"Saved By A U-Boat" - The Laconia Incident told from survivors

[Lt.Fillipidis]

Originally Posted by Randomizer

On 20 September 1914 U-9 (KK Otto Weddigen) torpedoed the Cressy Class armoured cruiser HMS Aboukir off the Dutch coast. Aboukir's accompanying sisters HMS Hogue and HMS Cressy stopped to rescue Aboukir's crew believing she had struck a mine. Weddigen then torpedoed Hogue and Cressy in quick succession, most of Cressy's crew were killed since all of her boats and rafts were already in the water. Over 1400 British sailors were killed, many young reservists and new recruits.

The incident you describe was commited legaly since not HMS Hogue nor HMS Cressy were flying a Red Cross flag, nor they had been rescuing civilians.
They were warships that had been rescuing combatants hence eligible for attack.
Speaking purely out of experience from other similar incidents.

Now, on the Laconia incident besides the Red Cross flag, the American High Command was already informed about the situation and the German effort to save civilian lives but still the order was given for the bomber to attack.

Besides that, i agree with you that hyperbolic comments about war crimes add nothing to the discussion but we all know that many allied war crimes were either covered up, taken lightly or even never reached the surface since the victorious force had the power to blame everything to the defeated. And i think thats what Snestorm is trying to say.