Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, The Lansing Papers, 1914–1920, Volume I

851.857 Su 8/58½

The French Ambassador (Jusserand) to the Secretary of State

Washington, April 14, 1916.

My Dear Mr. Secretary: I send you herewith a translation of a telegr[am] just received.

My Govt asks that, for the time being, no publicity be given to such information in it which is not public as yet.

Believe me [etc.]

Jusserand

You may have noticed that yesterday’s papers (e. g. the N. Y. Times) had a telegr[am] from Berlin stating that the Prussian order “Pour le Mérite” had been conferred on “Lieut. Otto Steinbrinck, the commander of a submarine.”

[Enclosure—Telegram—Translation]

A German submarine has been sunk by an Anglo-French naval force in the English Channel, on the 5th inst. It has been possible to save the officers and crew.

The answers made by the prisoners when examined have fully confirmed the information in our possession in accordance with which the author of the torpedoing of the Sussex, on March 24th, was the German submarine U. B. 18. This vessel was under command of Lt. Commander Steinbrinck.

The same U. B. 18 had sunk near Havre, on March 22nd, the English freighter Kelvin-Vank and the Swedish one Kanik.