began a search for other quarry. After a time she sighted a motionless destroyer from which came calls for help. She approached cautiously with guns ready for instant action and presently made out that it was the destroyer that the Broke had rammed. The Germans were shouting, “We surrender,” but the Swift was wary, suspecting treachery, and waited. In a little while the destroyer keeled and went down stem first, the crew jumping into the water.

The Swift switched on her searchlights and there being no enemy ship visible, lowered her boats and rescued the Germans swimming toward her. Then the Broke and the Swift reported to each other on the details of the engagement and those who remained of the two crews cheered each other well nigh as long a time as the thrilling engagement itself had lasted.

And let not be forgotten, when quiet heroisms are remembered, the conduct of Seaman William Rowles, helmsman of the Broke. Though hit four times by shell fragments he stuck to the wheel during the entire action and only betrayed the fact that he was wounded by fainting as he reported to his captain, “I’m going off now, Sir.”