Five Months on a German Raider: Being the Adventures of an Englishman Captured by the 'Wolf'

In Short

This first-hand account captures the five-month ordeal of F. G. Trayes, an English educational administrator, and his fellow passengers after their merchant vessel is shelled and captured in late 1917 by the German auxiliary cruiser SMS Wolf. Passed from the raider to its prize ship, the Igotz Mendi, the captives endure tight quarters, dreadful food, and the constant threat of Allied shell-fire or naval mines. The narrative has endured as a rare, intimate civilian record of wartime seamanship, detailing how ordinary men and women navigated captivity across thousands of miles of ocean until an unexpected grounding off the Danish coast secured their freedom.

The Story

In late September 1917, the Japanese steamship Hitachi Maru sails from Ceylon into what its passengers assume are safe, open waters. Without warning, the German commerce raider Wolf intercepts the liner, firing shells that disable the vessel and send its terrified passengers into drifting lifeboats. Trapped mid-ocean, the civilian survivors are pulled aboard the Wolf, where they find an active naval vessel modified to capture merchant shipping and lay mines. The captives, including women and elderly civilians, face immediate uncertainty as they are subjected to strict military rules and the looming threat of being caught in a battle between the raider and Allied warships.

For weeks, the captives are shifted between the Wolf and the captured Hitachi Maru while the Germans dismantle the prize ship for cargo, coal, and equipment. When the Hitachi Maru is eventually destroyed, the prisoners are transferred to another captured Spanish vessel, the Igotz Mendi. Under the command of a small German prize crew, this secondary ship becomes a floating prison-house. The captives endure a punishing voyage through changing climates, living on repetitive rations of canned crab, maggot-infested soup, and stale bread. They watch helplessly as additional Allied and neutral merchant ships are captured or blown up before their eyes.

As the months pass, the German officers maneuver the Igotz Mendi north across the Atlantic, attempting to avoid the Allied blockade. The voyage turns grueling as the ship pushes past the Arctic Circle toward Iceland, negotiating dense fogs, severe gales, and treacherous icefloes that repeatedly strike the hull. Conditions aboard deteriorate, with dwindling drinking water and short rations, while the captives realize they are being taken directly to internment camps in Germany.

Their fate turns unexpectedly off the northern tip of Denmark in late February 1918. Dense fog settles over the Skagerrak, blinding the navigator. The Igotz Mendi runs aground on a sandbar off Skagen, within sight of the shore. Danish lifeboatmen and local authorities intervene, asserting neutral jurisdiction and rescuing the civilians. After months of captivity on the high seas, the survivors are brought ashore to warm hospitality before traveling through Scandinavia and safely returning to England.

How It Unfolds

The voyage begins The Hitachi Maru leaves Colombo under pleasant skies, but two days later the liner is unexpectedly shelled, disabled, and boarded by the German raider Wolf, forcing passengers into lifeboats before taking them captive.

Life aboard the raider The prisoners adapt to restricted quarters and strict daily regulations on the Wolf, watching the German crew overhaul prizes, repair their seaplane, and transfer captured cargo under constant armed guard.

Transferred to the prize ship Before the Hitachi Maru is sunk, the captives are moved to the newly captured Spanish steamer Igotz Mendi, which serves as an auxiliary prison ship following the Wolf across the ocean.

Crossing the Atlantic The prisoners endure months of monotonous, nauseating rations and intense physical discomfort while the raider continues to target, strip, and sink other vessels along its route.

Navigating the Arctic ice Attempting to evade British naval blockades, the prize crew steers the Igotz Mendi through thick fogs and icefields near Iceland, where violent collisions with icebergs leave the passengers in total uncertainty.

Deliverance at Skagen Thick fog causes the Igotz Mendi to run aground on a Danish sandbar, allowing Danish authorities and local lifeboatmen to step in, disarm the German prize crew, and return the exhausted captives to freedom.

The People

• F. G. Trayes – The author, a former educational official returning home from Siam, who acts as a steady observer and spokesperson for his fellow civilian captives. He continually advocates for the safety of the women on board and records the details of their journey.
• Mrs. Trayes – The author's wife, who endures the trauma of the initial shelling, the loss of her personal valuables, and months of harsh maritime captivity alongside her husband.
• Lieutenant Rose – The English-speaking German prize commander assigned to manage the captured ships and prisoners. He remains polite and professional toward the captives, though he strictly enforces military rules and repeatedly misleads them regarding their ultimate destination.
• The Spanish Captain – The original master of the Igotz Mendi, a charming and gentle officer who remains on board after his ship's capture, bewildered by English slang but offering warm reassurance to the prisoners during terrifying ship collisions.
• The Volunteer Ship's Cook – A captured fellow prisoner who agrees to work as the ship's baker under challenging shipboard conditions, supplying the captives with fresh bread that sustains them when the official rations become unpalatable.

In Its Own Voice

"What a sudden, what a dramatic change in our fortunes! One that easily might have been, might even yet be, tragic." Context: The author reflects on his situation while drifting in a lifeboat shortly after the Hitachi Maru is shelled and captured by the Wolf.

"The interests of the Wolf were now, to a certain extent, identical with our own--that we should not meet an Allied cruiser." Context: Trayes describes the grim irony of captivity aboard an enemy warship, where an Allied rescue attempt could result in their own ship being shelled or sunk.

"We had been saved at the eleventh hour, almost the fifty-ninth minute of it; we were almost in German waters, at the very gates of Germany, being due at Kiel the very next day." Context: The author captures the relief of running aground off Denmark just before the prize ship could enter a home German port.

What It's Really About

The book explores the surreal limbo of civilian captivity during wartime, where non-combatants find themselves caught in the machinery of modern naval warfare. It examines how human beings maintain dignity, social cohesion, and resilience when stripped of personal control and subjected to long periods of psychological stress. Trayes highlights the complex personal dynamics between captors and prisoners, showing how professional courtesy and mutual reliance can exist alongside absolute military opposition. Beneath the adventure narrative lies a quiet meditation on chance and providence, detailing how small shifts in weather or navigation can alter human destiny.

Why Read It Today

Five Months on a German Raider offers a direct, unvarnished look at a lesser-known dimension of World War I naval history. Unlike broad military histories, Trayes's account provides a detailed, human-scale perspective on how commerce raiding impacted ordinary travelers. Readers who enjoy maritime survival stories, historical memoirs, or accounts of wartime resilience will find this narrative engaging for its clear, observational style and steady pacing.

The narrative reads smoothly and stays focused on the practical realities of daily existence under constraint. Trayes avoids dramatic exaggeration, preferring grounded descriptions of shipboard routines, food rations, and conversation. Modern readers should note the period perspectives common to early twentieth-century British colonial travel writing, as well as occasional references to outdated wartime terminology. However, these elements do not obscure the memoir's core strength: a genuine, compelling story of endurance and unexpected rescue.