Protagonist: Main Character

Edouard Issacs was born in Iowa in 1889. He enrolled in the Naval Academy, and graduated in 1915. During the war he served on the U.S.S. President Lincoln. His ship was attacked and sunk by the German submarine U-90 on May 21, 1918. He was captured and held as a prisoner of war in Germany. While he was on the submarine he carefully studied the ship and made mental notes on german submarine warfare. As he was being sent to a prison camp, he was already planning his escape. During a train ride he broke free from his guards. He dove through a window while the train was moving. He was not killed by the guards who shot at him, or by the fall from a rapidly moving train. He was, however, recaptured by the Germans. This did not stop Issacs from planning another escape attempt. While being held in Southern Germany, he broke through a barbed wire fence surrounding the prison camp. He intentionally drew the fire from prison guards to help other soldiers escape. He was successful this time in getting away. He survived eating raw vegetables, and swam across the Rhine river in the middle of the night. He made it to the allied forces in France. He gave valuable information to the Allies, and would eventually retire from the Navy in 1921 due to his injuries. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor due to his bravery. He would later work as a newspaper person, and run for Congress. He would win election in 1937 and serve for 10 years. He lived to be 100 years old before dying in Virginia in 1989.

Walther Schwieger

Walther Schwieger was born in 1885 in Berlin. He joined the German Navy in 1903. He became a submariner in 1911, and received his first command in 1912 when he became captain of U-14. Schwieger became the commander of U-20 after the start of World War I. He became famous when his submarine sank the Lusitania. 1,198 died as a result of the attack, and many see this as the main reason for the United States entering the war. During his service in the war Schweiger sank 49 ships and 3 submarines on 34 missions. He was one of the most successful submarine commanders for the German Navy. Schwieger and his crew were killed when their submarine, U-88, hit an underwater mine. They were being chased by a British ship on September 5, 1917. Schwieger was awarded one of Germany's highest medals: The Iron Cross 1st Class. Photograph from German Federal Archive.

Harold Willis

Harold Willis was born in 1886. He graduated from Harvard, and worked as an architect in Boston. He was 28 when World War I started. He left his work to join the American Ambulance Service in France shortly after the war started. He helped rescue French soldiers from the front lines until he joined the French Foreign Legion. He became part of the air force in 1917. Less than 6 months later he was shot down while flying as a fighter escort for a bomber squadron. Miraculously he crashed landed his plane without being injured. He convinced his German captors that he was an officer even though he was not. He did not have any papers, and he was wearing pajamas under his flight suit. The Germans believed him when he said he was a officer. The first attempt he made to escape failed, after months of planning, but he was able to trick the Germans. Before he was transferred he mad a plaster bust of Beethoven. The Germans were impressed and let him keep it when he moved. What they did not know was that Harold had hidden a pair of wire cutters inside. He would meet Edouard Issacs at Villingen and plan the greatest escape of World War One.This is a link to his picture: http://www.neam.org/lafescweb/images/conf5_willis.jpg

The Setting - Geography

The beginning of my story will take place in the Atlantic Ocean. This is the second largest ocean in the world. It covers almost 21% of the Earth's surface. German submarines, called U-boats were very successful at sinking ships. The size of the Atlantic Ocean made it easy for submarines to hide from surface ships.The northern part of the ocean is also very cold. The main character's ship will be sunk off the coast of Ireland, and you can see from the chart that the wave action can be significant. These conditions will make it even more amazing that Edouard was able to survive the sinking of his ship before he is captured by the German submarine.

The second part of my story will take place at the prison camp in an area known as the Black Forest. This forest is about half the size of Vermont, and the highest peak is just under 5,000 feet high. I have been to this area, and it reminds me a lot of Vermont. The climate would be very similar as well. The majority of the forest is made up of pine and fir trees. As you can see from the picture this would be a good place to hide, and would provide food and water. This will work well for my story as the characters will be on the run for at least a week.

The Setting - Mood

I will be creating a mood of suspense for my book. The first part of the story will focus on the sinking of the Lusitania. Over half of the people on the ship do not survive. This will create a lot of suspense as people struggle to get off the sinking ship. There will be suspense for my protagonist as he is captured by the Germans, and held as a prisoner while on the sub. The second part of the book will center around his planning the escape from the POW camp. The suspense will continue as he spends at least one week hiding from the Germans. The action will reach its climax as he swims across the Rhine River into Switzerland.

The Setting - Time

My story takes place in 1918 during World War One. The first picture is of a German Submarine from 1914. The second image is a montage of several photos. These show different parts of what the war looked like. The third image is one of women's blouses from 1919. The link to that site is: http://www.marquise.de/en/1900/pics/1910/1919_5.shtml. The fourth image is a picture of Teddy Roosevelt in 1915. The fifth image is of school children from NYC. The sixth image is a popular painting from 1918. The seventh image is another popular painting from 1916. The next two images are Ford Model T cars. I wanted to show what the war looked like, but I also wanted to show some parts of the culture at that time.