SMS ''Cormoran'' or SMS ''Cormoran II'' was a German armed merchant raider that was originally a German-built Russian merchant vessel named ''Ryazan''. The ship was active in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Built in 1909, she was captured by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

on 4 August 1914 and converted into a raider at the German colony Kiautschou. She was forced to seek port at

Apra Harbor Apra Harbor, also called Port Apra, is a deep-water port on the western side of the United States territory of Guam. It is considered one of the best natural ports in the Pacific Ocean. The harbor is bounded by Cabras Island and the Glass Breakwat ...

on the U.S. territory of

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic ce ...

on 10 December 1914. The United States, then declared neutral in the war, refused to supply provisions sufficient for ''Cormoran'' to make a German port. After the U.S. declaration of war on April 6, 1917, the Naval Governor of Guam informed ''Cormoran'' that she would be seized as a hostile combatant, prompting her crew to scuttle her.

History

''Ryazan'' was built at the Schichau shipyard in Elbing, Imperial Germany in 1909 for the Russian merchant fleet (Rjasan or Rjäsan, from the Russian town of

Ryazan Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Cens ...

). She was used by imperial Russia as a combination passenger, cargo and mail carrier on North Pacific routes.

German capture

The ''Ryazan'' was captured southeast of the Korean peninsula by the German

on 4 August 1914 as the first prize of

from the Russian empire. She was taken to

Tsingtao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means "azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Bel ...

in the German colony Kiautschou, where she was converted to an armed merchant raider. The new ''Cormoran'' replaced the original SMS ''Cormoran'', a small shallow draft cruiser that had a long Imperial Navy career in the Pacific, having taken part in the events that brought Kiautschou into the German colonial empire in 1897–98. The old ''Cormoran'' was laid up at

with serious maintenance issues and unable to go to sea, and her armaments were transferred to the captured merchant ship. On 10 August 1914, the new ''Cormoran'' (or ''Cormoran II'') left Tsingtao harbor and sailed through the South Pacific region. After Japan declared war on the German Empire, her warships discovered and pursued the ''Cormoran'', forcing her to seek refuge in

, in the U.S. Territory of

, on 14 December. Having expended most of her fuel raiding commerce, her crew burned much of her woodwork in the boilers in order to make port. With only of coal remaining in her bunkers, her captain requested provisions and of coal in order to reach German ports in East Africa. Due to strained diplomatic relations between the United States and Germany, plus the limited amount of coal stored at Guam, Governor William John Maxwell refused to supply ''Cormoran'' with more than a token amount of coal. He ordered the ship to leave within 24 hours or submit to detention. This created a standoff between the German crew and the Americans that lasted nearly two years, until Governor Maxwell was involuntarily placed on the sick list and replaced by his subordinate, William P. Cronan, who decided the German crew should be treated as guests of the United States. The ''Cormoran'' was not allowed to leave the harbor, but the crew were treated as friends, achieving a minor celebrity status on the island.

Scuttling

On the morning of April 7, 1917 word reached Guam by telegraph cable that the U.S. Congress had declared war on Germany. The Naval Governor of Guam, Roy Campbell Smith, sent two officers to inform the ''Cormoran'' that a state of war existed between the two countries, that the crew were now

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

, and that the ship must be surrendered. Meanwhile, the USS ''Supply'' blocked the entrance to Apra Harbor to prevent any attempt to flee. In a separate boat, the two officers were accompanied by a barge commanded by Lt. W.A. Hall, who was designated prize master, and had brought 18 sailors and 15 Marines from the barracks at

Sumay Sumay, also Sumai, was a village on the United States territory of Guam. It was located on the north coast of the Orote Peninsula along Apra Harbor. It was inhabited by Chamorro people before contact with Europeans. Sumay became a prosperous port ...

. Seeing a launch from ''Cormoran'' hauling a barge of supplies back shore, Hall ordered shots fired across the bow of the launch until it hove to. Meanwhile, the two officers reached ''Cormoran'' and informed Captain

Adalbert Zuckschwerdt Adalbert Zuckschwerdt (1 January 1874 – 1 July 1945) was captain (''Korvettenkapitän'') of the German raider SMS Cormoran, which sailed from the German Colony of Tsingtao, China (now Qingdao), until she was finally docked and interned at Gua ...

of the situation. Zuckschwerdt agreed to surrender his crew but refused to turn over the ship. The U.S. officers informed Zuckschwerdt that the ''Cormoran'' would be treated as an enemy combatant and left to inform Governor Smith of the situation. Unbeknownst to the Americans, the Germans had secreted an explosive device in the ship's coal bunker. Minutes after the Americans left, an explosion aboard ''Cormoran'' hurled debris across the harbor and her crew began abandoning ship. The two American boats and USS ''Supply'' immediately began to recover German sailors from the water, saving all but seven of the roughly 370 ''Cormoran'' crew. This incident, including the warning shots against the launch, accounted for the first violent action of the

United States in World War I The United States declared war on the German Empire on April 6, 1917, nearly three years after World War I started. A ceasefire and Armistice was declared on November 11, 1918. Before entering the war, the U.S. had remained neutral, though i ...

, first shots fired by the U.S. against Germany in World War I, the first German prisoners of war captured by the U.S., and the first Germans killed in action by the U.S. in World War I. The shots ordered fired by Teófilo Marxuach against the SS ''Odenwald'' in

San Juan Bay San Juan Bay ( es, Bahía de San Juan) is the bay and main inlet adjacent to Old San Juan in northeastern Puerto Rico. It is about in length, the largest body of water in an estuary of about of channels, inlets and eight interconnected lagoons. ...

on March 21, 1915 predate the U.S. declaration of war against Germany. The dead crew were buried with full military honors in the naval cemetery at Hagåtña. After the American sailors rescued and made prisoners the surviving Germans, Governor Cronan congratulated Captain Zuckschwerdt for the bravery of his men. The U.S. Navy later conducted a limited salvage operation and the ship's bell was recovered. It is exhibited at the U.S. Naval Academy Museum at

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

. Other artifacts have been removed by divers over the years. As the crew waited to be sent to a POW camp on the mainland, they were given permission to erect an obelisk next to their buried dead. Capt. Zuckschwerd was allowed to speak at a ceremony honoring their dead. The obelisk reads, "Den Toten von S.M.S. Cormoran, 7 IV 1917," meaning "To the dead of the S.M.S. Cormoran, 7 April 1917." The German crew was initially imprisoned in

Fort Douglas, Utah Camp Douglas was established in October 1862, during the American Civil War, as a small military garrison about three miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah, to protect the overland mail route and telegraph lines along the Central Overland Route. I ...

. In April 1918, all remaining

from ''Cormoran'' and were transferred from Fort Douglas to

Fort McPherson Fort McPherson was a U.S. Army military base located in Atlanta, Georgia, bordering the northern edge of the city of East Point, Georgia. It was the headquarters for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Southeast Region; the U.S ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

. All returned home on 7 October 1919, almost a year after the war's end.

Wreck and commemorations

The wreck of the ''Cormoran II'' rests below the surface on her starboard side. A Japanese cargo ship, the '' Tokai Maru'', sunk by the submarine USS ''Snapper'' on August 27, 1943, leans against her screw. The wreck is one of the few places where a World War I shipwreck lies next to a ship from World War II. In 1974, the Cormoran monument in the Naval Cemetery was listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

(NRHP). In 1975, the wreck itself was placed on the NRHP because of her association with World War I. The National Park Service conducted surveys in 1983 of the SMS ''Cormoran'' and ''Tokai Maru'', publishing maps of the two ships' positions. In 1988, a mooring buoy was attached to the Tokai Maru to allow easier access by divers. It is, according to the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government within the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...

, "probably the most popular wreck diving site on Guam." Over one thousand divers annually visit the wrecks. The 90th anniversary of the ''Cormoran's'' scuttling in 2007 was marked by wreath-laying ceremonies and exhibits and lectures as

War in the Pacific National Historic Park The War in the Pacific National Historical Park is a multi-unit protected area in the United States territory of Guam, which was established in 1978 in honor of those who participated in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Uniquely among the Na ...

. The centenary commemoration of the ships sinking was attended by a representative of the German embassy to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

. Divers laid wreaths on the wreck and then a memorial ceremony was held at the Naval Cemetery.

Partial list of crew members

Kurt Moraht.jpg Henry Bock (Leutnant Bock's was the first German naval officer sword surrendered in the Pacific) 3Herman Berka (Cormoran's chief engineer) 4Wilhelm Hermann Grallert, Lindenau, Kreis Landeshut, Niederschlesien, Prussia Fritz August Hermann Kutz, Labes, Kreis Regenwalde, Pommern, Prussia Jakob Runck, Landau, Pfalz, Bavaria Emil Bischoff, Unterschefflenz, Baden, Germany Ernest Max Adolf, Freiburg/Br, Germany Johannes Heinrich Dammann, Nutteln, Schleswig-Holstein Kurt Moraht

Notes

Bibliography

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