Chapter IX: The Fleet the Kaiser Built for Us

EX-GERMAN VESSELS CARRIED 557,000 AMERICAN TROOPS TO
EUROPE--ENGINES AND MACHINERY WRECKED BY THEIR CREWS, GERMANS
BELIEVED THEY COULD NEVER BE USED--NAVY REPAIRED LINERS, AND HAD
ALL RUNNING IN TRANSPORT SERVICE IN A FEW MONTHS--TRIUMPH OF
AMERICAN GENIUS AND ENGINEERING SKILL--REMARKABLE RECORD MADE BY
"LEVIATHAN."

More than half a million of the troops that defeated the Germans were transported across the Atlantic in German vessels. I sometimes wonder if the Kaiser ever dreamed, when his liners came scurrying into American ports in 1914, that he was presenting us with the one thing we needed most, a lot of the finest transports that ever sailed the sea.

That could not happen according to the Teuton mind. They had figured it all out. If America kept out of the conflict, their ships would be as safe here as in their home ports. If we did enter the war, they would be so badly damaged that we could not use them. This was all carried out according to schedule. Before ruthless U-boat warfare was declared, Bernstorff had issued his orders, and all the interned vessels were disabled, their engines and machinery smashed.

"Some you may get running in a year; some you can never use," boasted the German crews.

"If America can repair this ship, I will eat my hat," said another. He has not yet tested his digestion by a diet of headgear.

But they, like the Kaiser and Admiral Von Holtzendorff, underestimated American ingenuity and enterprise. By using new methods, and keeping at the task day and night, in a few months all these vessels were repaired and in service, carrying troops and supplies.

The German _Vaterland_, re-christened the _Leviathan_, alone carried nearly a hundred thousand troops to Europe. When she was performing such prodigies for us it interested me to recall an occurrence when this great vessel, the largest afloat, reached New York on its first voyage, not long before the war began in 1914. Glorying in the attention it evoked, the _Vaterland's_ officers gave a dinner, inviting leading American shipbuilders and engineers, as well as prominent citizens, to view this latest creation in marine construction.

"It is a veritable floating palace for voyagers to Europe," remarked one of its officers, "but that is not the best or most important thing about the _Vaterland_."

"Well, what is it?" asked the visitors.

"Come below," said he, "and I will show you."

Below went the party, and there they were shown how the whole vessel had been planned so that it could quickly be converted into a carrier for 10,000 soldiers. "In a remarkably short time, if need arises," the officer remarked, "it can be turned into a troop transport."

He was right. We proved it in 1917, not only in regard to the _Vaterland_, but the other Teuton liners.

Repaired, renamed, manned and operated by United States naval officers and men, those former German vessels carried to Europe 557,788 American soldiers. Here is the record in detail:

German Name American Name U. S. Troops Carried
_Vaterland_ _Leviathan_ 96,804
_Kaiser Wilhelm II_ _Agamemnon_ 36,097
_Koenig Wilhelm II_ _Madawaska_ 17,931
_President Lincoln_ _President Lincoln_ 20,143
_President Grant_ _President Grant_ 39,974
_Barbarossa_ _Mercury_ 18,542
_Grosser Kurfurst_ _Aeolus_ 24,770
_Hamburg_ _Powhatan_ 14,613
_Friedrich der Grosse_ _Huron_ 20,871
_Prinzess Irene_ _Pocahontas_ 20,503
_George Washington_ _George Washington_ 48,373
_Martha Washington_ _Martha Washington_ 22,311
_Prinz Eitel Friedrich_ _DeKalb_ 11,334
_Amerika_ _America_ 39,768
_Neckar_ _Antigone_ 16,526
_Cincinnati_ _Covington_ 21,628
_Kronprinzessin Cecelie_ _Mount Vernon_ 33,692
_Prinzess Alice_ _Princess Matoika_ 21,216
_Rhein_ _Susquehanna_ 18,345
_Kronprinz Wilhelm_ _Von Steuben_ 14,347
--------
Total 557,788

The repair of those vessels was a triumph of ingenuity and engineering skill. But they were not the only interned ships the Navy restored. When war was declared there were seized German merchant vessels aggregating 592,195 gross tons, Austrian ships, 40,461 tons--a total of 632,656 tons of shipping placed under the United States flag from these two sources.

The machinery was so badly damaged that those in charge had practically decided that new cylinders and various other parts would have to be manufactured and installed. This would have caused many months' delay. Captain E. P. Jessop, engineering officer of the New York Navy Yard, who had been acting as advisory officer in connection with these ships before they were turned over to the Navy, was confident that the most serious breaks could be repaired by electric welding. Rear Admiral Burd, industrial manager of the New York Yard, was of the same opinion, as were engineering experts in the Navy Department. But there was doubt among other engineers, and strong opposition to the new method. The vessels were then under control of the Shipping Board, but it was expected that those to be used as troop-ships would be assigned to the Navy. Anticipating such action, Admiral Griffin, Chief of the Bureau of Engineering, in June sent his assistant, Captain O. W. Koester, to New York to make a thorough investigation. He returned convinced that repairs could be successfully made by electric welding, and this process was immediately adopted.

Sixteen of these vessels were turned over to the Navy on July 11, 1917. Work was begun the next morning. Cylinders had been broken, throttle and engine valves destroyed, pipes cut, fittings smashed. Parts easily removable had been thrown away. The German crews had done all they could to put the ships out of business. Memorandums found aboard bore the frequent comment, "Cannot be repaired." There were serious injuries that had been carefully concealed, evidently with the idea of disabling the vessels if they ever got to sea. Important parts were cut in half, then replaced so the cut would not be discovered. Obstructions were placed in cylinders to wreck the engines as soon as steam was turned on. Every inch of the machinery had to be examined inside and out. The fact that nothing escaped detection is evidence of the thoroughness with which the work was done.

The _Barbarossa_, which we renamed the _Mercury_, was the first ship repaired by the new welding process. Given a sea trial of 48 hours, she was put to every imaginable test. The results proved satisfactory in every particular. On all the other vessels, virtually the same methods were used--electric or oxy-acetylene welding, mechanical patching, and at times a combination of these. Each ship was, upon completion, tested by long runs at sea, so that no doubt might exist as to the safety of the troops they were to carry. It is noteworthy that no weakness ever developed in the engines so repaired.

Of the 103 German and Austrian vessels seized, the Navy converted 34 into troop and freight transports. Subsequently it repaired 20 more for the Shipping Board.

To build new cylinders, replace burned-out boilers and other machinery, would have required at least a year, perhaps more, it was estimated. By using new methods, the Navy quickly restored the ships assigned to it. In a few months all were in service--and some of them were running at higher speed than the Germans had ever been able to attain.

Twelve months in time was saved, during which these vessels transported hundreds of thousands of troops. The entire saving was estimated at more than $20,000,000.

Until the United States declared war, these vessels were, under strict interpretation of international law, not liable to seizure. They could not leave our ports, but the crews remained aboard and, though under constant surveillance to prevent unneutral acts, they caused the American authorities considerable trouble. There were nine German liners at their piers in Hoboken when Germany declared war. All had been ordered not to sail. Being a part of the German Naval Reserve, they were subject to the orders of the German Admiralty. The _Vaterland_ was scheduled to sail that day, having booked some 3,600 passengers. Angry crowds who had purchased tickets stormed the piers, and extra guards had to be placed around the vessel. German crews held a mass-meeting in Hoboken, discussing mainly how they could get back to Germany. Ten thousand reservists on August 6th demanded of the German Consul that he send them back on the _Vaterland_ to rejoin their regiments. But not one of those vessels ever escaped from American ports.

Their crews, however, were always seeking to help Germany and injure the Allies. Most of their plots and plans were foiled, though they did succeed, now and then, in "putting something over." The _Grosser Kurfurst_ (_Aeolus_) was, we found later, used as a sort of "clearing ship" for German officers in this country. They had secret orders to go aboard her and stay until arrangements could be made for them to travel aboard outbound steamers. Disguised, often carrying forged or illegally-obtained passports, some of them managed to get to Germany. The captain of the _Aeolus_, its chief engineer and purser were among those who successfully ran the British blockade. Given command of a Zeppelin, the captain took part in several airship raids, but was brought down and killed near London. When news of his death came, the flags on all the German interned ships were placed at half-mast.

When the ship-bomb conspiracy was unearthed--the scheme to place explosives in cargoes, timed to go off and sink vessels when they were far out at sea--it was found that men on board the _Friedrich der Grosse_ (_Huron_) had been making parts of these bombs, which were assembled at a plant in Hoboken. This plot, however, was nipped in the bud. The sailors and others involved were promptly arrested, tried, convicted, and sent to jail.

When the _Lusitania_ was sunk in 1915 the German sailors held a celebration. Thinking war with the United States was imminent, they prepared to destroy the ships, only waiting for the word to carry out the orders previously given them. This was, again, the case in 1916, when we came so near war after the sinking of the _Sussex_. But the orders did not finally come until January 31, 1917, when, obeying Ambassador Bernstorff's instructions, they smashed the machinery of the vessels.

They regarded it as a huge joke when, on the morning of April 1st, a naval vessel anchored off Pier 2, and set watch over them. But they laughed on the other side of their mouths when, four days later, United States officials rounded up officers and men, and sent them to Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., and other Federal prisons and internment camps.

The _Vaterland_ was taken over at 4 a. m., April 5th. On that day the United States armed forces seized 91 German ships in various ports. The night before, U. S. Government officials held a conference on the _Vaterland_ with the German commanders, who were warned against any violence. There was no resistance when the ships were seized.

The _Vaterland_, with a displacement of 69,000 tons, was the biggest craft afloat. There was no drydock in America large enough to hold her. When the engineering officers reported to Captain J. W. Oman, her commander, that the former _Vaterland_ (she had been renamed the _Leviathan_) was "in all respects ready for sea," it was decided to test her out by a longer run than that to which any other vessel had been subjected, making a trial trip to Cuba.

On her return, the ship was carefully gone over again, every part put in prime condition, and on December 15, 1917, in a snowstorm, she sailed on her first trip across the Atlantic. The ship's complement was 68 officers and 2,240 men. She had aboard 7,254 troops, including base hospitals 31 and 34, the 163rd and 164th Infantry, and headquarters of the 82nd Brigade, Brigadier General Edward Vellruth commanding.

Running for the first day or two at 20 knots, the ship then speeded up to 21-1/2 knots. The _Leviathan_ had "struck her gait." She made the run across in record time. In describing this voyage, the "History of the _Leviathan_" says:

On the morning of December 23rd, at 4 a. m., out of the black sky,
just before dawn and in a heavy sea with a strong wind blowing, a
small white wake was seen by the lookout on the bridge. At first
it was taken for the wake of a periscope and the gun crews were
called to quarters, then as the guns were trained on it, a small
white flash was seen blinking the American recognition signal, and
we then knew that it was one of our destroyers. We picked them up
out of the black sky and a heavy sea until there were seven little
wasps that spelled danger to the Hun submarine. They sped along
with us while we zigzagged in and out on our course. They crossed
our bow and ran in and far out on each side of us, always looking
for the "sub" that might be lying in wait for us. Their motto was,
"Go get 'em." They never waited for a "sub" to attack first, they
always started the fight provided that "Fritz" was willing to show
himself; and we want to say right here that he was very reluctant
to do so when an American destroyer showed itself.

That night the _Leviathan_ dropped anchor outside Liverpool, proceeding next morning, Dec. 24th, to the landing-stage, where the soldiers disembarked. The ship had to be sent into drydock to have her bottom thoroughly scraped and cleaned. Three years in disuse, she was covered with barnacles, and even oysters were found attached to her keel. The Gladstone Dock at Liverpool was the only drydock outside of Germany which would accommodate her. Even then, she had to wait more than two weeks for a tide high enough to float her in. Docking was completed successfully, but there was considerable delay before the big boat could get away, and it was not until Lincoln's birthday that she started back for America, reaching New York Feb. 19th. On her second trip, sailing March 4, 1918, the _Leviathan_ carried 8,242 troops, under command of Major General J. T. Dickman. Liverpool was again the destination and she arrived there March 12th. Going up St. George's channel, there was considerable excitement when the destroyer _Manley_, head of the escort, sighting signs that led her to believe a submarine was near, swerved out of position, and began firing. One depth-bomb it dropped shook the _Leviathan_ from stern to stern, and many persons aboard thought she had struck a mine. But she got in safely, and soon landed all her troops.

Low water again held the _Leviathan_ in port for weeks, and it was not until April 10th, that she was able to sail. This was the last time she was sent to Liverpool. Thereafter, she went direct to Brest, and there were no more delays. In fact, on the third trip, when she carried 8,909 soldiers, under command of Brigadier General Walter H. Gordon, she disembarked her troops, took aboard 4,600 tons of coal, and the third evening after her arrival was on the way back to New York.

The _Leviathan_ was so big a target and the German eagerness to sink her was so well known that there was at first opposition to the use of this big vessel as a troop-ship, and Admiral Sims wrote to me on November 2, 1917:

I have previously reported against using the _Vaterland_ for the
present until we have a little more experience in handling the
other large transports. The _Vaterland_ is, of course, a much
larger target, and injury to her would be a serious affair. I am
assuming too that all of the troops that we have to transport
for the next few months can be accommodated in other transports,
assisted by British liners. Whenever the situation becomes
pressing, I presume we shall have to use the _Vaterland_ and take
the additional risk.

We did use the former _Vaterland_ with such success that during all the war she was never touched by the enemy; but the fears entertained of attack on this biggest transport afloat were justified. On the fourth voyage, when in sight of the coast, May 30, 1918, the _Leviathan_ recorded her first encounter with a submarine, following being the entry in the ship's log:

12:29 p. m.--Sighted submarine pursuing us on our port quarter
about 1,500 yards distant. Ordered full speed, 165 revolutions.
Opened fire with Number Six and Number Eight guns, three shots.
Stopped zigzagging. Changed course 12:40 p. m.

12:59 p. m.--Submarine appeared again. Opened fire with Number Six
and Number Eight guns. Nine shots.

1:19 p. m.--Submarine appeared again. Opened fire with Number Six
and Number Eight guns. Seven shots.

1:34 p. m.--Threw in maneuvering combination. Standard speed 112
revolutions.

1:45 p. m.--Entering harbor at various courses and speeds.

Of this attack, the _Leviathan_ History says:

The coolness of our commanding officer, Captain H. F. Bryan, and
the splendid coördination of the entire crew were so perfect, that
only three distinct orders were issued in this moment of peril
as follows: 1. Hold your course. 2. Open fire on submarine, port
quarter. 3. Sound General Alarm.

Every shot fired was greeted by cheers and shouts of encouragement
from the enthusiastic soldiers on the decks, who crowded to
favorable positions to witness the accurate firing of our
gun-crews. The Army nurses left their luncheon to take a peek at
the "fun," and their calmness and enthusiasm in the face of a
deadly menace were an inspiration to the sailors manning the big
guns.

Sailing the afternoon of June 1st, accompanied by the destroyers _Nicholson_ and _Wadsworth_, at 7:16 o'clock a periscope wake was sighted on the starboard quarter. "Full speed ahead!" was rung, and the _Leviathan_ sprang forward, a cloud of black smoke pouring from her funnels. Her guns began firing, and from the signal bridge floated the green-and-white submarine warning flag. The destroyers turned quickly and charged down the wake, laying a barrage of depth-bombs which shook the _Leviathan_, by that time nearly two miles away. The _Nicholson's_ blinker lights flashed:

We saw periscope of submarine and laid barrage of depth-charges
around the spot. Will report to Force Commander.

The _Wadsworth_ then inspected the locality, but soon signaled, "We see no submarine now." A few minutes later both destroyers steamed up to the big vessel and resumed escort.

Twilight had come, and it was an impressive scene when the chaplain (always called the sky pilot), as was his daily custom, went to the navigation bridge and offered the sunset prayer at sea--a prayer for the safety of captain, officers and crew; for soldiers, passengers and all on board.

Making the most of her speed, the _Leviathan_ traveled alone, except for man-of-war escort, until August. Then she was accompanied by the _Great Northern_ and _Northern Pacific_, and these fast ships made several voyages together. After arrival from her eighth trip, Sept. 19th, Captain William W. Phelps became the _Leviathan's_ commanding officer, succeeding Captain Bryan. In April, 1919, he was succeeded by Captain E. H. Durell.

There were rumors of peace when the _Leviathan_ sailed on her tenth trip October 27th, and as the destroyers met her they signaled that all the German submarines in that area had been recalled October 21st. Arriving at Liverpool November 3rd, she landed her last load of troops going to the front. A week later, when she was in drydock undergoing repairs, the armistice was signed; the fighting was over. The _Leviathan_ had transported to Europe 96,804 officers and men of the American Army. She had carried across 119,215 persons, including her crew and naval supernumeraries. She had carried on a single voyage as many as 10,860.

In returning the troops all war-time records were broken. On the sixteenth west-bound trip, there were on board, including the naval crew, 14,300 persons. The vessel brought home 93,746 soldiers. She carried to or from Europe, including naval personnel and passengers, over 200,000 persons.

Completed in 1914, the _Leviathan_ made but one round trip under the German flag. She had just arrived in New York on her second voyage when war broke out in Europe. That was all the use the Germans ever got of this wonder of the seas, which cost millions to build and was the pride of Germany.