The Daily News. MONDAY, JULY 10, 1916. ADMIRAL JELLICOE'S DISPATCH.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 July 1916, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, JULY 10, 1916. ADMIRAL JELLICOE'S DISPATCH.

If any proof were required of the. thoroughness which marks every detail of the organisation, tactical efficiency and expert control of the British Navy, it is to be found in the admirable report of Sir John Oellicoe on the historic naval engagement off the coast of Jutland on May 31 last The mere fact that the compilation of this dispatch has occupied the supreme commander of the Imperial Grand Fleet for over a month evidences the great importance attaching to that document, and testifies to the immense care bestowed on the collection and verification of the great mass of data which must necessarily have been forthcoming fiom the various units of the Fleet. The tone of the dispatch is studiously judicial and matter of fact, making a strikingly plain setting to one of the most glorious chapters of British naval history, v.)!*! emphasising, unconsciously, the magnificent feats of heroic daring, courage, and resource that bear eloquent proof as to the personnel of Britain's first line of defence being possessed of those qualities which have endeared the Navy in the hearts of the people. Admiral Jellieoe gives the enemy's losse9 as a minimum of twenty-one vessels, adding that unquestionably many others were very seriously damaged by gun fire and torpedoes. A perusal of the despatch cannot fail to impress the reader with the fact that Admiral Sir John Jellieoe is in every way worthy of the responsible position he occupies, Xot only is he ihoroughly versed in naval tactics, past and present, but he has that extremely 'aluable quality of creating precedents. , ihe sure ball mark of a great commander. In the Jutland battle Admiral Jellieoe well knew that he was opposed to an enemy whose practice it was to raidrot to fight—and then fly to the security of protected harborage. He therefore .leemed it necessary to divide bis fleet with the object of forcing an unwilling eremy to fight. How accurately this view represented the intentions of the enemy subsequent events proved. All the same, Admiral Jellieoe knew his method ivas drastic, but was confident that it was justified under the circumstances. It is beyond all dispute (hat had not '.he British fleet been handicapped by unfavorable conditions of visibility (which favored the enemy) few, if any, of the German warships would have returned to their base. The plan of endeavoring to entice the enemy out into the open, and then trust to tactical skill to destroy it, was boldly iceived and skilfully executed, but it was distinctly unfortunate that weather conditions robbed our fleet of tire complete success which they anticipated. Admiral Beatty's description of the manoeuvres to intercept the enemy convey a most graphic word picture of what must have been a.thrilling episode, emphasised by the gallant work of the destroyers which completely frustrated Ihe designs of the German destroyers and took a heavy toll at close range fighting. The account is so vivid tiiat Hi; reader ran conjure up a vision of.the grandeur ami majesty surrounding the fierce and lesolute conflict between the opposing battle cruisers, and yet this spectacle was tar surpassed when the battleships got to work and the enemy received severe punishment as they sped eastward. It was when the battle iiad reached its hoilot point that Admiral Hood appealed with bis battleships and, without a moment's hesitation, placed them in front of Admiral Beatty's cruisers. Then was the time to test the skill and resource of the Commander-in-Chief, and lie emerged from that great test with an enhanced reputation which amply justified his tenure of such a responsible position. The >upreinc moment had arrived; a net had been drawn rround the enemy, and the British fleet stood between the German ships and their base. Had daylight lasted for but an hour or two longer a derisive defeat would have been inflicted on the Gern i fleet. It was not to be, the haze and the oncoming shadows of ujght enabled the enemy to escape from the cleverly devised trap, but it was a t

battered mill cowed enemy (hut struggled l.iii-k to harbor with the rcimiaiits of the High Kli'i-t that had dared to face the might of Britain's power at sea. Sir John .lellieoe gives ' l faithful and accurate, account (if his own losses, and is unsparing of praise for his ollicers and men. The- battle lias conclusively proved I hat the. British gunnery is all that could be desired, and that the Navy as a whole maintains its high reputation. Admiral .lellieoe lias deservedly earned the warmest congratulations of the people of the ICmpire, and his despatch is well worthy of a place of honor in the brilliant records of the Mistress of the Seas.