Prince Eitel Friedrich a cikin sabis na masu zaman kansu
Yarima Eitel Friedrich har yanzu yana karkashin tutar Kaiser, amma tuni Amurkawa suka mamaye shi. Ana iya ganin makaman manyan bindigogi a kan benen. Hoton Harris da Ewing/Library of Congress
A ranar 31 ga Yuli, 1914, an karɓi saƙo daga ƙasar kan jirgin fasinja Prinz Eitel Friedrich a Shanghai. Ya yi magana game da bukatar sauke dukkan fasinjojin da ke Shanghai da barin wasiku, bayan haka jirgin zai je birnin Qingdao da ke kusa, wani sansanin sojojin Jamus a arewa maso gabashin China.
Prinz Eitel (8797 BRT, mai jirgin ruwa na Norddeutscher Lloyd) ya isa Qingdao (yau Qingdao) a cikin Qiauchou Bay (yau Jiaozhou) a ranar 2 ga Agusta, kuma a can kyaftin na jirgin, Karl Mundt, ya sami labarin cewa an shirya mayar da tawagarsa zuwa gayyata. jirgin ruwa mai saukar ungulu. Aiki ya fara nan da nan - jirgin yana sanye take da bindigogi 4 105 mm, biyu a baka da baya a bangarorin biyu, da bindigogi 6 88-mm, biyu a kowane gefe a kan bene a bayan mashin baka kuma daya a bangarorin biyu na mast na baya. Bugu da kari, an shigar da bindigogi 12 37 mm. Jirgin ruwan yana dauke da tsofaffin kwale-kwalen Iltis, Jaguar, Luchs da Tiger, wadanda aka kwace a Qingdao daga 1897 zuwa 1900. A lokaci guda, an maye gurbin ma'aikatan - kwamandan Luchs, kwamandan wani laftanar, ya zama sabon kwamandan naúrar. Maxi-
Milian Tjerichens da kyaftin na yanzu Prinz Eitel sun ci gaba da kasancewa a cikin jirgin a matsayin mai tuƙi. Bugu da ƙari, wani ɓangare na ma'aikatan jirgin daga Lux da Tigr sun shiga cikin ma'aikatan, ta yadda adadin mambobinsa ya kusan ninka sau biyu idan aka kwatanta da abubuwan da aka tsara a lokacin zaman lafiya.
Sunan wannan Reich mail steamer, wanda aka yi niyya don hidima a Gabas mai Nisa, an ba shi ɗan na biyu na Sarki Wilhelm II - Prince Eitel Friedrich na Prussia (1883-1942, babban janar a ƙarshen karni na 1909 AD). Ya kamata a ambata cewa matarsa, Princess Zofia Charlotte, bi da bi, shi ne majiɓincin jirgin ruwa na makaranta, jirgin ruwan "Princess Eitey Friedrich", wanda aka gina a XNUMX, wanda aka fi sani da mu a matsayin "Kyautar Pomerania".
A ranar 6 ga Agusta, Prince Eitel ya tashi tafiyar sa ta sirri. Aikin farko na jirgin ruwa na taimako shi ne haɗawa da tawagar jiragen ruwan Jamus ta Gabas mai nisa, wanda Vadm ya umarta. Maximilian von Spee, sa'an nan kuma a matsayin wani ɓangare na jiragen ruwa masu sulke Scharnhorst da Gneisenau da kuma jirgin ruwa mai haske Nuremberg. Da wayewar gari ranar 11 ga watan Agusta, wannan tawagar ta tsaya kusa da tsibirin Pagan a cikin tsibirin Mariana, kuma a wannan rana ta kasance tare da waɗanda aka gayyace su bisa ga umarnin Vadma. von Spee, 8 samar da jiragen ruwa, da kuma "Prince Eitel" da kuma sanannen mai kula da haske "Emden".
A wani taro da aka gudanar a ranar 13 ga watan Agusta, von Spee ya yanke shawarar tura daukacin tawagar ta ratsa tekun Pasifik zuwa yammacin gabar tekun Kudancin Amurka, Emden ne kawai ya ware daga manyan sojojin da kuma gudanar da ayyukan sirri a cikin tekun Indiya. Daga baya a wannan maraice, ma’aikatan jirgin sun bar ruwan da ke kusa da Pagan, suna yin yadda aka amince da su, kuma Emden ya tashi don ya yi aikin da aka ba shi.
A ranar 19 ga Agusta, tawagar ta tsaya a Enewetok Atoll a tsibirin Marshall, inda jiragen ruwa suka cika da kayayyaki. Bayan kwana uku, Nuremberg ya bar tawagar ya tafi Honolulu, Hawaii, sa'an nan kuma har yanzu tsaka tsaki a Amurka, don aika saƙon ta cikin karamin ofishin jakadancin zuwa Jamus da kuma samun ƙarin umarni, da kuma sake cika man fetur da ya kamata ya samu. Babban mahimmin batu tare da tawagar - sanannen, tsibirin Easter mai ɓoye. Jiragen sama guda biyu da ba kowa a yanzu wanda Amurkawa ke ciki suma sun yi tafiya zuwa Honolulu.
A ranar 26 ga watan Agusta, sojojin Jamus sun kafa sansani a Majuro a tsibirin Marshall. A wannan rana sun haɗu da wani jirgin ruwa mai suna "Kormoran" (tsohon Rasha "Ryazan", wanda aka gina a 1909, 8 x 105 mm L / 40) da 2 ƙarin jiragen ruwa. Sai vadm. von Spee ya umarci duka jiragen ruwa na taimako guda biyu, tare da samar da guda ɗaya, da su gudanar da ayyukan sirri a yankin arewacin New Guinea, sannan su kutsa cikin tekun Indiya kuma su ci gaba da ayyukansu. Dukansu jiragen biyu sun fara zuwa tsibirin Angaur da ke West Carolina da fatan samun kwal a wurin, amma tashar babu kowa. Daga nan sai Prince Eitel ya kalubalanci Malakal zuwa tsibirin Palau da Kormoran zuwa tsibirin Huapu da wannan manufa.
