{"id":7303,"date":"2018-10-03T09:00:47","date_gmt":"2018-10-03T07:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.naval-encyclopedia.com\/?p=7303"},"modified":"2018-10-03T09:00:47","modified_gmt":"2018-10-03T07:00:47","slug":"ww1-german-commerce-raiders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbodesign.com\/ww1\/germany\/commerce-raiders.php","title":{"rendered":"WW1 German Commerce Raiders"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WW1 German Commerce Raiders<\/h2>\n

<\/a> Germany, 15 ships (1914-18)<\/strong>\n<\/div>\n

The surface raiders:<\/strong> The German Imperial Navy actions during WW1 were four-fold: The main navy (Hochseeflotte) protecting the homeland but forced to a relative inaction because of the opposing Royal Navy, the overseas squadrons (Souchon or Graf Spee’s Pacific squadron and other local forces) chased down by the allies at the beginning of the war, U-boats, that soon became the main threat to British commerce, and at last, German surface commerce raiders<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Carmania
\nCarmania sinking Cap Trafalgar off Trinidad, September 14, 1914<\/em><\/p>\n

In a sense, German cruisers already played that role of commerce raiding in 1914 Emden and Dresden being the most succesful. But at the same time, and until 1916, civilian ships captured or seized and converted as commerce raiders succeeded in sinking or capturing sometimes dozens of ships, making this kind of warfare valuable. The two most successful were the M\u00f6we, Wolf and tall ship Seeadler<\/a>. <\/p>\n

However others were sunk at their first sortie. Early on also, the German admiralty did not trusted these ships to wage war and used them as disguised minelayers, with success. In some ways, the K\u00f6nigin Luise<\/a> was the first of them. In any case, they are lesswell known known that their successors, the WW2 German Commerce Raiders<\/a>, often better armed and more successful, that is, until WW1 centennial make them rise again from memory. Some of their feats of seamanship are just staggerring. These are stories to be told.<\/p>\n

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1st phase of German commerce warfare: Liners<\/h2>\n

\"SS
\nSS Deutschland, future SMS Victoria Luise<\/em><\/p>\n

Converted Commerce raiders had been employed since the American civil war and auxiliary cruisers (ie armed passenger liners) since the Russian \u2018Volunteer Fleet\u2019 of the Russo-Japanese war. <\/p>\n

In the Second Hague Conference of 1907 one of the declarations referred to the Conversion of merchant vessels to auxiliary cruisers. Following this
\ngeneral international acceptance of commerce raiders the Imperial German Government asked prominent German shipping companies to fit their new liners with the necessary preparations (such as strengthened positions for guns) which would allow rapid conversion in wartime.<\/p>\n