WAR’S NAVAL LESSONS.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 January 1921, Page 11

WAR’S NAVAL LESSONS.

FORECASTING THE FUTURE. ROLE OF THE SUBMARINE /. ■ - london, Dec. 19. The newspapers ar<t still bus'ly discussing the naval lessons of the war. The naval correspondent of the Times considers that the Battle of Jutland was probably the last battle between great battleships, but points out that Admiral Jellicoe and he German Commander-in-Ohief agree that the capital ship will remain the unit of sea power. The German Commander, von Haase, says that hod. Admiral Jellicoe sought a decision he did not d.oubt that the English fleet would, have had to cede its place as the strongest in the world to the United States. Admiral Jellicoe acted perfectly right, from his point of view, in not re-opening the battle. Mr. Garvin, in the London Observer, says that there was no lack of skill or discretion, but the Battle of Jutland, despite all the splendid skill and courage of the officers and men, remains and will remain something of a disappointment. In a letter to the Times Vice-Admiral Anstruther discusses from the point of view of the Dominions the result of his war experiences at Hongkong. “If the strength of the fleet is determined, by what is necessary to protect trade,” he says, “then submarines and anti-sub-marine craft appear to fulfil these conditions for our island colonies overseas. The Emden left from Kiau-chau, yet was forced to operate in the Indian Ocean because of the submarines at the China station. The fact that Germany had no submarines in the Far East proved a notable advantage in the protection of our trade.” Admiral Anstruther makes the novel suggestion that merchant ships capable of submerging would probably be a powerful aid to trade protection.