LESSONS OF THE BATTLE.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 December 1920, Page 5

LESSONS OF THE BATTLE.

BRITISH TARS' SUPERIORITY,

GERMAN SHIPS PRAISED. BITTER THAN THEIR CREWS, \ Received Dec. 20, 12.5 a.m. London, Dec. 10. Captain von Hase, the Derflinget's chief gunnery officer at the battle of Jutland, in his book "Kiel and 'Jutland," which, is sh6rtly being published by Skeffingtons, admit 3 that Admiral Jellieoe's strategy was unimpeachable, and that the battle, though indecisive, in no way impaired Britain's mastery of the seafi.

Lord Sydenham, in an interview with Lloyds' Sunday News, suggests we allowed the C rmans to deceive us over the battleeruisers' speed, just as eaTlier they did over their census. The German fleet had one definite purpose—to Ight us in the North Sea The Kaiser could therefore build ships cut into sections for better protection on a watertight system, creating such difficulties relating to restriction of crew space, internal communication, and discipline that an ocean-going battleship like ours was unable to follow their model. The Germans had certain advantages' in speed, fire direction, night communication, and other technical devices; then why did they go home? They went because thrir seamen were not as good as the ships they sailed. This one hammering knocked the fighting spirit out of them.

Lord Sydenham adds that von Scheer could not subsequently trust the moral of his own sailors. In their position British tars would have hung on like grim death. So the Jutland sacrifice was well worth it, while the lessons of the battle show that the gun is still supreme, and trie torpedo is as disappointing in a fleet action as it proved in the Russo-Japanese War. Thirdly, officers must give more careful study to strategy and tactics, and fourthly, not all the technical science in the world can supply the place of born seamen. The future will see the battle-cruiser disappear, and the battleship and the destroyer will fight the big actions. Cruisers will scout and sweep the seas, but men will count for everything every time—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.