Sea
fights of the Great War
. By W.L.
Wyllie R.A. & M.F. Wren
The Bombardment
of the Belgian Coast-The Raids-The Dogger Bank Action
Incidents in home waters have been given down to the end of
October 1914. The
bombardment of the Belgian coast was commenced in that month, continued
without cessation into November, and has been repeated frequently since.
In August and September 1914, the Germans concentrated their
mainland effort on the attempt to overwhelm the French Army and to break
the line between Paris and Verdun.
Their attempt failed, and the Germans retreated to a prearranged
position on the Aisne. The
alignment in Belgium was, however, not definitely fixed, and during
October the Germans tried to force back the Allied left, and to capture
the coast as far as Calais. Probably they wished the right of their line to reach the
heights that run in a northwesterly direction, terminating at Cape
Grisnez. Had this been
accomplished the position would have been serious for England.
The small base of Zeebrugge has caused us a great deal of
trouble. With the enemy at
Calais the position would have been a hundred times worse.
Looking back, it seems miraculous that the Germans did not break
through, considering the forces they used against our weak line, which
was so ill supplied with munitions.
Nothing but good leadership and the splendid fighting qualities
of the troops saved the situation.
At the commencement of October the Belgians had abandoned
Brussels. The evacuation of
Antwerp began on the 7th, and the German occupied the town on
the 9th, at the end of the siege realising an army of 60,000
trained men under General von Besseler for main operations in the south
of the low-flying Flanders coast. There
were four possible lines of advance towards Calais for the Germans:
through Arras, La Bassee, Ypres, and along the coast.
The Germans, with their huge numbers, were able to attempt all
four lines simultaneously, finally developing their strategy into a
supreme effort at Ypres. The
Germans from Antwerp tried to force the line along the coast.
Their failure to achieve this object was due to the bombardment
from the sea, and the inundation of the Yser Canal by the Belgians.
This was partly a naval and partly a land defence.
Three monitors, Severn, Mersey, and Humber carried out our
earliest attack. These
ships rendezvoused in Downs on October 10th, and the next day
at dawn they proceeded to Ostend, which the Germans had not yet reached.
There they waited events.
On the 12th arrangements were discussed for embarking
troops, and the coast as examined to find the best place for that
purpose, but nothing ws definitely settled, the operation not being
easy.
On the 13th the monitors steamed up the coast,
locating landmarks on shore and marking the ranges.
During the next few days the last of the troops and wounded from
Antwerp were embarked in transports at Ostend; numbers of the civil
population also left by other steamers.
The bombardment of the coast began on October 17th.
Von Besseler’s army on that day moved from Middelkerke and
Westende and bivouacked a little to the east of Nieuport.
The Belgians were being heavily attacked when the monitors
arrived and commenced firing. The squadron had been added to, and then consisted of
Attentive, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral the Hon. Horace Hood, in
command of the Dover Patrol; Foresight, another ship of the same type;
the three monitors, with six British and four French destroyers.
On the 18th the flotilla proceeded from off Nieuport
pier, where they passed the night, and went up the coast bombarding the
“Bains” of Middlekerke and Westende.
Spotting was arranged from naval balloons on shore, and the
damage done was considerable. Batteries
were put out of action, and a number of Germans must have been killed.
The enemy replied, but as their guns were of smaller calibre and
could hardly reach ships, the effect proved inconsiderable.
The same programme was carried out day after day.
The ships fired off all their ammunition and returned in the
evening to Dunkirk, filled up again with ammunition and coal as
necessary, and stopped till before dawn.
The crews slept in their clothes and got very little rest.
The constant destruction done compelled the Germans to withdraw
out of range. We then had
to send larger ships in with heavier guns.
Old ships were chosen: Venerable, battleship, armed with four
12-inch guns; Brilliant, a cruiser; Rinaldo, a gunboat; Bustard, a
“flatiron.” Sirius,
Vestal, Submarines C 32, C 33, and a number of destroyers arrived on
different dates. The four
French boats continued in company during the period. The destroyers were to act as a screen, their proper
function, for the larger ships against submarine attack.
The bombardment was extended as far as Ostend, and the coast was
swept by devastating fire for about six miles inshore. Against this the Germans could, at the time, do little or
nothing, as they had no heavy siege artillery to bring against the
ships. The main attack,
therefore, shifted to the Yser Canal, where desperate fighting took
place. The Belgians met this stroke by playing their last card.
Heavy rain had been falling, so by damming the lower reaches of
the canal and cutting the banks they caused an inundation of the
country. The flood was not
impassable, however, and therefore the dykes were cut, and the Germans
had to withdraw, leaving many of their troops drowned behind them.
The Belgians attempted to advance along the coast, but were
beaten back, and the line was finally consolidated by the beginning of
November with our left resting on Nieuport, which was protected by ships
at sea.
After this the operations entered a new phase.
Bombardment was carried out not to prevent the German advance,
but to co-operate in attacks on their entrenched line. In April 1915, Vice-Admiral Sir A.H.S. Bacon replaced Rear
Admiral the Hon. Horace Hood. In
August an attack was made on the coast with eighty vessels. The large monitors, Lord Clive, Sir John Moore, Prince
Rupert, General Crawford, Marshal Ney, and others, including armed
yachts, mining trawlers, and old warships-all took part.
Several attacks were carried out, and the whole coast was
bombarded. Aeroplane raids
were also made. Much damage
was undoubtedly done, but Zeebrugge and the entrances to the canals were
not totally destroyed. The
bombardments have been repeated periodically, as Zeebrugge had proved
rather a thorn in our side-an indication of what might have happened if
the Germans had reached Calais. Later
events, however, will tell their own story.
Nothing in the end proves impossible to English naval power.
The Raids
These possibilities of the Germans raiding out coasts had been
recognised before the war, and our arrangements on mobilisation had
always included defence against an attempted landing of a force of
troops, either for a raid or a major operation of invasion.
Apart from the precautions few people, if any, thought that
Germany would ever send warships over to bombard open towns for an hour
or less, and then withdrew at full speed to avoid an action.
The unexpected happened on four occasions, thrice within the
first year of war. The
first raid miscarried, the second was fully successful from the German
point of view, and the third was intercepted, ending in the action of
the Doger Bank.
It was the second of these raids, which gave the Germans the name
of “baby killers,” and
earned for their navy the reputation for callous brutality, which will
probably never be effaced from the pages of history.
The first raid took place on November 3rd 1914. The German ships which undertook it were: Seydlitz, Moltke,
and Von der Tann, battle cruisers; armoured cruisers Blucher, Yorck, and
Kolberg; Strassburg and Graudens, and three light cruisers of the German
“Town” class. Yorck,
apparently, kept well behind the others; probably on account of her slow
speed.
The squadron started for England, probably from Wilhelmshaven,
late in the afternoon on the 2nd, and steaming at about
twenty knots arrived off Yarmouth at 7 a.m. the following morning.
At dawn it had passed at high speed through a fishing fleet.
A little later Halcyon used before the war for fishery
protection, and at the time on patrol duty, met the squadron and was
fired at. Haleyon, of
course, steamed off, and the Germans passed on, not troubling about her
further, possibly because one of their first shots brought down their
wireless, and they thought her momentarily out of action.
On arrival off Yarmouth they began on the town, but all their
shots fell short, never reaching the land.
The Germans kept well off shore, outside the banks, keeping up
fire for fifteen to twenty minutes, and then withdrew, dropping mines as
they sped homeward. Two
destroyers and two submarines went off in pursuit of them.
One of the submarines, D 5, struck a mine and foundered.
Her consort was not otherwise interfered with. On the return voyage of the Germans, or soon after it, Yorck
went over a mine off the German coast, and was lost. The raid, therefore, was not at all successful from the enemy
point to view. There had
been no loss of life among non-combatants, no international laws or
recognised rules of humanity had been actually broken, and no one in
England took any notice of the incident.
In addition, Germany had lost a cruiser against the loss of one
of our submarines.
The next raid, which took place on December 10th, was,
however, completely successful. All
the objects attempted at Yarmouth were actually achieved at Scarborough,
Whitby, and Hartlepool. German
“frightfulness” was literally brought home to our countrymen, and
the young German Navy won an evil name it will never lose.
The German Press voiced the exultation of the nation on the
success of the exploit; not merely the gutter press, but newspapers of
standing, such as the Cologne Gazette and the Tagliche Rundschau,
joining in the general rejoicing. “Mr
Punch” published a cartoon in which Captain von Muller, of S.M.S.
Emden, is made to call the exploit “dirty work”; but apparently, no
condemnation of savage brutality has emanated from a German source.
The ancient castle of Scarborough was apparently considered
sufficient to give that watering place the character of a
“fortress.” Needless to
say, no twenty-four hours notice of bombardment was given. Not even half an hour was given for people to vacate the
neighbourhood of the sea front. The
Germans rejoiced because all England, as they imagined, was quaking
before their ruthlessness. As
a matter of fact, the outrage filled the recruiting stations to
overflowing at a time when the first enthusiasm at the outbreak of war
was beginning to flag. It
is the English character to resent bitterly any departure, even in war,
from the rules of sport.
There is doubt as to the composition of the German squadron. Derfflinger, one of the latest additions to the fleet, is
believed to have been present or in the background. Blucher was certainly there.
Five large ships took part.
The others were probably Moltke, Seydlitz, and Von der Tann.
One of the earliest of the War Office telegrams mentioned a small
cruiser bombarding Scarborough and Whitby, while a subsequent telegram
from the same source said a battle and an armoured cruiser were off
these places. So, possibly,
the force was composed of three battle cruisers, with Blucher and an
armoured cruiser. Probably
light cruisers may also have formed part of the squadron, although they
did not appear off the coast. Rear-Admiral
Funke was in command.
The bombardment of Scarborough and Whitby merits description in
detail. These places are
purely open towns, and no shadow of excuse existed for attacking them.
At Hartlepool there was a battery at the mouth of the harbour, so
bombarding the place did not break the letter of international law,
though the spirits of the law was certainly outraged as want only as
possible.
Shortly before eight o’clock two cruisers arrived off
Scarborough from the north. Approaching
to within very close range of the town they opened a deliberate and
well-judged fire. First of
all some thirty shots were fired at a small coastguard signal station,
which was destroyed before it was struck three times; Scarborough
Castle, which has been in ruins for some centuries, was next shelled,
without loss of life, of course, as the place was deserted only its dead
history remained for enemy maliciousness.
Some barrack buildings near by were also shelled. These
had been unoccupied for some years.
Indiscriminate fire was soon begun; the town was raked from end
to end. The Grand Hotel, plainly visible from off shore, was shelled
mercilessly. Falsgrave, a
suburb of Scarborough, was under fire for some time; there was a
wireless station near it, but this was not destroyed, whatever the
intention may have been. The
central portion of the town was most damaged, especially the Esplande,
the Crescent, and the wealthy residential parts.
The northern and southern portions were aimed at, but less
continuously. Churches were
not omitted. St. Martin’s
Church, on South Cliff, was hit while Communion service was being
held-that early morning service so sacred to Church people.
Having plastered the town thoroughly with shell and slaughtered a
number of inhabitants, the cruisers proceeded to Whitby.
The bombardment there necessarily lasted a shorter time-probably
not more than fifteen minutes. Again
the fire was first directed at a coastguard station, which could have
been demolished by a couple of shots from small guns, whereas from sixty
to a hundred shells of the largest calibre were wasted on it.
The ships steamed in close to the shore, and were faced by a
cliff two hundred to two hundred and fifty feet high.
Considerable elevation had, therefore, to be given to the guns to
reach the town, and shots, which carried over the cliff, went far inland
and were useless. Had the
coastguard station really been the objective, half a dozen shots from
one only of the German 24-pounders, with which the ships were armed,
could have smashed the place to smithereens.
Firing with heavy guns at such an objective proves that it was
used as a mere excuse for wholesale slaughter-a subterfuge of murderous
villainy pure and simple.
At Hartlepool much the same programme was carried out, but at
this place there was a light battery at the mouth of the harbour, and
some soldiers of the Durham Light Infantry were stationed in the town.
German battle cruisers can fire from five to seven 6-inch guns on
the broadside, and a single broadside could have dealt with all the
opposition the defences could possibly offer.
The devastating effect of 6-inch shells at close quarters has
already been noted in the Cameroons, at Sheik Said, in Mesopotamia, and
the Rufiji delta. The shots
from the shore could not penetrate the ships armour.
But merely demolishing a battery and killing a few infantry can
never be pretended to have been the German object.
Three battle cruisers arrived at 8 a.m.
Two English destroyers, Doon and Hardy, were off the harbour. They were fired at, and, of course, fled at once from such a
force. Both came under fire
and were damaged, but neither was sunk.
The Germans evidently had orders to bombard the town, and not to
be led away from their object by engaging men-o-war.
Their purpose was never to dispute or fight for the command of
the sea. They approached
under cover of darkness and fled at full speed from the bombardment. What approached under cover of darkness and fled at full
speed from the bombardment. What
comment is necessary?
Fire was opened from all guns and was kept up for fifty minutes.
The number of rounds fired must have been about 1,500.
Great damage was done, of course.
As at Scarborough, the town was thoroughly raked, and fire was
not confined to the battery of harbour.
Some shots fell far inland.
German gun layers apparently especially noticed churches.
St. Hilda, St. Mary’s, the Baptist Chapel and the Scandinavian
Church were all badly damaged, as if the German God and the Kaiser’s
partner waged war against the God of all Christians.
One hundred and thirteen persons were reported killed, and over
three hundred were wounded. If
the nature of the firing is considered, it is wonderful that the
casualties were so few-fewer far, it may be imagined, than was intended.
Having given vent to their hate, the ships fled towards their
harbour, sowing mines broadcast as they went.
They were fortunate in their weather, which was thick and hazy
all over the North Sea. Two
British squadrons attempted to cut off their flight, but the Germans
slipped safely through in the fog.
They were actually sighted once, but the haze did them again, and
a change of course enabled them to escape all retribution.
Their triumph was trumpeted abroad without disguise, until it was
found that neutral opinion was outraged.
The German officials then tried to “hedge,” but the truth had
gone too far. The mayor of Scarborough, writing with great restraint
considering the circumstances, correctly voiced public opinion probably
the wide world over:
“Our
surprise at the attack was greater as we were led to believe from the
conduct of the plucky commander of Emden that German sailors understood
something about the glorious old traditions of the sea.
Some new comers into honourable professions first learn the
tricks and lastly the traditions. As
their commanders get older in the service, they will find that an iron
cross pinned on their breasts even by King Herod will not shield them
from the shafts of shame and dishonour.”
A third raid was attempted, but luckily intercepted, and resulted
in the action of the Dogger Bank.
The German squadron consisted of the same battle cruisers:
Derfflinger, Seylitz, Moltke, and the armoured cruiser Blucher, six
light cruisers, and destroyers. There
was obviously a desire to pile dishonour on dishonour.
A Zeppelin and a seaplane did observation in the latter part of
the action forced on Germany. Submarines
also participated near the German coast.
Rear-Admiral Hipper was in command.
In the grey dawn of January 24th 1915, Aurora, a light
cruiser, was patrolling with her four destroyers some way off the
English coast when she sighted in the distance a strange man-o-war.
Aurora turned her searchlight in the direction of the new comer
and called her up. The
reply of Kolberg was a salvo, and, as usual, our enemies picked up the
range, 8,000 yards, almost at once.
The British guns crews closed up and a very spirited little
action began. Aurora’s
fire steadily improved all the time, while the Germans aim gradually
became more erratic as the British shells found their mark.
After a while three or four German battle cruisers made their
appearance beyond Kilberg, and Aurora’s searchlight was again swung
round and a signal made to Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty, commanding the
“Cat Squadron,” which on this occasion consisted of Lion (flag),
Tiger, Princess Royal, New Zealand, and Indomitable.
At first the German ships had been steering to the northwest, but
when they sighted the British battle cruisers advancing they turned at
once and made for home at full speed.
Once more “discretion was the better part of valour.”
So a chase began, and we can fancy how the engine room staffs
worked the force pursuing squadrons to their utmost speed.
As the morning mists the masts and funnels of the flying Germans
could be made quite clearly; they seemed to be steaming in line abreast,
making a great cloud of smoke, which partly obscured the ships to
leeward. Farther to the south another smoke pall marked the track of
the German light cruisers and destroyers, at this time quite hull down.
All were steering to the Southeast making for the protection of
their minefield and coast batteries.
Sir David did not follow in the German wake, but edged away to
the southward, thus keeping clear of any floating mines which might have
been dropped, and also shaping course to work round the enemy’s right
flank.
Lion, Tiger, Princess Royal, and New Zealand steamed in a line of
bearing, the flagship leading, and to the southeast.
In this formation each battle cruiser could use all her guns on
the port side. Indomitable
was farther to the north, together with Arethusa and Undaunted, with
their destroyers. Beyond
again were the light cruisers, Nottingham, Birmingham, Lowestoft, and
Southampton. The sky was dull, and the sea was at first calm, but the
easterly wind increased as the day wore on.
Soon after nine o’clock a shot from Lion hulled Blucher, the
most northerly of the German cruisers.
She was steaming as she had never steamed before, but,
nevertheless, was evidently falling behind her consorts.
By half past nine New Zealand was also able to reach Blucher, and
Lion and Tiger shifted their fire to Seydlitz, while Princess Royal
began on Derflinger. Moltke
apparently was partially hidden in the other ships smoke, and received
consequently very little damage. For
more than an hour the long stern chase continued, and at eleven it was
evident that Blucher was crippled.
She turned out of line towards the north, and Indomitable was
ordered to say behind and sink her.
Sometime later Arethusa closed on Blucher and finished her off
with a torpedo. There was a
terrible explosion, and the German ship began to list over to port, her
crew clustering thick upon her docks, cheering and singing patriotic
songs. They were dauntless
enough when it came to the point. Great
fires were burning forward and amidships.
Then, as their ship began to slowly over, hundreds of men crawled
out upon her battered broadside. Columns
of steam burst as the water poured into the burning ship, which went
right over, leaving the swaying mass of humanity struggling in the icy
sea. Only a hundred and
twenty med had been picked up when a Zeppelin dropping bombs on the
rescuers interrupted the work. Apparently the airmen took Blucher, which had tripod mast,
for a British ship, and so destroyed their own countrymen. The loss of life was very heavy, as the German ships were
carrying a great number of extra men.
Just at this moment the flying ships altered course towards the
east, and the enemy destroyers made a demonstration as though to attack,
but nothing came of it. German
submarines were also seen, but they were avoided. Then the Hun
destroyers steamed to windward of their battle cruisers, which were now
on fire in several places, and evidently in distress.
A heavy fire had been kept up on them with 13.5 and 12-inch guns,
and their losses must have been very severe.
Such a storm of metal would be tremendous.
At a little past eleven an
unlucky shot, falling steeply, struck Lion, passing through her
decks, letting the sea water into the starboard feed tank, and thus
putting the boilers on that side out of action.
Sir David Beatty called the destroyer Attack to him, and sprang
aboard without waiting for the Jacob’s ladder, going at once in chase
of the battle cruisers. Time,
however, had been lost, and it was twenty past twelve before he could
reach them, to find that the battle had already been broken off.
Lion afterwards took a bad list, but was taken in tow and brought
safely to port.
A young officer who was on board Aurora has given the following
account of the battle:
“I have much news to give you and could well write a small
book, only I must confine myself to very general remarks on account of
censorship, and not regale you with myself to very general remarks on
account of censorship, and not regale you with an account of all the
incidents of out action with the German Fleet last Sunday.
“ You will, of course, have read a good deal in the papers, and
I daresay have wondered much, though I hope not worried, whether we were
in it.
“Well, we were, and a very interesting and exciting time we
had, both on our own account and as spectators of the big ship action
which followed. Sunday
morning was rather misty and dark, with a calm sea and little
wind-entirely propitious for fighting purposes; and after little sleep,
we were up at 6 a.m. in case daybreak should show us any enemy ships
prowling round. It was just
about 7 a.m. in the semi-darkness when we saw one of the enemy light
cruisers, the Kolberg, with some destroyers under her wing, away on the
starboard beam. It was no
easy matter to say in that light whether she was friend or foe, but we
got the men to action stations as quickly as possible, still hardly
believing that the ship was an enemy or that ‘Der Tag’ could be
arriving. One gets so used
to false alarms now days, and this might be one.
“However a lighter background, and opened fire on us with the
decision. We replied, and
then ensued a very pretty little engagement.
“One could hardly see her outline on account to the dark and
smoke, but the flashes of her guns each time she fired left us in no
doubt as to where she was, and the fall of her shells some ten seconds
later left us in no doubt at all as to her target.
“It was fascinating, and, perhaps at first, a little
disconcerting to see the flashes of the guns and then to wait until the
shots should fall, and to wonder whether it would be us or the sea which
would check their flight; they fell some distance short for the first
few rounds and then got closer, and then again gave food for thought,
as, knowing that the last salvo was closer by, say, 400 yards than the
one before, one could speculate as to the probable destination of the
next to come. One perhaps
took more notice to the detail of their shooting than one did of your
own as regards the fall of shot, but I do not doubt that the Germans
were given plenty of food for thought, if not for breakfast, b the fall
of our shell, for they found that they had got all they wanted after
seven or eight minutes of firing, and made off quickly.
At this point their battle cruisers came into view, so we could
not chase our late opponent, and, moreover, now had the job of getting
our big ships into touch with those of the enemy a far more important
thing, of course, than deciding our own personal animosities.
“We were luckily without any casualties, though hit three or
four times; but I do not think that the Germans are likely to be able to
say the same, as we distinctly saw some of our shell getting home in a
very useful manner indeed.
It was now about 7:30 a.m. and the next hour was spent by our
battle cruisers steaming hard to get within range of those of the
enemy-we being of course out of it until the enemy big ships should have
a well marked impression made upon them, when there might be a chance of
our small ships being able to come in at the finish and give the coup de
grace by torpedo or otherwise. Or, if there should be no lame duck to deal with, then to
engage the enemy small ships when no longer protected by big ones.
“We all remained at our action stations and got some breakfast
brought us by little bits, here and there, and to this we did the
fullest possible justice so as to be well ready for possible
eventualities.
“ It was about 8.45 a.m. when our battle cruisers got within
range and opened fire, and then there ensued an historical action
between the most powerful fighting units that man has ever designed, and
under conditions which were for us, as witnesses in the background, a
remarkable mixture of commonplace routine and awe-inspiring novelty.
I mean by this that there was from one point of view the ordinary
drill and procedure with which everyone in the Navy has become familiar
at frequent gunnery practice firings in peace time, and from the other
point of view the very unusual state of affairs by which the
‘target’ was replying with a continuous and disconcerting stream of
unpleasantly dangerous missiles.
“It was really very wonderful to see our big battle cruisers
steaming along at top speed with spurts of flame and brown smoke issuing
every minute or so from their bows and sides-and, in the far distance,
the enemy’s guns replying flashes-then one could see, as shots fell in
the water, tall columns of white spray, or, more ominously, no splash as
they scored a hit, which could be plainly seen to cause big volumes of
black smoke and bright flashes to rise from the injured craft; it was
very exciting; from our position, too, the fall of the enemy’s shell
around our ships was most plainly visible, and, of necessity, was the
great centre of our attention as one saw many shots fall very close, or,
perhaps, out of a salvo, saw one or two fall short, one or two over, and
wondered how many had gone between and knocked against something harder
than sea-water.
“For nearly three hours this sort of thing continued with
hardly any apparent result or change between any successive five
minutes, but gradually, and little by little, it became plain that we
were asserting our superiority, with the ultimate result, as you will
have seen in the papers, of the total destruction and sinking of the
Blucher, and very serious damage to two of their other battle cruisers.
“We ourselves did not see the actual close of the engagement
because we were ordered on other duty, so missed what must have been a
very terrible sight. Nor
did we take part in the saving of the Blucher survivors, so had no bombs
dropped on us by a Zeppelin, which, with true German generosity, choose
as her target the ships which were endeavouring to rescue her own
seaman. She had been
hovering overhead and in sight for a considerable time, but waited for
this opportunity to make her heroic dash.
“To make a long story short-they got HELL!
“Here ended the first and only chapter of our experiences as
permitted by the Censor.”
After this action the war at sea in home waters entered on a new
phase. The Germans used
their ships but little, except to grow barnacles, and inaugurated the
famous submarine warfare against the traders-neutral as well as hostile.
The Germans clinched their reputation by destroying numbers of
passenger steamers without warning.
The sinking of the Cunarder Lusitania on May 7th, off
Kinsale Head, with eleven hundred non-combatant men, women and children,
was the greatest achievement in the species of essentially German
warfare. Time and America
have shown how it added to their glory.
Needless to say the submarine warfare never affected our command
of the sea. This was
absolute and more complete than it has ever been before in the world’s
history. At the completion
of the first year of hostilities the British Navy was far stronger than
at the beginning of the war. The
Germans had not attempted a fleet action when their cruisers on foreign
stations were busy, and before our Navy had been reinforced by a number
of new ships, monitors, and auxiliaries.
After the outbreak of war we completed the five ships of the
“Queen Elizabeth” class. These
ships burn oil-fuel only, and steam twenty-five knots.
Another new feature was the eight 15-inch guns with which they
were armed. Five ships of
the “Royal Sovereign” class were laid down during peacetime, and
four more battleships were provided for in the 1914 Estimates.
On the outbreak of war we took over the battleships which were
building for Turkey, rechristening them Agincourt and Erin.
Agincourt was armed with ten 13.5-inch guns and sixteen 6-inch,
while Erin had fourteen 12-inch and twenty 6-inch.
We also took over a battleship building for Chile, armed with ten
14-inch and ten 6-inch guns, and renamed her Canada. More light cruisers were added to the fleet, and a lot of
smaller craft-destroyers, submarines, auxiliary cruisers, mine-sweepers,
trawlers, armed yachts, motor launches, and numberless types of
monitors. The monitors are
in interesting comment on our command of the sea.
They are mot sea-going craft, but are designed to be mobile
floating batteries, armed with heavy guns, and built with draft shallow
enough to enable them to approach a coast and go up rivers.
Their steaming powers are very small, and only enough
seaworthiness is provided to permit their making ocean voyages
accompanied by a parent ship. Their
presence at sea shows that the enemy’s ships are absolutely driven
from the waters in which they should operate. Monitors
have co-operated in most of the landing expeditions on the Belgian
coast, in the Dardanelle’s, the Suez Canal, the Persian Gulf, and up
the Rufiji delta. Full
description of them cannot be given, but the illustrations show the type
of 00
There is an eastern fable that at the
Creation a miscellaneous lot of “surplus parts” remained over, and
in order to use them up another animal was put together, and in this way
the camel came into being. Something
of the same sort was done at the dockyards in making the monitors. As an instance, a Greek battleship (Salamis) was building in
Germany before the war, and would from part of the German fleet, but her
guns were being made in America and could not be delivered.
Those guns are now mounted on our monitors.
Including minesweepers probably considerably over 3,000 craft
have been added to the Navy since the outbreak of the war.
The rulers of England’s destiny had in their generation been
wise. They had remembered
the words of a great poet and acted on them without a moment’s
hesitation directly there was so much at stake:
“The fleet of England is her all in all,
Her fleet is in your hands,
And in her fleet her fate.”
