NAVAL HISTORY OF THE WAR.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 June 1916, Page 6

NAVAL HISTORY OF THE WAR.

TWO REMARKABLE BRITISH VICTORIES. The early weeks of the war saw the German plan of weakening the British, Navy by submarine and mine attack? in operation, but with very inadequate results. The hope of chose' who devised that "strategy of attrition" was that the main British Fleet would be so reduced as to be rendered inferior to the German forces, when a pitched battle would end Uie British command of the sea. Though considerable losses were inflicted on the British .Navy by the German submarines at the outset, no modern and powerful vessels were sunk, and not a single unit of tlu Grand Fleet was lost. Indeed, the only modern ship destroyed in 1914 was the patrol vessel Pathfinder, of 3000 tons, launched in lAO 4. Great capacity was shown by the British high command in meeting the German submarine attacks and paralysing them in the critical period when the British naval arrangements ivere being adjusted to war conditions. The.task was the more difficult as the German fleet would not come out and give battle, and the British fleet had no secure tor-pedo-proof harbor in which to lie. The closest secrecy was maintained; indeed, the silence as to the work of the Grand Fleet was such as to leave the public ignorant of the traiisccndant services it w»i rendering. The Navy was charged with the following tasks: The watching of the German main flcetf, which remained intact and might at any moment attack; the interception of contraband and of the passage of German reservists in neutral vessels; the protection .of British commerce; and the convoying of the numerous transports which were moving troops. It had to hunt down and destroy the enemy's cruisers and commerce destroyers at large. These tasks it, brilliantly discharged, with one or two initial mistakes such as will occur in any war. It also from time to time gave support to the British armies on land. The German North Sea coast was patrolled constantly by the British submarines, whose crews displayed great skill and endurance in their work, keeping their stations even when their boats were "pumping" (i.e., moving up and down as does the plunger of a pump) 20ft., which happens in shallow water in bad weather. The work was not without great risk, for the British submarines were hunted in every conceivable way, and, on October 18, E3 was lost in

it. Three actions (in addition to the battle of Heligoland) between cruiser squadrons were fought in the first six months of the war. The first was on November 1, when Read-Admiral Cradock, with a weak squadron composed of the old armoured cruisers Good Hope and Monmouth, the light cruiser Glasgow, and the armed ship Otranto, met a powerful German squadron under Admiral von Spee, composed of the armoured cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, and the light cruisers Leipzig and Dresden, off Coronel jn the Chilian coast. The British ships only mounted two guns heavier than G-in. (two 9.2-in. guns in the Good Hope); the German ships could fire on the broadside twelve 8.2-in. guns. The weather was so rough and the distance was so great that only the two big guns in the Good Hope could render any service, and against odds of six to one they could achieve nothing. The Good Hope and Monmouth made a most gallant and devoted fight under their heroic admiral, but they were both sunk with all hands—some 1400 men. The Germans pleaded that the weather was too rough to permit of rescues, and that there was risk of other British ships appearing. The Glasgow and Otranto, which had no place in an .engagement between armoured ships, escaped undamaged. On December 8 this defeat was avenged off the Falkland Islands by Admiral Sturdee, with a fleet composed of the two powerful battle-cruisers Invincible and Inflexible (each of them singly much more than a match for the German squadron), armoured cruisers Cornwall and Kent, and light cruisers Glasgow and Bristol. Tlie battle-cruisers, each of which fired a broadside of eight 12-in. guns, arrived from England on December 7, and' so- secretly had they been despatched that their arrival was quite unknown to the eneemy. On December 8, Von Spee with the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Dresden, Nurnberg, and Leipzig, arrived off the Falkland Islands, evidently intending to attack that British colony. The British fleet immediately sallied out, and the Germans took f-> flight. TJift main action between the two battlecruisers and the two armoured cruisers was fought at such long range that it was protracted for hours. The issue was never for a moment in doubt. At 12.55 tlie first shot was fired; at 4.4 the Scharnhorst listed to port,, and at 4.17 she As the fight continued,

is was impossible to rescue any survivors. At C p.m. the Gneisenau heeled over and sank; 04 officers and men were rescued from her alive, and they stated that fiOO men had bkn killed or wounded in her before she sank. The Leipzig was sunk by the Cornwall, the Number? was sunk by the Kent, and only the Dresden escaped. On March 14 .she was caught at Juan Frenandez by the Glasgow, Kent, and armed ship Orama, and was destroyed. The total German loss at the Falkland Isles was four ships sunk and 2000 officers and men killed. Von Spec's force was annihilated, with a British loss of 14 killed and 16 wounded. Von Spec himself, with both his sons, perished in the catastrophe. No November 3 the German battlecruiser under Admiral Funke made a raid on the East Coast, and, appearing off Yarmouth, fired a few shots at the place which did no damage. The. British subbarine DS was sunk by mines dropped; the old gunboat Halcyon was shelled by them, but was not sunk. They effected their'retreat in safety, having inflicted no loss of life, but, on returning, to the German coast, the Yorck, armoured cruiser, struck a German mine, and was lost with about half her crew. Nevertheless, on December 1« the German squadron appeared off the North-west Coast, and shelled Scarborough, Whitby, and the Hartlepools, killing about 150 non-com-batants and wounding over 400. The vessels engaged were apparently the Dcrfflinger, Moltke, Von der Tann, and Blucher, with certain light cruisers and dest'rovers. Great damage was done in the Hartlepools, though it was of no military importance. The raiders on their return voyage had a narrow escape from destruction by the Second -British Battle Squadron, when, fog came down and saved them. It is believed that the Von der Tann was seriously damaged in the retreat, either by collision or by striking a German mine. On January 24 the Germans came out to repeat their raid, this time under Admiral Hipper, with the Seydte, Moltke, 1 Derfflingff, Blusher, and » number of

light cruisers and destroyers. He wa3 sighted off the Dogger Bank by the British light cruiser Aurora. Immediately he took to flight, only to be chased by Admiral Beatty, who came ap with a British battle-cruiser force composed of the Lion, Tiger, Princesa Royal, New Zealand, and Indomitable. Some fifteen miles parted the two fleets. The British, steamihg at 28J knots, steadily gained qn the enemy Fire was opened about 9 o'cloek at a range of 20,000 yards, when the Blucher, fourth in the German line, at once began to suffer. At 10.48 she dropped out of the lineon fire, with a heavy list. Two other of the German ships, Seydlitz and Derfflinger, had also been on fire, Unfortunately, at 11.3, the British flagship was disabled by an injury, and compelled to stop. Admiral Beatty's orders for a close pursuit were flying when this happened, but some time necessarily elapsed before his flag could be transferred to an undamaged ship, and in that period the battle was braken oK by his subordinates. Thus only the Blucher was sunk. "While the men from her in the water were being rescued by Britisli small craft a Zeppelin and aeroplane appeared overhead, and dropped bombs on the British. They were promptly driven off with a few rounds. The action was not a complete and crushing victory, as it would probably have been had Admiral Beatty remained in command, but it was an important success. The German loss in the Blucher was about 1000 me*n killed and 120 prisoners, as she carried a very large crew; in the other ships, perhaps 350 men. The Seydlitz was only just able to crawl away, and the DerfTlingei, according to report, spent some months in dock. Altogether the German Navy received a severe and well-deserved lesson as to the folly, even from the German standpoint, of'"baby-killing." The British loss was 14 killed and (i wounded. The Lion and Tiger bo'th sustained injuries, but of a trifling character, and they°wcre speedily back in line. The battle was remarkable as a demonstration of British skill in gunnery, and a proof that the German Navy was reduced to running away. Ti.i» *vas the more galling to the enemy as German newspapers about this date pretended that their fleet could do what it liked in the North Sea, and that the Britisli fleet was skulking in harbor. Though the British ships had a great advantage in gun power (broadside, twenty-four 13.5-in. and sixteen 12-in. guns, firing 44,800 lb. of projectiles, against eight 12-in., twenty 11-in., and eight 8.2-in. guns, firing 22,300 lb.), had the Germans been boldly handled their position should not have been entirely hopeless. Admiral Beatty's leadership was vigorous and skilful, the ideal of what a cruiser admiral's should be.

In all the engagements victory was decided by gnn-power. The man-power of tlie two Navies was approximately equal in the earlier stage of the war, though as the struggle advanced the British superiority increased through the continuous sea training which the British officers and men received, while .the Germans were generally moored in harbor. Man-power being equal, the guns proved the decisive factor./ Of the German light cruisers on the high seas several went to the bottom with'Von Spee. The fate of the Karlsruhe, which early i«ss£Jie war was in American waters, is uncertain; it is probable that she was scuttled by her crew through want of coal. That she has been lost is definitely ascerti.'.ned. The light cruiser Bremen, which also had been in American waters, escaped to a German port through the" blockading line. The. Emden, after sinking British shipping to the value of £4,000,000 in the Indian Ocean and destroying the Russian cruiser Jemtchug at Singapore on October 21, was caught by the Australian cruiser Sydney at the Cocos Islands on November 0, and brought to action. The Sydney's superiority in gun-power was overwhelming, and the Emden, with a loss of 230, against 18 'casualties in the Sydney, was driven ashore and burnt. Her captain, Von Muller, was treated with special honor, as he had shown great humanity to his prisoners. The last of the German commercedetroyers vanished from the. sea when the armed liners Eitel Friedrich and Kronprinz Wilhelm were interned in the United States on April 8 and 27. The work of getting rid of them had occupied eight months.

THE ATTACK ON THE DARDANELLES/ The next important operation undertaken by the Navy was the attack on the Dardanelles. On December 13 Lieutenant Holbrook with submarine 81l passed the Turkish mines in the straits, and torpedoed the Turkish warship Messudieh. On February 19 a fleet of old battleships, supported by the Queen Elizabeth, Inflexible, and Agamemnon, shelled the forts at the entrance, repeating the bombardment on February 25 and 26, and March, 4, 5, C, 7, 10, and 15. The pauses in the bombardment were due to bad weather, or perhaps., in part, to scarcity of ammunition. On March 18 an attempt was made to" press the attack on the inner forts, witli disastrous results. The French battlehip Bouvet and British battleships Irresistible and Ocean wore struck by floating mines or torpedoed, and sunk with the loss of 2000 lives. Though the Turkish work? after this were frequently shelled by the ships no attempt w y as made to destroy them by purely naval attack. Submarine operations against tlie Turkish warships and transports in the Sea of Marmora were carried on with energy, but not without some losses to the Allies. On February lfl it was announced that the FrendU submarine Saphir had been lost. On April 17 E15 1 was wrecked in the Dardanelles, and her crew captured; some days later her hull was destroyed by picket boats from the Majestic and Triumph. On April 27 Eli passed the Dardanelles, and sank three Turkish vessels. On May 12 a Turkish destroyer torpedoed and sank the old battleship Goliath. Meanwhile German submarines had arrived at the Dardanelles, after making the voyage round from the North Sea, and they performed a series of important exploits, torpedoing the Triumph on May 20 and the Majetic on May 27. On August 14 they achieved their only success against a. transport, torpedoing tiie Royal Edward in the Aegean, with the loss of 1000 lives. On August !) a British submarine sank the Turkish battleship Barbarossa, and a gunboat next day. In September E7 attacked a Turkish troop train and damaged a bridge on the railway, only to be destroyed herself some days later. In the Black Sea there was throughout the year continual skirmishing between the Russian and Turkish naval forces, in which the Russians appear to have had decidedly the best of matters. The Goeben was seriously injured, probably by striking a mine, and lost much of her efficiency. The completion of the firsi Russian Dreadnought in this sea gavi: Russia a distinct naval superiority to the enemy. In September German submarines appeared in the Black Sea, cruising off Varna, probably to prevent a Russian landing on the Bulgarian coast. They had previously carried out some small raiAi in the Black Sea,,

ITALY AND FRANCE AGAINST AUSTRIA. In the Adriatic a detached warfare was maintained by the French and Italian navies against Austria, thouah the enemy was aided by his ahuwlancß of excellent harbors, while the Italians and French had no good base on which to rely. The force of our Allies wa* so superior that the Austrians made no attempt to give battle; the work was mainly done by submarines and destroyers. One of-the French Dreadnoughts, the Jean Bart, was torpedoed early in the war, but was. so cleverly handled that she sustained only trifling injury. On December 28 the French submarine Curie was- captured at Pola, but not, it is believed, until she had torpedoed the Austrian Dreadnought Viribus Uuitis, inflicting slight injury. On April 27 the old French armoured cruiser Leon Gaml.lictta was torpedoed and sunk, her crew behaving most gallantly*. When the Italions took over the watch of the Austrian,? their Navy suffered. On July 8 the armoured cruiser Amalfi, and on July IS their armoured cruiser Garibaldi were submarined. , ~ IN THE BALTIC. "' In the Baltic, with, their immense superiority to the Russian fleet, the Germans should have had the upper hand from the outset. Hhere another detached campaign was 'carried, out. British submarines early passed into the Baltic, and their presence may have explained the comparative inactivity of the enemy. Commander Horton, in the E9, damaged the Gazelle, light cruiser, on January 22, and sank the old German battleship Pommern on July 2 in a naval action, when the Russian cruiser drove the German mine-layer Albatross ashore. On August 2 a German transport with troops on board was sent to the bottom. On August 8 another engagement took place in the Gulf of Riga; the Russian gunboat Sivoutch was sunk after a heroic defence, but the Germans are reported to have- sustained heavy loss, and to have had the battle cruiser Moltke torpedoed (apparently she was not sunk). El was responsible for this brilliant coup. After it -the Germans appear to have temporarily abandoned their naval operations against Riga.

BRITISH NAVAL LOSSES. AS ANNOUNCED BY THE ADMIRALTY: Third-Class Battleships, .7. November 20, 1014, Bulwark, blown up, Sheerness, accident. January 1, 1915, Formidable, torpedoed, Channel, German submarine, March 18, 1915, Irresistible, mine, Dardanelles. March 18, 1915, Ocean, mine, Dardanelles. May 12, 1915, Goliath, torpedoed, Dardanelles, Turkish destroyer. May 25, 1915, Triumph, torpedoed, Dardanelles, German submarine. May 27, 1915, Majestic, torpedoed, Dardanelles, German submarine. Armoured Cruisers, 5: September 22, 1914, Hogue, torpedoed, North Sea, U9. September 22, 1914, Aboukir, torpedoed, North Sea, D 9. " September 22, 1914, Cressy, torpedoed, North Sea, U9. November 1, 1914, Good Hope, gunfire, Chilian coast, Von Spee's squadron. November 1, 1914, Monmouth, gunfire, Chilian coast, Von Spee's squadron. Cruisers, 5: August 6, 1914, Amphion, mine, North Sea. September 5, 1914, Pathfinder, torpedoed, North Sea, German submarine. September 20, 1914, Pegasus, gunfire, Zanzibar, Konigsberg. October 15, 1914, Hawke, torpedoed, North Sea, German submarine. October 31, 1914, Hermes, torpedoed, North Sea, German submarine. Destroyers, 3: May 1, 1915, Recruit, torpedoed, North Sea, German submarine. May 7, 1915, Maori, mine, North Sea. August 9, 1915 Lynx, mine, North Sea,

Torpedo Boats, 2: •Tune 11,, 1015, Nos. 10 and 12, torpedoed, North Sea, German submarine. Submarines, 7: September 14, 1914, AEI, foundered, Australia, accident. October 18, 1014, E3, unknown, North Sea, German fleet. November S, 1014, Do, mine, North Sea, German raid oii Yarmouth. April 17, 101S, Els, wrecked, Dardanelles, hull blown up afterwards. April 30, 1015, AE2, gunfire, Dardanelles, Turks. August 10, 1015, El 3, wrecked, Danish coast, damaged by German gunfire. September, 1915, E7, gunfire, Dardanelles, Turks. Gunboats, 2: September 3, 1914, Speedy, mine, North Sea. , , November 11, 1914, Niger, torpedoed, Straits of Duvev, German- submarine. Auxiliaries.—Wrecked: Oceanic, Rohilla. Torpedoed: Viknor Im.i) \&vc been wrecked), Clan McXaughton, Bayano, India. Blown up:' Princess Irene (accidental explosion). Sunk by gunfire: Ramsey. GERMAN NAVAL LOSSES. OMITTING SHIPS OF WHOSE FATE THERE IS, DOUBT, Third-class Battleships, I:" July 2, 1915, Pommern, torpedoed, Baltic, E9. Armoured cruisers, 5: November 4, 1914, mine, North Sea. " . December R, 1014, Schnmhorst, gunfire, Falkland Islands, Sturdee's fleet. December S, 1014, Gneisenau, gunfire, Falkland Islands, Sturdee's fleet, December 11, 1014, F. Garl. (Loss doubtful; said to have been sunk by Russian fleet in Baltic). January 24, 1015, Blucher, gunfire, North Sea, Beatty's fleet. Light Cruisers, 10: August 27, 1014, Magdeburg, gunfire, Baltic, Russian fleet. August 28, 1014, Mainz, gunfire, Heligoland, British fleet. August 28, 1014, Koln, gunfire, Heligoland, British fleet. August 2S, 1014, Ariadne, gunfire, Heligoland, British fleet. September 13, 1014, Hela, torpedoed, North Sea, EO. November (?), 1014, Karlsruhe, scuttled, West Indies, own crew. December 8, 1914, Nnrnberg, gunfire, Falkland Islands, Sturdee's fleet. December 8, 1914, Leipzig, gunfire, Falkland Islands, Sturdee's fleet. March 14, 1915, Dresden, sunk, Juan Fernandez. British eruisaa,

July 11, 1915, Konigsbevg, burnt, Eufiji river, British monitors. Destroyers, 8: August 28, 1014, VlB7, gunfire, Heligoland, British fleet. September (i), 1014, Taku, gunfire, Kiaochau, Japanese. October 6, 1014, Sllfi, torpedoed, North Sea. E9. October 17, 1014, Slls, Sll7, Sllß, Sll9, gunfire, North Sea, Undaunted and destroyers. July 20, 1915, G196, torpedoed, North Sea, British submarine. Torpedo-Boats, 4: November 20,1914, S9O, wrecked, Kiaochau. * May 1, 1015, A and B, gunfire, Belgian coast, British destroyers. August 24, 1915, X, gunfire, Belgian coast, French destroyers. Submarines, 10: August 9, 1914, TJIS, rammed, North Sea, Birmingham. October 23, 1914, Uf, rammed, North Sea, Badger. November 23, 1914, UlB, sunk, North Sea, British flotillas. ,^ February 28, 1915, U?, rammed, Channel, steamer Thordis. March 4, 1915, US, sunk, Channel, British destroyer. March 10, 1915, Ul2, sunk, Channel, British destroyer. March, 1915, U29, rammed, British bat-tle-fleet. June, 1915, Ul4, sunk. August 20, 1915, U(?), sunk (?), British waterplane. September, 195, U27, sunk. Oother losses' have not been publicly notified. In addition, 8 gunboats and IS auxiliaries have been destroyed. , THE TWO NAVAL ALLIANCES. A COMPARISON OF FORCES. EIGHT DIFFERENT FLEETS ENGAGED. The naval war is not being waged by Great Britain alone, but by a great alliance, the fleets of all 'the Entente Powers virtually forming a common force. Hj is disirable that the force of the Allied fleets on either sMo. should be set forth, in order that the world may understand the strength of the combination that the Germanic Powers have to face. The figures given in the case of the Entente Allies must necessarily, for national reasons, be those of .the'fleets on the outbreak of war, with only such additions as have been deliberately dis-~ closed by the various Admiralties. The building power of Germany in normal times was about equal to that of Great Britain so far as concerns battleships; in this respect Italy was superior to Austria, and France was in advance of Italy in building power. Russia's capacity for rapid construction was greatly improved shortly befdre the war, and was probably superior to Austria's. Thus, whatever additions have been made to the various fleets—and on these secrecy must be maintained—the Allies should have outdistanced the enemy. The opposed fleets were as follows: Allies Enemy British Gorman French Austrian' Italian Turkish Russian Japaneso The Russian fleet was divided into two halves, one in the Black Sea and the other in the Baltic, and both halves were cut off from each other and from the other Allies—in the Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosphorus, which the Turks controlled; in the Baltic by the difficulty of passing the Great Belt and leaving the German fleet at Kiel or Wilhelmshaven on the flank and rear of the Allies' line of communications. Submarines, however, could pass, if only with difficulty, through these Narrows and give some aid to Russia. Tlie Turkish Navy—or what there was of it —including the Goeben and Breshui, was cut off from the German and Austrian fleets by the main strength of the Aljjed navies, which had to be brought to battle and defeated before the German and Austrian Dreadnoughts eould reach the Near East. German and Austrian submarines could, however, make the run, eluding the Allied battleships and cruisers. The Austrian Navy was in the same way cut off from the German fleet. Tims the enemy forces were in three blocks: German, Austrian, Turkish. The Allies' forces were also in three: II) the main force, including the British, Trench, Italian, and Japanese Navies, which could combine and arrange themselves as their strategists thought best; (2) .the Russian forces in the Black Sea; and (3) the Russian forces in the Baltic. The Allied main force in Europe had a strength of 38' Dreadnoughts and 10 bat-tle-cruisers complete, with 55 preDreadnoughts and 5S armoured cruisers. The enemy's, forces complete thus eou- ■ sisted of 20 Dreadnoughts and 7 battlecruisers, with 42 pre-Dreadnoughts and 7 armoured cruisers. ' The blockade of the Austrian fleet was , carried out by Italy with her powerful ■ Navy, the ships of which are exceptionally well designed and extraordinarily heavily armed. The French fleet, which carried on the blockade till Italy entered the field, was withdrawn. The British fleet, with a contingent bf French ships, undertook the task of watching the Dardanelles and blockading the German fleet in the North Sea, though not 1 until late in the war was the blockade rendered in any degree effective. It was hampered at the outset by the cobwebs of the Declaration of London—the code of sea laws "made in Germany" that had been attacked by the British Press in • 15)11 and rejected by the House of Lords. The fleet was therefore fettered by rules which Germany treated with utter contempt