Here are two men of renown, unconventional fighters, asymmetric warriors, guerrilla warfare practitioners on the high seas:
1. Felix von Luckner.
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"Felix von Luckner, a German war hero . . . a German nobleman, navy officer, author and noted sailor who earned the epithet Der Seeteufel (the Sea-Devil) . . . for his exploits in command of the sailing commerce raider SMS Seeadler (Sea Eagle) in 1916-1917"
MOST [?] remembered for his "waging war" without resulting to violence!! Was in the habit of not harming anyone and taking great pains [?] not to do so!!
"It was his habit of successfully waging war without any casualties that made him a hero and a legend on both sides"
The good German!!
Born into German nobility, a graf [count]. NOT - - as a young man - - as a teenager - - taking advantage of his high-born station, but rather, embarking upon "adventures", all beginning at the age of thirteen!
"for seven years [beginning at age 13] followed a bewildering array of occupations":
* "seller of the Salvation Army's 'War Cry'"
* "assistant lighthouse keeper at the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse"
* "kangaroo hunter"
* "circus worker"
* "professional boxer"
* "fisherman"
* "seaman"
* "a guard in the Mexican army for President Díaz"
* "railway construction worker"
* "barman, and tavern keeper"
* "an accomplished magician"
Returning home after a period of "adventure" to lead a more moderate and sedate life:
* [obtained a] "mate's commission [German]." [At the age of twenty]
* "serve[d] "in the Imperial Navy [German] for a year, to obtain a naval commission."
During the Great War [WW1] was appointed to command the German surface raider Seeadler! A command he carried out most successfully, with panache'! Commanding the Seeadler, he being chosen as: "virtually the only officer in the German Navy with extensive experience of large sailing ships"
2. Sterling Hayden. Served during WW2 under the nom de guerre of Lt. Hamilton.
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Lt. Hamilton - - OSS. Better known to the world as Sterling Hayden. The Hollywood actor. And a member of the American clandestine secret service during World War Two.
Hayden, like Luckner, during his teenage years, also led a life of "adventure".
* [Hayden] "ran away to sea at 17"
* "a ship's boy"
* "a fisherman
* [a] "sailor and fireman on larger vessels"
* "sailed around the world several times"
* "awarded his first command at 19"
* [sailed] "from Gloucester, Massachusetts, to Tahiti in 1939."
In particular, Lt. Hamilton, the skipper of an antiquated craft, a sailing vessel, [with auxiliary engine] making numerous dangerous missions in the Adriatic, in furtherance of the allied cause [WW2]. Clandestine operations for which a ship of sail was more than adequate, perhaps even to be preferred!
"The trip was 150 [miles] due north from Bari [Italy] to the island of Vis [Yugoslavia] . . . and was made in fishing boats and small schooners in an overnight run from Bari . . . Hayden was an experienced seaman who had spent nearly a dozen years sailing out of New England on various vessels . . ."
"Hayden, along with [others] . . . ran Operation “Audrey,” whose mission was to ferry supplies to anti-fascist partisans and retrieve rescued Allied airman . . . Hayden sailed his old 50-foot sailboat with a diesel engine at night and though storm-tossed waters . . . making ten successful trips back and forth across the Adriatic, taking supplies and often returning with downed airmen"
Both men - - von Luckner and Hayden - - unconventional warriors at sea, and ideally suit for the task - - primarily as the result of life experiences!
coolbert.
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