READING 05 1917 in Halifax NS.

Chapter 31

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax Explosion December 5, 1917

The Imo was anchored on the western side of the Bedford Basin Harbour. It was just as all the planning had arranged. Years of work from the Kaiser’s spy network had been tightly organized. Today was the day. Every cell team was in place. Each member of his network had gone over every detail that was expected of them. Back up plans were all in place. Each slow second was ticking towards a successful mission. The German cells were well organized on the Halifax and Dartmouth shores. Marta had gone to each group herself to complete her final instructions from New York through Boston and through out the shorelines of Nova scotia their well tuned telegraph finger men were actively in places. It had taken her and William years to organize the plot that was happening during these last few days. Zimmerman’s teams had been as useful as the Kaiser had promised. The day of action was upon them. The Imo was in position in the Bedford Basin exactly where it could see through the narrows of the entrance to the . It sat patiently, near the western shore of the Bedford Basin. The harbour hummed in its lazy daily activities. “We will be off soon; the ship is in top ship order, sir,” John Johansen, the Imo’s Helmsman said, smiling at Captain Haakon From. The captain smirked back. “Ya, sure! If we get coaled up in time.” The captain was generally a jovial spirit with an even temperament. He was a native of Norway. He was a former whaler and had spent more than twenty-five years at sea. The last twelve years as captain. He had been up to Antarctica twice. His home town of Sandefjord was a small port in the Vestfold county of Norway. Sandefjord was known for its rich Viking history and the prosperous whaling industry, which made it the richest city in Norway. Sandefjord was a famous health resort, with various kinds of baths for health improvement. Among these were salt water sea baths, mud, and sulphur baths. It drew many visitors, including royalty throughout Europe. Since 1850, several ships from Sandefjord were whaling and sealing in the Arctic Ocean and along the coast of Finland. Haakon From had been the captain of the Imo for the Belgian Relief Commission since the beginning of 1917. It had made several crossings of the Atlantic with no problems. Her last port of call in the United States was Philadelphia, where they loaded up with grain. The Imo had a layover to complete repairs to her boiler and engine room. At noon one day, the captain slipped out of the harbour without paying the nine thousand dollars owed to Schmaal Engineering works, the firm that serviced the vessel. The company lawyer, William M. Harris, and company president, Gustav Schmaal, boarded the vessel before it slipped out of the port. Captain From refused to talk to them, let alone pay them. Mr. Schmaal stayed on board and Mr. Harris went ashore to file a liable action against the vessel. Schmaal was taken by the captain into his private cabin, where he beat him severely. Schmaal barely escaped with his life. A US American patrol vessel brought the Imo to a halt. After being taken into Christtiana Creek, the Imo was forced to tie up before a court action bond was completed to release the vessel. It took several days before the squabble and court actions could be completed. After the court battle, the Imo was off to Europe. On 3 of December, with a crew of thirty-nine, the Imo returned to Halifax in ballast after delivering the grain to Rotterdam in Holland. After a stopover in Halifax, she had been given orders to go to New York and pick up a cargo of supplies to take back to Europe. The Imo was a neutral ship and therefore had been cleared by both Canadian naval and customs authorities in Halifax. Johansen had joined the vessel in Rotterdam. The Kaiser had the arrangements in place years in advance. He told Captain From to replace the last helmsman that had just ended his career. Captain From was glad to receive him because not only were the new helmsman’s papers quite impressive but he also came from a small village just outside of the captain’s hometown. Over the years, the Kaiser’s spy had developed numerous groups of agents in Halifax, the surrounding area and throughout Nova Scotia. The German cells existed from Yarmouth through to the Sydney areas of Cape Breton. Each cell was in a group of four, but in each cell, one of its members was part of a second cell. In this fashion, not all cell members were aware of all other members of the large group of highly trained secret agents. He had developed networks in the British Intelligent Headquarters in Military District 6, and had trained a group of telegraph wire tappers, a group photographing the port areas covering all perceptions from land and sea. He had integration into the port pilot group work team. Johansen had a complete knowledge of how the workings of the ship movements were taking place throughout the harbour on a daily basis, and knowledge of which companies were supplying the various vessels. He had well placed members in the train companies and ship loading companies. His teams at this time had vessels in Halifax, a secret telegraph and flag system setup from Point Pleasant Park to Dartmouth, and on the high ground of the Halifax landscape. He had established a team along the eastern coast starting from Pennet Point in Halifax all the way down to Boston in the United States. Other German cells were active in Newfoundland, the French Islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, and at various entrance points into the St. Lawrence on the northern New Brunswick border and on the Quebec side of the St. Lawrence River. Codes had been developed and used over the past number of years. The local newspapers writers, taverns and various ladies of the night were awash with liquored information. Information flowed freely. To track anything down to a clear source was as easy as asking the old Atlantic question: ‘Who’s your father’s father?’ More than once, information came through the numerous local newspapers along the Atlantic coast. His best source of reliable information always came from the continual misinformation the military was controlling, with the knowledgeably delight that there was no real cooperation between the Navy and the Port Authorities of the Halifax Harbour. The headquarters of the Canadian Naval Intelligence was sitting on the Niobe, which the citizens of Halifax had labelled ‘The hotel’. He had a daily watch on its comings and goings. The British had its Naval Intelligence unit over in Newfoundland. He was quite aware that the Canadian Military Headquarters in Ottawa had no idea that the two intelligence gathering groups we’re not sharing resources with each other. At 2:30, the special clearance officer, Arthur G. Lovett, received custom house clearance papers for the Imo from naval control. Lovett had already reported to the guard ship HMCS Acadia. The Imo was informed of its clearance and the Kaiser’s team sprang into action. Each cell intertwined their processed aged trained actions. Everything was a go. Even the seagulls sensed the tension. But one thing was missing: the SS Mont-Blanc.