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Enemy Beneath the Waves: The Harwich U-Boat Surrender

At the end of World War One, over 100 German submarines surrended off the Essex coast.

In November 1918, the end of the First World War was marked by a striking spectacle off the coast of Harwich, as more than 100 German U-boats surrendered to Allied forces. Forming a two-mile (three-kilometre) line, the submarines were later met by the Royal Navy and escorted individually into the River Stour estuary. Once a deadly threat, crowds gathered along the shore to witness the defeated fleet.

Stuart Woodward tells the story of this remarkable sight on the Essex coast...

Picture credit: Hulton Archive/Stringer/Getty Images.

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8 minutes

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