HISTORY Attacking ship Hilfskreuzer Atlantis Zamzan attackby Phil Scoble M


idnight in the South Atlantic, April 1941 – a German raider


begins to fire at a passenger ship in an attack that would help bring America into the Second World War. The attack is a massive


error in judgment on behalf of its Captain. His mistake is directly related


Captain Bernhard Rogge


to a visit he made to the britannia royal naval College in 1937. Captain bernhard rogge had been visiting the brnC as


part of the celebrations for the Coronation of King george IV. the royal Yacht visited the river Dart and the newly created recreation area below the college was renamed ‘Coronation park’ as part of the festive events. It was a balmy, happy summer of pageants and regattas


all around the south coast and the college hosted many officers and dignitaries from all over the world. rogge was part of a german yachting


were put on hold. by 1941 rogge had become captain of the small raider


Atlantis, which had been patrolling the south Atlantic making a name for itself as a canny aggressor, taking on enemy ships in quick, devastating attacks. One night in April they saw a ship that to rogge


crew who were welcomed to south Devon by all and sundry. After the racing was complete rogge and his team were drinking with their brnC hosts, looking down over the river Dart, basking in the evening sunshine. It had been a wonderful visit for rogge, he recalled later: he had loved the racing, the scenery and the welcome he and his colleagues had received. He had even bought a newspaper as a keepsake because the headline on its front page was ‘german Yachtsman: Welcome to torbay’. rogge began asking his hosts about the ships in the


Nine minutes after the first


was distinctive: it was an old vessel with four masts. He instantly thought of 1937 and the officer’s casual words: ‘trooping, that sort of thing.” It was travelling under full blackout, a sure


attack, a single light began to feebly flash a


simple message in Morse code: Please stop.


sign it was an enemy ship. rogge gave the fateful order: “no


Warning”. It meant his men were to engage without signaling first, as soon as they had a clear shot and only stop if the other vessel signaled surrender. As the time for attack came closer, the tension rose: the Captain had warned his men that, as a troopship, the vessel almost certainly was armed to the teeth and would give fierce resistance.


rogge was, according to his men, withdrawn and


harbour and was particularly interested in two merchant vessels anchored opposite the boatfloat. “You have two strangers here,” he said to his host, “I


expected to see only warships.” the british officer shrugged: “Oh, you’ll often see them, they belong here. bibby Line steamers you know. We use them under charter a lot. trooping and all that sort of thing.” Little could the officer know he had planted a seed, whilst looking at the two elderly, four-masted ships, that his casual remark would have such long-reaching consequences. two years later war broke out and regattas in the Dart


irritable in the build up to the beginning of hostilities: perhaps he was thinking of those happy days in south Devon and how the attack illustrated how things had changed. their first shot fell short. the second went long. the


third took the wireless cabin off its deck. but not a single shot was fired in return. nine minutes


after the first attack, a single light began to feebly flash a simple message in morse code: please stop. the germans looked on in horror as they sailed closer: on deck were women and children, old men and babies. A group of them were playing hymns, including ‘Closer my god to thee’. the crew were letting down the lifeboats and were getting into them themselves, leaving the passen- gers behind. What was going on?


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