Description
GERMANY – POSTCARD – OTTO WEDDIGEN – U-BOOT COMMANDER AND POUR LE MÉRITE WINNER
Otto Weddigen was one of the early heroes of WW I. He was also the first officer of the Kaiserliche Marine to be awarded the Orden Pour le Mérite. He and his small U-9 sank three armored British cruisers (H.M.S. Hooue, HMS Aboukir, and H.M.S. Cressy) in little more than an hour on 22 September 1914. For this exploit he was awarded the 1914 Iron Cross 1st Class (A high ranking award for a war which had begun six weeks earlier.) The Knights with Swords of the Hohenzollern House Order and the Pour le Mérite would follow shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, Weddigen and new command the U-29 were lost when they were rammed by a British battleship.
This postcard shows one of the three British armored cruisers sinking with a large number of British sailors who have fled the sinking vessel. At the bottom of the card we see mention of the U-9 and the three British armored cruisers.
This postcard is in excellent condition and has never been mailed.
