Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1918-02-13
TRANSPORT SUNK
WITH WISCONSIN
TROOPS ON BOARD
TuSCANlA is TORPEDOED orr
THE IRISH COAST BY GERMAN
SUBMARINE.
NEARLY ALL ARE RESCUED
Official Report Shows 1912 of the 2 10
Men on Board Were Landed Few
Hours After Disaster-Tuscania
Was Anchor Line Ship.

| Washington, d. c., Feb. 6.-Tbs
| Cunard liner Tuscania, carrying > 10
American soldiers, has been torpedoad
and sunk off the Irish coast but off.
| cial reports late last night said 1912
of the officers and men had been
saved, and indicated that the list NJ
rescued might prove even larger
The troops, composed chiefly of de-.
tachments of Michigan and Wisconsin
National guardsmen, were travelling on
the Tuscania, a British vessel under
convoy of British warships.
| All the soldiers are former Wiscon.
sin and Michigan guardsmen except
| those in the aero squadron, who prob.
ably were recruited from all parts Of
| the country.
| A brief dispatch to the war depart.
ment from London announced the dis.
aster and reported the landing of only
! LOO survivors. For more than two
hours it was feared that probably 400
men, including members of the liners
crew had gone down.
Landed in ireland.
When a later message came to the
state department from the embassy at
Londan saying 1912 of the Americans
had been accounted for, the joy of off,
Gals almost swept away the distress
| occasioned by the earlier news. The
| first LOO survivors were landed at
Larne and Buncrana, two widely sepa-
rated Irish ports, and this, coupled
with the evident fact that rescue ships
were at hand quickly, gave rise to the
| hope that nearly everybody on board
| the Tuscania, except those injured by
| the explosion might have been saved
1t was announced that the Tuscania
was manned by British sailors, with
British naval guard and was conveyed
| by British warships.
There was no American naval crew
| and no naval armed guard on board.
| The vessel was conveyed, but it was
flying the British flag and in charge of
| the British admiralty.
The fact that the survivors were
| taken to two points on the north coast
| of Ireland is itself sufficient proof that
| the Tuscania was torpedOed off the
| north coast of Ireland. Evidently the
transport was taking the north coast
| of Ireland route and was heading for
| the north channel route to the Irish
channel and Liverpool.
Units Aboard the Tuscania.
The units on board the Tuscania as
given out late last night follows:
The headquarters detachment In
Guiding Companies D, E and F, Of the
Twentieth engineers.
The One Hundred and Seventh Mill.
tary police, which was made up OF
parts of the Fourth and Sixth regl'
ments of Wisconsin infantry.
The One Hundred and Seventh Sup
ply train, made up of parts of what
were the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Wis
consin infantry.
The One Hundred and Seventh En-
gineers train, consisting of one bat
talon Michigan engineers and one bat
talon of Wisconsin engineers.
The One Hundredth Aero squadron.
The One Hundred and Fifty-elghh
Aero squadron.
The Two Hundred and Thirteenth
Aero squadron.
Replacement detachments Nos. l anu
2 of the Thirty-second division, cOm'
posed of Wisconsin and Michigan
guardsmen.
Fifty-one casual officers.
There is nothing in the possession
of the war department to indicate
what the aero squadrons on board tns
Tuscania consist of.
Opening of Big Offensive
The sinking is accepted here d.
opening the combined sea and lallu VI,
fensive heralded the past week IN 'H0
German newspapers. That the U-oOaVs
which are understood to have Deen ~
stocking and revictualing for "eeAs
at the German bases intend dlIeC'Ho
their drive against American 4"u0-
transports has been the eXpec'@'iO1
set forth in the last several war SUM
maries of Secretary Of war Dah NJ
Hindenburg's purpose, all recenI az. al
vices have shown, is to strike VIII ~,
force before the full power OF Nv
United States could be struck III 'u'
war; -.
The Tuscania was an Anchor Lln0
ship under British registry. ohe Wa
built in 1914 by Alexander Stepno.
company, Ltd. in their shlpyaIu'
the Clyde. She had registered giO
tonnage of 14,349 tons. Capt D. ~
Henderson was her commahuei'
cording to the latest records WIS
she sank.