21/11/1918 The German fleet sails into captivity

Under the terms of the armistice the German fleet is to be interned by the Allies. The U-boats have already sailed to Harwich in England and now today the German surface fleet sails to the Firth of Forth in Scotland, from there to travel on to the main British naval base at Scapa Flow in the Orkneys. Unlike the U-boats, whose crews were returned to Germany, the surface ships will retain their German crews while they are in Scapa Flow; although effectively under British confinement they will not be prisoners-of-war as such and the sailors will remain under their own command.
The German fleet sails under the command of Rear-Admiral Ludwig von Reuter; Admiral Hipper, the fleet’s commander-in-chief, delegated the distasteful task of leading the fleet into captivity. The German ships are escorted by the main British battle fleet, making this the largest gathering of warships the world has…