The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1917-08-02
WHEN BRITISH
GUNS SLAUGHTERED
GERMAN SAILORS
Horror on TeutOn Flagship LutZOw Is
Described by One of Those
Who Escaped Unhurt.

The Hague, Netherlands, July H.
tCorrespondencel-Sc on board the
German flagship Lutzow during the
Jutland naval battle when some of the
newest and largest of the German battle
cruisers were battered or sunk by Ad-
miral Beatty's British squadron in June
1916, are vividly described by T. Krug,
one of the Lutzow's survivors. in a
pamphlet which has just been publish
ed here 1t is believed 10 be the first
detailed story Of that great battle from
the point of view of the German sailor
to reach the public eye.
Torpedoed by a British warship early
in the engagement, the Lutzow, which
was the flagship of Admiral Hipper,
was hammered unmercifully by the big
guns of the British vessels, and soon
became a complete wreck, ship of
the dead" as Krug describes her.
According to his story, twenty-seven
German sailors were trapped in the
Diesel dynamo room before the battle
had been long in progress and remained
there when the Lutzow, disabled hulk
was abandoned and sent TO the bottom
by torpedo from a German destroyer
Two Of these imprisoned men had been
driven insane and were kept tied by
their shipmates
After describing the first part of the
battle and telling how the arrival Of
British battleships turned the tables on
the Germans. Krug writes:
Suddenly the entire ship is roughly
shaken. The colossus heaves far over.
and everything that is not fixed is up
set. The first direct hit! The torpedo
pierces the fore part Of the ship. Its
effects are terrible Iron. wood, metal,
parts Of bodies, smashed ships imple-
ments are all intermixed, and the cleo
trio light, by chance spared, continues
to shine upon this sight.
Twenty-Seven Men Trapped
Two decks lower. in the Diesel dy-
namo room, there still is life. That
compartment has not been hit. and q
men in the prime Of life have been
spared, but the chamber is shut off
from all others, for the water is rush.
ing into all sections.
They are doomed to death Several
3S-centimeter shells squarely hit their
mark, working terrible havoc.
THE first hit the wireless depart.
ment. OF the twelve living men who a
moment ago were seated before the ap-
paratus, there is nothing more TO be
seen. Nothing is left but a smoking
heap Of ruins.
The second shot again pierced the
fore part of the ship. The entire fore
part of the vessel, as far as the Diesel
motor room, was past saving. Another
broadside meant for the LutZow fell
short, but a torpedo-boat close by dis
appeared, leaving only a few odd pieces
of wood and a smashed lifeboat drifting
around.
1T is now half past seven, and the
hostile circle grows ever smaller. The
Lutzow and the Seydlitz lie with their
bows deep in the water; both are badly
mauled. The fore part Of the Lutzow
was in flames.
shells burst against the ships side
in rapid succession. A terrible sight
is presented on board the. Lutzow, and
il needs iron nerves to look upon Il
coolly. Hundreds have lost their lives,
while many have lain for hours in tor.
ture, and the fight is not yet over. The
bow is now crushed in and is entirely
submerged. The four screws are al
ready sticking half out Of the water,
so that the Lutzow can only make s
10 10 knots an hour, as against the nor.
NAL 32."
Decide 10 Transfer.
THE admiral decides 70 transfer to
the Moltke. He gives orders 10 turn
and get away from the scene Of the
fight. but the Lutzow has not gone a
mile before she receives a broadside Of
3S-centimeter shells. The entire ship
was filled with the poisonous fumes Of
the shells, and anyone who failed to
afhx his gas mask was doomed 10 be
suffocated
1t was three-quarters Of an hour
before the lighting installation was re-
stored. Then for the first time could
the extent Of the damage wrought by
the salvo be seen. One Of the shells
had landed in the sick bay. Here there
were three doctors and fifteen attend.
ants besides 100 10 $50 wounded. OF
all these only four remained alive These
four were hurled into the next com.
partment by the air pressure. there
thy lay unconscious.
"The Lutzow was now a complete
wreck. Corpses drifted past. From the
bows up 20 the first 30centimeter gun
turret the ship lay submerged. The
other gun turrets were completely dis
abled, with the guns sticking out in all
directions. on deck lay the bodies Of
the sailors in their torn uniforms, in
the midst Of the empty shell cases.
From the masts nuttered torn flags
twisted signal lines and pieces Of wire
Of the wireless installation. Had not