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GRADUATE STUDIES
I N M AT H E M AT I C S 239

Introduction to
the h-Principle
Second Edition

K. Cieliebak
Y. Eliashberg
N. Mishachev
Introduction to
the h-Principle
Second Edition
GRADUATE STUDIES
I N M AT H E M AT I C S 239

Introduction to
the h-Principle
Second Edition

K. Cieliebak
Y. Eliashberg
N. Mishachev
 EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Matthew Baker
Marco Gualtieri
Gigliola Staffilani (Chair)
Jeff A. Viaclovsky
Rachel Ward

2020 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 58Axx.

For additional information and updates on this book, visit

www.ams.org/bookpages/gsm-239

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Cieliebak, Kai, 1966– author. | Eliashberg, Y., 1946– author. | Mishachev, N. (Nikolai
M.), 1952– author.
Title: Introduction to the h-principle / K. Cieliebak, Y. Eliashberg, N. Mishachev.
Description: Second edition. | Providence, Rhode Island : American Mathematical Society, [2023]
| Series: Graduate studies in mathematics, 1065-7339 ; volume 239 | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2023043257 | ISBN 9781470461058 (hardback) | ISBN 9781470476175 (paper-
back) | ISBN 9781470476182 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Geometry, Differential. | Differentiable manifolds. | Differential equations–
Numerical solutions.
Classification: LCC QA641 .E62 2024 | DDC 516.3/6–dc23/eng/20231023
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023043257

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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 29 28 27 26 25 24
 To
Vladimir Igorevich Arnold
who introduced us to the world of singularities
and
Misha Gromov
who taught us how to get rid of them
Contents

Preface to the Second Edition xiii

Preface to the First Edition xv

Intrigue 1

Part 1. Holonomic Approximation

Chapter 1. Jets and Holonomy 9

§1.1. Maps and sections 9
§1.2. Coordinate definition of jets 10
§1.3. Invariant definition of jets 11
§1.4. The space X (1) 12
§1.5. Holonomic sections of the jet space X (r) 13
§1.6. Geometric representation of sections of X (r) 14
§1.7. Holonomic splitting 14

Chapter 2. Thom Transversality Theorem 17

§2.1. Generic properties and transversality 17
§2.2. Stratified sets and polyhedra 18
§2.3. Thom Transversality Theorem 19

Chapter 3. Holonomic Approximation 25

§3.1. Main theorem 25
§3.2. Holonomic approximation over a cube 28
§3.3. Holonomic extension 28

vii
viii Contents

§3.4. Gluing Lemma 30

§3.5. Proof of Theorem 3.2.1 33
§3.6. Proof of the Gluing Lemma 35
§3.7. Parametric holonomic approximation 40
§3.8. Foliated holonomic approximation 41
§3.9. Refinement of the Holonomic Approximation Theorem 43
Chapter 4. Applications 45
§4.1. Functions without critical points 45
§4.2. Smale’s sphere eversion 46
§4.3. Approximate integration of tangential homotopies 48
§4.4. Open manifolds 50
§4.5. Directed embeddings of open manifolds 53
§4.6. Directed embeddings of closed manifolds 55
§4.7. Approximation of differential forms by closed forms 56
Chapter 5. Multivalued Holonomic Approximation 59
§5.1. Multifolds 59
§5.2. Holonomic approximation by multivalued sections 63

Part 2. Differential Relations and Gromov’s h-principle

Chapter 6. Differential Relations 69
§6.1. What is a differential relation? 69
§6.2. Open and closed differential relations 71
§6.3. Formal and genuine solutions to a differential relation 72
§6.4. Extension problem 72
§6.5. Approximate solutions to systems of differential equations 73
Chapter 7. Homotopy Principle 75
§7.1. Philosophy of the h-principle 75
§7.2. Different flavors of the h-principle 78
Chapter 8. Open Diff V -invariant Differential Relations 81
§8.1. Natural fibrations 81
§8.2. Diff V -invariant differential relations 85
§8.3. Local and global h-principle for open Diff V -invariant relations 85
Chapter 9. Applications to Closed Manifolds 89
§9.1. Microextension trick 89
Contents ix

§9.2. Smale–Hirsch h-principle 89

§9.3. Sections transverse to a distribution 91
§9.4. Multivalued h-principle 93
Chapter 10. Foliations 95
§10.1. Definition and examples 95
§10.2. Haefliger structures and h-principle for foliations 98
§10.3. Foliated h-principle 102

Part 3. Singularities and Wrinkling

Chapter 11. Singularities of Smooth Maps 109
§11.1. Thom–Boardman singularities 109
§11.2. The Morse Lemma 112
§11.3. Tangency of a submanifold to a foliation 114
§11.4. Fibered character of Σ1 -singularities 115
§11.5. An -singularities of functions 118
§11.6. Morin’s normal forms 119
§11.7. More about the geometry of maps with Σ1,...,1 -singularities 123
Chapter 12. Wrinkles 127
§12.1. Standard wrinkles 127
§12.2. Properties of standard wrinkles 129
Chapter 13. Wrinkled Submersions 135
§13.1. Definitions 135
§13.2. Main results 138
§13.3. Wrinkled immersion associated with a multifold 142
§13.4. Chopping wrinkles 144
§13.5. Corrugation 148
Chapter 14. Folded Solutions to Differential Relations 155
§14.1. Surgery of singularities 155
§14.2. Folded solutions to differential relations 164
Chapter 15. The h-principle for Sharp Wrinkled Embeddings 169
§15.1. Sharp wrinkled embeddings 169
§15.2. Integration of tangential rotations 176
§15.3. Preliminary steps in the proof 177
§15.4. Reduction to the main lemma 179
x Contents

§15.5. Proof of the main lemma 181

§15.6. The h-principle for folded embeddings 187

Chapter 16. Igusa Functions 193

§16.1. Leafwise Igusa functions and their formal analogues 193
§16.2. Formal extension of framed ζ-FLIFs 198
§16.3. Constructing a locally holonomic ζ-FLIF 199
§16.4. Proof of the main theorems 208
§16.5. Applications to pseudo-isotopy theory 213

Part 4. The Homotopy Principle in Symplectic Geometry

Chapter 17. Symplectic and Contact Basics 219

§17.1. Linear symplectic and complex geometries 219
§17.2. Symplectic and complex manifolds 224
§17.3. Symplectic stability 229
§17.4. Contact manifolds 232
§17.5. Contact stability 237
§17.6. Lagrangian and Legendrian submanifolds 240
§17.7. Hamiltonian and contact vector fields 241
§17.8. Characteristic foliations 243

Chapter 18. Symplectic and Contact Structures on Open Manifolds 245

§18.1. Classification problem for symplectic and contact structures 245
§18.2. Symplectic structures on open manifolds 246
§18.3. Contact structures on open manifolds 248
§18.4. Two-forms of maximal rank on odd-dimensional manifolds 249

Chapter 19. Symplectic and Contact Structures on Closed Manifolds 251

§19.1. Symplectic structures on closed manifolds 251
§19.2. Contact structures on closed manifolds 253
§19.3. Folded symplectic and contact structures 255

Chapter 20. Embeddings into Symplectic and Contact Manifolds 259

§20.1. Isosymplectic embeddings 259
§20.2. Equidimensional isosymplectic immersions 268
§20.3. Isocontact embeddings 271
§20.4. Subcritical isotropic embeddings 276
Contents xi

Chapter 21. Microflexibility and Holonomic R-approximation 279

§21.1. Local integrability 279
§21.2. Homotopy extension property for formal solutions 281
§21.3. Microflexibility 281
§21.4. Theorem on holonomic R-approximation 283
§21.5. Local h-principle for microflexible Diff V -invariant relations 283
Chapter 22. First Applications of Microflexibility 285
§22.1. Subcritical isotropic immersions 285
§22.2. Maps transverse to a contact structure 286
Chapter 23. Microflexible A-invariant Differential Relations 289
§23.1. A-invariant differential relations 289
§23.2. Local h-principle for microflexible A-invariant relations 290
Chapter 24. Further Applications to Symplectic Geometry 293
§24.1. Legendrian and isocontact immersions 293
§24.2. Generalized isocontact immersions 294
§24.3. Lagrangian immersions 296
§24.4. Isosymplectic immersions 297
§24.5. Generalized isosymplectic immersions 299

Part 5. Convex Integration

Chapter 25. One-Dimensional Convex Integration 303
§25.1. Example 303
§25.2. Convex hulls and ampleness 304
§25.3. Main lemma 305
§25.4. Proof of the main lemma 306
§25.5. Parametric version of the main lemma 311
§25.6. Proof of the parametric version of the main lemma 312
Chapter 26. Homotopy Principle for Ample Differential Relations 317
§26.1. Ampleness in coordinate directions 317
§26.2. Iterated convex integration 318
§26.3. Principal subspaces and ample differential relations in X (1) 320
§26.4. Convex integration of ample differential relations 321
Chapter 27. Directed Immersions and Embeddings 323
§27.1. Criterion of ampleness for directed immersions 323
xii Contents

§27.2. Directed immersions into almost symplectic manifolds 324

§27.3. Directed immersions into almost complex manifolds 325
§27.4. Directed embeddings 326
Chapter 28. First Order Linear Differential Operators 331
§28.1. Formal inverse of a linear differential operator 331
§28.2. Homotopy principle for D-sections 332
§28.3. Nonvanishing D-sections 333
§28.4. Systems of linearly independent D-sections 334
§28.5. Two-forms of maximal rank on odd-dimensional manifolds 336
§28.6. One-forms of maximal rank on even-dimensional manifolds 338
Chapter 29. Nash–Kuiper Theorem 341
§29.1. Isometric immersions and short immersions 341
§29.2. Nash–Kuiper theorem 342
§29.3. Decomposition of a metric into a sum of primitive metrics 343
§29.4. Approximation theorem 344
§29.5. One-dimensional Approximation Theorem 345
§29.6. Adding a primitive metric 346
§29.7. End of the proof of the Approximation Theorem 348
§29.8. Proof of the Nash–Kuiper theorem 349
Bibliography 351
Index 359
Preface to the
Second Edition

The book is significantly expanded for its second edition, and several old
parts are rewritten. The main addition to the original book is Part 3 en-
titled “Singularities and Wrinkling”, which is devoted to the method of
wrinkling and its applications. In particular, we discuss there the construc-
tion of maps with prescribed fold singularities and prove a generalized form
of Igusa’s results about families of functions with generalized Morse critical
points. The main ingredient in the proof is the multivalued holonomic ap-
proximation theorem, which is introduced in the new Chapter 5. We also
added a new chapter (Chapter 10) on foliations, and the “foliated” language
is now used throughout the book. Several other chapters and sections have
been significantly rewritten, including Chapter 3 on holonomic approxima-
tion, Chapter 20 on symplectic and contact embeddings, Section 2.3 on the
Thom Transversality Theorem, and Section 8.1 on natural fibrations.
In the more than 20 years since the first edition of this book, many more
instances of the h-principle were discovered. Especially interesting new man-
ifestations of flexibility phenomenon were found in symplectic and contact
geometry. It became clear to us that it is impossible to address new sym-
plectic geometric applications of the h-principle in the format of the current
book. Hence, we decided to leave the symplectic part of this book mostly as
is and are currently working on a separate book [CEM25] devoted to new
developments in symplectic and contact flexibility.
Throughout the rest of the book we made numerous small changes and
corrections of typos and errors. We are grateful to many readers who over
the years notified us of various typos and errors in the book. We thank
Daniel Álvarez-Gavela, Álvaro del Pino Gómez, and Zehan Hu for their
comments on the manuscript of the current edition.

xiii
Preface to the
First Edition

A partial differential relation R is any condition imposed on the partial

derivatives of an unknown function. A solution of R is any function which
satisfies this relation.

The classical partial differential relations, mostly rooted in physics, are usu-
ally described by (systems of) equations. Moreover, the corresponding sys-
tems of equations are mostly determined : the number of unknown functions
is equal to the number of equations. Given appropriate boundary condi-
tions, such a differential relation usually has a unique solution. In some
cases this solution can be found using certain analytical methods (potential
theory, Fourier method, and so on).

In differential geometry and topology one often deals with systems of partial
differential equations, as well as partial differential inequalities, which have
infinitely many solutions whatever boundary conditions are imposed. More-
over, sometimes solutions of these differential relations are C 0 -dense in the
corresponding space of functions or mappings. The systems of differential
equations in question are usually (but not necessarily) underdetermined. We
discuss in this book homotopical methods for solving this kind of differen-
tial relations. Any differential relation has an underlying algebraic relation
which one gets by substituting derivatives by new independent variables. A
solution of the corresponding algebraic relation is called a formal solution of
the original differential relation R. Its existence is a necessary condition for
the solvability of R, and it is a natural starting point for exploring R. Then
one can try to deform the formal solution into a genuine solution. We say
that the h-principle holds for a differential relation R if any formal solution
of R can be deformed into a genuine solution.

xv
xvi Preface to the First Edition

The notion of h-principle (under the name w.h.e.-principle) first appeared

in [Gr71] and [GE71]. The term “h-principle” was introduced and pop-
ularized by M. Gromov in his book [Gr86]. The h-principle for solutions
of partial differential relations exposed the soft/hard (or flexible/rigid) di-
chotomy for the problems formulated in terms of derivatives: a particular
analytical problem is soft or abides by the h-principle if its solvability is
determined by some underlying algebraic or geometric data. The softness
phenomena was first discovered in the 1950s by J. Nash [Na54] for isometric
C 1 -immersions, and by S. Smale [Sm58, Sm59] for differential immersions.
However, instances of soft problems appeared earlier (e.g., H. Whitney’s pa-
per [Wh37]). In the 1960s several new geometrically interesting examples
of soft problems were discovered by M. Hirsch, V. Poénaru, A. Phillips, S.
Feit, and other authors (see [Hi59], [Po66], [Ph67], [Fe69]). In his disser-
tation [Gr69], in the paper [Gr73], and later in his book [Gr86], Gromov
transformed Smale’s and Nash’s ideas into two powerful general methods
for solving partial differential relations: continuous sheaves (or the covering
homotopy) method and the convex integration method. The third method,
called removal of singularities, was first introduced and explored in [GE71].

There is an opinion that “the h-principle is the hardest part of Gromov’s

work to popularize” (see [Be00]). We have written our book in order to im-
prove the situation. We consider here two geometrical methods: holonomic
approximation, which is a version of the method of continuous sheaves, and
convex integration. We do not pretend to cover here the content of Gro-
mov’s book [Gr86], but rather we want to prepare and motivate the reader
to look for hidden treasures there. On the other hand, the reader interested
in applications will find that with a few notable exceptions (e.g., Lohkamp’s
theory [Lo95] of negative Ricci curvature and Donaldson’s theory [Do96]
of approximately holomorphic sections) most instances of the h-principle
which are known today can be treated by the methods considered in the
present book.
The first three parts1 of the book are devoted to a quite general theorem
about holonomic approximation of sections of jet-bundles and its applica-
tions. Given an arbitrary submanifold V0 ⊂ V of positive codimension, the
Holonomic Approximation Theorem allows us to solve any open differen-
tial relations R near a slightly perturbed submanifold V0 = h(V0 ) where
h : V → V is a C 0 -small diffeomorphism. Gromov’s h-principle for open
Diff V -invariant differential relations on open manifolds, his directed embed-
ding theorem, as well as some other results in the spirit of the h-principle
are immediate corollaries of the Holonomic Approximation Theorem.
1 In the current edition of the book these are the first, second, and fourth parts.
Preface to the First Edition xvii

The method for proving the h-principle based on the Holonomic Approx-
imation Theorem works well for open manifolds. Applications to closed
manifolds require an additional trick, called microextension. It was first
used by M. Hirsch in [Hi59]. The holonomic approximation method also
works well for differential relations which are not open, but microflexible.
The most interesting applications of this type come from symplectic geom-
etry. These applications are discussed in the third part of the book. For
convenience of the reader the basic notions of symplectic geometry are also
reviewed in that part of the book.
The fourth2 part of the book is devoted to convex integration theory. Gro-
mov’s convex integration theory was treated in great detail by D. Spring
in [Sp98]. In our exposition of convex integration we pursue a different
goal. Rather than considering the sophisticated advanced version of convex
integration presented in [Gr86], we explore only its simple version for first
order differential relations, similar to the first exposition of the theory by
Gromov in [Gr73]. Nevertheless, we prove here practically all the most
interesting corollaries of the theory, including the Nash–Kuiper theorem on
C 1 -isometric embeddings.
Let us list here some available books and survey papers about the h-principle.
Besides Gromov’s book [Gr86], these are Spring’s book [Sp98], Adachi’s
book [Ad93], Haefliger’s paper [Ha71], Poénaru’s paper [Po71], and, most
recently, Geiges’ notes [Ge01].

Acknowledgments. The book was partially written while the second au-
thor visited the Department of Mathematics of Stanford University, and the
first author visited the Mathematical Institute of Leiden University and the
Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. The authors thank the host
institutions for their hospitality. While writing this book the authors were
partially supported by the National Science Foundation. The first author
also acknowledges the support of The Veblen Fund during his stay at the
IAS.
We are indebted to Ana Cannas da Silva, Hansjorg Geiges, Simon Gober-
stein, Dusa McDuff, and David Spring who read the preliminary version
of this book and corrected numerous misprints and mistakes. We are very
thankful to all the mathematicians who communicated to us their critical
remarks and suggestions.

2 In the second edition it is the fifth.

Intrigue

 Examples.

A. Immersions. A smooth map f : V → W of an n-dimensional manifold

V into a q-dimensional manifold W , n ≤ q, is called an immersion if its
differential has the maximal rank n at every point. Two immersions are
called regularly homotopic if one can be deformed to the other through a
smooth family of immersions.
A1. For an immersion f : S 1 → R2 we denote by G(f ) its tangential degree,
i.e., the degree of the corresponding Gauss map S 1 → S 1 . Then two immer-
sions f, g : S 1 → R2 are regularly homotopic if and only if G(f ) = G(g);
see [Wh37] and Section 7.1.

A2. On the other hand, any two immersions S 2 → R3 are regularly homo-
topic; see [Sm58] and Section 4.2. In particular, the standard 2-sphere in
R3 can be inverted outside in through a family of immersions.

A3. Consider now pairs of immersions (f0 , f1 ) : D 2 → R2 which coincide

near the boundary circle ∂D 2 . What is the classification of such pairs up
to regular homotopy in this class? The answer turns out to be quite unex-
pected:
There are precisely two regular homotopy classes of such pairs. One is rep-
resented by the pair (j, j) where j is the inclusion D 2 → R2 , the second one
is represented by the pair (f, g) where the immersions f and g are shown in
Figure 0.1; see [El72].

A4. Let M1 , M2 be any two orientable connected 3-manifolds with non-

empty boundaries and ϕ : ∂M1 → ∂M2 a diffeomorphism. Then there exist

1
2 Intrigue

Figure 0.1. The immersions f and g.

immersions fj : Mj → R3 , j = 1, 2, such that f1 |∂M1 = f2 ◦ ϕ; see [El70]

and Section 14.2.

B. Isometric C 1 -immersions. Is there a regular homotopy ft : S 2 → R3

which begins with the inclusion f0 of the unit sphere and ends with an
isometric immersion f1 into the ball of radius 12 ? Here the word isometric
means preserving the length of all curves. The answer, of course, is negative
if f1 is required to be C 2 -smooth. Indeed, in this case the Gaussian curvature
of the metric on S 2 should be ≥ 4 at least somewhere. However, surprisingly,
the answer is “yes” in the case of C 1 -immersions (when the curvature is
not defined but the curve length is); see [Na54, Ku55] and Chapter 29.

C. Mappings with a prescribed Jacobian. Let Ω be an n-form on

a closed oriented stably parallelizable n-dimensional manifold M such that
Ω = 0, and let
M
η = dx1 ∧ · · · ∧ dxn
be the standard volume form on Rn . Then there exists a map f : M → Rn
such that f ∗ η = Ω; see [GE73].

D. Families of functions with simple singularities. An individual

function f : M → R on a manifold M can always be C ∞ -perturbed to have
only nondegenerate (Morse) critical points. In 1-parametric families one un-
avoidably may also encounter the so-called birth-death type critical points,
as in the family ft (x) = x3 + tx, t ∈ [−1, 1]. In families depending on more
parameters, the possible singularities become more and more complicated;
in fact, as it is proven in singularity theory (see, e.g., [Tho55],[AGZV85]),
they become (smoothly) unclassifiable with a growing number of parameters
and dimensions. However, it turns out that if topology permits, then by a
C 0 (and sometimes even C 1 ) perturbation one can get rid of all singularities
except Morse and birth-death ones; see [Ig84, Ig87, EM97, Lu09, EM12]
Intrigue 3

and Chapter 16. For instance, one has the following statement (see Section
16.5):
Let ft : Rn → R be a family of functions parameterized by t in the sphere
S k−1 = ∂D k . Suppose that for each t ∈ S k−1 the function ft has no critical
points and coincides with the coordinate function x1 outside a compact set.
Then the family ft extends to t ∈ D k such that for each t ∈ D k the func-
tion ft has only Morse and birth-death critical points and coincides with the
coordinate function x1 outside a compact set. 

All the above statements are examples of the homotopy principle, or the h-
principle. Despite the fact that all these problems are asking for the solution
of certain differential equations or inequalities, they can be reduced to prob-
lems of a purely homotopy theoretic nature which then can be dealt with
using the methods of algebraic topology. For instance, the regular homotopy
classification of immersions S 2 → R3 can be reduced to the computation of
the homotopy group π2 (RP 3 ), which is trivial.
We are teaching in this book how to deal with these problems. In particu-
lar, the three general methods which we describe here will be sufficient to
handle all the above examples, except A3 and C, though we hope that after
studying the book, the reader would be able to solve A3 and C as advanced
exercises.
Another, maybe even more important goal of this book is to teach the reader
how to recognize the problems which may satisfy the h-principle. Of course,
in the most interesting cases this is a very difficult question. As we will
see below there are plenty of open problems where one can neither establish
the h-principle nor find a single instance of rigidity. Nevertheless we are
confident that the reader should develop a pretty good intuition for the
problems which may satisfy the h-principle.
Here are some more examples where the h-principle holds, fails, or is un-
known.
 Examples.

E. Totally real, Lagrangian and ε-Lagrangian embeddings. Let T 2 =

(R/Z) × (R/Z) be the 2-torus with the cyclic coordinates x1 , x2 ∈ R/Z.
Given an embedding f : T 2 → C2 , consider the vectors
∂f ∂f
v1 (x) = (x) and v2 (x) = (x), x ∈ T 2 .
∂x1 ∂x2
The embedding f is called real or totally real if these vectors are linearly
independent (over C) for each x ∈ T 2 . It is called Lagrangian if the real
planes generated by the vectors v1 (x), v2 (x) and iv1 (x), iv2 (x) are orthogonal
4 Intrigue

for each x ∈ T 2 . For 0 < ε ≤ π2 , an embedding f is called ε-Lagrangian if

the angle between these planes is greater than π2 − ε for each x ∈ T 2 . Thus
Lagrangian embeddings are real, and real embeddings coincide with those
that are (π/2)-Lagrangian. Identifying C2 with R4 , we can view a 2 × 2
complex matrix as a pair of vectors in R4 and thus consider GL(2, C) as
a subspace of the Stiefel manifold V4,2 which is formed by pairs of vectors
linearly independent over C. With any embedding f : T 2 → C2 we associate
the map vf : T 2 → V4,2 defined by the formula
vf (x) = (v1 (x), v2 (x)) ∈ V4,2 .
Then f is real if and only if the image vf (T 2 ) is contained in GL(2, C).
E1. Both real and ε-Lagrangian embeddings satisfy the h-principle:
Let f : T 2 → C2 be any embedding. Suppose that the map
vf : T 2 → V4,2
is homotopic to a map
w : T 2 → GL(2, C) ⊂ V4,2 .
Then for any ε > 0 the embedding f is isotopic to an ε-Lagrangian embed-
ding. Moreover, let f, g : T 2 → C2 be two ε-Lagrangian embeddings which
are smoothly isotopic and such that the maps
vf , vg : T 2 → GL(2, C)
are homotopic inside GL(2, C). Then f and g are isotopic via an ε-Lagran-
gian isotopy; see [Gr86] and Section 27.4.

E2. On the other hand, the h-principle is wrong for Lagrangian embed-
dings. Indeed, any two Lagrangian embeddings T 2 → C2 are Lagrangian
isotopic [DRGI16], whereas the h-principle would predict the existence of
knotted Lagrangian tori.

F. Free maps. A map T 2 → Rn is called free if the five vectors

∂f ∂f ∂2f ∂ 2f ∂2f
(x), (x), (x), (x), (x) ∈ Rn
∂x1 ∂x2 ∂x1 ∂x2 ∂x21 ∂x22
are linearly independent for all x ∈ T 2 . Of course, the minimal dimension
n for which free embeddings may exist is equal to 5.
It is an open problem whether there exists a free map T 2 → R5 . In par-
ticular, we do not know whether the h-principle holds for free maps to R5 .
On the other hand, free maps to R6 satisfy the h-principle. We invite the
reader to guess what this statement really means, or look at [GE71].
Intrigue 5

G. Contact and Engel structures. A contact structure on a (2n + 1)-

dimensional manifold M is a completely nonintegrable tangent 2n-plane field
ξ. A completely nonintegrable tangent 2-plane field on a 4-manifold N is
called an Engel structure. In the first case complete nonintegrability means
that the Lie brackets of vector fields tangent to ξ generate T M at each point
of M . In the second case it means that two successive Lie brackets of vector
fields tangent to ξ generate T N at each point of N .
In both cases, some forms of the h-principle hold even on closed mani-
folds. For instance, any tangent 2n-plane field equipped with an almost
complex structure on a (2n + 1)-manifold is homotopic through such plane
fields to a contact structure (see [Lu77, BEM15] and Section 19.2). A
similar existence h-principle holds for Engel structures on parallelizable 4-
manifolds [Vo09, CPPP17]. 
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 The instructions for warding off submarine attack have more than
a passing interest. They signified a new chapter in the work of the
American Navy, with no doctrine as precedent—the task of
transporting an army across three thousand miles of ocean and
protecting it against an enemy which was supremely confident that
its undersea warfare could not be thwarted, which had boasted that it
could prevent the landing of an American army in France. In a way,
this was a momentous experiment. How thoroughly and intelligently
the Navy had studied the problem may be discerned in these
extracts from its confidential orders to the Corsair and the other
ships of the escort:
Reports of enemy submarine activity indicate that the
area of greatest activity is east of Longitude Twenty West,
and within a circle radius five hundred miles from Fayal,
Azores. Submarines may be operating on the Atlantic
coast of the United States and Canada. Every effort has
been made to hold secret the sailing of the convoy but it
may be assumed that the departure of convoy from the
United States and the hour of departure will be
communicated to the enemy. It is possible that particular
effort will be made by the enemy to accomplish the
destruction of the convoy, and no part of the water
traversed may be assumed to be free from submarines.
Ships will make every effort to maintain distance
accurately and will be careful not to drop astern,
particularly at night or in thick weather. Speed will be
assigned by signal. During daylight every effort will be
made to determine the revolutions necessary to make the
speed of the convoy in order that each ship may maintain
a more nearly constant speed during the darkness.
Convoy will be manœuvred as necessary by the Battle
Signal Book. Ships will manœuvre independently in
accordance with the Rules of the Road in all cases when
necessary to avoid collision. When convoy alters course
each ship of the convoy will turn in the wake of the next
ahead except in zigzagging when all turn together.
 There will be two well-protected and arranged lookout
stations aloft; one on each side of the mast as high as
possible, capable of holding four lookouts each. There will
be four well-protected and arranged lookout stations on
each side of the ship, capable of holding two lookouts
each. During daylight there will be an officer in each top, in
addition to lookouts. At all times there will be an officer in
charge of lookouts on deck who will make periodic
inspections. The communication system from lookout
stations to bridge will be tested frequently.
Lookouts will be carefully selected for their fitness for
lookout duty—keen eyesight, intelligence, and freedom
from seasickness are essential qualities. A school for
lookouts will be held daily. They will be instructed to report
everything they see. In so far as practicable they will be
furnished with binoculars and each lookout will always use
the same glass. Each lookout will be assigned a definite
sector and will be required to maintain the closest possible
watch within that sector, no matter what may be
happening in other sectors.
Gun crews will be at all times in the immediate vicinity of
their guns. One man of each crew will be at all times on
watch. Daily pointing, loading, and fire control drills will be
held. When conditions permit and upon orders from the
Group Convoy Commander, target practice will be held in
accordance with the General Signal Book.
No radio message will be sent except in great
emergency involving the safety of the ship. A continuous
radio watch will be maintained. If it becomes necessary to
communicate by radio, the cipher contained in the
operation order will be used.
All vessels will be darkened so that no ray of light shall
show outboard between sunset and sunrise. A single
gleam of light may cause the loss of the ship. Sentries will
make constant rounds to insure the strict enforcement of
this order throughout the ship. Navigational lights will not
be shown except when specifically ordered by the convoy
commander or when immediately necessary to avoid
collision and then only long enough to meet the
emergency. Range lights will not be shown and all lights
will be dimmed to two miles visibility.
Smoke from the funnels must be reduced to a minimum
both by day and night. All vessels will keep fuel so
trimmed that maximum speed can be maintained toward
end of voyage. Neither the whistle or the siren shall be
used in submarine waters except in case of emergency.
Care will be exercised that the leads of the siren and
whistle cords are such that these cannot be accidentally
pulled or become jammed.
A station bill will be prepared showing the stations at fire
quarters and abandon ship. Daily drills at fire stations and
abandon ship will be held until all persons on board
become familiar with their duties.
Necessary instructions in regard to rendezvous and
courses will be found in the sealed instructions. These will
be opened only as directed on the outside of the
envelope. Before dark a rendezvous for 4 p.m. of the day
following will be signalled by the Escort Commander.
Nothing that floats will be thrown overboard. All waste
material that can be burned will be burned. Tin cans must
be well punctured before being thrown overboard.
Garbage that cannot be burned shall be accumulated in
suitable receptacles and thrown overboard from all ships
simultaneously one hour after sunset each night.
Submarine Attack
The following is generally accepted:
Submarines on surface are visible on the horizon.
Submarine awash is visible about five miles. Submarine
submerged, periscope showing, is not visible more than
two miles unless periscope appears against skyline.
Porpoising of submarine as it comes to the surface to
obtain sight through periscope creates a distinct wake
which is more clearly visible than the wake of periscope
when submarine is steadied.
Under poor conditions of atmosphere and sea the
probability of detecting a submarine decreases. It follows
that constant vigilance alone will insure the early detection
of a submarine. The wake of a torpedo is distinctive and
can easily be picked up in smooth water at a distance of
two thousand yards. In rough water it is difficult to observe
the wake.

NUMBER TWO GUN CREW ON WATCH

 THEY ARE ALL SEA DOGS TOGETHER

Daylight attack by surface craft (enemy raider), will be

handled by signal from the Convoy Commander. Daylight
attack by submarines shall be handled as follows by each
vessel:
(a) Open fire instantly on any submarine sighted. Don’t
delay the first shot even if it is apt to go wild,—it will show
the direction of the submarine and will have a pronounced
moral effect.
(b) Continue to fire as rapidly as possible. Short shots
interfere with the ability of the submarine to see and aim.
(c) If submarine appears less than six points on bow
and not more than 2000 yards away, head for submarine
at best speed.
(d) If submarine appears more than six points on bow,
abeam, or on the quarter, head directly away from
submarine at best speed.
 (e) If torpedo wake only is seen, fire gun immediately
and indicate direction to other ships and manœuvre to
avoid torpedo as in case of submarine, i.e.—turning
towards torpedo if less than six points.
(f) Other ships of convoy turn from direction of
submarine and scatter at best speed, maintaining keenest
lookout for torpedo wake and for a possible mate of the
attacking submarine.
(g) Resume course when it is deemed that your vessel
is outside the danger zone of attacking submarine.
Night Attack:—All vessels instantly change course
ninety degrees either to port or starboard. Course will be
resumed before any vessel has proceeded ten miles after
ninety degrees change. If any vessel is damaged by
torpedo, that vessel will act independently and all other
vessels of convoy escape at best speed. The damaged
vessel may send out radio distress signals provided for
merchant vessels.
Owing to the presence of escorting ships it is not
probable that submarines will be caught on the surface
and therefore will not attempt to use her guns. It is very
probable that the first indication of the presence of a
submarine will be the wake of her torpedo.
Mines, floating or submerged, may be encountered. All
floating objects, the character of which is uncertain, must
be carefully avoided. Floating mines have recently been
encountered under the following conditions:
(a) Two mines connected by lines.
(b) Secured to bottom of dummy periscopes which were
mounted in a box or other object.
(c) In waterlogged boats, used as decoys.
(d) Attached to wreckage of various kinds.
 If submarine is sighted or if gunfire from any ship
indicates attack, destroyers and fast yachts of escort will
head at best speed in direction of submarine, force it to
submerge, and attack as conditions permit. They will
rejoin convoy at earliest possible moment. If any ship is
damaged by torpedo, two destroyers will stand by ship,
those nearest of escort, affecting such rescue as may be
necessary and possible.
 CHAPTER II
“LAFAYETTE, WE ARE HERE!”

T HE Corsair stood out to sea with the transports and the escort in
the morning of June 14th after a thick fog had delayed the
departure for several hours. As finally selected, the ship’s company
consisted of 130 officers and enlisted men. The shifting fortunes of
war were to scatter most of them to other ships and stations during
the long exile overseas, and when the battered yacht came home,
only Commander Porter and Lieutenant McGuire and eighteen of the
crew of this first muster roll were left on board.
Changes were so frequent that from first to last almost three
hundred men served in the Corsair.[1] The ship proved to be a
training school for officers, and made an exceptional record in that
thirteen of her enlisted force and one warrant officer won
commissions during the war, some taking the examinations while on
foreign service and others being sent to Annapolis for the intensive
course of three months and receiving the rank of temporary ensigns
in the regular naval organization. On deck and below, men were
rated as petty officers as rapidly as they displayed aptitude, and few
of the crew failed to advance themselves. The spirit of the ship was
eager and ambitious from the start and drudgery could not dull it.
As a proper man-of-war the Corsair lived a complex and
disciplined programme of duty through the twenty-four hours of the
day. When she steamed past Sandy Hook, outward bound, the
complement included a chief boatswain’s mate, one boatswain’s
mate, six coxswains, seven gunner’s mates, four quartermasters,
nineteen seamen, nineteen ordinary seamen, three electricians, four
radio operators, a carpenter’s mate, two ship-fitters, a boiler maker, a
blacksmith, a chief machinist’s mate, one machinist’s mate, a chief
water tender, two water tenders, four oilers, twenty-one firemen and
coal passers, a chief yeoman, three yeomen, a hospital apprentice, a
bugler, a cabin steward, four ship’s cooks, and eight mess
attendants.
The complete roster of the ship on this famous day of June 14,
1917, was as follows:
Lieutenant Commander T. A. Kittinger, U.S.N. (Commanding)
Lieutenant Commander W. B. Porter, N.R.F. (Executive)
Lieutenant Robert E. Tod, N.R.F. (Navigator)
Lieutenant R. J. McGuire, (JG) N.R.F. (First Lieutenant)
Lieutenant J. K. Hutchison, (JG) N.R.F. (Engineer Officer)
Ensign A. K. Schanze, N.R.F. (Gunnery Officer)
Ensign J. F. W. Gray, N.R.F. (Communications Officer)
Assistant Surgeon E. V. Laub, N.R.F.
Assistant Paymaster J. J. Cunningham, N.R.F.
Machinist W. F. Hawthorn, N.R.F.
Machinist A. V. Mason, N.R.F.
Boatswain R. Budani, N.R.F.

Aguas, I C. F1c.
Ashby, C. N. Sea. 2c.
Balano, F. Sea.
Barko, A. W. G.M. 3c.
Barry, H. A. Sea.
Bayne, C. S. Sea.
Bedford, H. H. F1c.
[2]Benton, E. M. Sea.

Bischoff, H. J. F2c.
Bonsall, T. C. Cox.
Breckel, H. F. Elec. 1cR.
[2]Brillowski, A. J. F2c.

Byram, C. S. F2c.
Carey, N. J. Bugler
[2]Carroll, O. W.T.

Clinch, T., Jr. Elec. 2cG.

Coffey, A. H. Sea.
Connolly, C. Yeo. 3c.
Copeland, A. T. Sea.
Cure, H. S.C. 2c.
Curtin, J. J. F1c.
Davis, I. S. Elec. 2cR.
De Armosolo, V. M. Att. 3c.
Donaldson, S. J. Sea. 2c.
Duke, W. M., Jr. Sea.
Egan, L. C. G. M. 3c.
Emmons, L. C. Sea. 2c.
Evans, W. F. Sea.
Farr, F. S. Q.M. 2c.
Feeley, N. M.Att. 1c.
[2]Flynn, J. S. M.Att. 1c.
[2]French, L. A. Sea.

Fusco, N. S.C. 3c.

Ganz, C. A. M.M. 2c.
Gilhooley, J. P. G.M. 3c.
[2]Gillette, H. E. F2c.

Goring, H. D. H.A. 1c.

Graul, R. W. F1c.
Gray, A. O. Sea. 2c.
Griffin, L. H. F3c.
Haase, H. E. G.M.3c.
Haling, C. W.T.
Hamilton, C. Blacksmith
[2]Hanley, J. M.Att. 1c.
[2]Heise, W. F. F1c.

Herrman, H. Oiler
Hill, F. C. C.M. 3c.
Hiss, S. W. F1c.
Hollis, L. R. Sea. 2c.
Houtz, E. L. Sea.
Jetter, R. T. Sea.
Jones, R. D. Oiler
[2]Jones, T. W. F1c.

Kaetzel, H. D. Sea. 2c.

Keenan, A. E. B.M’ker.
Kerr, G. M. Sea.
[2]Kleine, J. F. Oiler

Leal, R. M.Att. 3C.

Lewis, F. W. Cox.
Lindeburg, F. R. Sea.
Loescher, H. A. Elec. 2cG.
Loftus, J. P. C.B.M.
Luke, E. E. C.M.M.
Marsden, C. Cox.
Marsh, A. J. Sea.
Martin, O. F. F1c.
Martinez, M. M.Att. 3c.
McClellan, R. B. B.M. 1c.
Miller, A. E. Yeo. 2c.
Montaux, R. C. Cox.
[2]Moore, J. E. Sea. 2c.

Moore, W. C. G.M. 2c.

Mulcahy, W. W. Cox.
Mullins, T. Q.M. 1c.
Murphy, W. F. Sea.
[2]Nardo, S. M.Att. 1c.

Nolan, F. M.Att. 2c.

Outwater, H. Sea.
Paulson, G. C. Yeoman
Pease, A. E. F1c.
Phillips, E. S.C. 2c.
[2]Plummer, J. A. Elec. 2cR.

Prindle, E. B. Q.M. 2c.

Rachor, J. Cox.
Rahill, W. J. Sea.
Regent, A. A. Sea. 2c.
Reynolds, F. J. Sea. 2c.
Robertson, C. Oiler
Rubein, S. F1c.
[2]Schlotfeldt, H. B. F2c.

Schmidt, H. L. S.F. 2c.

Seger, R. G. Sea.
Sellers, E. H. Sea. 2c.
[2]Sholander, E. Sea. 2c.

Simpson, J. F. G.M. 3c.

Skolmowski, S. J. Sea. 2c.
Smith, A. C., Jr. Q.M. 2c.
Smith, J. F1c.
Smock, T. F. Sea. 2c.
Stephenson, H. F1c.
Sullivan, V. J. F.2c.
Swan, M. H. Elec. 3cR.
Tepelman, L. W. F1c.
[2]Teuten, W. W. F1c.

Thysenius, E. Cabin St’rd

Tibbott, D. W. Sea.
Tucker, R. S.C. 3c.
Underbill, P. W. Sea. 2c.
Valyon, L. J. Sea. 2c.
[2]Van Camp, L. R. Sea.

Wallace, E. C.W.T.
Walters, F. Sea. 2c.
Washburn, C. F. Sea. 2c.
Waters, C. W. Yeo. 2c.
Walters, F. Sea 2c.
[2]Wheatcroft, W. A. S.F. 2c.

Wyllie, A. A. G.M. 1c.

Wysocki, P. P. Elec. 3c.
Many of these patriotic pilgrims were about to undertake their first
voyage on blue water, nor could they foresee how much piteous woe
can be caused by the uneasy motion of a ship. The Corsair was a
lively boat, as the saying is, for her hull was not moulded like a fat-
bellied merchantman, and she lifted to the seas with the graceful
stride of a Yankee clipper. And so when the transports plodded out
into the wide, wet Atlantic, not a few of the bold mariners of the
Corsair devoutly wished they had enlisted in the Army. They were
not disgraced, however, for many a hard-shell of the regular Navy
has confessed to the pangs of seasickness. The nervous thoughts of
submarines were forgotten in wrestling with the immediate
tribulation. The great adventure was not what it had been cracked up
to be.
 Copyright by Kadel and Herbert, N.Y.
SOME OF THE OFFICERS AND CREW, BEFORE LEAVING
NEW YORK

Among the bluejackets was a Princeton undergraduate, Arthur

Herbert Coffey, rating as a seaman, whose misfortune it was to
suffer serious trouble with his eyes, so that he was sent home shortly
after the Corsair reached France. Later he entered the aviation
service and died of influenza on December 31, 1918, greatly
mourned by his former shipmates. He wrote, at some length, his
impressions of the voyage and so entertainingly caught the spirit of it
that he must be permitted to tell you how they went rolling out to find
the “Bay of Biscay, O”:
 I shall never forget the morning of June 14th as long as
I live. It was three a.m. and very foggy when our bos’n’s
mate roused us from our hammocks and told us to “rise
and shine” as we were going to shove off. I’ll admit that I
had many fears and misgivings at these harsh words,
“shove off.” I had never been out of sight of land before in
my life, and to cross the ocean on your first trip in a yacht
three hundred feet long seemed to me to be some
adventure, just then. Up to that time I hadn’t given it much
thought. In fact, I had been impatient for the event, like the
rest of the men, but as I was pulling on my socks that
morning (and three a.m. is a rotten time of day anyhow), I
began to reflect that perhaps I had been just a little bit
hasty in rushing into the war. And I couldn’t help thinking
how pleasant it would be to be snoring in a good, soft bed
at Princeton with nothing between me and complete
enjoyment of the day excepting a ten-thirty recitation hour.
Well, I got dressed anyway and turned to. We dropped
down the river slowly and anchored off the Battery, for the
fog was so thick that you could hardly see your hand
before your face. All about us there was the moaning of
fog-horns and I felt forlorn inside. But soon the fog lifted a
bit and that, together with Bill Rahill’s grin, made things
feel a little bit better. “Well, we are off for the big stunt,” I
said to myself. “I wonder when we’ll see this old town
again.”
I had the watch in the crow’s nest that afternoon, from
two to four, and enjoyed myself very much. It had turned
out to be a fine day, the sun was bright, and we had lots of
company, seven ships in all, four transports, a cruiser, and
two destroyers. After an hour in the crow’s nest I
happened to glance down at the deck and noticed some
very odd actions among the crew. Several of them were
leaning over the rail and appeared to be staring very
intently at something in the water. I watched them for a
while and then suddenly it occurred to me that they were
seasick.
I felt like a hardened old sailor, for here I was high up in
the crow’s nest, swaying from side to side, right over the
water, and in tip-top form with a husky appetite for the next
meal. I still felt fine when I climbed down to the deck, but
was too wise to kid anybody. And it was a good thing I
kept quiet, for an hour later I was as miserable as the rest
of them. We certainly had a seasick crew for a couple of
days. The green firemen were so sick that they were
unable to stoke properly and we failed to keep up with the
rest of our convoy.
We kept dropping farther and farther behind, the firemen
still shy their sea-legs and also some of the crew. Nobody
saw the doctor and the paymaster for four days.... Then
the doctor made a brief appearance in the sick-bay. He
looked at a cut in a man’s hand, clapped his own hand
over his mouth, and we didn’t see him again for two days
more. But he came around in fine shape after that, on the
job every minute, although he was not needed often, I am
glad to say.
To make a long story short, we abandoned all hope of
staying with the first division and ploughed along by
ourselves for a few days, then picking up the second
group consisting of four transports and the same type of
escort. Everything went along smoothly for four days and
then our destroyers came out to meet us from
Queenstown. There were five of them and a bully good
sight they were to us who were getting pretty close to the
danger zone with our precious transports. The destroyers
came zipping up like gray streaks and were on us almost
before we knew it. We stood on deck and cheered
ourselves hoarse. They were the boys who had gone over
early, the first of the Navy to see active service. They were
glad to see us, too, it appeared, and many messages
were wig-wagged back and forth. They fell into position
and all hands felt as safe as a church.
About two o’clock in the afternoon of the next day, I was
below getting a drink of water when suddenly there was a
loud explosion. I remember that at the time I thought
somebody had dropped a hatch cover directly over my
head. I realized in a moment that it was something else,
for I heard loud shouts and the tramp of feet on deck. I
was topside in no time and rushed for my gun as I was the
loader of Number Three gun.
The transports had all stopped. One of them, nearest to
us, was giving the submarine warning, a number of blasts
on her whistle which sounded uncanny to us because it
was the first time we had heard anything from the
transports since leaving New York. They had moved
across the ocean like so many ghosts. It was a beautiful,
clear day and the sea was as smooth as a carpet.
I took my position at the gun, broke open a box of
ammunition, and laid hands on a shell. The doctor came
rushing aft with a handful of cotton which he told us to stuff
in our ears. Then we were all set to be torpedoed. I wasn’t
scared—I was too busy, I guess—but I was a little bit
jumpy. I looked at my watch and it was just five minutes of
two. I wondered how long it would take our yacht to sink
after the torpedo hit us.
The transports, as I have said, were making no
headway and were all grouped together like a flock of
frightened sheep, while the destroyers were just getting
into motion. This was one of the prettiest sights I ever saw.
No sooner had the transports halted than the destroyers,
six in all, darted out in a fan-shaped formation and then
worked back and forth, looking for all the world like
greyhounds on a scent. And maybe they didn’t make
knots! We were moving at top speed ourselves, but those
destroyers gave us the impression that we were standing
still. Zoom, one would cut across our bow at about thirty
knots, then another would flash astern at the same rate.
For a time we could discover nothing else out of the
ordinary. Then suddenly the captain of Number Four gun
gave a yell and pointed astern. “There she goes!” he
shouted. “It’s a torpedo as sure as you live, or I never saw
one.” We all rubbered astern with our eyes sticking out like
onions, and there, sure enough, was a wake foaming
along at tremendous speed about fifty yards away, but it
was not heading in our direction, thank goodness. I don’t
know whether it was a torpedo or not. I have never seen
one, but our regular Navy men swore it was.
The paymaster was sure it was, although he had never
seen one either, and he dashed up and down the deck,
clapping his hands and loudly exclaiming, “Oh, it is a
torpedo! It is a torpedo!” This relieved the strain
considerably. We all laughed until we almost cried. The
officer upon the after deck-house suddenly cried out,
“Stand steady, boys. Don’t get excited. A school of
porpoises is coming toward us.” We saw them, and I
imagine there would have been a heavy mortality in that
bunch of porpoises if the keen-eyed officer had not
warned us in time.
That was about all I saw of the submarine attack, but I
heard other stories from the deck and bridge. The
explosion at the outset had been caused by the dropping
of a depth charge from a destroyer, quite close aboard the
Corsair. No wonder I thought somebody had banged a
hatch cover over my head! The firemen below thought we
had been torpedoed and were all for erupting on deck for
a breath of fresh air. That depth charge was powerful. Our
men said they saw the destroyer’s stern lift high in air
while a great spout of water leaped just astern. We saw oil
smeared over the water and I hope the destroyer was
given official credit for sinking a submarine.
 One of our officers told me that more than one
submarine must have been in the attack, and that the
activity of the destroyer escort drove them off. There was
one incident which some of the men thought rather a joke,
but I felt sorry. In the morning an old British tramp picked
us up, and seeing all the destroyers, etc., concluded that
we were good company to travel in, so she stuck with us
all the forenoon, keeping a mile off to port. No sooner did
she hear the submarine warning than she lit out at full
speed, about ten knots, for safer waters. Two hours after
that, our radio men got an S.O.S. from her, that she had
been torpedoed and was sinking. It seemed too bad that
we couldn’t go and help her.
This submarine alarm was the famous episode which thrilled the
American public as elaborated by George Creel for the newspapers
of July 4, 1917. The Corsair witnessed only what occurred among
the second group of transports, and although some of her men
declared they saw the wake of a torpedo, Commander Kittinger
failed to confirm it in his official report of this busy afternoon. Rear
Admiral Gleaves carefully considered the statements of the officers
of ships in Group Two and drew the following conclusions, omitting
the names of the vessels engaged because of the naval censorship
in force at that time:
The H, leading the second group, encountered two
submarines, the first about 11.50 a.m., June 26th, about a
hundred miles off the coast of France, and the second
submarine two hours later. The I investigated the wake of
the first without further discovery. The J[3] sighted the bow
wave of the second at a distance of 1500 yards and
headed for it at a speed of twenty-five knots. The gun
pointers at the forward gun saw the periscope several
times for several seconds but it disappeared each time
before they could get on, due to the zigzagging of the
ship.
 The J[3] passed about twenty-five yards ahead of a
mass of bubbles which were coming up from the wake
and let go a depth charge just ahead. Several pieces of
timber, quantities of oil, bubbles, and débris came to the
surface. Nothing more was seen of the submarine. The
attacks on the second group occurred about eight hundred
miles to the eastward of where the attacks had been made
on the first group.... It appears from reports of the French
Ministry of Marine and from the location of the attack that
enemy submarines had been notified of our approach and
were probably scouting across our route.

WITH AMERICA’S FIRST CONVOY. THE TROOP-SHIPS ARE THE

HENDERSON, ANTILLES, MOMUS, AND LENAPE
 THE MINE FUNCTIONS AND A LURKING U-BOAT WOULD FIND
IT EXCESSIVELY UNHEALTHY

The story of Seaman Arthur Coffey is less exaggerated than might

have been expected in these wholly novel circumstances. It may
have been a torpedo or, perchance, it was a porpoise that was seen
from the Corsair. If it was the latter, no blame is to be laid to the
young sailors who were so tremendously excited. To their
unaccustomed eyes the ocean swarmed with periscopes and U-
boats. Many a seasoned skipper had blazed away at blackfish or
shivered in his shoes at a bit of floating spar. The destroyer
Cummings, at any rate, blew up something from the vasty deep with
the “ash can” that plopped from her fan-tail. As for the soldiers
packed in the transports, all girdled with life-belts and eyeing the
ocean with morbid suspicion, they would have told you that the
submarines were coming at them in droves. It was one of the
dauntless doughboys of this First Expeditionary Force who wrote
home to his trustful kindred:
Dear Mother and the Folks: