Roanoke Rapids herald. [volume] (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) 1914-192?, 1919-07-18
YANKS Perform
AMAZING FEAT
Greatest Naval Offensive Of the
War;" Say Naval Author.
! Msa a.
MNE NORTH SEA ENTRANCE
u WA Amsrlsa's oslutish 81 eubms.
rlns PrebIsm end Wac y EMse
live u Rendered Hun U.Deats
AImsss lmpstsnt.

sort 0onroos ve.-LylnS az anch0f
Ia Hampton roads OF Old Point Com.
fort Is the United States mining cruis
Or squadron whose commanders and
crews performed what Is now termed
By naval authorities the world over
a. tho greatest naval offensive Of the
war"
Tho feat which these men achieved
was the mining Of the entrance to the
North sea from Scotland to the coast
Of Norway, Z distance Of 240 miles. II
was an undertaking unprecedented in
naval history.
1t was Americas solution Of the
German submarine problem. 4 solu.
ton 90 thorough and effective that II
rendered the German submarines o..
most impotsnt.
The British previously had mined
the English channel. but the enemy
submarines came out from the bases
at Ostendilnd Zeebrugge and into the
North sec, there to work their havoc.
Invite Yankee All.
The British naval authorities, realix-
ing late in 1917 that the North sea
would have to be blocked, invited the
American naval authorities to attempt
to lay the barrier. The American
navy. having just at that time com.
pleted with success experiments on
mining apparatus far more dangerous.
delicatet and powerful than any here
tofora used, took up the task.
For that purpose the mining cruiser
squadron was organised in December.
1917. This squadron is made up Of ten
vessels and 10 under tho command Of
Capt. R. n. Belknap. o. 8. N. One Of
the Officers told q graphic but brief
story Of the desperately dangerous Job
to which he and his squadron mates
were assigned.
"Navy men now call It tho greatest
offensive Of tho war" he said. 1T
solved tho submarine problem and II
might have been the agency for the
destruction Of the German navy soon.
Or or later had not the war ended
when II did. We mined almost direct
~ across from Bergen % the coast Of
Norway 10 the coast Of Scotland. The
length Of the mine Geld was 2A0 miles,
and wa made It % miles wide. It
was so complete that no ship could
pass either over Or under It without
absolute destruction.
I'VE have q record Of about twenty
submarines that We know were de-
stroyed. and often In RAINING parallel
with the Geld we came upon the bodies
Of dead German sailors, 90 probably
many more than ws actually figured
on were destroyed.
Our men. In fact tho entire feet,
faced \ constant danger Of being
blown Of the face Of the seas. for We
carried On the ships 100000 pounds
o. T. N. T., which Is the most power
ful explosive known.
Exposed 70 0ermana
"Despits al this. We kept at the
task, and at the end Of about i've
months had completed It. We stayed
constantly on the inside Of the field,
that il, on the side nearest Germany.
We left only Z narrow passageway
near Pentland Firth between the Ork.
nsy islands and Scotland for our own
passage out.
"Our most dangerous task strange
" was not the laying Of the mines. a
dangerous as that was. The most
Dangerous ois came after the mine
field had been completed. It was an
attempt to draw the German feet out
into the North sea where we were to
engage 1t, 20 that the British feet
could get In behind the enemy to de
stroy It b. sun6re or drive 1t into the
mine deld
ION October % last the British gov
eminent made It known to the German
naval authorities through Its agents
In Germany that we were engaged 10
mining operations. We were ordered
to lay about 90 though busy at thu
task, to act a Z decoy for the Ger
man feet. We did 1t. but In doing II
we faced positive destruction our
selves.
II want to hand II to those new
navy lads. There were about $500 Of
them and $50 officers on the ships, and
while we waited through that fearful
day which 10 never expected for {
moment to see the end Of alive. they
went about their duties, laughed, SANG
and stood to their guns as only Amer
lean lads can do such things.
swell, all that day We worked
along calmly, watching and waiting
for the sight Of the Germans that
meant certain death.
1.-THE Germans never came out aftei
~, and.Ho here ! am"
Says Hs Has lsprcsy.
Kansas City, Mo.-Shahin Krakar
Ian. thirty. an Armenian, 10 being