 A post @-@ war German study faulted U @-@ 68 's commander , Kptlt . Güntzel , for failing to follow established procedures for dealing with neutral @-@ flagged vessels in order to avoid decoy ships like Farnborough . According to the report , Güntzel had broken almost all the rules when approaching Farnborough . However , Kommodore Hermann Bauer , the commander of the German High Seas Fleet U @-@ boats , in his post @-@ war memoirs , reports Güntzel was an inexperienced captain and had not , contrary to usual practice , been first sent to sea under a more experienced U @-@ boat captain to gain knowledge . 
