A diary of a German naval officer and a picture... Lot 10559

A diary of a German naval officer and a picture by Claus Bergen on the Battle of the Skagerrak in 1916 Typewritten diary with over 100 unpaginated pages of text, probably from the 1920s, including 24 pages on the naval battle off the Skagerrak (31.5. - 1.6.1916), containing precise, relivable descriptions of the situation ("... then the ship receives a terrible blow, so that my apparatuses fly upwards. I note: 7 o'clock 12 minutes, apparently hit aft. And right, a 30.5 cm shell had hit the casemate armor of the B.B.6. gun, put the gun out of action and detonated our ammunition"). The following pages are titled "U-Bootsfahrten im Sperrgebiet um England auf UC 11 und UC 64. November 1917 - June 1918". The author must be the commander of UC 11 (Bruges, 16.11.1917: "Now I am a proud submarine commander and will not trade places with any king, because I am now a little king myself ..."). Vivid description of encounters with enemy aircraft and ships, procedures, sensitivities during operations on the Dutch and English coasts. All bound in blue paperback (dimensions 29 x 23 x 1 cm, partly rubbed, faded). Comes with a large-format color print on cardboard (dimensions 53 x 76 cm), titled lower right "Skagerrak! Claus Bergen 1916" and on the left "Claus Bergen Wilhelmshaven 1916". Impressive depiction of firing naval guns and the impact of enemy shells. Signs of use and age. Detailed eyewitness report and masterly color depiction. Condition: II