16 Something of a celebrity: Szefel, “Beauty,” 565–66.
17 “as much a debating society”: Bullard et al., “Where History and Theory,” 93.
18 “guide, counselor and friend”: Sargent, Lauriat’s, 10.
19 “homeness”: Publishers’ Weekly, Feb. 21, 1920, 551.
20 The store was long and narrow: For these and myriad other details about “Lauriat’s,” see text and photographs, Sargent, Lauriat’s, 39–46.
21 “great gems”: Ibid., 46.
22 “through the breaking up”: Ibid.
23 One acquisition, of a Bible: New York Times, Sept. 28, 1895. For background on “Breeches” Bibles, see Daily Mirror, Dec. 3, 2013.
24 “for the risk … is practically nil”: In a lengthy filing with the Mixed Claims Commission, convened after the war to levy compensation from Germany to various claimants, Lauriat provides a great many details about his journey and the things he carried with him. He filed his claim on April 6, 1923. All details mined from the proceeding will be cited as Lauriat, Claim. His remark about the safety of transporting things by ocean liner can be found in his filings at “Affidavit, March 12, 1925, or Charles Lauriat Jr.”
25 “convoyed through the war zone”: Lauriat, Lusitania’s Last Voyage, 6.
26 “but this year”: Ibid., 69.
27 He packed: “Exhibit in Support of Answer to Question 1,” Lauriat, Claim.
28 “In 1915, to come out”: Mackworth, This Was My World, 239.
29 “In the evenings”: Ibid., 240.
30 “I have always been grateful”: Ibid.
31 “Certainly not”: “Deposition of William Thomas Turner,” April 30, 1915, Petition of the Cunard Steamship Company, April 15, 1918, U.S. National Archives–New York.
U-20: THE HAPPIEST U-BOAT
1 That same day, Friday: Details of Schwieger’s voyage, here and in following chapters, come from his War Log, a translation of which appears in the Bailey/Ryan Collection at the Hoover Institution Archives. The log proved invaluable in helping me reconstruct, in detail, U-20’s journey to the Irish Sea and back. Hereafter, where necessary, I’ll cite it simply as Schwieger, War Log.
2 “A particularly fine-looking fellow”: Thomas, Raiders, 91.
3 At routine cruising speeds: Gibson and Prendergast, German Submarine War, 356–57.
4 Schwieger noted in his log: Koerver states that the “normal” wireless range for submarines was “several hundred miles.” Schwieger’s log indicates that for U-20, at least, the range was far shorter. Koerver, German Submarine Warfare, xix. Jan Breemer states that early in 1915 “reliable” communications between submarines and shore stations at distances of “up to 140 nautical miles were possible.” Breemer, Defeating the U-Boat, 15.
5 “I want to stress”: Edgar von Spiegel interview, Lusitania, Catalog No. 4232, Imperial War Museum, London.
6 “a splendid, dapple-gray horse”: Spiegel, Adventures, 20.
7 “It was a very hard task”: Edgar von Spiegel interview, Lusitania, Catalog No. 4232, Imperial War Museum, London.
8 Such authority could be thrilling: As German captain Paul Koenig put it, “The master of no ship is so lonely, so forced to depend entirely upon himself as the master of a submarine” (Voyage, 76).
9 When on patrol: According to Hans Koerver, by May 1915 Germany had only an average of fifteen U-boats available for long-range service each day. At any one time, typically only two patrolled the British Isles. Koerver, German Submarine Warfare, xxi, xxiii.
10 “on the fastest possible route”: Bailey, “Sinking,” 54.
11 The submarine as a weapon: Compton-Hall, Submarine Boats, 14, 21, 36, 38–39, 99, 102, 109; Fontenoy, Submarines, 8, 10.
12 Schwieger’s boat was 210 feet long: R?ssler, U-Boat, 14; von Trapp, To the Last Salute, 32–33; Neureuther and Bergen, U-Boat Stories, 173.
13 “More dials and gauges”: Thomas, Raiders, 82.
14 Even his superiors seemed surprised: Ledger: U-20, Feb. 6, 1915, Ministry of Defence Papers, DEFE/69/270, National Archives UK.
15 “She was a jolly boat”: Thomas, Raiders, 81, 91.
16 “He was a wonderful man”: Edgar von Spiegel interview, Lusitania, Catalog No. 4232, Imperial War Museum, London.
17 “Apparently the enemy was at home”: Thomas, Raiders, 83.
18 It was the one time: Spiegel, Adventures, 12.
19 “And now,” Schwieger said: For details about this Christmas scene, see Thomas, Raiders, 83–85.
20 at least one dog aboard: Hoehling and Hoehling, Last Voyage, 4; Thomas, Raiders, 90–91. Supposedly one commander once transported a juvenile camel.
21 That Schwieger was able to conjure: Forstner, Journal, 56–57; Neureuther and Bergen, U-Boat Stories, 189; Thomas, Raiders, 86.
22 “And now,” said Zentner: Thomas, Raiders, 86.
23 “U-boat sweat”: Spiegel, Adventures, 15.
24 “You can have no conception”: Koenig, Voyage, 116.
25 “The first breath of fresh air”: Niem?ller, From U-Boat to Pulpit, 1.