GREECE. Robert MOUCHEZ (1897-1978) naval officer. Autograph - Lot 566

GREECE. Robert MOUCHEZ (1897-1978) naval officer. Autograph manuscript signed, Journal de bord, 1915-1917; 115-page in-4 notebook (plus 1 loose leaf), black moleskin cover (2 small passages cut out in the text). Personal diary of navigation in the Mediterranean and Greece, on the cruiser La Gloire and then the scout Atmah, from May 1915 to November 1917. It is illustrated with 13 ink or pencil sketches, including one showing the cruiser with its artillery (p. 23), and a postcard showing the Atmah (J. Geiser, photographer in Algiers). This is an interesting account of patrols in the Mediterranean during the First World War. Grandson of Admiral Mouchez, Robert Mouchez was preparing for the École navale in Paris when he learned that a decree dated March 1, 1915 allowed students to enlist as Fleet crews for the duration of the war. After training in Brest, he embarked on the Gloire on May 4, where he took part in numerous exercises (maneuvers, gunnery, landing). On November 27, 1915, he passed the helmsman's exam. On July 22, 1916, he embarked in Toulon on the Atmah, commanded by Lieutenant Cambon. Employed in the cipher and wheelhouse departments, Robert Mouchez embarked on a Mediterranean campaign: Malta (August 6-11), Bizerte, Bône, Algiers (where he was reunited with some of his family), then Oran and Gibraltar (September 1-3). After another anchorage in Bône, the ship set sail on October 5 to rescue the shipwrecked Gallia, a troop carrier that had been torpedoed the previous day by a German submarine off San Pietro, south of Sardinia. On the morning of the 6th, they picked up survivors from a whaleboat already being towed by a steamer, then continued the search: "At around 3:45pm, a small, glistening white stretch of water appeared on the horizon. It's a boat. We approached and soon discovered 3 other boats, two of which were sailing together. [...] Then, after taking the "judge", we move on to the other boats... We saved 218 men. Let's keep cruising until 7pm. At that time, rendezvous with the Aldebaran at San Pietro to pick up her 33 survivors" (October 6, 1916). After returning the shipwrecked to Bizerte, the Atmah continued to carry out surveillance missions, making several trips off Greece, between the Ionian Islands (Corfu, Argostoli) and the Aegean Sea, calling at Patras, Navarin, Salamis, Piraeus and La Sude. For example, on May 8, 1917: "Arrived at Milo around 10am. I'm on duty at anchor, and can't go ashore. Nice harbor, well sheltered, used to park our transports to Salonika"... The day after tomorrow: "Arrived at La Sude anchorage at 9 a.m... At 1:30 p.m. I am ashore with de Faramond and the interpreter Travlos. We take a car to Chania, capital of Crete (population 21,000). A dirty, curious and very picturesque city; the population is very mixed... Chania is the birthplace of Mr. Venizelos, and Crete was one of the first Greek islands to join the Venizelist movement... The Allies give Venizelos 3 million a month for himself and his army... They say that in a few weeks' time there will be 100,000 Greeks in Salonika! Is this true?"...