es even went so far as to
inaugurate a sharp-shooting system at sea by offering a reward to any
captain who rammed or destroyed a German submarine, although the
latter could only obey this command at the risk of their lives; but
what cared the rulers in England for the existence of men belonging to
the lower classes of the Nation? They offered tempting rewards for
these exploits in the shape of gold watches, and bribed the captains
of the merchant marine with the promise of being raised to the rank of
officers in the Reserve. Therefore, the British newspapers were filled
with the account of the destruction of German U-boats, and of the
generous rewards given for these fine deeds. It was jolly for us on
our return to port to read the record of our own doom, and scarcely
would there be a submarine afloat if these records had been true.

I should like to tell a short story in connection with these
assertions of English prowess. One of their small steamers had
actually contrived in misty weather to ram the turret of one of our
submarines while it was in the act of submerging. The English captain
was loudly praised in all the newspapers and received the promised
rewards for having sunk, as he declared, a German U-boat; he had
distinctly felt, he said, the shock of the collision. His statement
was certainly accurate, for the submarine was also conscious of the
shock, but it was fortunately followed with no evil results, and our
commander had the joyful surprise, shortly afterwards, when he
emerged, to find the blade of the foe's propeller stuck in the wall of
the turret, whose excellent material had preserved it from serious
injury. We happily hope that the German Empire will never run so short
of bronze that it will be obliged to appropriate, for the melting pot,
this fine propeller blade, which is one of the many interesting
trophies preserved in our Submarine Museum.

V

OUR OWN PART IN THE COMMERCIAL WAR AND OUR FIRST CAPTURED STEAMER

As we have said above, our war against the merchant marine of the
Allied Nations began in February, 1915, throughout the war zone
established around the English and French coasts. Day after day, the
number increased of steamers and sail boats that we had sunk, and
commercial relations between all countries were seriously menaced. The
English were forced to believe in our threats and even the shipping
trade of the neutrals had greatly diminished. The mighty British fleet
no long