The Deceitful German Ship & its Gentleman Captain that Wreaked HAVOC on the Allies in WW2

[@thatcrazybritishlad6328]

Brits in the indian ocean : Oh no! its the germans in disguise, they're gonna kill us!!! Detmers : Nah, just gimme your piano and you're good to go

[@pierceplaysstudios245]

The Brits: 😐

[@keylacerros8122]

Everyone

[@rockstarJDP]

Lmao I saw this made his top comment of the week on another video before I'd seen this one. Needless to say without context it was one of the most baffling comments I've ever read 😅

[@lionljb]

crew: stolen a piano...sir what are we gonna do with a pia.... Captain Detmers: my goals are beyond your understanding

[@RealCodreX]

To role-play as Davy Jones and because an organ is obviously too heavy.

[@3mergencyAwesome]

😂😂😂😂

[@rudimeergans5538]

Don’t underestimate the german sense for music.

[@Colt45hatchback]

Morris marina... Kreigsmarine, both have piano on top 🤣

[@Burningsteel]

Can it be that Captain Detmers was related to Florida Man?

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

Gentlemanly: - Navy Organisation +5 - Enemy Retreat Chance +20% - Piano +1

[@silenthawkstudios9924]

I would like, but its 69 likes.

[@ashuramikoto4019]

@@silenthawkstudios9924 you van like now i was the 70th like

[@kirkc9643]

- Hiding like a coward behind a false flag -100%

[@darrenjpeters]

@@kirkc9643 -Making the same moronic response about cowardice and false flags in wartime under every f**king comment +100% idiocy and ignorance.

[@kirkc9643]

@@darrenjpeters Nawww what's wrong sweetie? Your limited intellect and differing opinion does not make my statement untrue.

[@tediooficialisacgoulart.6448]

Australian 1: Is that a merchant ship? Australian 2: Yes Australian 1: So why did he launch torpedoes at us?

[@5T4R3790]

Fire sale! _EVERYTHING_ MUST GO! Slash those -costs- ships in half!

[@ghostarmy1106]

WW1: Emden terrorizing the indian ocean WW2: Kormoran doing it a 2nd time

[@solvbrann2289]

And both times HMAS Sydney got the kill on the elusive German Raider in the Indian Ocean.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

History repeats itself in the strangest of ways... hope The Front makes videos out of these coincidental "history repeats" moments.

[@Paludion]

@@michaelandreipalon359 Admiral Spee's demise and that of the ship baring is name is a good exemple too.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

@@Paludion That would work as well.

[@alexgrabienski4185]

In WW1 real terror was brought to the indian ocean by the SMS Wolf, a mercence raider, that made it all the way down to the Kiwis and back to Germany sinking 37 ships and blocking ports in South Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand with mines. The SMS Emden became legendary because its surviving crew walked all the way home through hostile territory to join a new war ship. True terror on a psychological level was the SMS Dresden, that played a hide and seek game in Chile with the Royal Navy, resulting in that the HMS Glasgow opened fire and sunk the SMS Dresden without warning despite the knowlegde about that the german crew had set white flag and surrendered earlier that day.

[@jeddkeech259]

“The brits gave the captain their monkey” 😂😂😂 history is awesome dude

[@JanBartelmetz]

Do not forget about his new piano!

[@nomenestomen3452]

Captain Detmers gave him the name Jack.

[@Amlaeuxrai]

@@nomenestomen3452 seriously? thats awesome if so. Jack doesn't really exist as a name in german so that choice wouldve been intentional to remind Monke of his roots

[@nomenestomen3452]

@@Amlaeuxrai It was a joke mate ;)

[@berke2642]

"He's the greatest pirate i've ever seen"

[@lonniebailey4989]

So it would seem...

[@Fred_the_1996]

@@lonniebailey4989 dururururuuruururururururuuudu

[@Fred_the_1996]

@@lonniebailey4989 dururururuuruururururururuuudu

[@bluerisk]

@@lonniebailey4989 He was not a pirate, he was an officer of the Imperial Navy.

[@blazingbl2gamingop794]

@@bluerisk I don't think you understand the reference

[@akumaking1]

Sabaton needs to make a song about the Kormoran.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Agreed.

[@charliefoxtrott1048]

Sail! Fighting fair, it's the code to beware ;) sort of

[@marcogranados541]

Detmers, a modern corsair with a code to be fair Stratagem of deception, cunning ruse,no survivor he'd refuse Fighting underhand with honor always at hand Even in the date with fate a gentlemen at heart

[@jeddkeech259]

Yesssss

[@jarlathquinn2628]

Yes

[@LaughingCrowcorp]

That goes to show how powerful the element of surprise and well trained crew and a good commander truly is

[@kirkc9643]

Oh and using a false flag...which is cowardice and should be a war crime.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

True, Kirk, but you can't deny the ingenuity.

[@KronnangDunn]

....and they still lost the War.

[@darrenjpeters]

@@michaelandreipalon359 Not true at all. Kirk is a moron who does not understand the first thing about bravery OR war crimes. Easy to to call people cowards from behind the safety of your keyboard.

[@rps215]

The Allies didn't shy away from this strategy either, they used Q Ships as a decoy for U-Boats. The theory is submarines prefer to surface and use their guns against low threat targets rather than wasting their torpedoes which they save for more dangerous targets.

[@forthencholordofadmirals2763]

Detmers was indeed Pirate status you don't have a pet monkey and steal pianos as anything but a pirate, he didn't break the rules of war because from what I heard watching a documentary from smithsonian channel he dropped his false flags and presented the German battle flag prior to engaging the enemy.

[@benwilson6145]

Standard operating procedure

[@MNM-lq9te]

German captain: Raise the flag! We have them right where we want them. German sailors: yarhh! gonna get us some loot!

[@TheLtVoss]

@@MNM-lq9te ahhhrr ich rieche reiche Beute

[@brunothebat4122]

If he fired without dropping the disguise, then he did. But documentaries says he drops the disguise before he attacks, so it’s not breaking the rules.

[@gurjeetsingh-gd1wr]

Must have done that when there was no time for the victim ship to save itself from such deciet

[@Ellis-zr1qd]

I’ve watched many different documentaries on the Komoran and said that just before firing, they took down the Dutch flag and hoisted the Reichkriegsflagge which is in accordance to the Geneva convention

[@nirfz]

I think there is a little mistake in your thought: The geneva convention has nothing to do with that. It states the rules of how non combatants are to be treated in conflicts. Maybe you mean the Hague conventions, but even they only are for land combat. (I thought of the Hague convetions too, but then realized that in the german name for it "Haager Landkriegsordnung" It already says Land-war-arragement" so nothing about combat on the sea)

[@Dustieno]

I doubt the English would complain about a gentleman pirate, considering all the privateers they unleashed

[@ludoxz]

I mean even Churchil gave a shout out to Rommel so youre probably right

[@stevebobmcjocksock4021]

UK: Piracy is punishable by death Also UK: ...unless you have a licence for it

[@cleveland2286]

@@stevebobmcjocksock4021 you got a license for that genocide m8?

[@sidneywestcomb2994]

They also had to hunt them down when they tried to disband then

[@joshuahudson2170]

@@stevebobmcjocksock4021 It was the law. The license is known as a letter of marque, but in this case not even needed as the captain was a German Naval Officer.

[@mariocolby3432]

Sidney: what’s your secret code? Kormoran: I’m gonna do what’s called a pro gamer move.

[@Mofix5252]

@Mariocolby Late but whatever. could you please at least look at how to spell the names of some places and ships. fyi it is spelled as Sydney not Sidney. I hope you have a good day/night.

[@colbyuetake130]

Komoran: **shoots back** boring conversation anyway

[@foo219]

Well I mean, winning by stalling for time is pretty standard.

[@alexfrank1831]

Honor to the crew of the HMAS Sidney, may they rest in peace.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Don't forget the Kormoran's crew. They might have violated war crimes by doing sneak attacks like what's depicted in the video, but they still deserve peace all the same.

[@alexlanning712]

RIP

[@darrenjpeters]

At least spell it right, you muppet. It's S Y D N E Y.

[@darrenjpeters]

@@michaelandreipalon359 Flying a false flag was considered a legitimate ruse of war at the time, as long as you showed your true colours before opening fire. No war crimes here.

[@jamesdunn9609]

@@darrenjpeters The Allies did the same thing by converting merchant ships in to anti-submarine platforms in the Atlantic. The U-boats would be baited in to attack, only to find their "prey" had deck guns!

[@herwinladres3659]

What a madlad. Killing the ship but rescuing the crew.

[@julonkrutor4649]

That is wath you are suppost to do. Most german U-Boots did it to until the Allies stared useing armed cargoships as traps. They signaled the Cargoship to surrender, toke the crew and sunk the ship - with exeptions. Then the armed cargoships come along. They said they would surrender, waited for the U-Boot to come close and shoot it. Thats why donitz ordered the U-boots to sink the cargoships without risking the U-boot ^^

[@Exodon2020]

@@julonkrutor4649 There was only one case of a U-Boat engaging in immediate rescue attemps: When U-156 sunk the former British Ocean Liner turned Auxiliary Cruiser RMS Laconia. They took lifeboats in tow, catered to injured suvivors and sent out calls for assistance on open radio channels, offering safe conduct to every ship in the vircinity that was willing to help. An American Bomber Squadron stationed on a nearby island responded by sending a bomber so the effort had to be abandoned. I mean, sure: The U-Boat was still a valid target and sinking it was paramount for the Allied War Effort but following through with the attack whilst it was being surrounded by hundreds of Allied (mostly Polish) soldiers, Italian POWs and even British Civilians was still pretty reckless to say the least. There were multiple other cases where survivors were given provision or asked for their callsign so an SOS could be sent out though. But these mostly stopped after the Laconia-incident.

[@darrenjpeters]

@@julonkrutor4649 No room on a U Boat for prisoners, mate. I'm sorry but that's incorrect.

[@notsosconnyguy2040]

@@julonkrutor4649 Isn’t fake surrendering a war crime?

[@julonkrutor4649]

@@notsosconnyguy2040 that is the point.

[@sturmtruppe70]

Daaamn, i was never really into the naval warfare during world war 2 but this video just changed my opinion. Time to grab some books about it. Thanks Front for doing that research! :)

[@TheFront]

We have another video on the Battle of the Atlantic!

[@sturmtruppe70]

Oh thats even better. Time to watch it :D

[@lonniebailey4989]

@@sturmtruppe70 There is a game about the Battle of the Atlantic called Atlantic Fleet if you’re interested. It’s on both PC and Mobile Phones. You have a normal campaign mode, a Single Battle mode where you can either create your own What If scenario or recreate a historical engagement, and my favorite, the dynamic Battle of the Atlantic campaign mode.

[@strangeloveforthatbomb]

@Sturmtruppe 70 Look up the battle between the USS Borie and U-405, you will not regret it. Spoiler alert: An American gun captain kills a German sailor with 5in. casing, another American sailor lights a German on fire with a flare gun, and a third sailor throws a knife which impales a German in the stomach. One of the most amazing stories of WWII, it may seem unbelievable at some parts but is heavily documented.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

I would recommend Drachinifel for more naval warfare.

[@cdbtheclaw]

It is really sad to know that many of the Sydney crew would have been saved if the last shots wouldn't have hit the Kormoran.

[@Schimml0rd]

Oh wow, that's kinda deep

[@joshanmarcusyuanregencia345]

Game: Stealth required Captain Detmers: No problem

[@LORD_NULL]

Sounds like my dream job. Boss: "I don't care what you do, as long as you go cause trouble and annoy the hell out of the enemy" Me: "Yipee Kai Yay MFer!"

[@shubaduck2533]

Hell yeah

[@loreofthecosmos]

'-stolen a piano-'

[@TheFront]

Top tier plays!

[@arsevillian6816]

Top ten piano moments

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Can't believe WW2 German sailors actually did this nonsense...

[@darrenjpeters]

@@michaelandreipalon359 Pretty boring at sea in the 40's, especially when you are a commerce raider who can't enter port. I imagine a piano was great for singalongs.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

@@darrenjpeters Hope they played nice tunes before the end came for their ship.

[@samkangal8428]

If i was an American i would say"God bless and thank you for your service" But i'm German , so i just say "I admire him "

[@abhijitsinghsidhu-jaid5578]

I will say that. And the only reason why he was sitting for most of the photos is because of his balls of steel.

[@tomjustis7237]

I AM an American, and I admire him as well! Courage, skill and humanity all in one man.

[@samkangal8428]

@@abhijitsinghsidhu-jaid5578 Yes , he had balls of steel , but we've been wrong ,that's why i don't say that .I don't say they haven't be brave soldiers or good fighters.

[@samkangal8428]

@@tomjustis7237 That's cool.

[@CRAIGKMSBISMARCKTIRPITZ533]

I'm Part German

[@ktipuss]

Captain Detmers was repatriated back to Germany from Australia in 1947. His wiki entry incorrectly states that he was held prisoner in "HM Prison Dhurringile". It is a minimum security prison now but wasn't then; it was a German internment camp back in 1941. He did try to escape from the POW camp but go returned after 7 days on the run in rural Victoria. His Australian Military Record notes him being promoted to Kapitan zur See on 1/4/1943.

[@neilc7101]

According to Captain Detmers in his book “ The Raider Kormoran” , The monkey did survive the sinking and was actually rescued with the crew. On arrival in Australia he was seized and shot by quarantine authorities. The 2 dogs on the Kormoran both went down with the ship.

[@glorifiedcouch648]

NOT THE DOGS

[@Hellsong89]

@@glorifiedcouch648 NOT THE MONKEY

[@jaybird1229]

@@glorifiedcouch648 Call PETA!!! Bastards!!

[@aaraar4055]

Looks like Detmer was the only gentleman around. Poor monkey and RIP dogs.

[@ace74909]

at least cook the monkey

[@shotgunsniper1530]

That reminds me of "The pirates of the Kaiser" with the SMS Wolf and it's "Wölfchen" (Floatplane)

[@niklnik1008]

This honestly needs to go into a movie production. And I'm talking "das Boot" level movie accuracy here.

[@lonniebailey4989]

I’m so early Poland wasn’t carved up by Hitler and Stalin.

[@TheFront]

That's pretty early.

[@akumaking1]

@@TheFront or by Russia, Austria, and Prussia

[@Matthew-Anthony]

@Josh You know about the triple annexation of Poland-Lithuania?

[@akumaking1]

@@Matthew-Anthony I took advanced history in high school (among other things)

[@justcallmemark3217]

I swear, this feels like straight up from a fanfiction novel... I LIKE IT

[@joshuatumambo5674]

Reminds me of Master and Commander when the HMS Surprise surprised the French frigate Acheron at the final battle

[@benwilson6145]

You should read about the man who they based that on, Admiral Lord Cochrane.

[@folgore1]

I've viewed other videos about the battle between the Sydney and the Kormoran. In some, one could still see some bitterness on the part of Australians who believed that a war crime had been committed. By covering the career of the Kormoran in its entirety, this video effectively counters this viewpoint. Detmers acted in a civilized manner toward the crews of previous ships they had sunk, I doubt they failed to raise the German flag right before firing the first shot. Sneaky, perhaps, but definitely not a war crime.

[@shanemize3775]

What a magnificent tale of the sea, indeed! The German captain and his proud ship and crew were more something from the Great War than from WWII, no? Such honor and daring was out of place, except in the naval services, or so it seems to this sailor looking back. By the way, you mentioned that the German crew was picked up, but you didn't say who rescued them, whether their captain was among them, or what their fate was at the end of the war. Still, a fantastic video, as always. Well done, my friend. Keep the outstanding videos coming and God bless you and your team, mate!

[@kirkc9643]

using a false flag is hardly a thing of honor and daring...it is cowardice and should be a war crime.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

...What's up with that spam comment involving cryptocurrency? I've been seeing that lately.

[@kirkc9643]

​@@greengregs1641 what a coincidence...you and your other scammer mate joined youtube within the last week

[@kirkc9643]

@@tomorrow4359 what a coincidence...you and your other scammer mate joined youtube within the last week

[@Kickbag730]

@@kirkc9643 its a strategy and was used by pirates and navy raiders for ages. it is also only a warcrime if you attack the enemy while showing their flag but as far as i know detmers changed to the flag of the Kriegsmarine before attacking. Also the Honor part is saving the enemy sailors and the daring part is the use of disguise in enemy waters with a ship wich has no armor and has the armament of a small destroyer, wich means if they find you youre dead.

[@WesleyKokonoot]

You should do another of these videos about Felix von Luckner and the SMS Seeadler! Great video!!

[@dr.steveturley4269]

𝑰𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 ¢𝒓𝒚𝒑𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒚 platform 𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏 ω𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑 + /I /2 /O/ 9/ 3/ 9/ I /O /8 /9/ 3...

[@freds5520]

Lets all appreciate the sailor who saved the monkey before leaving the ship 😇 Hope it survived 🙏🏻

[@nn_oogermany]

For sure one of the most interesting stories of WW2

[@RayV-c7q]

10:29, its unclear if Detmer's monkey survived My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined

[@Teichbukkanier]

Im sure he did

[@CatsEyethePsycho]

„ I pulled a sneaky on ya“.

[@TheFront]

The Spy is proud!

[@HerrZhukov]

When I first saw this title, I thought it would be about the Graf Spee.

[@nbikk]

Same

[@samspeed6271]

Same here.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Hmm, a video about that ship would be nice.

[@Doyle-]

Same use but different tactics

[@jazrobean1]

I have read books about all the German raiders of WWI and WWII - - excellent stuff. This is nicely done - thanks

[@walterbar3118]

I think every German merchant raider basicly deserves his own video. As a boy I had the book "Schiff 16" (Ship 16) telling the story of the merchant raider "Atlantis". This inspired me to buy "Der Seeteufel" (Seadevil) by Count Luckner, that was Captain Rogge's favorite book. The seadevil is the remarkable story of the pirate adventures of the SMS Seeadler. The last sailing ship used as merchant raider during world war one. Even though this book has to be counted (partially) as fiction, tough Count Luckner was sometimes spinning a yarn. I would love if you would do a video on the Seeadler, Mopelia and the Count.

[@natehill8069]

The british also had them in both acts of the world war. They called them Q-ships. Since the rules of war at the time required U-boats to surface (thereby pissing away 90% of the value of a submarine - surprise) and warn the ship before they attacked; the british would pretend to be helpless merchant ships, then when the submarine surfaced to warn them and allow the crew to escape, they would unmask the guns and blast the U-boat. Which pretty much ended the "allow the crew to escape before attacking" thing.

[@dingbat4]

Stealth: +100 Deception: +100 Initiative: +100 Respect: +100 Piano: +1? MONKE: +1? Shapeshifting: unlocked Ambush: unlocked Chinese laundromat: +4

[@steveshoemaker6347]

There was no BS in this one.....Excellent thanks...!

[@TheFront]

Thanks!

[@seamy8959]

Amazing video as always!

[@TheFront]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ktheterkuceder6825]

Germany had its rambos: Heinrich Severloh,Fritz Christen,Eric Hartman, Hans UlrichRudel,Kurt Knispel and now this guy.

[@NovaTrap1312]

Dont forget about Günther Prien. Sneaked into Scapa Flow and sunk the HMS Royal Oak.

[@yxx_chris_xxy]

If you are looking for a WW2 Rambo on the German side, it's surely Otto Skorzeny.

[@ktheterkuceder6825]

@@yxx_chris_xxy He was a pole. He doesn't count.

[@jvad007]

This story reminds me a lot of the SMS Emden and her career in Indian Ocean during the first world war.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

This event is basically the Emden's story coincidentally repeated. Heck, the WW1 Emden also fought another HMAS Sydney (except the WW1 Sydney won, though, as you might have noticed).

[@sharrpshooter1]

You know how everyone has always thought about being a pirate back in the 1600-1700s, this man actually got to do it, and in a more modern area too. Honestly what a fucking champ

[@Drunkbritishguy]

The Kormoran: has brig Detmers: i can fit so many prisoners in here Tbh feel sorry for the chefs

[@williamcote4208]

If I remember correctly from Drachinifel’s video on German raiders… the crew were mostly civilians volunteers, same thing for the entire fleet of commerce raiders.

[@samspeed6271]

Communique to German high command from Kormorant. Subject: Indian ocean list of conquests: Ships sunk = 3; oil tankers stolen = 1; prisoners from ships = 123; pianos = 1 Interesting video. Thought it would be on Graf Spee when I saw the title, because the captain on Graf Spee did pretty much the same thing including rescuing sailors from the ships they'd just sunk. Sounds like a decent chap to rescue the sailors from the ship he'd just sunk, many would've left them to drown or worse. And you know the prisoners were treated well when they give the captain the pet monkey as a thank you for rescuing them and being so nice. Also, goes to show how powerful the element of surprise can be; an armed merchant ship sinking a cruiser is impressive, just sad that Sydney was lost with all hands.

[@dingdongblyat6063]

Monkey= 1

[@thelordofcringe]

It's a bit less impressive when you read up on the Kormoran. That thing was legit a cruiser built into a merchant hull. It was almost as heavily armed as Sydney and very well armored. It didn't sink purely by being outlcassed by Syndey, it's pure luck that Sydney's shots hit just perfectly to doom the ship hours and hours later.

[@shaftoe195]

_That's gotta be the best pirate I have ever heard of..._

[@michaelwackers6475]

Our revered English teacher, an Afrika Korps tank commander captured by the Australians shared the pow camp with the survivors of Kormoran's crew. He would keep us enthralled with the story of Kormoran's encounter with HMS Sydney as recounted by Kommoran's survivors.

[@mikeschlau4501]

Sidney's crew made one mistake, they got much too close to the Kormoran. Otherwise, the German ship's weapons wouldn't have make such damage against the cruiser. Even heavily damaged the Australian ship destroyed the Kormoran with a few hits.

[@darrenjpeters]

Another muppet. It's spelt S Y D N E Y. Jesus, is it so hard to Google?

[@mikeschlau4501]

@@darrenjpeters 😢😢😭😭

[@devonlord99]

@@mikeschlau4501 don’t mind him. Everyone makes a spelling mistake from time to time.

[@stevenobrien557]

Extreme negligence

[@darrenjpeters]

@@devonlord99 Only if they don't review their comment before they post it.....

[@natehill8069]

The Germans had like a dozen of these things in WWII. Atlantis, Pinguin, Stier, Thor IIRC. Very effective because they didnt need resupply, they lived off what they captured. Eventually they were pretty much all sunk because they werent really warships but they all sank like 10x their own weight in shipping first. The Captain of the Atlantis, Bernhard Rogge (sp?) wrote a pretty entertaining book of his exploits.

[@Betterhose]

Kormoran - the SMS Emden vol.2 (They did the exact same thing in WW1 with a ship called SMS Emden. The Emden was just as successful and operated in the Indian Ocean, too. They were also known for being gentlemen.)

[@UXB1000]

Not to mention that the SMS Emden was also sunk by the first HMAS Sydney.

[@batouranger2553]

Love your videos! Keep it up!

[@dr.steveturley4269]

𝑰𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 ¢𝒓𝒚𝒑𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒚 platform 𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏 ω𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑 + /I /2 /O/ 9/ 3/ 9/ I /O /8 /9/ 3...

[@pilotmanpaul]

Fuck Battleships, these Freighters were a genius and extremely cost effective means of Naval warfare.

[@johnojeda3900]

You forgot important detail that every time that this ship raids a shipping Bessel or atacks they automatically changes the flag of a ship with the krigsmarin flag

[@oliverbrancourt95]

this story made me cry and the photo of a boot near the wreck

[@yes1770]

I've never heard of this before. I really found this video entertaining!

[@redacted483]

Suprise kill 100+ Gentleman 100+ Piano and monke 100+ Please add more like Profesionals have standard 100+

[@HartDoug]

What do I think? Did Captain Dettmer break the ‘Rules of Naval Warfare? Well, since German ‘U-Boats’ began ‘unrestricted warfare’ against their enemies in World War I, no, I do not think his sinking the ships of his country’s enemies was wrong (particularly since he was rescuing the survivors as he went along...

[@lonniebailey4989]

I think you typed in the wrong war, but I agree with you.

[@dr.steveturley4269]

𝑰𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 ¢𝒓𝒚𝒑𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒚 platform 𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏 ω𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑 + /I /2 /O/ 9/ 3/ 9/ I /O /8 /9/ 3...

[@AdmiralBlackstar]

@@lonniebailey4989 Actually not. While U-boats became infamous in WW2, they started doing this kind of thing back in WW1. The british complained about it and the Americans who were still neutral asked Germany to cut it out. The Germans then tried to follow "Cruiser rules", i.e. stop a ship, board them, and if they carried contraband, then they could confiscate or scuttle the vessel as needed. But then the Brits were total d-cks about it and broke out Q-ships, not unlike this commerce raider in concept, that would open fire on U-boats that surfaced and tried to follow cruiser rules. The Germans were naturally like "well eff that" and went back to unrestricted warfare against commerce vessels, since if the Brits refused to play nice, they weren't going to risk their necks doing so. However the Americans were unhappy with that and would be one of the factors that drove them to join the war. In WW2 they(the german u-boat) used to try to lend aid to ships they sank too until they came under fire from enemy attacks one too many times.

[@lonniebailey4989]

@@AdmiralBlackstar Oh. I knew about U-boat uses in WWI, but I thought you mistyped WWII as WWI. That’s my bad. Not being disrespectful. Every once in a while, I like a good history lesson.

[@kirkc9643]

Regardless, using a false flag is cowardly and should be a war crime

[@kylemorris1484]

My grandfather was on the Kormoran. He was a PoW in Australia.

[@devonlord99]

I hope he enjoyed his stay.

[@kylemorris1484]

@@devonlord99 He came back with his young family after the war.

[@TheAndresun]

I am always impressed to see, that there were so many gentleman’s during those times. And many on the German side. War is the worst possible thing to happen, but luckily if there is a guy like him around.

[@Wolfsschanze99]

The rest of the story is a beauty, Detmers & his first officer were in the Officers POW camp near Tatura country Vic when they escaped, stopping at a shop near Tongala if I remember, asked for directions to Geelong, the shop owner suspecting their German accents rang the Police & they were promptly arrested, it was around this time that for several months a U Boat was spotted several times off Geelong, it wasn't until after the War that a Tunnel was found in the POW camp & had a home made 2 way Radio inside, they estimated the range to at least Batavia (Jakarta) & realised they had been in communication's with the Japanese, it was then the penny dropped & the U boat was there to rescue Detmers.

[@callumkay5025]

He saved survivors where ever he could. He was a pirate and he had a monkey. He was a good guy

[@romantitus9903]

Lion - cute harmless mouse Mouse - that’s cute Lion - holy shit! This thing is a dragon! Mouse - fire, crunch and a burp lol

[@kylewyler2290]

Hell yeah. Awesome video

[@riversword2660]

I’m a huge fan of this story. So thanks for making this video

[@MidlandTexan]

Wow, what an intriguing story.

[@FeelFree3]

Element of surprise is damn powerful.

[@jeffm1381]

There is actually really good book called Sea Raider Atlantis which is a first hand account of the most successful raider ship

[@stuarthay3888]

Another interesting commerce raider was the Confederate States vessel, Alabama. Wreaked havoc worldwide until sunk in the English Channel.

[@boyteebah3794]

dietmar just received the ‘rank does not matter’ award

[@culturalliberator9425]

Germany: "Just because you don't see my ships doesn't mean they aren't there."

[@Of_Your_Volition]

This was a pretty cool strategy that the Germans used

[@vinnyganzano1930]

If I saw this happen in a movie I'd be throwing my popcorn at the screen, just goes to prove the old adage "truth is stranger than fiction". Absolutely no problem with Kormoran's use of false colours prior to combat, it was a tactic used by British naval officers in the Napoleonic era to great effect.

[@JJE2010MO]

What a great story! Thanks!

[@ironcell26]

Kormoran invented the Mr. Worldwide award

[@waffles4322]

My grandpa had an orangutan on his PBR in Vietnam. He hated it, the crew loved it lol

[@keighlancoe5933]

This was a surprisingly effective tactic. Imagine if they didn't bother building a Navy and just used thousands of commerce raiders instead, it would be alot cheaper and maybe, more effective

[@geoffbarney5914]

Great as always

[@heidirichter]

I knew which German ship this was referring to before I even clicked the video. My great-grandfather's brother was on board the HMAS Sydney when it was sank. R.I.P. Arthur John Richter.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

My condolences to you and the relatives of the other sailors...

[@victoriafelix5932]

My maternal grandfather, Leading Cook John William Fisher, served also on the Sydney. I think of him each day, every day, and think of how both his service and death have affected my life and my family's lives. And so, may both of our relatives rest forever, forever comrades, forever brothers in arms, forever in peace.

[@edjacobs6897]

My 2 nd cousin Cornelius ( Con) Francis Smith also . RIP all

[@Editzsbyunemployed]

First time I heard about Commerce Raiders. Good video man keep it up

[@toptiergaming6900]

imagine that when the ship was disguised as a soviet ship it was sunk by a U-boat.

[@lonniebailey4989]

Friendly Fire will not be tolerated.

[@Fred_the_1996]

The ussr wasn't at war with germany at the time

[@DarmacQ]

great video

[@brokenbridge6316]

This was a really fun n interesting story to listen too. I liked it a lot. Hey can you do a video on "The Russian Dunkirk." It's another little-known incident from WWII that gets almost no attention.

[@xGoodOldSmurfehx]

whoa, that IS indeed sneakier than Uboats Commonwealth: oh hello civilian cargo ship Detmer: Unz, open ze artillery ports and say hello Brits: :O Canada: (O.O) Aussies: >:O Kiwis: >_> you know what? im thinking i might actually even laugh in admiration if i was the captain of a military ship that encountered a seemingly civilian cargo ship that suddenly magically deploys artillery

[@paulcool4384]

Great video !

[@HowaboutFrank]

I couldn’t unhear “Captain deadmau5”. Added an extra dimension to the video. 👍

[@AussieVet]

Well done Gerry's, caught us out but eventually we got ya !

[@WAJK2030]

There should be a movie about this ship and its advisaries.

[@dougwells1477]

Check out the 1960 movie "Under 10 Flags".

[@acediasteffson7912]

Enjoyed Your video 😂😂😂 Stolen a piano 😂 Priceless

[@bobns509]

What Demters has manage to do with a weak ship with a scrapped guns from WW1 ships to a ship stronger in every sense of Military comparison is unbelievable. Detmers is a real Hero, Master of the Sea and Noble Gentleman!

[@ottokiehl5413]

This story sounds very much like the story of "SMS Seeadler", commanded by Felix, Graf (Count) Luckner in WW1. He sunk a bunch of ships, with the loss of only one life.

[@SirHaviland]

That one was even more impressing since the "Seeadler" was a 3 mast tall ship with an auxiliary engine, not a steamer. I liked reading Luckners book about his life that included this journey.

[@ottokiehl5413]

@@SirHaviland I got the book as a present when I was a teenager. I've re-read it several times.

[@Radio49point7FM]

A great suggestion would be the story of either Teddy Sheean or HMAS Yarra

[@travisreed1730]

4:46 "Arrrggh, it be not parrot, but it'll do."

[@Mimu1983]

"NOW THE MONKEY IN HIS SHOULDER...." I genuinely cracked up.

[@magentaman7639]

I cannot help but admire the ingenuity of German engineering, even when it was used for global domination.

[@horaciolongbottom2556]

We had a line throwing gun mounted over the bar at HMAS HUON in Hobart. Always thought of this sneaky act when I looked at it.

[@indianajones4321]

Awesome job

[@TheFront]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@dr.steveturley4269]

𝑰𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 ¢𝒓𝒚𝒑𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒚 platform 𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏 ω𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑 + /I /2 /O/ 9/ 3/ 9/ I /O /8 /9/ 3.

[@SamGrey]

Attention..... sergeant on deck!!!! 😂👍