Omaha daily bee., 1921-04-27

.All the world knows now that the
British slcet had two main dendcz-
,ous-one at Scapa Flow, in the
Orkney islands, and the other in the
Firth OF Forth. on the cast coast OF
Scotland. These our squadron on
service in the North sea war zone
shared with the British
Few Know the Secret.
But the secret rendezvous OF the
Atlantic fleet are known to few per-
sons outside the navy: We never
spoke OF them by name at Washing
ton, while the war lasted. Base y
and Base 2" were the official and
sufficient designations. Possibly the
Germans learned where they were;
il so, the knowledge did them little
good. These picked rendezvous were
chosen because they combined the
two features of abundant space and
depth for the dreadnaught and lesser
ships, and an adaptability for defen-
sive purposes which made them prac-
tically impregnable to U-boats.
Nor was it from any exaggerated
sense of alarm that these precautions
were taken as soon as diplomatic re-
lations were severed. Germany's
declaration of U-boat warfare had
been aimed at us as we'll as at other
nations, and she might, as she had
before. strike without warning.
In the fallo 1916 the U-53 had
crossed the Atlantic and sunk a
number of British vessels just off
our coast. We had an idea this was
done as a sort of demonstration of
its possibility in which Germany
thought we might be interested.
Raiders Busy Along Coast.
At no great distance from Cuba
German raiders were sinking allied
vessels in the Atlantic. Only two
weeks before we sent Bcrnstorff
home the Hudson Maru, a Japanese
steamer. had put into Pernambuco,
Brazil, in possession of a German
prize crew, and carrying 275 surviv-
ors OF some half dozen ships which
had been sunk.
Although at the time we did not
know the identify of this daring and
successful raider, we learned later
. that it was no less ship than the
famous Moewe, which had captured
26 prizes on that voyage, sinking
all but the Hudson Maru and the
Yarrowdale. On the latter they car
ried 496 prisoners, including about
60 American sailors, back to Ger
many. .. s
Rumors were rife of U-boat bases
and. U-boat activities in West Indian
waters. 1t was no time for taking
chances. We had not forgotten how
in the first weeks of the war the
British cruisers Cressy, Aboukir and
Hogue had been sunk in the North
sea-
have told elsewhere in these ar
ticies how the fleet went on war
basis the day Bernstorff was dis
missed.
Defense Plan in Operation.
At the very moment when the
president was delivering his mes
sage to congress and the German
ambassador was receiving his pass
ports, Admiral Mayo was putting
into effect the plan for defense of
the fleet in Guantanamo bay.
At 3:45 that afternoon Admiral
Mayo received my order to mobilize
naval communications, in order to
place all communications on a war
basis.
At 10:l5 that night he received
the "alnav availability" order. and
the various force commanders began
work at once on their reports, show
ing the condition of every vessel
and its readiness for war. These
reports were submitted to Admiral
Mayo the next day, and transmitted
immediately to the Navy depart
ment.
Naturally enough. knowing what
had happened in Washington, and
receiving the mobilization and avail
ability orders Admiral Mayo's mind
turned to what should be the next
step.
Guantanamo bay was exposed and
easily accessible. Everybody knew
For Your Blood