SMS Gneisenau (1879)
The crew attempted to drop the starboard anchor, but it did not catch in the stony ground. "Gneisenau" was driven into the mole repeatedly, striking it with her stern twice before being turned and pushed bow-first on the starboard side, forcing her aground. A merchant ship attempted to come to the crew's aid, but they were unable to connect a line between the two ships before "Gneisenau" began to list 35 degrees. A boat from shore also attempted to rescue the crew, but it too was forced ashore in the heavy seas. Wave action quickly smashed "Gneisenau"s hull against the mole, and part of her crew attempted to find safety by climbing the rigging. The ship rolled over onto her side, and the surviving crewmen reached shore with a line. Forty-one men were killed in the accident, including Kretschmann and the ship's first officer. "Charlotte" and the British ironclad were sent to aid the wounded. Those killed in the sinking were buried in Málaga's cemetery, and the survivors returned to Germany aboard the HAPAG steamship on 2 January 1901.
SM UB-47
"UB-47"s next success came a week later, on 11 October, when the 5,002-ton British steamer "Crosshill" was sunk west of Malta with the loss of four men. A German military announcement of 20 October proclaiming Steinbauer's sinking of the ship reported that "Crosshill"s cargo included horses and Serbian grooms. The following day, "Sebek", a British ship headed to Alexandria, was torpedoed southeast of Gozo. Although the German Admiralty reported her sunk, "Sebek"s captain was able to ground his ship and prevent it from sinking. On 14 October, "UB-47" sank five small Italian sailing vessels—ranging in size from 32 to 80 tons—near Syracuse, Sicily. The next day, "UB-47" closed out the month of October with the sinking of the Greek steamer "Avis". "UB-47"s tally of sunken ships for the month of October came to 24,776 gross register tons, which accounted for nearly 20% of the total sunk by all German U-boats in the Mediterranean.