German Imperial Navy postcard collection

[Big A]

@Urs:

You're right with the date, sometimes the numbers are tough to decipher,
sorry 'bout that but good to know that someone is having a closer look at my transcriptions. Nobody is perfect


Axel

[Urs Heßling]

Hi Axel

Nobody is perfect

you are coming quite close  .

for your "translations"

have a nice weekend

Urs

P.S. @alex at least 11x for the pictures and your lead

[Urs Heßling]

hi, Alex and Axel,

I`m adding some remarks ref. history

3. Liebe Lotte!  Kiel, 17.12.14
Unsere Flotte hat gerade wieder den Engländern einen gehörigen Schrecken eingejagt. Möge es uns bald vergönnt sein den Verlust bei den Falklandinseln zu rächen. ..

Dear Lotte!  Kiel, 17.12.14
Our fleet administered a good shock to the English. May we soon get the chance to revenge the losses at the Falkland Islands. I hope you are very well and send many affectionate greetings, you truely loving Ernst

Refers to the naval bombardement of the towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby on the  eastern coast of England by the German Battlecruisers Seydlitz, Moltke, von der Tann, Derfflinger and the armored cruiser Blücher on December 15.
The true aim of the action was to lure a part of the British Fleet into action, but it failed, mostly due to the timidity of the German CinC, Admiral Ingenohl. On the other side, Admiral Beatty missed the opportunity to achieve a victory over the named German ships with his battle cruisers and an assigned squadron of battleships.

Greetings, Urs

[Urs Heßling]

Hi,

history (2)

Set 3:

2. Liebe Lotte! Kiel, 17.10.16
Anbei erhälst Du das gewünschte Bild von KptLt Mücke (= he was CO of Cruiser "Emden", as far as I know). ...

Dear Lotte! Kiel, 17.10.16
Overleaf I am sending you the requested picture of Lt. Mücke. meines Albums ja, bitte? Geht es Dir noch gut? Herzliche Sonntagsgrüße ...(copyright mark over rest)

KptLt. Mücke was the Executive Officer of the cruiser EMDEN. On the day the EMDEN was sunk by the Australian cruiser SYDNEY (November 9, 1914), he led a landing party ashore. He was able to sail with the men of the landing party, first with a old schooner, the AYESHA, afterwards with a steamer and later on Arabian dhows, to osmanian-held territory, continued to proceed by land and, eventually, reached Germany in the Spring of 1915, where he was celebrated as a hero.

Greetings, Urs

[Urs Heßling]

another one

Set 5:

4. Liebe Lotte!  Kiel, d. 25.10.15
Von dem Untergang des "Prinz Adalbert" wirst Du wohl auch Kunde haben; dieser Verlust von so vielen Menschenleben betrübt mich recht schmerzlich. Hoffentlich gelingt es uns bald der feindlichen Unterseeboote habhaft zu werden. Sei recht herzlich gegrüßt von Deinem treuen Ernst

Dear Lotte!  Kiel, 25.10.15
You will received the news about the sinking of "Prinz Adalbert"; the loss of so many lives touches me quite painfully. I hope that we will soon be able to catch the enemy submarines. Many affectionate greetings from your truthful Ernst

Just a suggestion: Maybe you should sort the cards by date once they are all translated. This would print a very lively and interesting view of the developements of the time and relate them to the progression of the war.

PRINZ ADALBERT sank with 672 men. The submarines Ernst is referring to were British E-class subs which had penetrated the Danish Straits and were operating successfully in the Baltic.

I strongly support Axel`s suggestion 

Greetings, Urs

[Urs Heßling]

comment # 4

set No. 6:

2. Liebe Lotte!  Kiel, d. 23.8.15
Jetzt ist auch die Festung Ossowitz (?) unser, die sich am nächsten unserer Grenze, am längsten gehalten hat. - In der Bucht von Riga gibts für unsere Flotte jetzt auch tüchtig zu tun,

Dear Lotte! Kiel, 23.8.15
Fort Ossowitz is ours now, it held out longest and closest to our borders. - Our fleet has lots to do in Riga bay, hopefully the hit the Russinas hard.

the correct name is Ossowiecz

The naval action against the Riga bay was quite a large one, with 3 battlecruisers, 8 modern battleships, 7 old battleships and numerous smaller ships on the German side. It was, however, eventually unsuccessful, and the area of Riga bay was only occupied in the Fall of 1917.


Greetings, Urs

[Urs Heßling]

one more ...

Tell you what, I sure am looking foreward to that collection...

Ok, here is set no. 7:

4. Liebe Lotte!  Kiel, d. 1.10.15
Wie die neuesten Generalstabsberichte zeigen halten unsere Truppen im Westen stand und haben sogar bei Loos ein gut Teil des verlorenen Geländes wieder genommen. Dies freut mich ungemein.

According to the lastest bulletins of the general staff our troops in the west stood fast and even reconquered the better part of the lost [No, LOOS] terrain. This is most delightful. ...

this refers to the battle of Loos, Sep 25 to Oct, 14, 1915, the first British offensive on the Western Front after the trench war had begun in November, 1914.

Loos is considered to be "No victory" for the British army, as, for the gain of a few square kilometres, the British losses amounted to more than 20,000 dead, one among them Rudyard Kipling´s  son.

greetings, Urs

[Urs Heßling]

 continuing ...

Set No. 8

7. Liebe Lotte!  Kiel, d. 29.5.15
Schon wieder dringt die Nachricht zu uns, daß ein engl(isches) Linienschiff torpediert ist, man sollte doch annehmen, daß es den Engländern dort unten an den Dardanellen ein bischen schwül wird.

Dear Lotte! Kiel, 29.5.15
Again we hear the news that an engl(ish) ship of the line has been torpedoed, one should think that is a little hot for the English at the Dardanelles. -

On May, 27, 1915, the German submarine "U 21" (Kptlt Hersing in command) sank the British (old) battleship "Majestic".
With "again" Ernst refers to the fact that "U 21" had sunk another British (old) battleship, the "Triumph", just 2 days earlier, om May, 25

Greetings, Urs

[alexfranke]

WOW -- this is great stuff, Urs.  Thank you!

Do you mind if I include these as comments on my blog site (where I'm posting the postcards) as well? I think this kind of historical detail would be valuable to include with the postcards. Of course I'll attribute the comments to you. (BTW, I am also now providing a hyperlink to your forum from my site.)

[Urs Heßling]

and more

Set 10:

2. Liebe Lotte!  Kiel, d. 2.11.14
Hiermit sende ich Dir eine Ansicht des kleinen Kreuzers ,,Breslau", welche mit der ,,Goeben" zusammen jetzt in türkischen Diensten den Russen im Schwarzen Meer ordentlich was zu schaffen macht.

Dear Lotte! Kiel, 2.11.14
Enclose is a view of light cruiser "Breslau", she is under Turkish command now and together with "Goeben" gives the Russians quite an headache in the Black Sea.

This is most interesting. The German ships GOEBEN and BRESLAU had entered Osmanian waters (the Dardanelles) on August 10, 1914, to escape from the British Mediterranean fleet. One week later, they were officially transferred into the Osmanian navy,a necessary action as they were ships of a belligerent nation, while the Osmanian Empire was still neutral. During the following weeks, the German admiral, Wilhelm Souchon (still in command of both ships), laboured to get the unwilling Osmanian government into war against Russia. Finally, he conducted an operation with his ships into the Black Sea and shelled Russian ports on October, 28, without an official order from the Osmanian government (!), i.e. more or less starting a war by himself. On November, 2 (!!), Russia declared war on the Osmanian Empire - so Ernst is absolutely "up to date"

Greetings, Urs

[Urs Heßling]

Hi, Alex

Do you mind if I include these as comments on my blog site (where I'm posting the postcards) as well? I think this kind of historical detail would be valuable to include with the postcards.

No, not at all --actually, that´s what I had in mind when I wrote these comments

Greetings, Urs

[Urs Heßling]

OK, here we go ...

SET 12

6. Liebe Lotte!  Kiel, d. 24.10.14
... Anbei sende ich Dir eine Ansicht des beim Seegefecht vor Helgoland untergegangenen Kleinen Kreuzers ,,Köln", schade um das schöne Schiff.

Dear Lotte!    Kiel, 24.10.15
I am sending you a picture of the light cruiser "Köln" which sank during the battle of Heligoland, too bad, such a nice ship.

8. Liebe Lotte!   Kiel, d. 23.3.15
Die Ansichten von Friedrich Wilhelm und Weißenburg haben natürlich schon hohen Sammlerwert, da ja Ansichten hiervon nicht mehr gemacht werden. Sehr zu bedauern ist der Fall von Przemzil, dadurch wird die Räumung Galiziens bedeutend erschwert.

Dear Lotte!    Kiel, 23.03.15
The pictures of Friedrich Wilhelm and Weißenburg already have high prices among collectors as the pictures are no longer produced. The fall of Przemil is very regrettable as it impedes the evacuation of Galicia. 

# 6: In the naval action (less than a battle) at Heligoland, British battle cruisers and cruisers sank the three German cruiser "Mainz", "Cöln" and "Ariadne" and the torpedoboat "V 187"; loss of life on the German side was more than 700 (more of 500 of them on "Cöln"), the British side suffered no losses. Among the german sailors rescued by British ships was admiral von Tirpitz´ son Wolf, who became a prisoner of war.
Ernst commits the error to spell the ship´s name incorrectly as "Köln".

# 8 : Ernst refers to the old battleships "Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm" and "Weissenburg" which were already quite obsolete at the beginning of the First World War.

The correct name of the town is Przemysl.

Greetings, Urs

[Urs Heßling]

once more ...

Set 15

Liebe Lotte!   Kiel, d. 23.10.14
... Anbei sende ich Dir eine Ansicht des Kreuzers ,,Emden", der jetzt allenthalben seine famosen Kaperfahrten unternimmt.

Dear Lotte!  Kiel, 23.10.14
... I am enclosing a view of cruiser "Emden", who is underway on his famous privateer raids..

The light cruiser "Emden" (Captain Karl von Müller in command) was one of the most famous German warships in WWI. During its short "career" from August, 4 to November, 9, 1914 it sank 23 allied merchantships with 102,000 tons and, on October, 23, during a raid against the harbour of Penang, the Russian cruiser "Shemtshug" and the French destroyer "Mousquet". On November, 9, it fell victim to the superior Australian cruiser HMAS "Sydney".
As a reward for the outstanding successes, the German emperor, Wilhelm II, gave surviving members of the crew permission to add "-Emden" as a second surname to their family name.
Captain Karl von Müller was and is considered in Britain to be a "Gentleman", as he treated the captured allied sailors very well and as no allied sailor lost his life during the "Emdens" actions.

Greetings, Urs

[Urs Heßling]

 

Set 18

Liebe Lotte!  Kiel, den 12.8.15
... Die gesunkene Meteor war noch vor kurzem hier, hat Gutes geleistet.

Dear Lotte!    Kiel, 12.08.15
– The sunk Meteor has been here a short while ago, she did a good job. Many affectionate greetings from your truthful loving Ernst.

The German Armed Merchant Cruiser (AMC) and minelayer "Meteor" had layed minefields off the Russian shore in the Arctic during the Spring of 1915.

In August 1915, it conducted a minelaying mission against the eastern coast of Scotland and, during it´s return, sank the British AMC "The Ramsay". This success led to a pursuit by British warships which found "Meteor" on August, 9. Surrounded by five ships, Captain von Knorr decided not to fight (and sacrifice his crew unneccessarily), but scuttled his ship and went with his crew into captivity.

Greetings, Urs

[Urs Heßling]

and more ...

SET 21

1. Liebe Lotte!  Kiel, d.20.9.15
Schon wieder sind zwei englische Panzerschiffe in Grund gebohrt, ebenfalls ein französisches; dies ist doch sehr erfreulich, nicht war? (wrong spelling, must be ,,wahr") Es macht doch den Verteidigern der Dardanellen alle Ehre.

Dear Lotte!   Kiel, 20.09.15
Again, two English armoured cruisers have been drilled into the bottom, also a French one, that is very delightful, isn't it?. That is a lot of honour for the defenders of the Dardanelles.

As I mentioned before, the correct datum should be March, 20.

On March, 18, 1915 an Allied fleet of 16 British and French battleships entered the Dardanelles to shell Osmanian gun positions and to enable the own minesweepers to proceed with their work. After a "first run", the French battleship "Bouvet" and, shortly afterwards, the British battleships "Irresistible" and "Ocean" hit mines that had been laid just the previous night and sank with heavy loss of life. Two more French battleships, "Gaulois" and "Suffren", and the British battle cruiser "Inflexible" were damaged.

Greetings, Urs