f

BEA S S E Y^^cA^^ N A V A L ANN tf AE ' '

1915

CONDUCTED BY

EARL BEASSEY, G.C.B., D.C.L. Edited by JOHN LEYLAND.

WAE EDITION

LONDON :

WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,

31, Haymarket, S.W.

And sold hy all ^■*

ENGLISH AND FOREIGN BOOKSELLERS AND AGENTS. ♦"» *

LONDON :

PRINTED BY WILLIAM CL0\1 ES AND SONS, LIMITED,

DUKE STREET, STAMFORD STREET, S.E., AND GREAT WINDMILL STREET; W

PEEFATOPvY.

The circumstances under which the present volume appears may be briefly explained. It seemed desirable that the Naval Annual should be issued in this year of War, in which British sea-power is the ruling influence and factor, giving us and our Empire security, enabling us to despatch armies abroad and to organise others at home, constituting also the indispensable link of the armies with their base.

Since the Naval Annual was completed, Mr, Balfour has replaced ]\Ir. Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty, and Admiral Sir Henry Jackson has succeeded Lord Fisher as First Sea Lord.

The war is world-wide, and even as the volume was passing through the press, Italy, on May 23rd, declared hostilities against Austria-Hungary.

Great discretion has been necessary, and has been observed, in preparing the volume. It will be of use to the British service and the British people, but it can in no way assist the enemy. Nothing is included concerning the British and Allied Navies except what is accessible in many official publications, but much light is thrown upon the situation and character of the navies of the enemy.

The Naval Annual was founded by Lord Brassey, who for some years undertook the task of production unaided. Later, he was relieved by his son, of whom it may be permitted to say that he has ably discharged his duties as Editor. To-day, Lord Hythe is engaged in the more urgent patriotic duty of enrolling and training men for a Eeserve Eegimeut of Yeomanry, and in other responsible work. Lord Brassey has therefore gladly undertaken once more to super- intend the publication of the Naval Annual. Its appearance would have been impossible without the valuable assistance of his old friends, Mr. John Leyland, who has edited the volume, and Commander C. N. Eobinsou, to whom he tenders grateful thanks.

24, Park Lane, W. May, 1915.

CONTENTS.

PART I.

CHAPTER I.

Considerations on the Causes and the Conduct OF THE Present War

Earl Brassey 1

CHAPTER II. The "World War .. .. .. Commander C. N. Bohinson 18

A Diary of the War .. .. .. .. G. H. Hurford 67

CHAPTER III.

The Enemy Navies

John Leyland 74

CHAPTER IV. The United States NA^T . . . . . . . . John Leyland 88

Thought-^ on the Present and the Future

Earl Brassey 92

PART II.

LIST OF BRITISH AND FOREIGN SHIPS. Commander G. N. Robinson, R.N., and John Leyland.

LIST OF BRITISH AND FOREIGN AIRSHIPS.

PLANS OF BRITISH AND FOREIGN SHIPS. S. W. Baenaby, M.I.N.A.

VI

THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

PART III.

ENEMY ORDNANCE. ENEMY AND NEUTRAL ORDNANCE TABLES.

PART IV.

OFFICIAL STATEMENTS AND PAPERS.

PAGE

Introduction .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 217

First Lord's Statement, November 27,1914 .. .. .. .. 218

First Lord's Speech on the Navy Estimates, February 15, 1915 .. 224

North Sea War Area — Admiralty Statement .. .. .. 237

German Declaration — War Area .. .. .. .. .. .. 239

United States Declaration thereon .. .. .. .. .. 240

British Declaration and Order in Council .. .. .. .. 243

Official Despatches on the Operations .. .. .. .. .. 245

LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS,

H.M.S. Queen Elizabeth ....... Frontispiece

H.M.S. Emperor of India ...... facing page 33

German battleship Konig . . . . . . . ,, ,, 65

German Submarine U 36 . . . . . . ■ „ „ 81

Krupp High-Angle Ship Guns 200, 201

New Ehrhardt Ship Guns . . 202

PART I.

CHAPTER I.

Considerations on the Causes and the Conduct of the Present War.

Tu rcijerc imiierio populos, Itoinaiw, memento ; Hoe tibi crimt nrtes : pacisq^iie imponcrc moron, Parcere subjrctis, et debeUarc superbos.

When the present war was declared aud the call to arms was being made through the length and breadth of the land, the present writer attended many meetings in the part of the country in which he resides. It was endeavoured to explain why we had been forced reluctantly to go to war.

The conflict has nut been the outcome of commercial rivalry. The trade of Great Britain and Germany has been advancing in recent years by leaps and bounds. We have run a ueck-and-neck race. Competition has not been a disadvantage to either country. Both have prospered. Xext to India, Germany has been our best customer. We have been willing buyers, not only of food and raw materials, but of those manufactures in which Germany excels. In many branches the two countries have co-operated in the production of goods in important lines of trade.

II.

Xor should the creation of a fleet necessarily lead to war. Strong Navy. as a military power, Germany could not remain permanently in a position of hopeless inferiority at sea. Naval aspirations are not of recent date. In 1847-48, when universal discontent prevailed in Germany, Prince Hohenlohe, then Imperial Minister at Athens, Prince placed on record his views, in a memoir, published in the first volume lohe^"^' of his biography : — " One reason," he says, " for discontent is universally diffused in Germany ; every thinking German is deeply

B

2

THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

Kavy

Estimates

compared.

and painfully aware of it. This is the impotence of Germany among other States. No one will deny that it is hard on a thinking, energetic man to be unable to say abroad — ' I ara a German,' not to be able to pride himself that the German flag is flying from his vessel. And when we study the map, and see how the Baltic, the North Sea, and the Mediterranean break upon our shores, and how no German flag commands the customary salute from the haughty French, surely the hue of shame alone will survive from the red, black and yellow, and mount into our cheeks."

Looking to the Navies of France and Eussia, Powers in close alliance, and not friendly to Germany, programmes of German con- struction have not been excessive. Navy Estimates compare as under: —

1905. 1914.

Germauv . . . ill, 301, 370 Germanv

France ' . . . 12,667,856

Russia .... 12,392,684

France Russia .

±23,444,129 19,818,052 26,604,788

1905 1914

British Navy Estimates.

£33,151,141 51,550,000

Voted or Estimated for New Ccnstructiox.

Germany . France Russia

United States Great Britain

1905.

±4,720,206 4,705,295 4,576,370 8,683,000

11,368,746

1914-15. £10,316,264 11,772,862 11,478,613 8,443.796 18,676,080

Prince

von

Billow.

We had cut down expenditure, while ( Germany pushed steadily forward. We have since made vigorous efforts.

As a first-class Power, Germany was bound to create a fleet. The objects in view are explained by Prince von Biilow in his book on " Imperial Germany," lately published :— " Our fleet had to be built with an eye to English policy — and in this way it was built. My efforts in the field of international politics had to be directed to the fulfilment of this task. For two reasons Germany had to take up an internationally independent position. We could not be guided in our decisions and acts by a policy directed against England, nor might we, for the sake of England's friendship, become dependent upon her. Both dangers existed, and more than once were perilously imminent. In our development as a Sea Power we could not reach our goal either as England's satellite, or as her antagonist. England's un- reserved and certain friendship could only have been bought at the price of those very international plans for the sake of which we had sought British friendship . . ."

GERMAN NAVAL POLICY. ^

The present writer has heard more than once from Admiral von Admiral

. . von.

Tirpitz explanations of German naval policy, which could not justly Tirpitz.

arouse the susceptibilities of an English patriot. " It had never been the ambition of Germany to compete with Great Britain for the supremacy of the seas. Germany had desired — it was a natural desire on the part of a great Power — to possess a fleet which should command the respect of all other nations. Germany could not acquiesce in hopeless inferiority at sea, nor could her great and growing commercial interests be left without naval protection and support. Vast regions of the world were being opened out to trade. Negotiations were in liand from time to time with semi-barbarous states, witli which it was impossible to deal without some visible emblem of power. If, for example, negotiations were in hand to .secure an open door for merchants in the valley of the Yangtse, reasonable concessions were not to be expected without some shoM- of force in the background. If the United States, France, and England had ships in Eastern waters, and Germany had none, she must depend entirely on the consideration of other countries for partici- pation in any advantages secured. It was wounding to the national pride to fill the role of the suppliant." When ships were laid down by Great Britain there had never been a question in Germany. Resentment had only been felt when we did not lay down as many ships as we believed we required, and looked to help from another Power, while turning a cold shoulder to Germany.

It will be generally agreed that the Fleet of England should be strong in every sea, and surely not less in the Mediterranean than elsewhere. ISTor can it be contended that failure of resources compels reliance on external aid. The income brought under the review of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue increased in ten years 1903-13 from £903,000,000 to £1,111,000,000.

III.

Let us now consider the reasons M'hy, with one consent, we on Causes of our side are engaged in the present war. Few and simple are the * ^'"' considerations on which the people's judgment depends, and by which, in tlie main, it is safely guided. As Burke has truly said : " The principles of true politics are those of morality enlarged, and I neither now do, nor ever will, admit of any other."

Military influence, from the Franco-German war onwards, has held the German people as it were in a vice. It has been the curse of Germany and the scourge of Europe. The war party had seen Russia coming on in wealth and military strength. They were eager

M 'J

THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

Mr.

Asquith.

Sir

Edward

Grey.

to cross swords, before a rival, abeady deemed to be dangerous, had grown too strong. Germany needed the support of Austria, and the aged Emperor was naturally averse to war. He was deeply moved by the assassination of the heir apparent. It was an opportunity not to be lost. Austria insisted upon terms which could not be conceded by Servia without utter loss of national independence. Russia was bound to stand by Servia. Germany stood by Austria ; France stood by Piussia. England, earnestly desiring peace, was dragged in.

In and out of Parliament the British case has been stated by the Prime Minister with convincing argument and moving eloquence. At the Guildhall he rested his appeal to arms on the unanimous voice of the Empire and the civilised world. As our forefathers struggled against the dominion of Napoleon, so were we contending to-day in the cause of freedom. " Never had a people more or richer sources of inspiration. We are fighting as a united Empire in a cause worthy of the highest traditions of our race."

In Parliament, on August 3rd, Sir Edward Grey delivered a speech which made a profound impression. He asked the House " to approach the present crisis from the point of view of British interests, British honour, and British obligations, free from all passion. The papers to be presented would make it clear how strenuous and genuine and whole-hearted our efforts for peace had been. They would enable people to form their own judgment as to what forces were at work which operated against peace." He ex- plained at length the attitude of the Government at every stage of the negotiations. The feelings which have been roused in the country do not depend on formal negotiations. We shall all concur with Sir Edward Grey when he said that " if a powerful fleet engaged in war came down the English Channel, and bombarded and battered the north-eastern ports of France, we could not stand aside and see all this going on practically in sight of our own eyes, with our arms folded, looking on dispassionately, and doing nothing. He believed that would be the feeling of the country."

Sir Edward Grey set forth in detail the position in regard to Belgium. The international guarantee to that country that its neutrality should be respected was first given by treaty in 1839. It was renewed and confirmed in 1879 by Prince Bismarck, on con- dition that the neutrality should be respected by other belligerent Powers. When war was declared between France and Germany the Liberal leaders in both Houses of Parliament explained the attitude Earl of the British Government. In the Upper House, Lord Granville

Granville, ^gg^ these words : — " To abandon Belgium was a course which the

Belgium.

BELGIAN NEUTRALITY. 5

Government thought it impossible to adopt in the name of the country, with any due regard to tlie country's honour or the country's interest." In the Commons, Mr. Gladstone spoke with some reserve Mr. Glad- on the general question of treaty obligations. " He was not able to ^ °°°' subscribe to the doctrine of those who hold that the existence of a guarantee is binding, irrespective of changes of circumstances at the time when the occasion for action arises. The great authorities upon foreign policy to whom he had been accustomed to listen — Lord Aberdeen and Lord Palmerston — had never held that view. An existing guarantee was of necessity an important fact, and a weighty element in the case, to which we were bound to give full and ample consideration. There was also this further consideration, the force (if which we must all feel mo-st deeply, and that was the common interests against the unmeasured aggrandisement of any Power whatever."

The references to the guarantee of Belgian independence in the life of Lord Lyons, by Lord Kewton, are of deep interest in this connection. In 1869, when apprehension was aroused by the proposed concessions of railways in Belgium, the note of alarm as to possible annexations was first sounded by the Queen. Her Majesty's Queen views were stated in a letter from General Grey to Lord Clarendon, ^'ctona. under date January 14, 1869: — "The Queeu had invariably expressed the strongest opinion that England was bound, not only by the obligations of Treaties, but by interests of vital importance to herself, to maintain the integrity and independence of Belgium ; and that the best security for these essential objects would he found in the knowledge that any proceedings which seemed to threaten their violation would bring England at once into the field."

This conmiunication was followed by a Memorandum from Mr. Gladstone, giving in the clearest language the British position : — " The suspicion even of an intention to pay less respect to the inde- pendence of Belgium than to the independence of England would produce a temper in the country which would put an end to good understanding."

In the United States sympathy with the British cause is widely Mr. felt. Let us hear Mr. Eoosevelt. As President, and in accordance Theodore

... . -in, Roosevelt.

With the unanimous wish of the American people, he had ordered the signature of the United States to the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907. "If tliose Conventions meant nothing, the signature was a mockery. If they meant a serious sense of obligation to world righteousness, it was the plain duty of the United States, as the trustee of civilisation, to investigate the charges solemnly made, as to violations of the Hague Conventions, and to take whatever action

6

THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

Mr. Choate.

might be necessary to vindicate the principles set forth in those Conventions." This is strong language from a representative statesman.

IV.

What are the main causes of the hostile sentiment in Germany towards England ? In an introduction to the American edition of Professor Cramb's lectures on England and Germany, Mr. Joseph Choate writes as follows : — " The real cause [of the present war], as shown by Professor Cramb, is the intense hatred of Germany for England, and her lofty ambition to establish a world empire upon the ruins of the British Empire. Since the days of Frederick the (^Jreat, while England, largely by force of arms, has been extending her imperial power all over the world, so that, as justly described by Webster, she has become ' a Power which has dotted over the surface of the whole globe with her possessions and military posts ; whose morning drum-beat, following the sun and keeping company with the hours, circles the earth with one continuous and unbroken strain of the martial airs of England,' Germany has remained cooped up within her narrow boundaries, with inadequate access to the sea, and without room for her rapidly increasing population. 'England's mere existence as an Empire has become a continuous aggression ' to Germany, and her proud claim to be mistress of the seas a perpetual affront.

" Meanwhile, Prussia, under the lead of the HohenzoUerns, has become the master of all Germany, and, simultaneously with the humiliation of France in 1870, has established the German Empire, which, however, still remains an inland empire. But all the while she has been building up, quietly but steadily, her naval and military power, so as to be ready when the hour should strike, and has succeeded in creating in her army a military machine of boundless numbers, and of almost invincible power, to cope with and to crush if possible the combined forces of all the other nations of Europe." Members Every thinking man must admit that the ambition of Germany

Faculty of to have a share in colonial expansion has, from the force of circum- stances, thus far been held in check in a regrettable degree. The members of the Oxford Faculty of Modern History, in their state- ment of the British case for the declaration of war, have taken a strong line against Germany. Even they have made admissions as to the national aspirations for expansion. "Let us," they say, "remember, in extenuation of Prussia, that she has suffered from two things — geographical pressure, springing from her mid-European situation, and an evil tradition of ruthless conquest, perpetuated

Modern History

BRITISH IMPERIAL EXPANSION. 7

l>y lier HohenzoUern rulers since tlie days of the Great Elector. Geographical pressure on all sides, has made Prussia feel lierself in a state of chronic strangulation, and a man who feels strangled will struggle ruthlessly for breath. ... It has been easier for England, an island State in the West, exempt from pressure, to think in other terms; and it has been possible for Eussia, secure on the East, to think, and to think nobly, as the present Czar has done, of inter- national obligations."

The present writer recalls a conversation many years ago with Sir Sir Henry ]\I. Stanley, then at the height of his fame as a bold stan\ev. explorer — a man essentially of the cosmopolitan order. Sitting beside him at the annual dinner of the Eoyal Cieographical Society, it was inspiring to listen to the glowing language in wliich he dilated on the greatness of the British Empire, as it then was. He strongly deprecated further extension ; we should have too much on our hands. The views of the traveller were fully shared by the leading statesmen of the time. Eeluctantly, not always to our own advantage, we have seen our boundaries extending — our responsibilities becoming almost greater than we can bear.

The list is long of the annexations made in recent years : — 1874, Amiexa- Fiji; 1878, Cyprus; 1882, Egypt; 1886, Upper Burma; 1888, New sjncems. Guinea ; 1890, Zanzibar (taken over in exchange for Heligoland) ; 1902, the Transvaal; 1903, Northern Nigeria.

In each case it was held that annexation was forced upon us, or that policy required it. Sometimes the expansion of trade, sometimes a responsibility, perhaps too readily accepted, for the police of the seas, sometimes the protection of missionaries, has been the moving cause. The latest volume of the encyclopaedic history planned by Lord Acton is abundant in relation to these proceedings.

Taking first Fiji. The islands were annexed on the plea that Fiji. the abuses connected with the labour traffic required regulation and oversight. The commercial interests of Sydney and the fear lest some other Power might anticipate us were further motives to action.

As to Cyprus, it is safe to say that the acquisition of the island Cyprus, has conferred no military, naval, political, or commercial advantage on (xreat Britain. It was deemed necessary that we should get sometliing in the general scramble at the Congress of Berlin. We had done nothing to help the Turk ; we had no claim to a share. We engaged to pay annually to the Porte the largest tribute which the most prosperous year on the island had ever yielded. The Sultan retained the suzerainty of the island. To the diplomatic world it was represented that the Cyprus Convention was designed to secure important objects, involving mutual engagements. We joined the

8 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

Sultan in the delence of his Asiatic dominions against any further Eussian attack, and the Sultan promised in return to introduce necessary reforms in consultation with his ally.

The British occupation of Cyprus was the fuliilment of an early dream of Lord Beaconsfield. We recall the description in " Tancred " of a farewell dinner given by the hero to his friends after inspecting the yp.cht Basilisk, moored off Greenwich. The struggle to part from his friend, Lady Bertie, was hard. On her departure, Tancred fell into a deep meditation ; he had lingered too long.

" Farewell, a sound which makes us linger."'

" The being who would be content with nothing less than communing with celestial powers in sacred climes, standing at a tavern window and gazing on the moonlit mudbanks of the barbarous Thames — a river which neither angel nor prophet had ever visited. Before him, softened by the hour, was the Isle of Dogs. It should at least be Cyprus ! " Egypt. In 1882 we first occupied Egypt. Our administration of that

country has been eminently successful, louder Lord Cromer, and later under Lord Kitchener, the work of civilisation has been con- tinuously carried on. By irrigation works on a colossal scale, a supply of water is assured, even in a thirsty year, over a vast area. Capital is supplied on easy terms to the cultivator by advances from the Land Banks instituted by Lord Cromer. We have done much to improve the condition of the fellaheen. We have established in all classes confidence in the justice of British rule. To the creditors of Egypt punctual payments of interest have been assured. In a word, innumerable benefits of every kind have been conferred. We have not strengthened ourselves as a military power. To-day we are at war with the Sultan. The threatened invasion of Egypt will doubtless be triumphantly overcome. It has been necessary to detain in that country a large force at a time when all our available strength is needed elsewhere. Our occupation of Egypt was encouraged by Prince Bismarck : he knew it would be the occasion of many trouldes with France.

The British Protectorate in Egypt was strongly deprecated by statesmen of commanding influence in England in the days when the present writer was youog. The project for the Suez Canal was discouraged by Lord Palmerston ; he foresaw that we should be the chief users of the Canal. It must lead to commitments in Egypt, and we had already more than enough on our hands.

In this connection, the writer recalls an incident of Parliamentary life in days long ago. In an interval in the proceedings of the House

BRITISH IMPERIAL EXPANSION. 9

of Commons, he stood with a small group of interested lisfeuers around Lord Hartington, then leader of the Liberal Party and leader of the House, as he discussed a British Protectorate in Egypt. Lord Hartington was considering the subject as an academic proposition. There was no prospect of such a step at the time; he strongly deprecated it. He held that we should lose the singular advantage of our insular position. AVe should be dragged into all the conflicts of Continental Europe. As we look across the years to the bombard- ment of the forts of Alexandria, to the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir, to the tragic fate of General Gordon, avenged in the Battle of Omdurman, and to the invasion of Egypt now threatened, we see now that Lord Hartington — as he then was — not untruly prophesied. We are in Egypt, and we cannot leave it. We have to fulfil our destiny, giving as little occasion of offence as possible to other Powers, and doing as much good as we can to the people of the country.

In 1885 we conquered Upper Burma. The action taken by Upper Lord Dufferin may have been inevitable. The proceedings are ^"™''^- characterised by the writer of the chapter on Burma in the Cambridge History as " sufficiently high-handed."

In Xew Guinea we had to deal with Germany. Taking advantage New of an opportunity when the relations between England and France were strained by contentions as to Egypt, Prince Bismarck initiated a forward colonial policy in Africa and in the Pacific. The Cameroons, a large tract in East Africa, Samoa and other Pacific Islands, and a part of New Guinea were acquired. Our vigorous Britons beyond the sea resented the intrusion of any foreign Power in regions which they had looked upon as spheres of future expansion. Lord Stanley yielded to pressure from Australia. Great Britain annexed the southern part of New Guinea. The island is important chiefly as a field for the self-denying labour of missionaries of many denomina- tions. They have their reward in the spread of civilisation among the native population. The trade of New Guinea is chiefly with Queensland and New South Wales. It is inconsiderable in amount.

Zanzibar was the next addition to the extended dominions of Zanzibar. Great Britain. In July 1890 the island of Heligoland was ceded to Germany by an agreement with reference to Zanzibar and the Uganda territories. On this transaction Sir Henry Stanley remarked, in homely but expressive words, that England had " got a new suit in exchange for a trouser button."

We need not attempt to deal with the Boer War. Every incident South is present in the public recollection. The main advantage we have secured from final \ictory appeals largely to the imperial sentiment. We fly the British flag. Under its ample folds Boer and Briton

10

THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

French Colonies.

German Colonial Expan- sion.

Algeciras Con- ference.

enjoy in unrestricted measure the blessings of liberty and self- government. In a general review it is not necessary to refer to the operations now in progress.

Since the Franco- German AVar, an almost instinctive effort has been made by the French Government in the direction of colonial expansion. Trade with the French colonies has increased since 1870 from 350 millions to nearly two milliards of francs. The colonial population has increased tenfold. In 1886, by the Treaty of Bardo, Tunis became a French protectorate. The commerce of this dependency increased in twenty years from 27 to 200 millions of francs. South of the Sahara, by the construction of railways, a French Empire has been established over a wide area in Central Africa, rich in natural resources, certain to be developed under orderly government. Turning eastward, a protectorate has been established in Madagascar, in Saigon, Annam, and Tonkin. Finally, Morocco has been annexed. The extent of colonial empire thus created under the French flag has been increased to nearly twelve million square kilometres, with a population of fifty millions.

In Germany the enthusiasm for colonial exploration and conquest is universal. Having secured the position of Germany in Europe, Bismarck embarked on the colonial policy already described. It has not brought territories adapted for European settlement under German protection. The lands within the temperate zone had long before been taken up. They are self-governed, on strong democratic principles. The material gain to Germany of her colonies has been unimportant. It is gratifying to the national pride to hoist the German flag in dominions beyond the seas.

We have passed in review the colonial expansion of the great Powers in the last fifty years. The share of Germany has not satisfied national aspirations. In the words of Mr. Stanley Loathes, the writer of the chapter on Great Britain in the Cambridge History, "A serious rift in European harmony created by the Algeciras Con- ference has not yet disappeared. Official relations have always been correct, but a strong jealousy between England and Germany has grown up, accompanied by mutual suspicions, which were not dispelled by the later understanding with Eussia and lesser Powers. The alliance with Japan was resented, as blocking German designs in the Far East. Proposals for a limitation of armaments, made in connection with the Hague Conference of 1907, were not well received, and such proposals are not likely to be well received, so long as Great Britain maintains her claim to the overwhelming maritime superiorit}^ M'hich is necessary to her safety."

While it may be agreed that Germany has not unreasonably

THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 11

sought a place in the sun, it is true to say that in the dominions beyond the sea remaining under the direct authority of the British Crown, in our self-governing colonies, and, above all, in the United States, settlers from all lands enter Ijy the open door. AMien emigration was more active than it has been of late years, Germans went forth in vast numbers, chiefly to the United States. Every- where they have been welcomed as capable citizens. Here in England they have had their full share in finance, in commerce, and in industry. Prince von Biilow has rightly said that no important colonial possessions have been gained by P^ngland at the expense of Germany. In the Seven Years' War, when we acquired Canada and established our rule in India, we were fighting on the side of Prussia.

We liave travelled round the globe. We have traced the ex- Expan- pansion of the British Empire in every zone. It has conferred many B°[iish benefits. In his speech in the House of Commons, in 1833, Lord Empire. Macaulay paid a just tribute to the good work done in India in days long past : — " That a handful of adventurers from an island in the Atlantic should have subjugated a vast country divided from the place of their birth by half the globe — a country which at no very distant period was merely the subject of fable to the nations of Europe ; a country never before violated by the most renowned of Western Conquerors ; a country which Trajan never entered ; a country lying beyond the point where tlie phalanx of Alexander refused to proceed ; that we should govern a territory ten thousand miles from us — a territory larger and more populous than France, Spain, Italy, and Germany put together, a territory, the present clear revenue of which exceeds tlie present clear revenue of any state in the world, France excepted ; a territory, inhabited by men differing from us in race, colour, language, manners, morals, religion ; these are prodigies to which the world has seen nothing similar. Pieason is confounded. We interrogate the past in vain."

As we look across the years, and to every quarter of the globe, we see vast territories acquired. Everywhere increasing prosperity ; everywhere our endeavour to govern justly rewarded in the enthusiastic loyalty of the people. Let us not say that there is no danger in the growing weight of responsibility. Lord Salisbury told us that " England owns, without any consent of the people whatever, more nationalities than she can comfortably count."

X.

When war was declared we took a tremendous leap in the dark. The Army. Xeither at the Admiralty, nor at the War Office, nor in the Cabinet,

12 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

was it known, nor could it have been known, how things would go by sea or by land.

We were utterly unprepared for war on the Continent of Europe with the most perfectly organised army which the world has ever seen. It has been the settled policy of Great Britain to keep down the Regular Army to a strength barely sufficient to furnish reliefs for our forces in India and on foreign stations. Belgium was unprepared. A scheme for a large increase in numbers, and improved training and equipment, had been approved by the Belgian Parliament. In deference to financial considerations, it had been decided to add with caution to Estimates. The proposed reforms were in the first stage when Belgium was invaded by the innu- Francc merable hosts of Crermany. France was unprepared. Serious Russia. opposition had been offered to the proposals for extending the term of compulsory service with the colours to three years. Eecent debates had revealed a large deficiency in stores, arms, and equip- ment. In Eussia the total military strength in time of peace is given in the "Almanach de Gotha " at 1,384,000. Behind the men with the colours are the reserves. Their numbers are not accurately known. Eussia was not prepared. Mobilisation in a vast empire, imperfectly supplied with railways, must be a slow process.

While the Allies were backward, Germany was fully prepared. The strength of the German Field Army of the first line was 750,000; the second line 500,000. Behind the forces with the colours were the strong and well-organised reserves. In 1914 the number of men who had done their military service was put at 5,400,000. The Germans were promptly in the field. Their main forces were concentrated on Belgium. The small army of that country fought magnificently. They were overwhelmed. Their allies were powerless to help.

Pushing on into France, Germany encountered our Expeditionary Force, too few in numbers, in quality superli. Our soldiers of these later days, armed with the rifle, have shown the same grit and courage, the same steadiness under fire, contending with superior numbers, for which their forefathers, the longbow-men of Crecy, Agincourt, and Poictiers, were renowned. The Guards, the Cavalry, the Artillery, the fine old County regiments, have more than sustained, they ha^'e enhanced, their grand historic fame. The Territorials, our new force, the creation of Lord Haldane, have stood with unflinching courage shoulder to shoulder with their gallant comrades of the Eegular Army.

We have fought hard. We hold our own. Our Allies are doing prodigies of valour in daily conflicts, hotly contested with the enemy.

THE ARMY IN THE FIELD. 13

As " Eye- Witness," writing from headquarters, aud Mr. Hilaire Belloc point out, the battles consist of continuous assaults on trenches resembling the Great Wall of China and the Roman Wall in Great Britain. Advances are made on both sides by sap and mine. The conflict is a series of siege operations, conducted on a gigantic scale.

^Ve are making tremendous efforts to reinforce our Army. ("ompulsory servnce has been strongly advocated. In men recruited by compulsion it were vain to look for the same uniform cjuality which we see aud admire in those who have voluntarily responded to Lord Kitchener's call. Xor are the numbers lacking. We have as many recruits as we can arm, train, and equip for the field.

Professor Cramb tells us that the hatred of Treitschke for Ti-eitschko

England was in the nature of moral scorn, contempt, and indignation

that a greart un- warlike Power should be suffered to spread across the

world. We were betraying our weakness by pleading with Germany

to disarm.

" Should England prosper when such things, as smooth And tender as a girl, all essenc'd o'er,

* * * * ♦

Presume to lay their hand upon the ark Of her magnificent and awful cause ? "

AVe have put to silence these idle vapourings. We have main- tained a front which has never been broken. We may have incurred the hatred of Prussian Germany. In war it is better to be hated than to be despised.

The present war has Ijrought into the field reinforcements from every part of the Empire. Germany had been ill-served by her representatives abroad. The Ambassador in Vienna was anxious for war. The Ambassador in Petrogi-ad had reported that liussia would not mobilise. From London it was reported that we were on the eve of civil war in Ireland. It was believed that South Africa was disaffected, that Australasia was ready to cut the painter, that India was seething with discontent.

India has been swept by a mighty wave of enthusiasm. We Do- have many legions of our Indian fellow-subjects at the front. Canada beyond^ has sent us 33,000 men. As many more are promised. Gallant ^^^• Newfoundland, the oldest of our colonies — not rich in men or in money — has sent to our Army and to our Navy a combined force of ' 2500 men. Australasia has been overflowing with enthusiasm. We shall have a fine army from that far-away part of the Empire.

Having received the strong support of the Dominions beyond sea, imperial at the close of the War we must be prepared for demands for a share ^on*^^'^^ in directing the foreign policy of the Empire. The question is not

14 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

uew. lu June, 1891, the present writer had the honour of introducing to Lord Salisbury, then Prime Minister, a deputation from the Imperial Federation League. They had come to urge the convocation of a second Conference of the self-governing countries of the Empire. Lord Salisbury in his reply admitted that there was a feeling of unrest in the Dominions, an unwillingness to acquiesce precisely in the existing state of things. He pointed to the objections to calling such a Conference as had been proposed, unless we had some definite proposition to make. He thought the time had almost come when schemes should be proposed. Without them we could not get very far. Acting on these suggestions, an influential Committee was constituted, including, among others, Mr. Bryce, Mr, Arnold-Forster, Lord Lamington, and Lord Reay. Then, as now, we had no plan. Nor can any far-reaching proposals of constitutional change be considered until the return of peace. On some points we see clearly. The matters to be dealt with Ijy any Imperial Council which may be constituted must relate to foreign policy and to defence. The charges for defensive preparations must be voted by the representatives of the taxpayers. Those who pay may claim a voice in matters of policy on which there may be a conflict of opinion.

We have already taken some steps in the direction in which it is desirable to go. In recent times, on every grave question affect- ing their interests, the Dominions are consulted. We have invited their representatives to sit on the Committee of Imperial Defence. We have given them unreservedly our confidence. This is not the time for full discussion of grave problems of Imperial Federation.

One result is certain to follow from consultation as to external policy. Nor would such a result be a thing to be lamented. We should have less of the evils of foreign intervention, so earnestly deplored by Lord Salisbury. In his essay on Lord Castlereagh, he said : " L^ndoubtedly the arrangements of Vienna were not absolute perfection : nor have they in all cases been proof even for the limited period of forty years against the destructive agencies that prey upon political organisations. .\11 the failures that have taken place have arisen from one cause : the practice of foreign intervention in domestic quarrels. There is no practice which the experience of nations more uniformly condemns, and none which governments more consistently pursue. . . . The history of the last seventy years is strewn with the wrecks of national prosperity which these well-meant interventions have caused."

BRITISH SKA POWER. 15

VI.

Tim British Fleet has ful611ed its essential purpose. It has pre- The Navy, served our shores from invasion. It has made it possible to send our Expeditionary Force across the Channel unchallenged, and to keep up the strength by continued reinforcement. The commerce of the enemy has been destroyed. A silent pressure has been maintained, which in time must tell. To win a decisive victory was impossible while the enemy remained secure in port. In the early stages of the war there was regrettable delay in clearing the seas of the enemy's cruisers. Speed is an essential quality for such service. We had too many cruisers in commission of little value except for the police of the seas. The British vessels classed in the Naval Annual as light cruisers numbered no less than eighty-nine, as against forty - five vessels for Germany. Our list included thirty-six of a speed under 20 knots, as against five only of a similarly ineffective type . under the German flag.

Comparing the relative strength in Eastern waters at the outbreak of the present war, the total number of ships in commission were — Great Britain thirty-six, Germany eight. All the German cruisers had a speed of 23 knots and over. The British cruisers of equal speed numbered twelve.

On other foreign stations the Editor of the Naval Annual, writing Light with no anticipation of a state of war, called attention to the need of reinforcement. German light cruisers ranged the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic, capturing our merchant steamers in large numbers and bombarding Madras. These were not powerful fighting vessels. In speed they had a marked advantage over many vessels which have pursued them. Our squadrons have been rein- forced with light cruisers of high speed. The Emden has been destroyed by the Sydney. The young Australian Navy has been justly congratulated by the Admiralty on this first achievement. The Captain and officers of the Emden gallantly did their duty to their country. It was fitting that their swords should be returned.

AVe have had experience of disaster from the attacks of sub- marines and from mines. We had ships in our squadrons not fitted to engage more powerful vessels. The fate which befell Sir Christopher Cradock was due to the' inferiority of the ships under his command. He might have declined battle. To an officer of his chivalrous and daring nature that alternative was impossible. Not long ago, as a veteran, he rode second in the Grand Military at Sandown, and only lost by a neck. If he had been in command of a gunboat he would have fought. -^il,

Cruisers.

/

^ %t.

]6

THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

Organisa- tion for

Terms of peace.

The actions off Heligoland and, more recently, off the Dogger Bank, the well-timed meeting with Admiral von Spee off the Falklands, the feats of our submarines and aeroplanes, the bombard- ments on the coast of Belgium and the north-east coast of France, have shown what our Navy can do if it has the chance. Our battle- cruisers, unsurpassed in speed and gun-power, under brilliant com- manders, and manned by brave and skilful seamen, have carried our flag triumphantly to victory. This i« not the occasion to discuss technical questions, which it will be hereafter the duty of experts to consider.

YIl.

War is not the time for dealing with organisation. The essential is to make use of all existing means. There will be much to consider later on. In the reinforcement of the Navy and the Army, it is safe to say that the work will best be accomplished by men of tried capacity and experience. It were policy to retain Lord Fisher and Lord Kitchener in the places of responsibility which they now fill, until their task is accomplished. Our Navy has suffered from too frequent changes in the constitutiun of the Board of Admiralty. Now that we have secured good men, let us resolve to keep them- The German Navy is the creation of one capable ^Minister, Grand Admiral von Tirpitz.

YIII.

It is too soon to treat of peace. The terms must depend on the results of the tremendous conflict in which we are engaged. We shall seek no other advantage than the establishment of peace on conditions wliich will endure. 5lr. Asquith, in his speech at the Guildhall banquet, made clear the terms on which we must insist — "We shall never sheathe the sword, which we have not lightly drawn, until Belgium recovers in full measure all and more than all that she has sacrificed, until France is adequately secured against the menace of aggression, until the rights of the smaller nationalities ol Europe are placed upon an unassailable foundation, and until the military domination of Prussia is wholly and finally destroyed. That is a great task, worthy of a great nation. It needs for its accomplish- ment that every man among us, old or young, rich or poor, busy or leisurely, learned or simple, should give what he has and do what he can."

The country has responded well to the call to arms. The Navy has done nobly. Eecruiting for the Army has been a triumph for voluntary enlistment. Men have come forward in full numbers.

BRITAIN AT WAE. 17

Once more, we may regret that when war was declared the Allies were ill prepared. The Germans have been in occupation of Belgium for months. They have dug themselves in deep. The final result depends on the combined efforts of the Allied Powers, standing shoulder to shoulder, contending in a righteous cause. However long it may last, we do not doubt how the War will end,

Mr. Roosevelt has been quoted as a supporter of our cause. He is for moderation in the hour of victory. " Extremists," he said, " in England, France and Eussia, talk as if the proper outcome of the present war would be the utter dismemberment of Germany and her reduction to impotence, such as that which followed the Thirty Years' War. To dismember and hopelessly shatter Germany would be a frightful calamity for mankind, precisely as the dismembering and shattering of the British Empire or of the French Republic would be."

The present war is an awful experience of suffering and misery. Yet there is something on the other side.

" God Almighty ! There is some soul of goodness in things evil, If men observingly distil it out."

At home, and throughout the length and breadth of the Empire, we have seen to what a height of self-sacrifice and devotion a nation may be raised by love of country.

Some months have elapsed since the writing of the above essay, confidentially printed, which, by the desire of the Editor, is here repro- duced as the introductory chapter of the Naral Annual for 1915. Much has happened in the interval. To chronicle the incidents, to extol the deeds of valour, of which we know too little, would take us far afield. War on a scale far beyond all precedent must teach many lessons. All recent experience has shown the transcendental importance of superiority on the side of materiel, but it would not be prudent, at the present time, to discuss the problems of future naval construction.

The writer forbears to offer any comments on the methods of naval warfare to which the enemy has lately had recourse.

Brassey.

18

CHAPTER II.

The World War. Narrative of Naval Events and Incidents.

Compiled chiefly from Official Documents.

For nine months now,* a war of unprecedented character, scope, and conduct has convulsed the world. It is being waged in both hemispheres and across all oceans. The British Empire, with its Allies, is engaged in a tremendous struggle, the outcome of which none can predict, but which will surely leave its mark on the civilisation, the industrial progress, and the social and economic conditions of all nations. That it will bring about a re-colouring of the map of the globe is equally certain. During all this momentous period Sea Power has been exerted in the interests of humanity. The British Navy, assisted by those of our Allies, although it has been unable to restrain Germany from crushing Belgium, overrunning a large part of France, and invading Russia, has prevented the violation of the shores of these islands, has secured the continuation of our oversea trade, and has enabled the Empire to come to the assistance of its friends by ensuring the safe transit of an Expeditionary Force to the Continent, and the reinforcement of that force by men, stores, and every provision necessary to its continued effectiveness. At the same time, it has swept the commerce of the enemy from the seas, and by the exercise of economic pressure is slowly but surely producing a strangling effect upon the aims and ambitions of the enemy. Scope of It is the intention here to place on record the naval incidents of

chapter. ^^^ 'Wox and the movements and'operations of the contending fleets. No entirely satisfactory description of the actions and engagements, and much less of the policy and purpose of strategical dispositions, can yet be compiled for lack of complete information. Nor is it possible to produce a history in the modern sense of that word. A chronicle of the events of the conflict, however, in its many aspects, should fulfil a useful purpose. Accuracy and care have been primary objects, and the narrative has been supplemented, wherever the material is available, by the Admii'alty communiques, the official despatches, and letters from officers and men who were eye-witnesses

* The period covered by this review is from the outbreak of hostilities to May 4, 1915.

PREPARING FOR WAR. 19

of the events they describe. No attempt has been made to draw lessons from the incidents of the War, or to criticise or comment on the tactical details of the engagements. Yet the narrative must to some extent, and so far as the facts have been revealed, indicate the influence of maritime strength, and demonstrate the manner in which the potentiality of Sea Power has proved to be the dominating factor of the War.

When an adequate history of the struggle is forthcoming, and all The Navy the events are surveyed in their proper perspective, it will contain War. tliree important chapters. One of these will be devoted to the story of the renaissance of the British Navy, indelibly associated with the name of Lord Fisher, to whom the country owes a deep debt of gratitude for the many valuable reforms which marked his long period of service at the Admiralty. Another chapter will describe the cii'cumstances which preceded the outbreak of hostilities, including the aiithorisation by the House of Commons of larger Navy Estimates than this country had ever before in one year devoted to naval defence, and the timely mobilisation of the Fleet. These matters will be connected with the names of Mr. Winston Churchill and his principal naval adviser. Prince Louis of Battenberg. To Lord Fisher the country owes the sufficiency and adequacy of the Navy for its work. To his successors must be given the credit of having the Fleet in all respects ready for action. Much as are to be regretted the immediate circumstances which led to Lord Fisher's return to office as First Sea Lord on October 30, 191-1, this change was made with the entire confidence and -approval of the country. Nor will the names of the admirals at sea be omitted from this page of history. To Sir Arthur Wilson and Sir George Callaghan, more than to any others, it was due that the standard of the fighting efficiency of the Fleet had never been excelled. Another name which cannot be overlooked is that of Sir Percy Scott, for the energy and determination with whicli he pressed reforms in gunnery and so improved the marksmanship of the Navy.

In a third chapter, the work of the Committee of Imperial Defence Defence must be reviewed, invaluable work which was inaugurated mittee. by Mr. A. J. Balfour, and to which the finishing touches were put under the encouragement of Mr. Asquith. Out of the labours of this Committee came the machinery which was found so effectual, when war clouds broke, in the provision of precautionary measures for the prevention of panic, the encouragement of the commercial com- munity, and the modification of the Law of the Eealm to meet the novel conditions in which the country found itself. Behind the sure shield of the Fleet, inspired and cheered by the unity of effort

20 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

displayed by the chiefs of all political parties, the patriotic sentiment of the country was aroused, and a well-founded confidence displayed in the security which finds expression in the declaration of policy set forth in the Articles of War : —

" It is upon the Navy that, under the good providence of God, tlie wealth, safety, and strength of the Kingdom chiefly depend."

Supre- It is hoped that a concise review such as follows may prove of

sea. value to all naval students, and furnish to the future historian

material which, as it shows how daily events presented themselves to bystanders, should be of more than ephemeral interest. It has been thought well not to set down every event in its chronological sequence of time, but to group together certain occurrences having a similar relation to phases of sea warfare and the principal theatres of action. Nor has it been considered necessary to set forth the sea strengths of the great Powers which are engaged in the struggle. These will be found tabulated on later pages of the Naval Annual as they stood at the outbreak oi" war. Although it is a hundred years since this country has been engaged in a naval war on such a huge scale, it is a fact to be remembered that our Navy was relatively stronger and better prepared for action than it ever was at the beginning of any of our wars in past times. This gave us an initial advantage which has not been lost, while every month since the war began has seen additions made to our Fleet, increasing its dominating influence. Thus it has been that our supremacy at sea has affected the issues of the conflict, and this even whilst there has been no decisive battle between the main fleets. Sea power has its victories by silent or static pressure as well as its successes by the exercise of dynamic force. It has been the former operating cause which has had, and is still having, a throttling effect upon the economic condition of Germany.

It is well that the prodigious influence on the War exerted by the Fleet should be fully realised, both by our own people and by our Allies. Owing to the presence and latent potentiality of that Fleet, " lost to view amid the northern mists," we have been able to send to France and Flanders an army of larger dimensions than any hereto- fore employed by this country. We have been able, also, to raise and train a still larger army for use when the propitious moment arrives. And it is also because that Fleet keeps the seas that the country has been secured from invasion, the danger of famine and financial ruin has been averted, and the social and industrial life of our people has proceeded without dislocation.

We have been able, moreover, to increase our uutput of the

THE PREMIERS DECLARATION. 21

munitions of war and materially to assist our Allies in the same direction. Further afield, the patriotic aspirations of the Dominions could be gi\'en full play, reinforcements from Australia, Canada, and other colonies crossing the .seas unmolested, while as the story unfolds itself it will be seen how contingents of Australians and New Zealanders wrenched from Germany her oversea possessions. Throughout the world our ports are free, our commerce still covers the oceans, while the Fleet of the enemy has been forced to withdraw into his fortified harbours, and his merchantmen, numbering nearly 5000 ships, quite one-half of them steamers, have been captured or driven to take refuge in neutral ports. The external commercial activity of Germany has entirely ceased. The completeness of the results of the eight months of sea warfare has been made possible by the protection aftbrded by the Grand Fleet, in the ships of which our seamen are still eagerly awaiting the opportunity for a Ijattle in which they may emulate the glorious deeds and achievements of their predecessors. Never before has there been such a striking manifestation of the relation of Sea Power to Empire.

It will be unnecessary for the purpose of this survey to say more in regard to the reasons which led Great Britain to embark in the War than was said by Mr. Asquith in a speech at Edinburgh on September 18, 1914. " We are at war," said the Prime Minister, '■ for three reasons : —

" In the first place, to vindicate the sanctity of treaty obliga Causes of tions, and of what is properly called the public law of Europe ; '^ ^^'

" In the second place, to assert and to enforce the independence of free States, relatively small and weak, against the encroachments and the violence of the strong ; and,

" In the third place, to withstand, as we believe in the best interests not only of our Empire, but of civilisation at large, the arrogant claim of a single Power to dominate the development of the destinies of Europe."

By an aiTangement which proved most fortunate, the usual grand Test manoeuvres of the British Navy in 1914 had been abandoned in tion. favour of a test mobilisation of the reserves. This change of plan, decided upon five months earlier, was earned out on July 15th and the days immediately folloM'ing, and the First, Second, and Third Fleets, with the torpedo flotillas, assembled at Spithead for an inspection by his Majesty the King. On July 20th, the squadrons and flotillas weighed anchor and proceeded to sea, led by the King in the Victoria and Albert as far as the Nab End Buoy, where the yachts anchored, and the Fleet steamed in procession past them.

22

THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

Austrian declara- tion of war.

Admiral Sir George Callaghaii was the Commander-in-Chief, and under liis direction the vessels proceeded to carry out tactical exercises in the Channel. On these terminating on the 24th, the First Fleet returned to Portland and the Second and Third Fleets to their Home ports. The ten days' training of the reservists in the Third Fleet was completed on July 25t]3, and the men returned to their civil occupations. The Second Fleet ships prepared to dis- embark their officers and men who had completed the vessels to full complement from the training establishments. The First Fleet was to have given manceuvre leave. The fact, however, that Austria had been pressing Serbia over the matter of the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and that a state of tension existed between the two nations, although at the same time negotiations were going on, was significant of coming trouble. But it was not until midnight on July 26th that any definite measures of precaution affecting the arrangements of the British Fleet became necessary. At that hour there was issued the following notice by the Admiralty : —

Orders have been given to the First Fleet, which is concentrated at Port- land, not to disperse for manceuvre leave for the present. All vessels of the Second Fleet are remaining at their Home ports in proximity to their balance crevrs.

Austria-Hungary declared war upon Serbia on July 28th. Imme- diately upon the opening of hostilities on the Continent, the British Admiralty extended its measures of precaution in order to ensure that, if or when this country should become involved in the conflict, the immediate force of the Navy should be ready to act. It was now that the plans of the Committee of Imperial Defence, and the arrangements of the Admiralty in conjunction therewith, were brought into play swiftly and silently. Not a few vessels but every ship in commission as a fighting unit had her appointed war station to proceed to. This fact was not at once recognised, and it only dawned upon the public as the war progressed, and the situation of some of the squadrons was revealed, how complete and effective had been the arrangements of the authorities and the means of putting them into effect. The only movement on July 29th, or the day after the Austrian declaration of war, which became known to the country at once was the departure of the First Fleet from Portland. As the ships, under the command of Sir George Callaghan, put to sea that morning there was some cheering, and the bands were playing, but otherwise the vessels left their base without the country being aware of the significance of their departure.

About the same time that the forty or more vessels of Sir George Callaghan left Portland, the Fourth Cruiser Squadron, under Pear-

DIPLOMACY AND WAR. 23

Admiral Sir Christopher Uradock, left ^lexico, where it had been for some months owing to the disturbed conditions there ; the Mediter- ranean Fleet, under Admiral Sir Berkeley Milne, returned to Malta from its cruise to the East, the programme of which was cut short ; and all over the world, in fact, ships made ready for any emergency. A midshipman of the cruiser Cumberland, in a letter quoted in The Times of April 30, 1915, gave an indication of what happened throughout the Fleet by the following description of the preparations in that vessel :^

The ship was lying in Cowes, and we had all returned from a peaceful game ci cricket at Osborne — the cadets were all turned in, with the hammocks slung on the upper deck, and the ship was settling down to a quiet night — when a slip of paper was taken from the wireless office to the captain. It was a code telegram. Im- mediately everyone was astir ; we had to turn out and go below to be out of the way. The guns were prepared, lyddite shells were fused, warheads were put on the torpedoes. We raised steam for 13 knots, weighed and proceeded to Devonport. There we coaled with all possible speed and took on board extra men The cadets were sent off to their war stations, twelve remaining on board, and we proceeded at If) knots to Gibraltar. The news that we had received was that Austria had declared war on Serbia. On the way to Gibraltar we received a wireless message that Germany had declared war on Russia. We coaled at Gibraltar. On the night of August 4th the captain read the declaration of war against Germany amidst tense silence on the quarter-deck. We left Gibraltar that night and spent the next few days preparing the ship for battle.

From July 29th a curtain was drawn over the movements and operations of the fleets at sea, which has only been raised at intervals to reveal the actions with the enemy.

Turning for a moment to the diplomatic events, it will suffice to Dipio- record here that the effect of the rupture between Austria and Serbia ^tture was that Eussia notified the mobilisation, as from July 29th, of certain of her forces in the south. On the 31st, Germany demanded that Eussia should stop the mobilisation of her forces within twelve hours, and a request was made to France at the same time to state, within eighteen hours, whether or not she would remain neutral in the event of a Eusso-German war. Eussia replied that it was technically impossible to agree to Germany's demand, but she assured Great Britain that she would on no account begin hostilities if the Germans did not cross her frontier. War was declared by Germany upon Eussia on August 1st, and early on the following morning German troops committed the first act of war by invading Luxembourg, a small independent State adjoining Belgium. Tliis led to the British decision to call out the Eeserves. It has been shown how the First Fleet, consisting of ships permanently fully manned, had already left for its war station, and how the Second Fleet, also manned by active service ratings, had embarked its balance crews from the shore barracks and training establishments. All that was necessary, therefore, to place the Navy on a war footing was to invite the

24 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

Eeservists to come up to their various depots for service in the Third Fleet. The notice of mobilisation was addressed to the Eoyal Fleet Eeserve, Immediate Class ; Eoyal Fleet Eeserve, Class A ; Eoyal Fleet Eeserve, Class B ; Eoyal Naval Eeserve, all classes (including Trawler Section) ; Naval Pensioners ; Marine i'ensioners ; and Eoyal Naval Volunteer Eeserve. The Admiralty gave orders that these classes of Naval Eeserve and Naval and Marine Pensioners should be called into actual service. The summons wns as follows : — ■

^[ohilisa- Notice is hereby given by their lordships that all Naval and Marine Pen-

tion sioners under the age of fifty-five, and all men of the Naval Fleet Reserve and

orders. Royal Naval Reserve are to proceed forthwith to the ship or establishment

already notified them, or, failing any previous orders, they are to report them- selves in person immediately, as shown belov?, viz. : — Naval and Marine pen- sioners, including men of Class A, Royal Fleet Reserve, to their pensioner centre officer. Royal Fleet Reserve, Class B, to their registrar at their port of enrolment. Royal Fleet Reserve, Immediate Class, in accordance with in- structions already issued. Royal Naval Reserve, all classes, to the nearest registrar of Naval Reserve (superintendent of a Mercantile Marine office). Men of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve are all to report themselves immediately to their officer instructor or volunteer mobilising officer, irrespective of whether they have been previously appropriated or not. All men should, if possible, appear in uniform and bring with them their regulation kit, certificate book or Service certificate, and in the case of pensioners their pension identity certificate. Men who, through absence at sea or for other unavoidable cause, are unable to join immediately, are to report themselves as soon as possible. Reasonable travel- ling expenses will be allowed. By command of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty.

So immediate was the response that on the evening of August 3rd the following was issued by the Admiralty : —

The mobilisation of the British Navy was completed in all respects at four o'clock this morning. This is due to the measures taken and to the voluntary response of the Reserve men in advance of the Royal Proclamation which has now been issued. The entire Navy is now on a war footing.

Great On August 4th, Germany took the action which was the primary

position^ cause of the entry of Great Britain into the War, viz., the violation of the neutrality of Belgium. On July 31st, the British Foreign Minister had asked both France and Germany whether they were prepared to respect Belgium neutrality, and the former replied in the affirmative the same evening. On August 3rd, however, a German ultimatum was delivered to Belgium, demanding permission to pass troops through her territory ; an answer was required in twelve hours or Belgium was to be treated as an enemy. The King of the Belgians telegraphed a personal appeal to King George for diplomatic intervention to safeguard the integrity of Belgium, but on the morning of August 4th Belgian territory was violated at Gemmenich, near Aix-la-Chapelle, and the British Government immediately sent an ultimatum to Germany requiring that her demands upon Belgium should be withdrawn. This ultimatum was to expire at midnight, before which time, however, Germanv intimated her refusal to

BRITISH DECLARATION OF WAR. 25

comply with it, and it was officially announced from the British Foreign Office that a state of war existed hetween Great Britain and Germany as from 11 p.m. ou August 4th.

In Home waters many precautionary measures came into force Precau- automatically with the mobilisation of the laud and sea forces, measures. Particularly was this the case in regard to harbours and road- steads of naval importance. Defence areas were indicated by notices to mariners, and traffic within these areas was regulated. Ships of all classes were warned in connection with their movements within these limits, and to a large extent the areas were closed at night. An examination control was established, and precautions were taken for the identification of mercantile traffic using the anchorages at certain times. Some passages, such as the entrance of the Xeedles, were closed altogether. Points were signified where examination steamers could be found, and signals were arranged to facilitate the examination service ; certain routes were also recom- mended for ships to take in the different localities. The use of wireless telegraphy of any description was proMbited. All ships with the exception of those in the King's service were ordered to take down their aerial wires. Pilotage was made compulsory in certain ports. Other measures of defence included the placing of booms and similar obstructions at the entrances to harbours. All waterways of the ports and the approaches to them were watched by patrol boats. At the same time, all the forts were manned, and any buildings which obstructed the fire of the guns were removed. Armed guards were provided for all magazines. While the naval arsenals were thus put in a state of defence, the work of the Coast- guard on the south and east coasts was supplemented by the military forces, who were engaged in watching the shores in conjunction with the local bodies under the naval authorities.

On the day that war was declared between Great Britain and Naval Germany, it was officially announced that Vice-Admiral Sir John K. m^utT Jellicoe had assumed supreme command of the Home Fleets, with the acting rank of Admiral. This appointment was not unexpected, as in the Press on July 23rd it was officially stated that the King had approved of Sir John Jellicoe being nominated to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleets, in succession to Admiral Sir George Callaghan, whose three years tenure of the command would have expired at the end of the year. In succession to Sir John as Second Sea Lord of the Admiralty, Vice-Admiral Sir Frederick T. Hamilton's appointment was approved by the King, the change to take effect on September 1st. The outbreak of war obliged an acceleration of these plans. Sir Frederick Hamilton went to the

26 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

Admiralty two months earlier than had been originally intended, or on July 30th, and his predecessor hoisted his flag on board the battleship Iron Duke as Commander-in-Chief on August 4th. The officer chosen as Chief of the Staff to Admiral Sir John Jellicoe was Eear- Admiral C. E. Madden, who on July 29th had been relieved as Eear-Admiral Commanding the Second Cruiser Squadron by Eear- Admiral the Hon. S. A. Gough-Calthorpe, and who, but for the war, would have succeeded Eear- Admiral A. G. H. W. Moore as Third Sea Lord. His appointment was also dated August 4th. It is hardly necessary to say that Admiral Sir John Jellicoe possessed the entire confidence both of the Navy and the nation. On his appointment, King George sent the following gracious message to Sir John : —

The " At this grave moment in our national history I send to you,

message. '^^^ through you to the officers and men of the Fleets of which you

have assumed command, the assurance of my confidence that under your direction they will revive and renew the old glories of the Eoyal Navy, and prove once again the sure shield of Britain and of her Empire in the hour of trial.

" George E. I."

In reply to this message of the King to the Fleets, Admiral Sir John Jellicoe sent the following reply : —

" On behalf of the officers and men of the Home Fleet beg to tender our loyal and dutiful thanks to your Majesty for the gracious message, which will inspire all with determination to uphold the glorious traditions of the past."

The patriotism and self-abnegation with which Admiral Sir George Callaghan acquiesced in the arrangements of the Admiralty Board, and handed over the command afloat at this time to a younger officer, were unanimously commended. Sir George had flown his flag at sea continuously since November 16, 1906, when he hoisted it in the Illustrious as Eear-Admiral in the Channel Fleet, and in those eight years — a period of continuous command M'hich was probably unique — he had done much to promote the fighting efficiency and readiness of the Navy in Home waters. On coming ashore, he was appointed for special service on the Admiralty War Staff. He was one of the officers constituting the Court of Inquiry into the escape of the Goeben and Breslau from Messina. On September 11th, in the vacancy caused by the retirement of Admiral Sir Edmund Poe, he was appointed First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to the King; and on January 1, 1915, he succeeded Admiral Sir Eichard Poore as Commander-in-Chief at the Nore.

SITUATION OF THE FLEET. 27

The state of preparation of the British Fleet for any action was most conspicuous at the critical moment when it became clear that Germany had determined to force a war upon Europe. Sir Edward Grey stated in the House of Commons on August 3rd, in defining Great Britain's attitude, that fortunately for us the readiness and efficiency of our laud and sea forces were never at a higher mark, and never was there a time when confidence was more justified in the power of the Navy to protect our commerce and our shores. Mr. Churchill also told the historic meeting at the Guildhall a month later, " You may rely with good confidence upon the strength and the efficiency of our naval defence. That defence will enable you to live and work and draw the means of life and power from the uttermost ends of the earth. It will give you the time, and it will give you the means, to create the powerful military force which this country must wield before the struggle is brought to its conclusion."

When the emergency came, not only was the Fleet found ready. The Fleet but its organisation revealed an elasticity in many directions which showed the forethought and thoroughness of recent administration. Thus the reserve ships were mobilised and despatched to their war stations in a remarkably short space of time. They were, too, in an effective condition so far as their material and equipment was concerned. Nor was there any lack of officers and men to man them. Indeed, contrary to the expectations of many, there was a considerable surplus, which, after providing for the needs of all the ships, was eventually used for quite another purpose. It was not only the case, moreover, that crews had to be found for a number of warships. With the declaration of war, hundreds of merchant vessels of various kinds were taken up for service.

The Fleet required many supply ships, colliers, hospital ships. Supply and the like, in addition to the merchant vessels commissioned as auxiliary auxiliary cruisers, of which the January official " Navy List " showed vessels, that no less than eighty were in use in December. As the need arose for the absorption of various classes of ships and craft to perform special duties, so the lists of officers and men were expanded. Lord Sydenham said, in a speech to the Navy League, on March 24th : " One of the most startling features of this War was the employment of the general maritime resources of the country, and the seafaring population drawn upon for dangerous duties had shown great heroism." A great many officers and men w^ere required for the examination and patrol services, for which a demand was made, not in vain, upon yachtsmen and owners of motor boats as well as upon the Mercantile Marine. A " Eoyal Naval Motor Boat Eeserve " was established under the presidency of Admiral Sir Frederick S. Inglefield, and an

28 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

English Section and Scottish Section organised. The transport of the

Expeditionary Force and of the Dominion troops also required a

number of officers and men, and these were forthcoming in such a

manner that no delay was occasioned in conveying them to their

allotted destinations. Touching upon this transport question in his

speech in Parliament on February 15th, Mr, Churchill said: "We

have at the present moment a powerful and flexible machinery, which

can move whole armies with celerity, wherever desired, in a manner

never before contemplated or dreamt of."

Demands The broadcast manner in which the Germans scattered their

creased mines brought a need for mine-sweeping vessels, in meeting which

auxiliary niany hundreds of trawlers and drifters were utilised, and the fisher-

pcrsonnel. ^ ^ n • ^ • • i -r, i

men and others forming their creAvs ran into some thousands. Keady, therefore, as the main force of the Eoyal Navy was found to be on the outbreak of war, and more efficient in point of organisation than had been thought possible by many people, this expansion necessitated a great draft being made on the Merchant Service, on the seafaring community generally, and even on men in civil life. The April issue of the official "Navy List" for 1915 showed that in the Iloyal Naval Eeserve the number of officers allotted temporary commissions were: — Captains (retired admirals, E.N.), 12; Commanders, 19; Lieutenant-Commanders, 19 ; Lieutenants, 275 ; Sub-Lieutenants, 791 ; Chief Engineers, 47 ; Senior Engineers, 60 ; Engineers, 361 ; Assistant-Engineers, 532 ; Assistant-Paymasters, 128 ; Skippers, 983 ; and Telegraphists, 150. In the Eoyal Naval Volunteer Eeserve, the number of officers holding temporary commissions were : — Commanders 6 ; Lieutenant-Commanders, 31 ; Lieutenants, 290 ; Sub-Lieutenants, 524; Midshipmen, 8 ; Surgeons and Dental Surgeons, 13; Surgeon Probationers, 117; and Fleet-Paymaster, Paymasters, and Assistant Paymasters, 30. These last-named figures do not include the officers holding temporary commissions in the Eoyal Naval Volunteer Eeserve for service in the Motor Boat Eeserve, which were : — Commanders, 3 ; Lieutenant-Commanders, 2 ; Lieu- tenants, 122 ; and Sub-Lieutenants, 151.

The fearlessness, promptitude, and readiness of resource displayed by the Board of Admiralty were further exemplified in the manner in which, unobtrusively and in some cases without public revelation of the fact, they exercised their right of pre-emption over the war- ships building in Great Britain for foreign governments. This course added several powerful and useful units to the British Fleet. On August 3rd, the Admiralty made the following announcement : —

His Majesty's Government have taken over thfe two battleships, one completed and the other shortly due for completion, -which had been ordered in this country

FLEET EXPANSION. 29

by the Turkish Government, and the two destroyer-leaders ordered by the Government of Chile. The two battleships will receive the names Agincourt and Erin, and the destroyer-leaders will be called Faulknor and Broke, after two famous naval officers.

The battleships referred to were kuown up to that time as the Addi- Osman I. and Eeshadieh. They were constructed by the Armstrong warships, and Vickers firms respectively, and the Osman I. had orifrinally been intended for Brazil as the llio de Janeiro, the purchase by Turkey taking place in December, 1913, before the vessel's completion. This ship had a main armament of fourteen 12-in. guns, a more numerous battery of such weapons than any other battleship in existence; while the Eeshadieh, with ten 13'5-in. guns, resembled the British Iron Duke class. The new destroyer-leaders were of a type rather similar to the British special type destroyer Swift, being of 1850 tons, with 31 knots speed, and armed with six 4-in. guns. Further additions to the Navy of warships constructing for other Powers were made known at subsequent dates. On October 21st, it was officially admitted that three armoured river gunboats built for Brazil by Messrs. Vickers had been taken over by Great Britain, and liad been brought into action on the Belgian coast, firing on the right flank of the German Army. " Owing to their light draught," said the commmiique, " they have been able to contribute materially to the success of the operations in this district, and they have already abundantly justified their acquisition on the outbreak of war." They were of 1260 tons, with 11^ knots speed, and armed with two 6-in. guns, two 4'7-in. howitzers, and four 3-pounders. Then on November 27th, in his speech in the House of Commons, Mr. Churchill stated that the battleship Almirante Latorre had been acquired from Chile, and renamed the Canada. This vessel was begun in December, 1912, and launched in November, 1913. She was of 28,000 tons, with a main armament of ten 14-in. guns. Furthermore, in the December " Navy List " appeared the names of Botha and Tipperary as those of two new flotilla leaders, which were understood to be sister ships to the Broke and Faulknor. There were six vessels in this class, which were ordered by Chile in September, 1911, and two had been completed and delivered before war broke out, thus the four which were absorbed into the British Navy completed the class.

The attitude of the Dominions when the war clouds gathered Th was one of ready helpfulness. The Commonwealth Government immediately placed the Koyal Australian Navy under the control of the Admiralty, besides offering a military expeditionary force. The Canadian Government also placed at the service of the Admiralty the cruisers Niobe and Eainbow for the purposes of commerce protection, in addition to offering an expeditionary force. Two

Do- minions.

30 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

submarines which had been constructed in the United States for Chile were also purchased by the Canadian Government, and were commissioned as British vessels for duty on the Pacific coast under the designations of C.C. 1 and C.C. 2. The New Zealand Government placed their Naval Force at the Admiralty's disposal, and, like the Australians, offered a military contingent. In South Africa, New- foimdland, and other parts of the Empire, although the immediate naval assistance given was not of the same character, the local reserve forces mobilised promptly to be ready for any calls upon them ; especially was this the case in Newfoundland, whose fishermen in the Eoyal Naval Reserve responded eagerly to the call, and many of them lost their lives in the auxiliary cruiser Bayano when she was torpedoed on jNIarch 11th by a German submarine.

The War of Attkition.

Opening The War opened with startling suddenness, revealing long pre-

paration on the part of Germany, and an intention to use to the fullest possible extent the newer weapons of war. The ruthless violation of all international law, which was afterwards so marked a feature of the German method of conducting the campaign, was indicated on the first day of hostilities, though its significance was not appreciated at the moment. A state of war came about between Britain and Germany at 11 p.m. on August 4th, and before noon on August 5 th the Germans were already laying mines off the east coast of England, without notifying neutral Powers of the areas in w^hich these mines were being placed, and without complying with the rule that a converted merchant vessel must, bear the external marks of a warship, carry the war and not the commercial flag, and, in fact, be duly commissioned for the fighting navy. Shortly after 9 a.m. on August 5th, the liner Konigin Luise was caught in the act of mine- laying off the Suffolk coast and sunk. The following ofl&cial notification, the first of an operation of the War, was issued on August 6th : —

The Admiralty announces that the commander of the torpedo Hotilla reports that H.M.S. Amphion and the Third Torpedo Flotilla sanli th^ German mine- layer Konigin Luise at noon yesterday. The Konigin Luise is a passenger vessel of the Hamburg-Amerika Line, of 2163 tons gross tonnage, speed 20 knots, specially fitted as a mine-layer.

The Amphion, Captain C. H. Fox, and the Third Destroyer Flotilla thus scored the first success of the War. The destroyers in the Third Flotilla were of the new L type, and those specially mentioned as having taken part in the action were the Lance, Commander W. de M. Egerton, which was chiefly instrumental in

GERMAN MINES. 31

sinking the Konigin Luise, and the Lark, Commander E. G. Rowley- Con wy, and Linnet, Commander L. W. Jones. The marksmanship on the British side was excellent. From one destroyer four shots were fired, of which one struck the bridge and practically blew it away, the second got home in the bows, and anotlier tore off the propeller. The German fire, on the other hand, was quite ineftective, and no casualties were caused in the British vessels. Thus the first engagement of the War proved the peace standard of gunnery efficiency of the British destroyers to be well maintained in the stress of action.

Before being rounded up and sunk by the British patrol, the Mine. Konigin Luise succeeded in laying a number of mines, and resorted to ^^^ a method of dropping them, when pursued, for following ships to run upon, a practice which was to be repeated many times during the "War. In particular, a line of mines was laid from Aldeburgh Eidge to lat. 52 • 10 deg. X., longitude 2 • 25 deg. E. This method proved fatal to the British cruiser Amphion on the succeeding day, causing the first misfortune to our Xavy in the conflict. This occurrence was described in detail in the following official communiqiie issued on August 19th : —

At 9 a.m. on August 5th, H. M.S. Amphion, with the Third Flotilla, proceeded to carry out a certain prearranged plan of search, and about an hour later a trawler informed them that she had seen a suspicious ship throwing things over- board— in an indicated position. Shortly afterwards the mine-layer Konigin Luise was sighted steering east. Four destroyers gave chase, and in about an hour's time she was rounded up and sunk. After picking up the survivors, the prearranged plan of search was carried out, without incident, till 3.30 a.m., when the Amphion was on the return course neariug the scene of the Konigin Luise's operations. The course was altered so as to avoid the danger zone. This was successfully done till 6.30 a.m., when the Amphion struck a mine. A sheet of flame instantly enveloped the bridge, which rendered the captain insensible, and he fell on to the fore and aft bridge. As soon as he recovered consciousness, he ran to the engine-room to stop the engines, which were still going at revolutions for 20 knots. As all the fore part was on fire, it proved impossible to reach the bridge or to flood the fore magazine. The ship's back appeared to be broken, and she was already settling down by the bows. All efforts were therefore directed towards placing the wounded in places of safety in case of explosion, and towards getting her in tow by the stern. By the time the destroyers closed it was clearly time to abandon the ship. The men fell in for this purpose with the same composure that had marked their behaviour throughout. All was done without hurry or confusion, and twenty minutes after the mine \va3 struck, the men, officers, and captain left the ship. Three minutes after the captain left his ship another explosion occurred which enveloped and threw up the whole fore part of the vessel. The efiects showed that she must have struck a second mine which exploded the fore magazine. Dihris falling from a great height struck the rescue boats and destroyers, and one of the Amphion's shells burst on the deck of one of the latter, killing two of the men and a German prisoner rescued from the cruiser. The after-part now began to settle quickly, till its foremost part was on the bottom and the whole after-part tilted up at an angle of 45 degrees. In another quarter of an hour this, too, had disappeared. Captain Fox speaks in high terms of the behaviour of the officers and men througliout. Every order was promptly obeyed, without confusion or perturbation.

It was thus early indicated that, in accordance with a policy expressed before the War began, every effort would be made, by the

32 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

use of mines and torpedoes, to lessen the preponderance which was possessed by the British Fleet. At the same time, Germany's Fleet w^ould be locked up in its fortified ports until a favourable opportunity occurred for its use. Thus began the war of attrition, or the campaign of wear and tear, which after nine months left the British Fleet with a superiority which had increased rather than diminished, owing not only to the extra ships which had been added to the Navy, as compared with those completed for Germany, but also to the incontestable failure of attempts to bring about the losses which had been hoped for. With regard to the incidents of this war of attrition, although accompanied by distressing loss of gallant lives, the material victims on the British side were almost invariably old vessels of comparatively small military value. Mine It was as a result of this policy of mine-laying on a large scale

sweeping. ^^ ^-^^ East coast, and the consequent danger to traffic, that tlie Admiralty instituted a system of swept passages, by keeping to which the trade could ensure comparative immunity from the mine danger. Hundreds of trawlers and drifters were taken up for this purpose and converted into mine-sweepers, and these vessels, while engaged in their difficult and perilous task, were protected by small men-of-war from molestation by the lighter cruisers of the enemy. In the earlier days of the War, the light cruisers and destroyers issued from the German ports fairly frequently, and on more than one occasion seized or sank the trawlers at their work. As a result of the meeting of patrols, although no action ensued, a state of aftairs characterised in the official communiques as "a, certain liveliness" came about. In spite, however, of the necessaiy movements of the British vessels protecting mine-sweepei;s, or engaged in scouting and other duties, the losses of such vessels from mines were small. Speedy On September 3rd it was officially stated that " A report from

^°^*" the commanding officer of H.M.S. Speedy states that the steam-

drifter Linsdell struck a mine this morning, 30 miles off the East coast, and sank. A quarter of an hour later H.M.S. Speedy also struck a mine and sank." These two vessels, the Amphion and Speedy, were the only victims of mines among British warships of the regular Navy during the first nine months of war. Two auxiliary cruisers, however, were destroyed l>y this agency, the Yiknor and Clan MacXaughton. The former was missed in the last week of January, with all her officers and men. She was formerly the cruising yacht Yiking, of 5386 tons, built as the Atrato in 1888, and was renamed Yiknor on being commissioned as an armed merchant cruiser on December 12, 1914, by Commander

MR. CHURCHILL ON MINES.

33

E. 0. Ballantyne. The Admiralty announced on January 25th that " the cause of her loss is uncertain, but as some bodies and wreckage have been washed ashore on the North Coast of Ireland, it is presumed that during the recent bad weather she either foundered or, being carried out of her course, struck a mine in the seas where the Germans are known to have laid them." The Clan MacNaughton was lost within a few days of the Yiknor. On Feliruary 24th the Admiralty announced that this ship, belonging to the Clan Line of steamers, of 4985 tons gross, built at Glasgow in 1911, had been missing since February 3rd. " Unsuccessful search was made," said the announcement, " and wreckage, supposed to be portions of this ship, has since been discovered. The last signal received from the Clan MacNaughton was made in the early morning of February 3rd, and it is feared that she was lost during the bad weather which prevailed at that time."

Victims of mines were more numerous among trawlers and similar small craft taken up by the Admiralty, as was natural in view of the work upon which they were engaged. In the official " Navy List " for January, in the list of officers and men killed in action, there appeared the names of several who were serving in the trawlers Princess Beatrice and Drumoak, lost on October 5, 1914, and in the Mary, lost on November 5, 1914; while other vessels were lost, but their crews escaped.

The interference with British and neutral merchant shipping liy the German mines was no greater in proportion than that with our warships. The policy of the Admiralty of keeping certain important channels swept regularly proved effective, otherwise the safety of the peaceful commerce of all nations would have been jeopardised by what a Cabinet Minister called " this murderous menace." Speaking in the House of Commons on November 27th, Mr. Churchill said, in regard to the danger from mines : —

Mine danger.

Our enemies have allowed themselves to puisue methods in regard to the scatteriug of mines upon the highways of peaceful commerce which, until the outbreak of war, we should not have thought would have been practised by any civilised Power. The risks and difficulties which we have had to face from that cause cannot be underrated, but I am glad to tell the House that although we have suffered losses, and, no doubt, will suffer more losses, I think the danger from mining — even unscrupulous and indiscriminate mining — of the open seas is one the limits of which can now be discerned, and which can be, and is being, further restricted and controlled by the very extensive measures which have been and are being taken.

Trawlers and fishing vessels were the worst sufferers, the powerful Admiralty explosives in the mines blowing them to pieces. Nor did the J^?^*'^"'^" neutrals receive any better treatment than British craft. It was in connection with the danger to which these vessels were liable that

D

34 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

the following official announcement was published on August 23rd :—

The Admiralty wish to draw attention to their previous warnings to neutrals of the danger of traversing the North Sea. The Germans are continuing their practice of laying mines indiscriminately upon the ordinary trade routes. These mines are not laid in connection with any definite military scheme, such as the closing of a military port, or as a distinct operation against a fighting fleet, but appear to be scattered on the chance of catching individual British war or merchant vessels. In consequence of this policy neutral ships, no matter what their destination, are exposed to the gravest dangers. Two Danish vessels, the steamship Maryland, and steamship Broberg, have within the last twenty-four hours been destroyed by these deadly engines in the North Sea while travelling on the ordinary routes at a con- siderable distance from the British coast. In addition to this, it is reported that two Dutch steamers, clearing from Swedish ports, were yesterday blown up by mines in the Baltic. In these circumstances the Admiralty desire to impress not only upon British but on neutral shipping the vital importance of touching at British ports before entering the North Sea in order to ascertain, according to the latest information, the routes and channels which the Admiralty are keeping swept, and along which those dangers to neutrals are reduced so far as possible. The Admiralty, while reserving to themselves the utmost liberty of retaliatory action against this new form of warfare, announce that they have not so far laid any mines during the present War and that they are endeavouring to keep the sea routes open for peaceful commerce.

Losses ^Q official list published in the first week of October showed that

due to ^

mines. up to September 23rd fifteen merchant vessels had been destroyed by German mines, eight of them being British, five Danish, one Norwegian, and one Swedish. Similarly, a communication issued by the British Legation at Amsterdam on October 13th, in connection with some discussion on this matter, stated that " sixty persons of neutral nationality have perished" by what was described as a violation of international law, as well as of the laws of humanity. The largest vessel in the Admiralty list was the Danish steamer Maryland, of 5136 tons, which was sunk on August 21st off the mouth of the Thames, her people being all saved. In the case of the Wilson liner Euno, however, of 1679 tons, which was destroyed off the Tyne on September 5 th, 22 lives were lost, owing, it was reported, to a panic among some Eussian emigrants. There were 238 passengers on board, the rest being saved by the trawlers Cameo and Euripides. On September 3rd an official announcement was made that the Euno, which " was sunk by a mine in a known mine-field, departed from Admiralty directions, which would have assured lier a safe voyage." The Admiralty, in the same announcement, impressed upon all concerned the extraordinary dangers attendant upon such disregard to warning and advice.

The methods by which Germany placed mines around the British coasts were not in conformity M'ith the requirements of international law in any particular. The Hague Convention prohibited the use of, first, anchored mines which do not become innocuous if they should break adrift, and, secondly, mobile or floating mines which do not become harmless within a specified period of time after they have

GERMAN MINE FIELDS. 35

been dropped. There was evidence to show that the Germans had

not taken the necessary precautions to render their mines innocuous

after the expiration of the fixed period. Furthermore, as already

pointed out, in connection with the sinking of the mine-layer Konigin

Luise, the vessels chosen to strew them had no proper status as

belligerent ships. In support of this point, an official announcement,

on August 30, 1914, said : — " The mines oft' the Tyne were laid 30

miles to seaward, not as part of any definite military operation, nor

by German ships of war, but by German trawlers, of whicb a

considerable number appear to have been engaged on this work.

The number of one such trawler actually seen to be doing this was

' A E 24 Emden.' "

In the last week of October the remarkable activity of the J^li^e-

. laying

German mine-layers received fresh illustration by the discovery under

that a " field " of unknown extent had been laid to the north-west of ^^"t"^^!

nag.

Ireland. As was pointed out in the Admiralty statement of November 2nd, establishing a " military area " in the North Sea, . mines had been scattered indiscriminately in the open sea " on the main trade route from America to Liverpool, rid the North of Ireland. Peaceful merchant .ships have already been blown up, with loss of life, by this agency. The White Star liner Olympic escaped disaster by pure good luck. But for tlie warnings given by British cruisers other British and neutral merchant and passenger vessels would have been destroyed. These mines cannot have been laid by any German ship of war. They have been laid by some merchant vessel flying a neutral flag, which has come along the trade route as if for the purpose of peaceful commerce, and while profiting to the full by the immunity enjoyed by neutral merchant ships, has wantonly and recklessly endangered the lives of all who travel on the sea, regardless of whether they are friend or foe, civilian or military in character. Mine-laying under a neutral flag, and recou- nais-sance conducted by trawlers, hospital ships, and neutral vessels, are the ordinary features of German naval warfare." The mines oft" the north coast of Ireland were discovered by the destruction of the merchant steamer Manchester Commerce on October 26th near Tory Island. Their purpose was to interfere with the free movements of liritish warships using the North Channel, or perhaps to catch some of the transports bringing the Canadian troops across.

The practice of using mines, both fixed and drifting, by the Germans, continued practically without cessation during the first nine months of the War, although in the latter part of this period to a much less degree, owing to the measures taken in connection with the closing of the East Coast ports on September 29th, and the definition

D 2

marine.

36 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

of certain sea areas as from November 5tli. As a consequence, neutral vessels found it dangerous to move, except in specified routes, and the number of vessels laying mines considerably decreased. Although our naval authorities described the area off the coast of Kent which they mined on October 2nd, no indication was given by Germans of the localities in which their mines were placed. Hardly a week passed without some merchant ship or trawler being injured or destroyed by German mines. Many of the machines were found miles from the localities in which they had been originally placed, and such mines were still active. The official tables of merchant and fishing vessels lost by hostile action, which were issued weekly from the beginning of March, only showed the British ships affected, and the losses to these from mines were not very numerous. During the first nine months of the War, according to the table corrected up to May 5th, twelve firitish merchant vessels and twenty-one trawlers and fishing boats were sunk by mines. But the casualties among neutral ships were far larger, and almost all nations whose vessels used the North Sea suffered from this cause. The sub- It will be noticed from the foregoing that a new problem was

presented by the German use of mines, both fixed and drifting. Such mines had been employed during earlier wars, notably in that between Eussia and Japan, but on nothing like the same scale, nor under the peculiar conditions which ruled in this case. Similarly, a fresh situation was created by the use made of submarines, one tliat was entirely novel. Speculative writers had suggested before the War that submarines might be used for a variety of purposes, including that of the destruction of commerce, but it was replied to them that international law obliged not only the nationality of a ship to be established, but a proper blockade declared, and various regulations with regard to detention, search, and the safety of the crew complied with. It was manifest, however, quite early in the War, that not only were submarines to be used for the purpose of sinking enemy ships, but also that the Germans had determined upon increasing in every possible way the loss of life attendant upon such disasters. This was shown not only by what occurred at the time of the sinking of the three cruisers of the Cressy class, but in the case of the Hawke, where boats which attempted to save life from rafts were driven away by the German submarines. Later on, this callous disregard of the laws of nations and of humanity was further exemplified in the treatment accorded to the crews of British and neutral merchant ships.

As already described, the protection of mine-sweeping vessels, the patrol work, the business of searching merchant ships for contraband,

GERMAN SUBMARINE ATTACKS. o7

and many other duties, necessitated the presence of large numbers of cruisers and small craft in the Xorth Sea. Where these ships, destroyers, etc., were stationed, the bases from which they worked, and their spheres of action, were not, of course, revealed, but every now and again some incident of the War, or the clash of arms, obliged the lifting of the curtain of mystery, and showed these watch-dogs at their calling. Naturally, it was these ships that ran the greatest risk from the German submarines, the danger from which was not at first sufficiently realised, nor all the later precautions taken to meet it. The enemy's boats became active almost as soon as the War began, for in an official statement issued on August 10th it was announced that on the previous day one of the cruiser squadrons of the main fleet had been attacked by German submarines. Fortunately, none of our ships was damaged, but one of the German submarines, U 15, was rammed and sunk by the light cruiser Birmingham, Captain A. A. M. Duff. The mayor of the city so named was congratulated by the Admiralty on the good fortune of its representative ship.

Submarine attacks, with success, by enemy craft began with the Path- destruction of the Pathfinder, Captain F. M. Leake, in the Firth of tor- Forth on September 5th. In regard to the sinking of this vessel, P^doed. which was at first assumed to have been mined, the Secretary of the Admiralty made the following announcement : —

H.M.S. Pathfinder, Captain Francis Martin Leake, struck a mine to-day, at 4.30 p.m., about 20 miles off the East Coast, and foundered very rapidly. The loss of life has probably been heavy. The Pathfinder was a light cruiser of 2940 tons and 25 knots' speed, armed with nine 4-in. guns. She was built in 1904.

The Pathfinder was serving as flotilla cruiser of the Eighth Destroyer Flotilla. Her destruction was very complete, only small fragments of wreckage being found by the fishing craft, which were the first to reach the scene of the occurrence. The St. Abbs' coast- guard men .gave the earliest intimation that the vessel had been destroyed, and the atmospheric conditions were described as being very clear, affording extreme visibility. Subsequently it became known that it was U 21, Lieutenant-Commander Hersing, which torpedoed the Pathfinder. This boat afterwards gained notoriety by her operations against merchant shipping in the Irish Sea in January and February.

Within three weeks of the loss of the Pathfinder, Germany's submarines made their biggest coup of the first nine months of the War, whether judged by the number of lives lost or the tonnage of the vessels destroyed. This was the sinking of the three cruisers of the Cressv class, on the morning of September 22nd, off the Dutch

38 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

coast, by U 'J, Lieutenant- Commander Otto Weddigen, an officer

who, until be was destroyed with bis crew in l^ 29 in March, was

the most successful submarine commander on the (lerman side. On

the afternoon of September 22nd the Admiralty announced that the

HoCTe ' "^ bonkir, Captain John E. Drummond ; the Hogue, Captain Wilmot

andCressy S. Nicholson ; and the Cressy, Captain IJobert W. Johnson, had been

pedoed. suuk by a submarine in the North Sea. The Aboukir was torpedoed,

and whilst the Hogue and the Cressy had closed, and were standing

by to save the crew, they were also torpedoed. Three days later,

on September 25th, the Admii-alty published the reports of the

commanders of the Cressy and Hogue, these being prefaced by the

following Memorandum : —

The facts of this afiair cannot be better conveyed to the public than by the attached reports of the senior officers who have survived and lauded in England. The sinking of the Aboukir was, of course, an ordinary hazard of patrol duty. The Hogue and Cressy, however, were sunk because they proceeded to the assistance of their consort, and remained with engines stopped endeavouring to save life, thus presenting an easy and certain target to further submarine attacks.

The natural promptings of humanity have in this case led to heavy losses, which would have been avoided by a strict adherence to military considerations. Modern naval war is presenting us with so many new and strange situations that an error of judgment of this character is pardonable. But it has been necessary to point out, for the future guidance of his Majesty's ships, that the conditions which prevail when one vessel of a squadron is injured in a minefield, or is exposed to submarine attack, are analogous to those which occur in an action, and that the rule of leaving disabled ships to their own resources is applicable, so far at any rate as large vessels are concerned. No act of humanity, whether to friend or foe, should lead to a neglect of the proper precautions and dispositions of war, and no measures can be taken to save life which prejudice the military situation. Small craft of all kinds should, however, be directed by wireless to close the damaged shij) with all speed.

The loss of nearly 60 officers and 1400 men would not have been grudged if it had been brought about by gunfire in an open action, but it is peculiarly dis- tressing under the conditions which prevailed. The absence of any of the ardour and excitement of an engagement did not, however, prevent the display of discipline, cheerful courage, and ready self-sacrifice among all ranks and ratings exposed to the ordeal. The duty on which these vessels were engaged was an essential part of the arrangements by which the control of the seas and the safety of the country are maintained, and the lives lost are as usefully, as necessarily, and as gloriously devoted to the requirements of his Majesty's service as if the loss had been incurred in a general action. In view of the certainty of a proportion of misfortunes of this character occurring from time to time, it is important that this point of view should be thoroughly appreciated. The loss of these three cruisers, apart from the loss of life, is of ?mall naval significance. Although they were large and powerful ships, they belonged to a class of cruisers whose speeds have been surpassed by many of the enemy's battleships. Before the war it had been decided that no more money should be spent in repairing any of this class, and that they should make their way to the sale list as soon as serious defects became manifest.

Parts of the report by Commander Bertram W. L. Xicholson, late of H.M.S. Cressy, dated September 23, 1914, are omitted, but the main points are as follows : —

Sir, — I have the honour to submit the following report in connection with the sinking of H.M.S. Cressy, in company with H.M.S. Aboukir and Hogue, on the morning of September 22nd. Whilst on patrol duty the Aboukir was struck at about 6.25 a.m. on the starboard beam. The Hogue and the Cressy

TIIIIEE ARMOURED CRUISERS LOST. 39

closed, and took up position — the Hogue ahead of the Aboukir and the Cressy about 400 yards on her port beam. As soon as it was seen that the Aboukir was in danger of sinking, all boats were sent away from the Cressy and the picket boat was hoisted out without steam up. When the cutters full of the Aboukir's men were returning to the Cressy, the Hoguo was struck apparently under aft 9' 2 magazine, as a very heavy explosion took place immediately after the first explosion. Almost directly after the Hogue was hit we observed a periscope on our port bow about 300 yards off. Fire was immediately opened, and engines put full speed ahead with intention of running her down.

*****

Captain .Johnson then manoeuvred the ship so as to render assistance to the crews of the Hogue and Aboukir. About five minutes later another periscope was seen on our starboard quarter. Fire was opened. The track of the torpedo she fired at a range of 500 to 600 yards was plainly visible, and it struck us starboard side just before the after bridge. The ship listed about 10 degrees to starboard and remained steady. Time 7.15 a.m. All watertight doors, dead lights, and scuttles bad been securely closed before the torpedo struck ship. All mess tools and tables, shores, and all available timber below and on deck had been previously got up and thrown over the side for saving of life. A second torpedo fired by the same submarine missed and passed about 20 feet astern. About a quarter of an hour after the first torpedo had hit, a third torpedo, fired from a submarine just before starboard beam, hit us in No. 5 boiler-room. Time 7.30 a.m. The ship then began to heel rapidly, and finally turned keel up, remaining so for about 20 minutes before she finally sank at 7.55 a.m. A large number of men were saved by the casting adrift of a pattern three target. The steam pinnace floated out of her crutches, but filled and sank.

The second torpedo which struck the Cressy passed over the sinking hull of the Aboukir, narrowly missing it. It is possible that the same submarine fired all three torpedoes at the Cressy.

The conduct of the crew was excellent throughout. I have already reported the splendid service rendered by Captain Phillips, master of the trawler L. T. Coriander, and his crew, who picked up 156 officers and men.

The report of Commander Eeginald A. Norton, late of H.M.S. Hogue, dated September 23, 1914, says: —

Sir, — I have the honour to report as follows concerning the sinking of H.M. ships Hogue. Aboukir, and Cressy : — Between 6.15 and 6.30 a.m. the Aboukir was struck by a torpedo. The Hogue closed the Aboukir, and I received orders to hoist out the launch, turn out and prepare all boats, and unlash all timber on the upper deck. The two lifeboats were sent to the Aboukir, but before the launch could get away the Hogue was struck on the starboard side amidships by two torpedoes at intervals of ten to twenty seconds. The ship at once began to heel to starboard.

*****

The Aboukir appeared to me to take about 35 minutes to sink, floating bottom up for about five minutes. The Hogue turned turtle very quickly in about five minutes, and floated bottom up for some minutes. A dense black smoke was seen in the starboard battery, whether from coal or torpedo cordite I could not say. The upper deck was not blown up, and only one other small explosion occurred as we heeled over. The Cressy I watched heel over from the cutter. She heeled over to starboard very slowh% a dense black smoke issuing from her when she attained an angle of about 90 degrees. She took a long time from this angle until she floated bottom up, with the starboard screw slightly out of the water. I consider that it was thirty-five to forty-five minutes from the time when she was struck until she was bottom up. All the men in the Hogue behaved extraordinarily well, obeying orders even when in the water swimming for their lives, and I witnessed many cases of great self-sacrifice and gallantry.

A German account of the affair appeared in the Neio Yorh World of October 11th, when the story of the commander of U 9 was allowed to be published by the permission of the German Navy Office. He said : —

It was 10 minutes after G in the morning when I caught sight of the cruisers. I was then 18 miles north-westerlv off the Hook of Holland. I had travelled

40

THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

more than 200 miles from my base. I had been going ahead, partly submerged, with about five feet of my periscope showing. Immediateh' I caught sight of the cruisers I submerged completely and laid my course so as to bring up in the centre of the trio. I got another flash through my periscope before I began action. Then I loosed one of my torpedoes at the middle ship, which I later learned was the Aboukir. There was a fountain of water, a burst of smoke, a flash of fire, and part of the cruiser rose in the air. I submerged at once. The Cressy and the Hogue turned and steamed to their sister ship. As soon as I reached my torpedo depth I sent a second charge at the Hogue. I had scarcely to move out of my position, which was a great aid since it helped to keep me from detection. The attack went true, the Hogue half turned over and then sank. The third cruiser stood her ground as if more anxiovis to help the many sailors who were in the water than to save herself. When I got within suitable range I Fcnt away my third attack. This time I sent a second torpedo after the first to make a hit doubly certain. My luck was with me again, for the enemy at once began sinking by the head. All the while her men stayed at their guns looking for their invisible foe. They were brave, true to their country's sea traditions. Then she turned turtle.

Hawke, Qn October IGtli, a tifth British cruiser, the Hawke, was torpedoed

Hermes,

and Niger with large loss of life. She also fell a victim to U 9. <Jn the 17th,

pedoed *^® Admiralty issued the following : —

H.M.S. Theseus (Captain Hugh Edwards, R.N.) was attacked by submarines in the northern waters of the North Sea yesterday afternoon, but was missed. H.M.S. Hawke (Captain Hugh P. E. T. Williams, R.N.) was attacked at about the same time, and was sunk. The following oificers, together with 49 men of the crew, have been landed at Aberdeen from a trawler : — Mr. Sidney Austin, boatswain ; Mr. James Dennis, gunner ; Mr. Harry C. T. Evitt, acting-gunner. The remaining officers and men are missing.

The Hawke was employed upon examination duties in northern Scottish waters, and this particular work entailed large risks from the submarines owing to the circumstance that the ships thus en- gaged had to lower their boats to carry out the duties of inspection and search. Knowing this, it was the practice of the German sub- marines to accompany some larger surface vessel which might attract the attention of the examining ship and bring her within reach of the torpedo. Whether this happened in the case of the Hawke seems uncertain, but a vessel under neutral colours was in the neighbourhood just before the misfortune took place, and disappeared without rendering any assistance to the crew. It was on this occasion that the German submarines, by constant attacks, prevented a rescue of a number of the cruiser's men who had sought safety on a raft. Several times the British vessel approached the raft, only to be driven away by the submarine, while each time the number of men clinging to their frail support became fewer.

It may be as well, before returning to the general events which occurred in the North Sea, to give a list of the further losses which have taken place from torpedoes fired by submarines. On October 31st, a sixth British cruiser, the Hermes, Captain C. L, Lambe, which had been recently used as a seaplane carrying ship, was sunk by a torpedo fired by a German submarine in tlie Straits of Dover as she

THE SUBMARINE CAMPAIGN. 41

was returning from Dunkirk. Nearly all the officers and crew were saved. On November lltli, the Niger, Lieutenant-Commander Artliur T. Muir, was torpedoed l)y a submarine in the Downs and foundered. All the officers and seventy-seven of the crew were saved ; fifteen men were killed and two were wounded. The Niger was a torpedo gunboat of <S10 tons, built in 1892. She was employed in semi-combatant duties. Slie was the seventh victim of submarine attack, and the last in 1914.

On January 1, 1915, the battleship Formidable was sunk in the Loss of Channel, whether by mine or submarine was not at once ascertained, midable. I;i the House of Lords on January 7th, Lord Crewe announced that it was the definite opinion of the Admiralty that the Formidable was sunk by two torpedoes fired from a submarine. After the ship had been struck, Captain A. N. Loxley signalled to another ship in the neighbourhood not to stand by to lielp, but to keep off, because of the danger from the submarine. " That was a very gallant act," said Lord Crewe, " and worthy of the highest traditions of the British Navy." The Formidable remained afloat for two hours after being struck by the first torpedo, sinking about 4.30 a.m. Some forty of her crew got ashore at Lyme Eegis after rowing in the ship's cutter for 20 hours, and seventy others were rescued in skilful manner by the Brixham trawler Providence. No other British men-of-war suffered in this way, until on May 1st the torpedoing of the destroyer Eecruit brouglit the average loss of the British Navy from submarine attack up to one vessel per month for the first nine months of the War. This was the first British destroyer to be lost, and by her destruction the total displacement of warships sunk by submarines was raised to 59,545 tons, or at the rate of 6616 tons per month.

The news of the last engagement in the North Sea during the nine months under review was contained in the following coi/unimique issued by the Admiralty on May 2nd : —

A series of small affairs took place in the neighbourhood of the Galloper and North Hinder Lightships on Saturday During the forenoon H,M. destroyer Recruit was sunk by a submarine, 4 officers and 21 men being saved by the trawler Daisy. A 3 p.m. the trawler Colombia was attacked by two German torpedo-boats, who approached her from the westward, and commenced the action without hoisting their colours. The Colombia was sunk by a torpedo, only one deck-hand being saved by other trawlers. A division of British destroyers, comprising Laforey, Leonidas, Lawford, and Lark, chased the two German vessels, and after a brief running fight of about one hour, sank them both. The British destroyers sustained no casualties. Two German officers and forty-four men were rescued from the sea and made prisoners of war.

Supplementing the above, the Secretary of the Admiralty made, on May 3rd, the following announcement : —

After the destroyer action on Saturday afternoon strenuous efforts were made to rescue the CTcrman sailors, Lieut. Hartnoll going into the water himself to

42

THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

Auxiliary

cruiser

Bayauo.

Losses of personnel.

save a German. In consequence, two officers and foity-four men. out of a total of fifty-nine, were picked up. The German prisoners stated that they had sunk a British trawler before being sighted by the Laforey, and that they picked up a "two-striped officer," i.e., a lieutenant, and two men. When asked what had become of them, they stated that their prisoners were below, and time was short. It must therefore be concluded that the officer and two men have perished.

One auxiliary cruiser, the Bayauo, was also sunk by submarine. She was a vessel of 5948 tons, built at Glasgow in 1913, and owned before the War by Messrs, Elders and Fyffes, Ltd., who had a large fleet of steamers engaged in the West Indian trade. She was com- missioned for naval purposes early in December by Commander H. C. Carr, and at the time of her loss w^as engaged on patrol duty. On March 11th, the \\T:eckage of the vessel and bodies were discovered, and circumstances pointed to her having been sunk by an enemy's torpedo. Capt. McGarrick, of the steamship Castlereagh, of Belfast, stated that his ship passed that morning through a quantity of wreckage and dead bodies floating in lifebelts. He attempted to search the spot in the hope of saving any men who might still be alive, but was prevented Ijy the appearance of an enemy submarine, which gave chase for about twenty minutes.

Eegarding the number of officers and men lost in these ten cases

of submarine attacks, an official statement, published on November 25,

1914, showed that 62 officers and 1397 men went down in the

cruisers of the Cressy class; 26 officers and 499 men in the Hawke;

1 officer and 21 men in the Hermes ; and 15 men in the Niger. In

the Formidable, about 600 officers and men were lost ; in the Recruit,

33, and in the Bayano, 200 ; making the total loss about 2854 officers

and men. It will be noticed that over 2000 of these were lost in

the first half of the period of nine months which is covered by the

review. The lessons taught by the early mishaps had been appreciated

by the Fleet, with the result that the movements and handling of the

British vessels gave fewer cliances to the enemy's submarines. High

speed, coupled with frequent changes of course, were recognised to be

necessary precautions against the attack of the under-water craft.

One of the reasons assigned for the inauguration of the " blockade "

of the British Isles by Germany on February 18th, when her

submarines were ordered systematically to attack commercial vessels,

was that by this time they had realised their inability to restrict the

movements of our warships or make any diminution in our naval

strength. Dealing with the submarine menace in his speech on

November 28th, ]\Ir. Churchill said : —

Submarines introduced entirely novel conditions into naval warfare. The old freedom of movement which belonged to the stronger Power is affected and restricted in narrow waters by the developments of this new and formidable arm. There is a difference between military and naval anxieties which the House will appreciate. A division of soldiers cannot be annihilated by a cavalry patrol. But at any moment

FAILURE OF THE WAR OF ATTIIITIUN. 43

a great ship, equal in power as a war unit to a division of an army, may be destroyed without a single opportunity of its fighting strength being realised or a man on board having a chance to strijje a blow in self-defence. It is necessary for the safety of this country, for the supply of its vital materials, that our ships should move with freedom and hardihood through the seas on their duties ; and no one can pretend that anxiety must not always be present in the minds of those who have the responsibility for their direction. It is satisfactory, however, to reflect that our power in submarines is much greater than that of our enemies ; and that the only reason why we are not able to produce results on a large scale in regard to them is that we are so seldom afforded any target to attack.

Thus the events of the iirst nine months of hostilities showed that the influence and effect of this species of warfare upon the general naval situation were not what the German naval authorities expected. The Admiralty Staff in Berlin were continually dis- appointed by their failure to impress the imagination of the British public by the ruthless manner in which it was carried out. The motive underlying each successive exhibition of " frightfulness," as the schemes for impressing the British people came to be known, was the same. It was hoped to bring pressure to bear indirectly upon the British Admiralty, so as to induce them to alter their plan of naval campaign and preconceived policy, and thus to aftbrd some opportunity offering possibilities of successful action by the German Fleet. The war of attrition by mines and submarines, the raids on the East Coast by cruisers and airships, and the destruction of life and property in the mercantile marine, were all tried with a similar ol)ject. Attention may now be directed to the British part in this war of attrition, for it must not be overlooked that Germany's gains were all offset by mishaps to her own vessels. It has been show^n that the extent of the damage done by mine and submarine was so comparatively small as to be almost negligible in any case, but when it is remembered that German vessels also suffered in this campaign of wear and tear, it will be realised that the promoters of it hopelessly failed in their undertaking.

The Nokth Sea and Baltic.

Among the general public, and, indeed, in the case of many naval students, an impression prevailed that one of the earliest incidents of a war between Great Britain and Germany would be a naval battle which would probably be decisive of affairs at sea. In nearly all the pre-War literature, such a battle had been a prominent feature. Linked with this idea of a prompt challenge of British naval strength was a belief that Germany would forestall us in the matter of pre- paration, and that it would therefore be to her advantage to deliver what the German Emperor is said to have described as a splendid hussar-like stroke, and what in this country had been spoken of as a

44 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

bolt from the blue. Some people thought that, at the selected moment, from Germany's point of view such a stroke might prove effective. The majority, however, expected that while the British Fleet might lose heavily, the German would suffer still more so. In any case, there would be no further event of great importance in the North Sea. "Whichever way the tide of fortune turned, the war was to be, in the rhetoric of after-dinner speakers, " short, sharp, and decisive."

As far back as 1894:, I was permitted to explain in the Naval Annual why !• thought this assumption ought not to be readily accepted as correct. " Sharp, in the sense of being violent and painful," I wrote, " we may confidently expect that the conflict will be, and, once begun, it can hardly terminate without being decisive, one way or the other, of the continued existence of the British Empire ; but why it should necessarily be of short duration has yet to be explained. . . . We have . . . immense and unequalled resources at our back — resources which, if properly utilised, must have an enormous effect in determining the result of a war by sea ; but time is needed to utilise them to the fullest advantage and extent. That we shall have the time is at least one of the aims which should be kept in view by those who are responsible for the defence of the Empire." That this aim was kept in view is now as manifest as anything can be, for when the declaration of war came, Germany's naval chiefs were faced with a situation which they had probably not anticipated. To act on the offensive without any preliminary rearrangement of their forces would have been to take a step which w^as hazardous in the extreme. Hence the advantage of initiative was lost to them. Popular Nevertheless, it was tliis belief in an early battle, and in other

ceptious. misconceptions of naval warfare, that led people to ask, " AMiat is the Elect doing ? "—a question more frequently propounded, perhaps, in the early days of the War, and about the time that the Yarmouth and Scarborough raids occurred, than afterwards. Although not frightened, the public were certainly startled by the appearance of German cruisers within gunshot of the East Coast. The expression, " somewhere in the North Sea," used loosely to indicate the wheie- abouts of the British Fleet, although it had no official sanction, encouraged a notion that the Fleet stood between our coasts and those of Germany and prevented the High Sea Fleet from coming out. The actual conditions were very different. No attempt was made to keep the German Fleet in — the mines in the North Sea were laid by Germany herself, and whatever may have been the situation of the British Fleet, it certainly could not at all times be lying directly in

BRITISH AND GERMAN STRATEGY. 45

the path of the would-be raiders. The functions of the patrolling squadrons and flotillas were also misunderstood. Movements and incidents which occur in land warfare were expected to have their analogies at sea, and the disappointment caused by their non- occurrence blinded many people to the marvellous results attained by the Fleet, almost without firing a gun.

If there were such a thing as public opinion in C}erniany, it is probable that a similar moan would have found expression there. After spending huge sums upon their Fleet, tlie German people might well wonder why it remained within the shelter of its fortified ports. But the German Fleet has, since the War began, been able to play an important and valuable part in the War. With the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal connecting the Xorth Sea and the Baltic, it has been facing two fronts and protecting two lengths of coastline. It has, therefore, been fulfilling a strategical conception, and may continue to perform this work so long as it remains effective and ready to come out and fight.

Similarly, Eussia has had by no means an entirely negligible Baltic and naval force in the Baltic, and if there were no German Fleet to meet it ^°^ ' this force might have been used to convoy troops to the German coast. In any consideration of the plans which have guided the German naval authorities in their conduct of the naval war, the North Sea and the Baltic should be treated as one theatre, the operations in which, at either end of the canal, were part of a single plan and co-ordinated one to the other. Owing, however, to our superiority over the enemy in the elements of naval force, his refusal to accept the challenge of battle has given this country the virtual command of the sea communications, and this, under the protection of the Fleet, has conferred inestimable advantages to the Empire and its Allies. Our people have suffered no scarcity of food. They have been saved from invasion and the violation of their shores. While German maritime commerce has collapsed, the trade of the Allies has continued its course practically unhindered. These are the substantial advantages derived from the possession of a supreme Navy able to dominate the situation.

It seems necessaiy to add to this summary of the advantages obtained by a supreme Fleet that if it had been permitted from the beginning of the War to institute a real commercial blockade, not only would German industry have been paralysed, but the enemy would have been deprived of the raw material for the manufacture of munitions of war, and the economic consequence of such a strangulating grip would have helped to shorten hostilities. A further manifestation of the working of sea power as the paramount

46 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

factor of the "War is found in the way it has secured for us and our Allies time and opportunity to use our wealth and resources in men and material to balance such advantages as Germany obtained in its many years of preparation for the conflict it has forced upon the world. Heiigo- Attention may now be drawn to many of the naval incidents

Bight. which have occurred beyond those already mentioned in what has been described as the war of attrition. Although not a single battleship has been seen beyond a few miles from the German coast, her battle- cruisers have made fugitive raids to their own harm, and without the attainment of any military object, or influencing the progress of the "War. On August 18th the following ofiicial statement was issued : —

Some desultory fighting has taken place during the day between the British patrolling squadrons and flotillas and German reconnoitring cruisers. No losses are reported or claimed. A certain liveliness is apparent in the southern area of the North Sea. •

These movements indicated an intention to begin a species of guerilla warfare, as a number of British trawlers were sunk about tliis time and their crews captured. Then suddenly came the dramatic (1 enouemciiL The Admiralty, in a preliminary report on tlie evening of August 28th, said : —

Early this morning a concerted operation of some consequence was attempted against the Germans in the Heligoland Bight. Strong forces of destroyers, supported by light cruisers and battle-cruisers, and working in conjunction with submarines, intercepted and attacked the German destroyers and cruisers guarding the approaches to the German coast. According to the information which has reached the Admiralty so far, the operation has been fortunate and fruitful. The British destroyers have been heavily engaged with the enemy's destroyers. All British destroyers are reported afloat and returning in good order. Two German destroyers were sunk and many damaged. The enemy's cruisers were engaged by the British cruisers and battle-cruisers. The First Light Cruiser Squadron sank the Mainz, receiving only slight damage. The First Battle-Cruiser Squadron sank one cruiser (Koln class), and another cruiser disappeared in the mist, heavily fired on and in a sinking condition. All the German cruisers engaged were thus disposed of. The Battle-Cruiser Squadron, although attacked by submarines and floating mines, successfully evaded them and is undamaged. The Light Cruiser Squadron suffered no casualties. The British loss of life is not heavy. The commanding officers concerned in this skilfully-handled operation were Rear-Admirals Beatty, IMoore, and Christian, and Commodores Keyes, Tyrwhitt, and Goodcnough.

Two days later a further description of the engagement was issued by the Admiralty, in which the qualities of the new vessels engaged on the British side were extolled, and the efforts made by the British seamen to save the crews of the German ships, which had been sunk, were described. The total British casualties were reported as eighty- eight killed and wounded, among the former two officers of exceptional merit, Lieutenant-Commander Nigel K. W. Barttelot and Lieutenant Eric W. P. Westmacott. It was further stated that all the British

THE BIGHT OF HELIGOLAND. 47

ships would be fit for service again in a week or ten days. The following passages are taken from this communique : —

The principle of the" operation was a scooping movement hy a strong force of destroyers headed by the Arethusa to cut the German light craft from home and engage them at leisure in the open sea. The Arethusa, leading the line of destroyers, was first attacked by two German cruisers, and was sharply engaged for thirty-five minutes at a range of about 3000 yards (under two miles), with the result that she sustained some damage and casualties, liut drove off the two German cruisers, one of which she seriously injured with her 6-in. guns. Later in the morning she engaged at intervals two other German vessels which were encountered in the confused fighting which followed, and in company with the Fearless and the Light Cruiser Squadron contributed to the sinking of the cruiser Mainz. In these encounters the Arethusa's speed was reduced to ten knots and many of her guns were disabled, and at one o'clock she was about to be attacked by two other cruisers of the German town class (Mainz, Koln, etc.), when the Battle-Cruiser Squadron most opportunely arrived and pursued and sank these new antagonists. The success of this operation was due in the first instance to the information brought to the Admiralty by the submarine officers, who have during the past three weeks shown extraordinary daring and enterprise in penetrating the enemy's waters.

It was not until October 21st that the despatches of Vice-Admiral Heligo- 1 1 nr. • 1 • ■ lakiid des-

.Sir David Beatty and other officers concerning this action were patches.

published.* Throughout the Empire, this record of stirring events and gallant deeds was read with pride and satisfaction. The narratives set forth succinctly the achievements and exhibited the enterprise, daring, and resource of those who had been concerned. There was evidence of the skill, coolness, and courage displayed during this engagement. Commodore Tyrwhitt, who commanded the destroyer flotillas in the Arethusa, describes the earlier incidents of the action, in which his vessel received considerable damage, after having inflicted with her consorts loss upon the enemy. Sir David Beatty reports the receipt of signals from Commodore Tyrwhitt and Commodore Keyes that they required assistance, and how he ordered the Light Cruiser Squadron to support the torpedo flotillas. This squadron, ou coming into action, reduced the Mainz, which, with several other German big cruisers, made her appearance. Admiral Beatty now decided that the moment had arrived for the completion of the concerted movement between his battle-cruisers and the smaller vessels. As he says in his despatch, it was evident that to be of any value the support must be overwhelming and carried out at the highest speed possible. He had already frustrated the submarine attack upon his squadron by rapid manceuvring, and he trusted to the high speed of his cruisers and tlie smoothness of the sea to make further attack of this kind difficult. At half-past eleven, or four and a half hours after the issue was first joined, he worked the battle- cruisers up to full speed and proceeded in the direction of the firing. An hour later he opened fire on a cruiser of the Kolberg class, and

* These documents are given in Part IV.

48 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

then sighted the Ariadne, wlien the Lion fired two salvos at her and she disappeared into the mist, burning furiously, and in a sinking condition. Later on, the Lion sank the Koln, and the rest of the German vessels fled. Noticeable features in this dashing little action were the excellent co-operation of all the classes of vessels concerned, the splendid fighting of the men, the most capable leading, the excellent marksmanship of the gunners, tlie crushing power of the battle-cruisers, the valuable qualities of the Arethusa class, and the new destroyers, with the extraordinary activity of the submarines in a sea engagement. Apart from their material and other losses, the chief importance of the affair rested in the moral effect the sound drubbing they were given had upon the German seamen. It was a long time before they again risked an engagement in force.

Some of the successes of the German submarines have already been described, but in this novel form of warfare, when their much smaller opportunities are remembered, the achievements of the British submarines showed that they were equally ready by skilful handling and resourcefulness to utilise this new product of scientific invention. Successes To Submarine E 9, commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Max

K. Horton, belongs the honour of the first score to a British sub- marine. Almost under the guns of Heligoland, she attacked the cruiser Hela, employed as yacht of the Commander-in-Chief, and torpedoed her. The official account merely recorded the fact on the return of E 9 to Harwich harbour. From another source it was learnt that, early on the morning of September 13th, Lieutenant- Commander Horton's boat, with another submarine, w^as scouting in German waters when the Hela was observed close in to the German coast. Keeping within range under water, and sighting through the periscope, two torpedoes were fired, one of which struck the vessel amidships. The cruiser burst into flames, and sank within an hour, most of her crew being apparently rescued by merchant vessels which were in the neighbourhood. Lieutenant-Commander Horton in the same boat also torpedoed and sank, on October Gth, the German destroyer S 116 off the mouth of the Ems. Foi his achieve- ments he was awarded the D.S.O. in the Gazette of October 21, 1914. The brilliant work of E 9 not only illustrates the deadly nature of the submarine attack under favourable conditions, but also the value of these boats as scouts. The report of Commodore Eoger Keyes, issued with the despatches on October 21st,* describes the services performed by the submarines during the first ten weeks of the War. It will be seen that almost directly after the outbreak of war these boats carried out scouting work in the Heligoland Bight,

* See his report in Part IV.

THE GRAND FLEET. 49

returning witli useful iuformation. During the transportation of the Expeditionary Force they maintained day and night, without relief, positions from which the}' would have attacked the German Fleet liad it shown any inclination to interfere with the passage of the transports. The submarines also continually occupied the enemy's waters and reconnoitred his anchorages, and during the engagement in the Heligoland Bight the officers in command of the submarines handled their vessels with coolness and judgment in an area which was occupied by friends as well as foes. Several gallant actions are described by the commodore, most creditable to the commanding officers of the boats, all of whom, and the men under their command, he reports as having performed their duties most admirably. On many other occasions, and especially in the Cuxhaven raid, described later, these submarine boats continued to afford evidence of their value and utility.

From the very beginning of the "War, the news which came from Spirit of the Grand Fleet* was scanty, and very seldom indeed have the and men, Admiralty referred to the doings or whereabouts of the ships under Sir John Jellicoe's command. During the long period of waiting and watching, the seamen, often under most discomforting and strenuous conditions, have lieen ever expectant of action but deprived of its inspiration. They have, however, borne with patience and endurance the strain upon nerve and muscle occasioned by their work. Mr. Churchill, on more than one occasion, referred to the fact that the health of the Fleet was never better, and it is clear that not only was the news of war received with the greatest enthusiasm, but that both fore and aft in the ships there was a sense of relief from the period of tension which preceded it. The Commander-in-Chief, in a letter which he sent to Lady Jellicoe to be read at a meeting for the wives and families of men afloat, thus spoke of the magnificent spirit whicli prevailed in the ships under his command : —

The Navy has not yet as a whole had an opportunity of showing that the old spirit which carried us to victory in the past is with us now, but where our men have had the opportunity of fighting the foe above the water they have shown that they possess the same pluck and endurance as our comrades ashore. Nothing can ever have been finer than the coolness and courage shown in every case where ships have been sunk by mines or torpedoes ; discipline has been perfect, and men have gone to their death not only most gallantly, but most unselfishly. One heard on all sides of numerous instances of men giving up on these occasions the plank which had supported them to some more feeble comrade, and I feel prouder every day that passes that I command such men. During the period of waiting and watching they are cheerful and contented in spite of the grey dulness of their lives. I am sure you will tell the wives and children and sisters of our men of the spirit that prevails, and I know that it will make them all desire to show in their own lives that they are dominated by the same spirit to do the best they can for their country, so that they may be worthy of their menkind, of whom it is impossible to say too much.

* See Diary, August 28, 1914, p. 68.

50 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

On September 10th the Admiralty issued the following- laconic note : —

Yesterday aud to-day strong and numerous squadrons and flotillas have made a complete sweep of the North Sea up to and into the Heligoland Bight. The German Fleet made no attempt to interfere with our movements, and no German ship of any kind was seen at sea.

Although this announcement is almost the only reference that has been made since the War began to the movements of tlie Grand Fleet, it is understood that similar operations have taken place at frequent intervals, and the difficulties and dangers of the movement amid mines and submarines will be realised when the space covered by stjuadrons and flotillas co-operating in large numbers is recognised. It may be repeated that at no time during the nine months of war has any attempt been made to keep the German Fleet from coming out, and it would be a mistake to suppose that the North Sea had always been covered with lines of patrols. Yet, at the same time, few movements of the enemy can have taken place without the knowledge of the naval authorities. Gn those occasions when squadrons of the enemy have attempted to cross the intervening- waters between their coasts and those of the British Isles, they have always been watched, and only adverse conditions of weather have prevented them from meeting the same fate which befell the light cruisers on August 28th. German \tj illustration of this constant watchfulness was given by the

sunk. engagement on October 17th off the Dutch coast. Captain Cecil H.

Fox, late of the Amphion, in the new light cruiser Undaunted, with four destroyers, the Lance, Lennox, Legion, and Loyal, was on patrol duty when four German boats were sighted. They proved to be S 115, S 117, S 118, and S 119. These vessels formed the remainder of a half flotilla of five boats which had been scouting ofl' the mouth of the Ems, and of which S 116 had been sunk by submarine E 9 on October 6th. It has been alleged that the (Jphelia, masquerading as a hospital ship, was scouting for this flotilla at the time she was captured by the British destroyer Meteor on October 18th. On sighting the boats, the British vessels at once manoeu\red to cut oft' their retreat, and the action lasted about an hour. All the vessels were sunk, and some of the survivors, to the number of 31, were picked up by the ]^>ritish boats. The Loyal was tlie only one of the British destroyers to be struck by shell fire, and lier casualties amounted to one officer and four men wounded. Belgian One of the chief examples of amphibious warfare aftbrded during

* °^*^ ■ the first nine months of the campaign was seen in the use of a number of warships for the bombardment of the right of the German Army's

AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE. 51

jtosition on the Belgian coast. In this operation a ,s(iuadiou of semi- obsolete war vessels, as well as the three monitors which were purchased at the beginning of the War, were employed. On October 23rd, the Admiralty announced that on the 18th of that month requests for naval assistance were made by the Allied commanders. In response to this appeal, a naval flotilla, mounting a large number of powerful lonG;-rancje ijuns, came into action at davbreak on the 19th

XT O O O ' «^

otf the l>elgian coast, supporting the left of the Belgian Army and enfilading the German attack, A heavy bombardment of the German flank was maintained, observation being arranged from the shore by means of naval balloons, and the lire was well-directed and effective against the batteries and heavy guns. Further reports of the work of this naval flotilla assisting the Belgians in Flanders were issued in October and November. This squadron, though never attacked by surface vessels, was continually harried by the enemy's submarines and aeroplanes, and by their siege guns and howitzers, but owing to the skilful handling of the vessels no ship was placed out of action, and the naval losses were comparatively svnall. To the value of the work King Albert and the Belgian War Minister bore witness. On April 1:3, 1915, the Admiralty issued the despatch of Eear-Admiral the Hon. Horace L A. Hood,* reporting the proceedings of the flotilla. In this work the French Navy co-operated, and Eear-Admiral Hood, when it became necessary to send his uwu ship to England for repairs, hoisted his flag in a French destroyer and led the flotilla into action off Lombartzyde. The greatest harmony and enthusiasm existed between the seamen of the Allied navies. The movements of the German troops along the coast roads from Ostend to Nieuport were checked, and when reinforcements for our Allies arrived, and the country around Nieuport was inundated, the further presence of the flotilla was unnecessary. A correspondent describing this work said : —

Certain ships, however, were used on later occasions as required. They have time after time made the voyage across the North Sea, engaged positions that the Germans had strongly fortified, destroyed batteries, caused great loss of life amongst the enemy's troops, and returned safely to port. These operations have had especial value in the destruction, or partial destruction, at any rate, of the submarine base that the Germans were creating at Zeebrugge. The destruction of German batteries to a radius of several miles inland has also enabled the Allied troops to make appreciable advances. Some of the batteries which were engaged were mounted two or more miles inland, and consisted of heavy guns.

A gratifying feature of the operations also has been the fact that remarkably few casualties have been sustained by the warships, and tliis in spite of the fact that the destroyers and monitors have frequently been engaged at very close range. The German submarines have on several occasions endeavoured to make their presence felt during these bombardments, but the destroyers have very effectively protected the lieavier vessels engaged in the work of destroying the German defences, and have driven off the attacking submarines.

* This document is given in Part IV.

52 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

It is a feature well worth noting that the Germans have never attempted to attack the bombarding Fleet from the sea except by submarines. The German Army has not been able to obtain the least assistance from their powerful navy whilst this destruction of positions on their right wing and the disastrous loss of life accompanying it has been proceeding. The fleet of warships was described in an Admiralty message as not of considerable military importance, but it has made its weight felt, and its achievements are exceedingly creditable to officers and men alike.

German It has been a marked feature of the policy of Germany to attempt

to shake the confidence of the British public, and by acts of " fright- fulness " to create an anxious feeling in the country which might interfere with the continued transfer of troops to the seat of war in Flanders and elsewhere. In accordance with tliis policy, several raids were made upon the English coast in the months of November, December, and January. On the first occasion, an enemy's squadron appeared off the coast of Essex on November 3rd, and fired on the Halcyon, a Coastguard gunboat. This vessel reported the presence of the enemy, and various naval movements were made. As a result the German squadron retreated rapidly, shadowed by our ships, and in its retirement the rear-most German cruiser threw out a number of mines. Submarine D 5, running awash, was sunk by the explosion of one of these, and the crew, with the exception of two officers and two men, were drowned.* This abortive raid fulfilled no military purpose, and if it was intended, as may be assumed, to have a moral effect by creating a scare on the East coast, it altogether failed in its object. This visit was the first time that German ships had been seen in the North Sea for over two months.

On December 16th another German cruiser force made a similar raid on the Yorkshire coast, but on this occasion they shelled the towns of Hartlepool, Whitby and Scarborough. The enemy was engaged by the patrol vessels, and a squadron endeavoured to cut them off. The Germans, however, retired, as in the former instance, at full speed, and favoured by the mist succeeded in making good their escape. The patrol vessels suffered some small loss. There were also casualties among the troops and in the land batteries at Hartlepool, and both there and at the other towns damage was done to buildings, and there were a number of deaths and injuries among the civil population. At all three places there was an entire absence of panic, and the Admiralty announced that though they regretted the circumstances, these must not be allowed to modify the general naval policy which was being pursued. The vessels used on both these occasions were the fastest cruisers in the German Navy, and it was no surprise to those who had studied the subject that such vessels

* The names of the drowned in this vessel, as of all officers and men who lost their lives in action during the first seven and a half months of the War, were given in the official " Navy List " for April 1915.

DOGGER BANK BATTLE. 53

should be able to cross the North Sea at night and turn up by day- light at any point on the East coast not further distant than approxi- mately 300 miles. Numerous as the British patrolling vessels were, they could not have been in sutJicient numbers to ensure such a runaway visit being observed. Moreover, no military result of any value could be obtained by such a raid, not could it be performed without considerable risk. Its only consequence in this country was to strengthen the feeling that a nation who conducted warfare in such a brutal fashion must be made to pay tlie penalty. At the time of the Yarmouth visit the Germans lost the armoured cruiser Yorck, which it was supposed was returning from the English coast, though doubt exists on this point. The Yorck was stated by the CJermans to have struck a chain of mines blocking the entrance to Jahde Bay on the forenoon of November 4th, or the day after the futile descent on Yarmouth. Nearly 400 of her crew were saved, but Captain Behncke, by whom the communication was signed, added that the work of rescue had been difficult owing to a thick fog. The Yorck was the first armoured cruiser lost by the Germans in the War. A court-martial sat to investigate the facts of the loss at Wilhelmsliaven on December 23rd, and sentenced Captain Pieper to two years' detention in a fortress for disobedience to an order ai\d negligence, while Commander Cleve was sentenced to one year's imprisonment.

These German raids were foolish and unsatisfactory as warfare. Battle- They only angered our population, and made more firmer their resolve, action. but they seem to have whetted the German appetite for blood, for five weeks later another attempt was made of a similar character. On this occasion, destroyers accompanied the Battle-Cruiser and Light-Cruiser Squadrons, which were sighted early on the morning of January 24th Ijy a British patrolling force under Vice- Admiral Sir David Beatty, apparently making for the English coast. As soon as they realised their position, the enemy headed for home at high speed, and were at once pursued by the British squadron. A running fight ensued, and shortly after one o'clock, the Bli'icher, the sternmost ship of the German line, capsized and sank. Two other of the German battle-cruisers, the Derffiinger and Seydlitz, were seriously damaged, but they were able to continue their flight, and reached an area at which further pursidt was inexpedient. The following preliminary telegraphic report was received from the Yice-Admiral* : —

A flotilla of destroyers, patrolling about 7.30 a.m., first sighted and attacked the enemy, whose force, according to reports received, consisted of four battle- cruisers, six light cruisers, and some destroyers. Their positions when sighted were approximately fourteen miles east-south-east of the Battle-Cruiser Squadron.

* The Admiral's despatches, published on March 3, 1915, are given in Part IV.

54 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

Orders were given by signal to the destroyer flotilla to chase the enemy and to report their movements, as it appeared they at once commenced to retire to the east-south-east. The battle-cruisers were directed to steer south-east with a view to securing the position and cutting the enemy off if possible. The situation de- veloped by degrees into a stern chase. Speed was worked up to twenty-eight or twenty-nine knots, and the enemy were gradually being overhauled. At about 18,000 yards slow and deliberate firing was opened, and we began to hit at a range of 17,000 yards. Out fire was returned by the enemy. The Lion and Tiger having drawn ahead of remainder of squadron, were in action alone for some time, and consequently were subjected to the enemy's concentrated fire, jnore ijarticularly the Lion, which ship suffered more as the result. The other vessels as they drew up engaged the enemy. The German flotilla of destroyers was disposed on the starboard beam of their cruisers, and an attack by them was driven off. At about 11 o'clock, unfortunately, a lucky shot damaged one of the Lion's feed tanks, causing the port engine to be stopped. .\t the same time enemy submarines were observed on the starl)oard bow, and a course was steered in order to avoid them. The Bliicher was now in a critical condition, with her speed reduced, and the Indomitable, which had now come up, was directed to complete her destruction. The rest of the squadron were directed to attack the rear of the enemj'. The Lion, with an escort, steered to the north-west, steam- ing with one engine, and I transferred my flag to one of the destroyers, and subsequently to the Princess Koyal. Through the damage to the Lion's feed tank by an unfortunate chance shot, we were undoubtedly deprived of a greater victory. The presence of the enemy's submarines subsequently necessitated the action being broken off. The result of the action was Bliicher sunk, and two other battle-cruisers very lieavily on fire and seriously damaged. The German prisoners reported that the Kolberg had been sunk by over-salvoes from our squadron. Subsequently the starboard engines of the Lion also developed trouble from the same cause as the port engines, and the Indomitable took her in tow and brought her into port. The damage to Lion and Tiger is in neither case serious, and repairs can be completed in a short time. The remainder of the squadron were not hit. The casualties were very slight. The death of Engineer-Captain Taylor, whose services were invaluable, is deeply regretted. The behaviour of the officers and men was only what was expected, and great credit is due to the engine-room staffs for the fine steaming of the squadron.

Airship Xo further movements of importance occurred in the North Sea,

other ' after this raid, during the first nine months of the War. In tlie place incidents, yf raids by sea, the enemy took to sending airships over to the English coast, and visited Yarmouth, the Tyne, Essex, and other districts. The attempts upon the fighting fleet having failed, a war upon commerce in home waters was threatened, and will be described in its place. Nor were the operations in the Baltic of large import- ance. A demonstration Avas made off Libau on August 2nd, when the Augsburg shelled the port. Desultory actions occurred during the next few weeks, in which the Eussians sustained no losses, but the Germans suffered by the stranding of the Magdeburg in the Gulf of Finland, this cruiser having to be blown up to prevent her being captured. The Headquarters Staff in Petrograd reported, on October 2nd, that during the first two months of war no Eussiau ship had been lost or damaged, thanks to tlie incessant efforts of the officers and men in baffling all the German schemes. On October 11th, however, the German submarines were successful in sinking the cruiser Pallada in similar circumstances to those in which the British cruiser Hawke was lost. The Pallada was torpedoed off the Gulf of Finland, and went down with her crew.

GOEBEN AND BRESF-AU. 55

The Admiral ^lakaroft' had been attacked on the previous day without success while engaged in searching a suspicious-looking trawler flying Dutch commercial colours. The good work accom- plished by the Eussian Navy in the 'Baltic was the subject of a message of congratulation sent by the Tsar on October 25th to Admiral von Jlssen. This message expressed " gratitude for your activity in this autumnal season in keeping the sea among dangers from mines and submarines. Thanks to its skill and endurance, the Baltic Fleet had fulfilled successfully its task of guarding the littoral of the capital and in supporting the armies on land."

The Mediteukanean a]sd Near East.

There were only two vessels of the German Navy in Mediter- ranean waters when war l>egan, the battle-cruiser Goeben and the light cruiser Breslau, both of which had been despatched to Turkish waters in the autumn of 1912. On the morning of August -4, 1914, they appeared off Phillippeville and Bona, two Algerian towns, and bombarded them with slight damage. They were next reported at Messina on August 5th, and left there on the evening of the following day, eluding the British and French vessels awaiting them in the vicinity, and airiving safely in the Dardanelles on August 10th. The light cruiser Gloucester, Captain W. A. H. Kelly, came up with them and opened fire, which was returned by the Breslau, while the Goeben turned and fired a torpedo ; l)ut the Gloucester gallantly hung on until recalled, and evidently fearing the arrival of other British sliips, the Germans continued their flight. Soon after reaching the Dardanelles, it was announced that they had been bought by Turkey, whose quibbling action in regard to them was described in official papers issued by the Foreign Office on November 1st. The arrival of the two cruisers precipitated Turkey's action in declaring war.

In the Adriatic, the Austro-Hungarian Fleet was effectively The contained during the months under review by the Franco-British "'^ "* ""■ Fleets under the command of Admiral Boue de Lipeyrere, who, it was ofiicially announced on August 30th, had assumed the supreme command in the place of Sir A. Berkeley Milne. The conduct and disposition of the last-named officer in regard to the Goeben and Breslau was the subject of examination by the Admiralty, who " approved the measures taken by him in all respects." His second- in-command, Eear-Admiral E, C. T. Troubridge, was recalled to England on September 20th for an inquiry to be held into the circumstances of the escape of the German cruisers from Messina, and, as a result of this investigation, which was made by Admirals

56 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

Sir Hedwortli Meux and Sir (leorge Callagban, Rear-Adrairal TrouLridge was tried by court-martial on November 5th and the days following, and on the 12th it was announced that he had been .acquitted. Under Admiral *Boue de Lapeyrere the Franco-British Fleets have preserved their control of the Adriatic, and have been as unaffected in their strength by the war of attrition pursued by the Austrians as the Grand Fleet in the North Sea. On August 16th a sweep up the Adriatic was undertaken with success, the battle- ships proceeding along the Italian shores and the cruisers and destroyers along the eastern side, a junction being effected near Cattaro. The only enemy ships seen were the light cruiser Zenta and two destroyers, which attempted flight, but the former was sunk in about fifteen minutes with the greater part of her crew.

Mines were laid early by the Austrians, but no losses were incurred by them among the Allied ships, although they were the means of destroying the Austrian liner Baron Gautsch and the Austrian torpedo-boat No. 19. The submarines of the Austrian Navy were scarcely more successful. They inflicted no loss on the Allied Fleets beyond damaging the battleship Jean Bart, until, on the morning of April 27th, the French armoured cruiser Leon Gambetta was torpedoed at the entrance to the Otranto Straits, going down in ten minutes with the greater part of those on board her, including Eear-Admiral Senes. One Austrian submarine was said to have been sunk by the Waldeck Eousseau on October 17th. On the other hand, a French suljmarine, the Curie, attempting to enter the harbour of Pola, became entangled in some obstruction and had to come to the surface, when she was captured. This took place on December 28th. The vessel was subsequently renamed the Zenta by the Austrians, after the vessel they had lost.

A bombardment of Cattaro was begun in August, and has continued intermittently, the Montenegrins co-operating in this operation with artillery on Mount Lovtchen. Certain of the islands in the Adriatic were bombarded and occupied by the Allied forces. The operations in this theatre have thus been, on the whole, devoid of important events, but this state of affairs has been, of course, entirely to the advantage of the Allies, whose ascendancy over the Austro-Hungarian Fleet has preserved the freedom of the Mediterranean, and rendered secure the important communications and commercial interests in its waters. French and British troops have been transported in safety from Africa, India, Australasia, and other parts of the world, and it has been a striking fact that no merchant ship of the Allies has been captured or destroyed in the Mediterranean.

BLACK SEA AND DARDANELLES. 57

War was declared betweeu Great Britain aud Turkey ou Turkey November 5th. Some days before this, the Turco-German cruisers war^^ Breslau and Haraidieh had bombarded Ptussian coast towns and destroyed shipping in the Black Sea, and the result of this provocation was that a Franco-British S(xuadron bombarded the Dardanelles on November 2nd, on which day also the Minerva appeared off Akaba, in the Eed Sea, and shelled the forts and barracks there. On November 8th the town of Fao, at the mouth of the Shatt-el-Arab, at the head of the Persian Gulf, was bombarded, captured, and a military force landed from India, which, on November 21st, advanced to and occupied the important town of Basra. In the Black Sea there were further engagements between the Turkish vessels, including the Goeben and Breslau, and the Eussian ships, in one of which the Goeben was disabled, with the result that the command in those waters passed into the hands of the Eussians and remained with them, in spite of some further efforts of the Turks to regain it. Nothing further occurred in this theatre until February 19th, when the Allied Fleets bombarded and destroyed the forts at tlie entrance to the Dardanelles, a move which indicated that some larger undertakiog was in contemplation. On December 11th, however, the British submarine B 11, in effecting a reconnaissance, pushed through the Straits as far as the harbour of Nagara, passing successfully under five rows of mines, and there torpedoed the Turkish battleship Messoudieh. For the accomplishment of this dangerous and difficult exploit, her captain. Lieutenant Norman D. Holbrook, was awarded the V.C., and his second-in-command. Lieutenant Sydney T. Winn, the D.S.O. On March 18th a further operation in connection with the forcing of the Straits was put into execution, in the process of which, altliough the forts were silenced, two British battleships, the Irresistible and Ocean, were sunk, and one French battleship, the Bouvet, with nearly all on board. These losses were caused by floating mines. It was made clear by the occurrences of this day's work that the further prosecution of the undertaking would need the co-operation of an expeditionary force, wliich has since been landed and employed in the Gallipoli peninsula. The events connected with this enterprise are still proceeding at the moment of writing, and cannot, therefore, be dealt with in detail.

Commerce Eaiding and the German Colonies.

That Germany had made great preparations in advance for a raid on British commerce, when it siuted her purpose to go to war, had long been susj^ccted. As soon as hostilities began, clear proof was

58 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

afforded of the elaborate and far-reachiug arrangements she had made

for this object. The cruisers she had on different stations proceeded

to their assigned war rendezvous, where they were met by colliers

and supply ships from neutral harbours. From these harbours also,

as well as from German ports, a number of ocean liners, the fastest

vessels of the German mercantile marine, some of which had already

their guns on board, left for selected localities on the trade routes.

Von Tirpitz and his agents in this country had always denied that

these ships carried their armaments in peace-time, but conclusive

proof to the contrary was now forthcoming. Several of these

liners were converted into raiders on the high seas, and those not

already supplied with guns took them from the smaller war vessels

which had no effective fighting value. Altogether some twenty

commerce destroyers made their appearance in the early days of the

War. They were supplied with information as to the movements of

the Allied trade by wireless messages from the German merchant

ships which had been driven off the seas, and were able to increase

their potentiality for mischief by using captured vessels as scouts or

decoys.

Germau Fortunately, the measures which the Allies were able to take for

com- ...

merce- the protection of their interests afloat reduced the depredations of

laiding. ^i^g raiders and frustrated the German scheme. The British and

French squadrons were at once increased, and certain concentrations

took place, of which little was revealed. The objects in view were

three-fold: (1) to ensure the safety of the trade; (2) to strangle the

commerce and capture the colonies of the enemy, thus depriving the

raiders of their bases of supply ; and (3) to provide safe transit for

the transport of troops from the Dominions and India, as well as

oversea garrisons. All these objects were successfully achieved, and

in the short space of eight months the enemy was forced to admit

that the pre-arranged plan of war against commerce by raiding on

the oceans had entirely failed.

Of the deadly nature of the menace to shipping from the enemy

corsairs and armed merchantmen which were at large evidence was

speedily given. The news of the first captures, which included the

taking of the City of Winchester by the Konigsberg, off Socotra, two

days after war began, was not slow in coming, but it made no serious

impression \ipon the mercantile community or the public generally.

As part of the work of the Committee of Imperial Defence a scheme

of State insurance against war risks had been drawn up, and this was

now put into operation. It proved most effective in preventing

financial loss, or the speculation that might have followed the

fluctuations of the raiders' gains. The Admiralty also, on October 23rd,

END OP THE GERMAN CRUISERS. 59

explained the measures they had taken to hunt down the commerce destroyers. Over seventy cruisers, not including armed merchantmen, were searching for the corsairs, but it was pointed out at the same time that "the vast expanses of sea and ocean, and the many thousand islands of the archipelagos, offer an almost infinite choice of movement to the enemy's ships." Of the raiders, the most successful was the Emden, which started on her cruise from Kiaochau just hefore war was declared, but fully apprised of what would be reciuired of her. Placing herself on the trade routes to China and Australia, and cruising alternately in the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean, she succeeded in sinking seventeen vessels, valued at a little over two millions sterling. She was caught on November 9th at Keeling Island, in the Cocos group, destroying the wireless station, by the Sydney, Captain J. C. T. Glossop, of the Eoyal Australian Navy, and after a stubborn resistance was driven ashore and burnt, with heavy loss. The Karlsruhe, another light cruiser, operating in the Atlantic, also sank seventeen steamers, representing a value of a little more than a million and a half sterling. Her end is a mystery, but she is supposed to have been destroyed by an explosion, after a mutiny of her crew, in the West Indies, at the Ijeginning of November. Of the other cruisers, four, including the two armoured vessels Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, were destroyed in the battle off the Falklands on December 8th, and the Dresden, which escaped from that battle, was engaged and sunk by a British squadron oft' Juan Fernandez on jMarcli 14th. None of these cruisers, however, had very much success. Similarly, only two of the armed merchantmen succeeded in making large hauls. The Kronprinz Wilhelm, which escaped from New York on the day before American neutrality was proclaimed, sank thirteen ships, of the value of a little over a million sterling ; and the Prinz Eitel Friedrich, which, like the Emden, began her career at Kiaochau, sank eleven vessels, representing about three-quarters of a million sterling. Most of her captures were sailing vessels, including the ban^ue William P. Frye, belonging to the United States. These cruisers have been interned at Newport News.

Of the actions at sea which grew out of this attack upon The commerce, one must be regarded as a great misfortune for the British action. Navy. It is essential to the success of such raiding operations that they should be supported by a strong force, capable of acting against the defending squadrons and obliging these to be of a certain strength. A\'hen the two armoured cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were known to be in the Pacific, a squadron consisting of the Good Hope, to which Bear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock transferred his flag

60

THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

The

Falkland Islands battle.

German

armed

merchant

ships

destroyed.

I'roiii the Buflblk, with the Momuouth, armoured cruiser, Glasgow, light cruiser, and the Otranto, auxiliary cruiser, proceeded iuto those waters to co-operate with other squadrons of the Allies in the pursuit of them. It was due to the presence of the battle-cruiser Australia in the Western Pacific that Admiral von Spee, who commanded the German squadron, was forced to cross into South American waters. Here on November 1st he met Admiral Cradock's squadron off Coronel, and an action ensued, in whicli the two British armoured cruisers were sunk after a most gallant defence. An official report of the action was given by Captain Luce of the Glasgow, which, as well as the Otranto, escaped.*

Tlie British seamen who were lost with Admiral Cradock were speedily avenged. Vice- Admiral Sir F. C. Doveton Sturdee, hitherto Chief of the War Staff, left England on November 11th with the battle-cruisers Invincible and Inflexible. Picking up a number of other vessels in the Atlantic, he arrived at Port Stanley, in the Falkland Islands, on December 7th, when including the two battle- cruisers he had five armoured vessels and two light cruisers under his command, with the battleship Canopus. Early next morning the German squadron came in sight, evidently with the intention of attempting the capture of the islands, and von Spee found, to his great surprise, a superior force awaiting him. The battle which followed is fully described in Admiral Sturdee's despatches.! The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were sunk by the two battle-cruisers Invincible and Inflexible and the armoured cruiser Carnarvon ; the Nilrnberg by the armoured cruiser Kent, and the Leipzig by the light cruiser Glasgow ; while to the light cruiser Bristol was allotted the task of destroying the transports which accompanied the squadron. This important action not only removed the only force of any material strength which Germany had in the outer seas, but deprived the raiders of the support necessary to the success of tlieir operations, and practically ended the war against commerce.

Two other actions must be mentioned. The Cap Trafalgar, a German armed merchant ship, met on September 14tli the Carmania, a British armed merchant ship, and after a brilliant duel, which lasted for an hour and three-quarters, the enemy was sunk. This was the only action of its kind which occurred during the first nine months of the War. The ships were fairly matched, the action was well contested, and the Carmania sustained some damage, but owing to her skilful handling by Captain Noel Grant and the clever marks- manship of her gunners victory was achieved, and lustre was shed

* The Admiralty statement on this action will be found in Part IV. t These documents arc given in Part IV.

GERMAN DISTANT POSSESSIONS. 61

on the already bright renown of the British Mercantile Marine. The first of the German armed merchant ships to be destroyed was the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, a 14,000-ton vessel of the Hamburg- Amerika line. This cruiser had been operating on the South Atlantic route, but without very great success, when she was surprised at anchor off the Oro River, on August 2Gth, by the light cruiser Highflyer, Captain H. T. Buller, and sunk.

With the exploits of the German commerce raiders, the operations Pacific connected with the capture of Germany's oversea possessions should sions of be associated. Until these had been occupied, the wireless stations, Germany, coaling depots, and supply establishments they contained could be made use of by the enemy. Measures were taken, therefore, very early in the War to deprive the Germany Navy at large of their benefit. In the Pacific, the German islands were seized by military forces convoyed by warships, the Dominions supplying the troops, while the ships of the Japanese Navy lent valuable assistance both in the convoy of the expeditionary forces and the capture of the islands. Samoa was taken by a New Zealand force, the British flag being hoisted on August 31st. This achievement involved a sea voyage of over 2000 miles, which was accomplished without inter- ruption. Similarly, a force from the Commonwealth of Australia captured on September 12th, after some severe fighting, the town of Herbertshohe, in the New Pommern Island, the seat of the Governor of German New Guinea, at which the garrisons of the various islands under his control had concentrated. The troops from Australia afterwards occupied the other islands practically without opposition, including Nauroh, with whose capture on September 22nd the last German wireless station in the Pacific fell into British hands.

As regards the German possessions in Africa, several expeditions German of a conjoint naval and military character are still engaged in their Africa. conquest. In German East Africa, the principal town of Dar-es- Salaani was shelled by the light cruisers Astra-a and Pegasus on August 8th, the wireless station and the gunboat Moewe being destroyed. On September 20th the German cruiser Konigsberg retaliated by destroying the Pegasus, which was surprised when at anchor and under repair in Zanzibar Harbour, the range of the newer guns in the former vessel enabling her to keep out of danger. The crew of the Pegasus made a most gallant resistance, lost heavily, and refused to surrender. A month later, the Konigsberg was herself driven to take shelter in the Ptufigi River, where she was shelled by the Chatham, Weymouth, and, subsequently, the battleship Goliath, and rendered useless. After a further bombardment of Dar-es-Salaam, in some operations by the boats of the Goliath and

62

THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

Other German posses- sions re- duced.

Kiaocbau.

Antwerp opera- tions.

¥ox, on November 28th, the gallant conduct of Commander H. 1'. Ritchie, who, in spite of several wounds, continued to do his duty, won for him the V.C. A blockade of this coast was declared on February 26, 1915.

In the military operations against German South-West Africa, undertaken by the troops of the Union of South Africa imder General Botha, naval assistance has been given, but its nature has not been revealed. Higher up the West Coast operations were undertaken by Franco-British expeditionary forces against the Cameroons, with naval co-operation, the ships taking part including the British cruisers Cumberland and Challenger and gunboat Dwarf, and the French cruiser Bruix, and a blockade of tlie coast was declared on April 24th. The seaport of Lome, in Togoland, was seized in the first week of the War, and Kamina, containing the long-range wireless station of the colony, was captured some days later, when the enemy's forces surrendered unconditionally.

Japan came into the War on our side on August 23rd, and among the other valuable assistance which she has rendered in exterminating the l.)a3es of German naval effort in the Tacific, the capture of the province of Kiaochau, with its fortified naval port of Tsingtau, must be included. This place, Germany's principal oversea possession, fell on November 7tb, after a ten weeks' attack, to the combined Anglo-Japanese forces engaged. Four days after the expiration of the Japanese ultimatum to Germany, and the consequent declaration of war, a blockade was established, and pre- paratory measures taken. The landing of an expeditionary force took place in September, and w^ith the fall of the place the remainder of Germany's squadron in the Pacific was taken or destroyed. The onlv naval loss sustained by the Allied ships in the operations was the destruction of the Japanese cruiser Tacachiko, by a mine. On August 22nd, the destroyer Keunet, whilst chasing a German destroyer, the S 90, approached too close to the batteries at Tsingtau, and sustained a few casualties, the vessel not being materially injured herself.

It has been shown how, when the Navy mobilised for war, there was a considerable surplus of men, and on September 7th it was officially announced that naval brigades had been formed of these seamen, stokers, etc., which, together Avith a marine brigade already existing, would form a Koyal Naval Division to be made up to the strength of an infantry division, complete witli field hospitals, transport, ammunition column, signal companies, cyclists, motor-cars, and machine guns. Early in October, an urgent call for assistance led to this Division being hurriedly despatched to Antwerp, where It

GEUMAN CAMPAIGN AGAINST MERCHANTMEN. 63

co-operated with the Belgian Army iu the defence of the city, delaying the fall for nearly a week. The move w^as criticised, but from the despatch of the General ( )tticer Commanding,* it will be seen that this admittedly desperate attempt to bring succour to the Antwerp gaiTison enabled Field-Marshal Sir John French, by a bold forward movement, and by taking up an extended position, to meet the German advance upon the northern coast of France and prevent its success.

In other ways than by the creation of a Royal Naval Division, direct help has been given to military operations by the despatch to the Continent of some squadrons of aircraft. German military positions at Diisseldorf, Cologne, Friedrichshafen, Brussels, and Hoboken, near Antwerp, were all attacked by naval airmen with considerable skill and success, and in February a series of attacks, in which as many as forty-eight machines co-operated, were delivered upon the submarine bases in the Bruges-Ostend-Zeebrugge district. Many references to the achievements and exploits in which the naval airmen have displayed their talents, resource, and daring will be found in the Diary at the end of this chapter.

The .SrB.M.\i;iNE " Blockade."

After six months of war, the Allies were faced by a new situation in the operations at sea. One plan after another for reducing the naval forces of this country had been successively tried, and had. failed. The earliest plans to reduce the strength of the Fleet under Admiral Sir John Jellicue, and to hamper its action, were mainly canied out with the use of mines. As already shown, this plan had little success, and was promptly replied to b}' the action in the Bight and other losses inflicted upon the enemy. Then there followed the coast raids, until a stop was put to these futile efforts by the timely and useful victory of the Battle-Cruiser Squadron under Yice-Admiral Sir David Beatty. There remained only the war upon commerce, where a certain amount of success had been achieved, but the battle o}f the Falklands, the successive destruction of the raiders, and the eflectual prevention of reinforcements reaching the oceans — shown in the case of the Berlin, which was forced to intern at Trondhjem — put an end to this menace also. It was then that, having failed in their attempts to lessen the numbers of the lighting fleet, or to injure the commercial activities of the Mercantile ]\Iarine, the German Naval Authorities were driven to a still more desperate effort.

On Deceml)er 22nd Admiral von Tirpitz, in an inter\iew which

* This document is given iu Part IV,

64

THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

The

German "military area."

was published in the Nru- York Evenwfi Sun, proclaimed Germany's intention of declaring a submarine war against hostile merchant vessels. He explained how, by torpedoing every ship which approached any British port, the greater part of the country's food supply might be cut off. Several tentative efforts had already been made in this direction, including the torpedoing of the refugee ship Amiral Ganteaume, and during January and February a number of similar attacks upon merchantmen were delivered. One of these had for its target the hospital ship Asturias, the attempt on which was but another of the many flagrant violations of International Law and the laws of humanity practised by the (;rermans. Encouraged by the way in which the destruction of innocent non-combatants was received by the German people, a warning was issued by Captain von Belmke, Deputy Chief of the Admiralty Staff, in the Beichsanzcigcr, on February 2, 1915, in which all peaceful shipping was urgently v/arned against approaching the coasts of Great Britain owing to the serious danger it would incur. Two days later the following announcement was issued by the Chief of the Admiralty Staff: —

The waters around Great Britain and Ireland, including the entire English Channel, are hereby declared a military area. From February 18th, every hostile merchant ship in these waters will be destroyed, even if it is not always possible to avoid thereby dangers which threaten the crews and passengers. Neutral ships will also incur danger in the military area, because, in view of the misuse of neutral flags ordered by the British Government on January 31st, and the accidents of naval warfare, it cannot always be avoided that attacks may involve neutral ships. Traffic northwards around the Shetland Islands, in the east part of the North Sea, and a strip of at least thirty sea miles in breadth along the coast of Holland, is not endangered.

The measure of success attained by the " blockade " thus threatened may be estimated from the fact that during its first nine weeks only thirty-six vessels and six trawlers, belonging to Great Britain, were sunk ; while the number of ships using British ports had showed no diminution, but had actually increased — from 1381 in the week ending February 24th to 1519 in the week ending April 21st. Many of these thirty-six vessels had been sunk in circumstances of great atrocity, no notice being given to the crews before the torpedoes were discharged from the submarines ; and in some cases the crews and passengers were fired upon in endeavouring to make their escape in boats. The case of the Falaba was made specially heinous by the circumstance that five minutes' notice was given to the people on board to take to the boats ; but while they were doing so, and before the expiration of the time promised, the torpedo was discharged which sank the vessel. It was stated that the German seamen in U 28, which was responsible for this outrage, jeered at the plight of the helpless passengers struggling in the water ; but in the face of the testimony of

.uh

SUBMARINE ATTACKS. 65

survivors on this point Commander Schmidt, in command of the boat, declared on hearing of the report that it was "cruelly unjust to his men, who were crying, not laughing, when the boats capsized and threw the people into the water." Later, and probably owing to their failure to make any great impression on larger ships, the submarines began to commit acts of frightfulness against fishing craft. In regard to one such attack, the Admiralty stated, on April 19th : — "Yesterday a CJerman submarine sank, by a torpedo, the trawler Vanilla. The trawler Fermo endeavoured to rescue the crew, but she was fired at and driven off. All hands in the Vanilla were lost. This killing of fisher-folk for no military purpose should not escape attention. It is the second murder of this character committed within a week. Careful record is kept of these events." When this menace to merchantmen by submarines first made its appearance, its novelty and the fact that it was quite unexpected made it somewhat difficult to deal with. The resourcefulness of the naval authorities, however, was equal to the occasion ; and, although their plans were not, of course, revealed, it was clear that they had organised counter measures of an effective nature, for not only was there soon apparent a falling off in the victims of the submarines, but some of the boats themselves were destroyed. A change of venue was necessitated, and the under- water craft which at first pursued their depredations in the English Channel, reappeared in the Xorth Sea, and afterwards around the Irish coast. The spirit in which the British Mercantile IMarine met the new peril was one reflecting the highest credit upon the officers and men of that service. An example was set by Captain W. H. Propert, of the steamship Laertes, who, when ordered to stop by a submarine off the Dutch coast on February 10th, put on full speed and steered a zig-zag course away from the boat, effecting an escape, although attacked liy gunfire and torpedoes. The Admiralty granted the temporary rank of lieutenant, E.X.E., to this master, and he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by the King. Other merchant ship captains were similarly honoured for skill and coolness in the face of submarine attack.

In the first ten days of March, two of the German submarines, German

sub- U 8 and U 12, were run down and sunk, their crews being made marines

prisoners. In view of the fact that these men had been guilty of s^'^'^-

attacking and sinking unarmed merchantmen, and firing torpedoes at

ships carrying non-combatants, neutrals, and women, it was officially

announced that the Government could not accord to them the

honourable treatment received by other prisoners of war, and they

were therefore placed in barracks under special restriction and were

not allowed to mingle with other prisoners of war. The loss of some

F

66 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

of the early boats may have been partly the cause of the use of the later submarines in the work of commerce destruction. Vessels numbered up to 30 and over were among those engaged in attacking merchantmen during March and April. From the command of U 9 Lieutenant-Commander Otto Weddigen was transferred to U 29, and in this vessel he was lost with all his crew in March. To keep the public acquainted with the actual effect of the losses caused by the " blockade," a weekly table was issued by the Admiralty showing the " British merchant and fishing vessels lost by hostile action since the outbreak of the War." This table did not include the neutral victims, which were almost as numerous as those of the Allies. In the first week of the " blockade," two Norwegian ships, the Belridge and Eegin, were sunk, and there were also SAvedish, Greek, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese, and other victims, including at least one American vessel, the Uulflight, which was torpedoed off the Scilly Islands without warning on May 1st.

At the end of April there was experienced something of a lull in the situation in Home waters, and an impression prevailed that since the submarine " blockade " had failed in its purpose of cutting off the food supply of the British Isles some new method of a desperate character would be attempted. The progress of the War up to that time had shown how the Germans had persistently tried one plan after another to inflict injury upon us, bringing forward a new scheme as soon as one failed, each in succession being more desperate than the last. Just as the attentions of the submarines were turned to the merchant ships of the Allies when it was found that no impression could be made upon our war fleets, so they were again transferred to neutral ships when the actions of the British naval authorities and shipmasters baffled the under- water craft, the idea being evidently to embroil the neutral nations concerned with Great Britain, on whose policy all the blame was laid. This attempt likewise failing in its purpose, it would not be surprising if another stroke should be tried to re-establish the potency of German submarines in the eyes of the people of the Fatherland, and to impress neutral Powers.

As this record of the first nine months of the War was closed, there was some further indication of activity on the part of the German High Sea Fleet around Heligoland. AVhether this was significant of an in- tention to corae out and accept the challenge of liattle there was nothing to show. Should a further movement of this kind be decided upon, it will be welcomed nowhere more cordially than by the seamen of the Grand Fleet, who have been so zealously carrying out their arduous and patient vigil in the northern seas.

Chas. N. Pobi]sSu>'.

67

A DIARY OF THE NAVAL EVENTS OF THE WAli.*

Compile]) by (r, H. Hurford.

:f»i4. Aug. I. War declared between Genuany and Russia. •2. Boinbardineiit of Libau liy ^l»(/xiM)-j/. ,, ,{. Mi)t)ilisation nf British Navy oumpleted.

Turkish and Chilean warships in British yards purchased. i. War declared between Great Britain and Germany.

Sir .John .Tellicoe appointed Commander-in-Chief of British Home Fleets.

Goebeii and Brexlau liombarded Bona and Phillippevllle.

Russian Far East Squadron left Vladivostock.

(terniau cruiser Emilcn, four days out from Tsingtau, captured Russian steamer Rjason in .Japan Sea. .'. Kviiiy in Lnise sunk.

Uoehi'ii and Breskm arrived Messina.

l)utch steamer Houtman stopped by Geier in Macassar Straits. „ fi. Amphion sunk by mine.

Kuniijsbi-rifs first merchant capture, City of Winchester.

(ifiebrn and Breslait kft ifessina

Glasgow and Bremen reported off South American coast. ,, 7. Action between Gloucester and Goeben and Bredim.

Action between Bristol and Karhrulie.

Fishing-boat Tubal Caiu captured otf Iceland by Kamr WiUiehit der Grosse.

J.ome (Togolaud) seized by ('olonial forces, which proceeded to Kamina wireless station. ^. Three ex-lJrazilian gunboats commissioned as British monitors.

Attack on Dar-es-Salaam by Astrsea aud Pegasus.

Antivari bombarded by Austrian vessels. ,, i). Montenegrin bombardment of Cattaro Ijegun.

, , 10. War declared between France aud Austria.

Submarine U 15 sunk by Birmingham.

(ruebeii and Breslau arrive in Dardanelles.

T'wo Canadian submarines (C C 1 and C C 2) offered to Admiralty aud accepted. ., II. Hospital ship offered by women of Canada and accepted. ,, 12. War declared between Great Britain and Austria.

Admiralty statement issued re commerce protection and .South American tiade. ,, 13. Goeben and Bredau "bought" by Turkey.

Karlsruhe reported off La Guayra.

Baltic lighthouses .shelled.

Armed steamer Von Wissmann surprised and captured l)y Guendolen on Lake Nyasa. ,, 14. Austrian liner Baron Gautsch destroyed by mine.

Emden coaled from Markomannia at Pagan Island. ,, 15. Liner Galician, Capetown for London, lield up liy Kaixer Wilhelm der Grusne. ., 16. Brexden's first merchant capture, Hyades.

Nyanga and Kaipara captm'ed and sunk by Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse.

Sweep of Adriatic by Franco-British Fleet.

Austro-Hungariau cruiser Zcnla sunk.

Japanese ultimatum to Germany. ,, 17. State Insurance scheme for shipping extended to vessels as well as cargoes. IS. A'f(W«.'ri(7i(''.s- first merchant capture, Bowes Castle.

Austrian torpedo-boat 10 sunk by mine.

" Desultory fighting' in North Sea.

Transport of Expeditionary Force to Contineut disclosed, r.i. Official account of loss of Amphion issued.

21. Danish steamship Maryland (5130 tons) sunk by German mine off' the Thanies. Chaplain of the Fleet's prayer for the Js'avy issued.

22. Destroyer Kennet shelled by TsiTigtau batteries.

23. Bombardment of Cattaro l)y Allied ships begim. War declared between Japan and Germany.

24. Scheme for supplying newspapers to the Fleet organised by London Chamber of Commerce.

Scharnhorst, Giteisenau, Emden, and Geier met and coaled in Banda Sea, afterwards dispersing.

25. War declared between Austria and .Japan.

-Ulditional prayer for seamen issued by .Archbishop of Canterbury. ■It), liolmwood captured by i)n'.v(/<'«.

Kaixer Wilhelni der Grosse sunk liy Highflyer.

* Waiships of Great Britain and her .Vllies in heavy type. \\'a)shi])s of Genua]]) and her .■Vllies in italics. Warships of neutrals and niercha)itmen in roniau type.

F 2

Q8 THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

Aujr. 26. "Wireless statioii at Kamina reiiorteil destroyed, ruconditiiiiial suneiider nf 'I'c liroland. 27. Royal Maiiiir HriKade landed at Ostend.

German ciiiisfr Maiiilcluini destroyed in Baltic. 2S. Term " Grand Fleet " first used by Admiral Jellicoe.

Action in the Heligoland Biglit, and destruction of .l/fd'/i,-, Koln, Ar'Kidne and torpedo craft. „ 29. Isew Zealand expedition oceui)ied Samoa. „ 30. Eetnrn hunu- of Admiral :Slilne from Mediterranean announced.

Dutcli steamer (ielria leimrted stopj.ed by Bremen off Montevideo. 31. Samoa formally taken possession of and British flapr hoisted. Stratbroy ca]itnred )iy Karhnilie. Sept. 1. Austrian steamer I'.atiiori destioved in Atlantic.

Bombardment of Puntailostro (Adriatic) by Allied ships. Bemoval of Commander Samson's aeroplane camp from Ostend to Dunkirk. „ 2. Proelamation to stop scare reports issued.

,, 3. ynnihirii arrived Honolulu to coal, after 35 days at sea.

ISIaiile r.ianib captured by Karlsruhe. Speedy sunk iiy mine. 4. Southport captured liy Gii'r at Kusai ((.'aroline Islands). Einden coaled from MiirhniKiiiiila at Simalur Island. .Tapanese destroyer Shirataye lo.st by trrounding near Kiaocbau. ''. Pathfinder sunk ijy r 21.

\\il.son liner Ituno sunk liy )nine. Damaged torjiedo craft reported arrived at Kiel. Aerial defence of England and London assumed by Xavy. ., 0. Aids to navigation on East Coast removed.

Russian steamer I'leaborg sunk by German light cruisers in >orth Baltic. 7. Royal Xaval Division organised.

y uriihcni cut cable at Fanning Island. s. Oceanic lost off c<iast of Scotland. 9. September " Navy List " (first numlter since beginning of the war) issued.

10. Emden's first merchant captures, Indus and Lovat. Lissa occupied.

Complete sweep of Xorth Sea by Grand Fleet and flotillas announced.

11. Speech by First Lord at Loudon Opera House on naval position. Reported German occupation of Walfisch Bay.

12. HerbertslKihe occupied by Australian forces. Spneirald and two colliers captured by Berwick.

,, 13. Killiu and Diplomat capt\ued by Emden.

Held suuk by E 9.

Attempt to sink Dwapf by infernal machine at Cameroons. 14. Trabbock captiu-ed by JF»i(/tv^

Scharnhorst and Giifixenau appeared at Apia.

Cai^ Trafalgar sunk after duel with Carmania.

Highland Hope captured V)y Karlsruhe.

Certain Thames channels closed to navigation. ,, 15. Leipzig's first merchant capture, Elsinor.

Bethania captured and taken to .Jamaica.

Report by Mr. ;Millen on Australian Xavy's work in early weeks of war issued.

Australian sul)mariue A E 1 lost by accident. „ Ki. Dwarf rammed by iVac/z^i'i/aW.

Skirmish between Samson's armed motor-cars and Ihlans near Doullens. ,, 17. ludrani captured by Karlsruhe.

Fisgard II. lost oh' Portland. ., is. Clan Matheson captiu-ed by J?m(7e/i.

Liidentz Bay entered by South African Force, with naval support. ,, 19. Ortega's escajje from German cruiser.

Emden coaled from Ma rkomannia off Gulf of Martaban.

Liideritzbucht occupied. 2(1. Pegasus destroyed by jro»/^.?6«r(/ at Zanzibar.

Tw o ( Jerman launches, one with explosive machines, suuk in Cameroons.

Return borne of Eear-Admiral E- t'. T. Troubridge for inquiry announced.

ilaria (Dutch, British cargo) and Coruish City captured by Karlsruhe. „ 21. First Lord's declaration at Liverpool.

Xauroh (last Pacific wireless station) captured. ,, 22. Loss of three Cressys after submarine attack by V 9.

Collett's air raid on Dusseldorf.

Rio Iquassu captured by Karlsruhe.

Emden shelled Madras.

Papeete liombarded by Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. ,, 23. Cumberland and tenders reconnoitriug Mungo Bay.

iiritr^l. military force lauded to assist in operations against Kiaochau.

F'reuch naval guns and artillery detachments landed for service on Mount Lovtchen. ,, 24. First Lord's interview with Giornale d'ltalia.

Friedrich Wilhelm Town (German New Guinea) occupied.

Eleonore Woermann arrived Buenos Aires with Cap Trafalgar's crew. ,, 25. New Admiralty rules for submarine mishaps and rescue work.

German auxiliary ships Jihios and Itolo sunk by French gun vessel Surprise in Corrisc( > 15ay.

Kronprinz Wilhehn's first merchant capture, Indian Prince. ,, 20. Indian Exjieditionary Force landed in France. ,. 27. liardanelles closed by 'I'urkey.

Caiiitulation of Duala, capital of Cameroons. Nine steamers cajituicd by Cumberland. ,, 28. Admiralty list issued of mercliant ships lost, corrected to 23rd.

MincS\vee])ers' Fund started.

'Two forts at I'attaro reported destroyed. ,, 29. Foreign trawlers stopped using East coast ports.

i

NAVAL DIARY OF THK WAll. 69

Sijit. 211. HiiiiU'ii's liaiil of six .steaiiieis ivporteil in iieiiililiouihiKiil of (ape Coinoriu. Sttainsliip upciitL-tl i.-iptiued hy scap'aiies off Ileligulaml. oil. BaiiklicMs suiik by I.eijiZi';!.

fSreiiii It tscciiteil from Cliilt-aii waters liy Alniiraute Lynch. <»( t. 1. Good Hope, Monmouth, and Glasgow passed .Magellan Straits for Pacitiu. Ortega arrived at Kio, and Soiithimrt at Urisbane. Japanese naval brigade landed al Klaoiliau. ., 2. British niinedayiug policy auuouiieed.

Keport on naval air work issued. Eussia rejiorted no ships lost or damaged.

German steanishiii >eckar arrived Baltimore after seven weeks' wandering in the Atlantic. S. Voyage to Knglaud of Canadian Contingent began. 5. Farn captured by Karhnihe. G. Destroyer S 116 sunk off Ems l)y E 9.

Nlecto De Larriuaya captured by Karlxruhe. Japanese oc(Uj)ied .(aluit. „ 7. La t'orrentina taptured by A';-o«i>y/(i^ WUIiehn.

Lynrowan captured )iy Karhruhe. Turkish squachou off Varna and Baltchik. ,, 8. Air raids ou Dii.sseldorf and Cologne.

Cervantes captured by Earhiulie. it. Fall of Antwerp.

Pruth cajitured by Karhruhe. ,, 11- Pallada sunk by submarine.

Russian otlicial report of German submarine sunk by mine in Baltic. Condor captured l>y Karlsruhe.

Official announcement of Naval brigades at Antwerp. 12. Rear-Admiral Hooil appointed " Admiral of Dover Patrol," and Rear-Admiral Duff to Fourth Battle Siiuadion. Official account of Capmania-C«/» Trafa/ijar'duel issued. Russian Fleet off Baltchik. ,, 13. German Si|iiadron under Prince Henry reported off Aland Islands.

14. Canadian Contingent and escort arrived at Plymouth. ., 1.5. Markoinaniiid . attached to Emden, sunk by Yarmouth near Sumatia.

German sailing-vessel Komet captured at Rabaul. ,, IG. Hawke toriiedoed by I' 9.

17. First Lord's message to Royal Xaval Division returned from Antweip. Four German destroyers smik off Dutch coast. Austrian submarine reported sunk by VValdeck Rousseau- Russian mine-laying policy notified. Tacachiko mined. Geier at Honolulu for "repairs.' ,, 18. E 3 lost off German coast.

Hospital ship Ophelia captured by Meteor. Glanton captured by Karhruhe. Komet added to Australian Navy as Una.

Official statement instituting Distinguished Service Cross and Medal issued. ,, 19. Bombardment of Belgian coast begun ; action off iliddelkerke.

Attack on Japanese cruiser Chitose off Kia )ohau by German ships at Tsingtau. „ -.iO. Giitra sunk by U 17 (first merchant ship destroyed by submarine).

First Lord's telegram acknowledging Japanese assistance in Pacific. ,, 22. Despatches for Heligoland action, submarine and air work, published.

Emden's capture of five more steamers, between 15th and 19th, announced. ,, 23. Admiralty statement re commerce [irotection.

Hurstdale captured by Karhruhe. ,, 24. Badger rammed German submarine.

,, 25. Tsars message of thanks for Russian naval activity.

Cablegram received from Good Hope at Punta Arenas reporting all well ou boar(L 21). French refugee-ship Amiial (iantcaume torpedoed without warning in English Channel, ifauchester Connnerce mined off Tory Island. Van Dyck captmed by Karhruhe. ,. 27. 'Venerable in action off Belgian coast.

Admiralty warning of mines off Irish coast. Certain Thames chanue's closed to traffic. Kaniasaka iiaru (Japanese) ca]itured liy Emden. ,, 28. Falcon's captain killed in action oft Belgian coast; casualties also reported between 20th and 31st from Humber, Mersey, Severn, Brilliant, Rinaldo, and Vestal. Order exempting enemy reservists afloat from capture rescinded. I'nion captured by Karhruhe.

Emden's raid on Penang ; sinking of Russian cruiser Jemchug and French destroyer Mousquet. ,, 29. Russian mine-layer Prut sunk by Turks.

Breslau and llamldieli bombaided Theodosia and other coast towni?. „ 30. Kunvjxberg located by Chatham. Rohilla wrecked oft Wliilby.

Russian gunboats Donets and KubanetS lost in Black Sea. Prince l.oui-^ of fJattenberg succeeded by Lord Fisher as First ."Sea Lord. ,, 31. Hermes ioipc<locd in Straits of Dover.

Venerable again in action off Belgian coast. Nov. 1. Action olf Coroiiel, and loss of Cradock with Good Hope and Monmouth. ,, 2. Dardanelles bombarded by Allied Fleet.

Minerva shelled Akaba.

Norwegian steamer Helicon stopped by Geiuian supi)ly ship Titania oft Juan Fernandez. ,, 3. Admiral Sir Percy Scott ajipointeil foi- special service.

Cruiser raid on \ arinoutli : attack cm Halcyon. D 5 sunk by mine laid by <;erman cruisers in retreating.

70

THE NAVAL ANNUAL.

Nov. 4. Yurck uiiuftl olf .lalule.

\*ine Branch captured li.v Leij'^i;/. ., ;i. "War declared between Allies and (Utmnan Eni]>ire.

Militarj' area defined in >>orth tiea.

.Seaplane 1220 destroyed by Germans near Ostend, two airiueii lo.st.

Kaiser and Prince Henry removed from British " >'avy List.'

Troubridge court-martial opened at Portland. .. 7. Fall of Kiaochau.

Gcier and steamer Locksun interned at Honolulu.

Admiralty letter commending conduct of Captain Kiuneir, of Ortega.

Carl Lody, formerly in German >'avy, shot at the Tower for spying.

Admiral Sturdee appointed afloat ; succeeded by Kear-Admiral H. F. Oliver as Chief of War Staff. S. Plutou (Norwegian) and Poolestar (Dutch) mined iu North Sea.

Military force, "covered liy Odin and Espiegle, landed at Fao (Persian Gulf). ,, 0. Emden destroyed by Sydney.

White Paper i.ssued .showinu pensions and allowances to families of fighting men. 10. Four Turkish transports sunk by Kussiaus.

A'n/i/./s6');» iiaitly destroyed by Chatham, Weymouth, and GoMath. ,, 11. .\dn}iral Sturdee left England with Invincible and Inflexible.

Niger torpedoed olf Deal.

Japanese torpedo-boat 33 sunk while dragging for mines in Kiaochau Bay.

Armed merchant cruiser yavarra sunk otf Kiver Plate when chased by Orama. „ 12. Acquittal of Rear-Admiral Trouliridge announced. ,, 13. Cierman submarine reported rammed liy French destroyer in Westende Bay.

A'ictoria, seaport of Buea (Cameronus) occupied by marines. „ 14. Admiralty list of ships found sunk at Tsingtau issued. ,, 15. Buea, seat of German government in Canuiuous, occupied by marines.

Duke of Edinburgh bombarded Sheik Seyd, covering troops landing.

Von Spee's squadron left .Tuan Fernandez for Cape Horn.

Senior Ofticer for Port of London appointed.

16. King George's visit to Royal Naval Division at Crystal Palace.

German armed merchant-cruiser JVarn)-/-a voluntarily sunk otf Brazil to avoid capture by Orama.

17. Berlin interned at Trondhjem.

,, 18. Report from Glasgow of Coronel action issued. Oceanic comls-martial begun at Devonport. T".S. s. Tennessee s launch fired upon by Turks at Smyrna. Libati again bombarded, and attempts made to block channels. Goeben damaged in action with Russian ships off Sevastopol. ,, 19. Admiralty correspondence j-e Ortega published.

German steamer Earnak interned at Antofagasta for coaling Geinian warships. ,, 20. Tiukish cruiser Eamidieh's bombardment of Tuapse. „ 21. Air raid on Friedrichshafen and capture of Commander Briggs. Basra occupied.

Anne de Bretagne captured by Karhruhc. ,, 2:^. Zeebrugge bombarded by British squadron. IT 18 rammed ; crew rescued by Garry. S 124 sunk in collision at soutiiern entrance to Sound. Malachite sunk by U 21. „ 25. Official casualty list up to date issued, showing total of 7,343, including 4,327 killed. Primo sunk by V 21. Karlsruhe reported sunk off Grenada. ,, 26. Bulwark destroved bv explosion.

Board of Trade table published showing state of shipping after sixteen weeks of wai-. „ 27. Pilotage made compulsory at East coast estuaries ; mine defences extended.

Statement in Commons by First Lord on the naval position. ,, 28. Operations at Dar-es-Salaam ; Commander Ritchie, of Goliath, earned V.C. ,, 30. Seaplane Kiel 82 wrecked off Jutland, and pilot and mecbauic interned. Dec. 1. Edgar class paid off and armed merchantmen substituted. ,, 4. Despatches of Antwerp operations issued.

Bellevue and :M(int Agel captured by Kronprinz Wilheim. Aids to navigation restricted east of Selsey Bill. „ ."). Firth of Forth closed to fishing operations.

King Georges visit to the Front ended. ,, 6. Rio Negro's reported ariival at Kiel from AVest Indies with part of Karhri'lie's crew. „ 8. Sturdee's action otf Falklands. ,, 9. Operations in Shatt-el-Arab and capture of Qurnah. „ 10. Goeben, with Berk-i-Satvet, made futile bombardment of Batuni. „ 11. Drendeii arrived Puuta Arenas after Falklands battle.

Colchester's escape from Cieiman submarine in North Sea. ,, 12. Friedrich Karl reported sunk by miue or torpedo in Baltic.

Austrian submarine E 12 reported to have torpedoed Jean Bart. Hamidieli damaged by mine in the BosplKuus. 13. 7)rfj((Zf« left I'uuta Arenas.

Meaxoudich toipedoed by B 11 in Dardanelles. 15. Bulwark's loss oiticially stated to be due to accidental ignition of ammunition. Cur))ioraii interutd at Guam.

Russian cruiser Askold sank German steamer at Haifa. ,, 16. German cruiser raid on Hartlepool, Whitby, and Scarborough.

iNfonitor s(|uadron resumed bombardment ott Belgian coast. „ 17. Losi iif Friedrich 7u(W otficiallv announced in Petrograd. .

Askold sank two 'Turkish steamers at Beyrout. ,, IS. Order in Cciuncil re pay of Royal Naval Division. ,, 19. Doualdsoii liner Tritonia mined otf north coast of Ireland.

Account of operations iu Cameroons up to December 13 issued by Cojoiual oilice. ,, 20. Letter of First Lord to Mayor of Scarborough -> naval raid. „ 21. First naval V.C. of the war awarded to Lieutenant N. D. Holbrook, of B 11.

NAVAL DIARY OF TIIK WAll. 71

l»co. '^i. Ailiiiiial Sir (ieuifio (.'all;i;;li.iii .ipiinjnlcil <'(iiiiiiiamlir-iii(iik-f at llic Ndic, to clalc January 1, 1915. ,, 2:5. Interview of Grand Atluiiial vou 'J'irpitz with Xew York ,S'"/i repiesentalivo, annnnncing a " submarine Wockatle ' of luerdiaut shipping. ■-'4 (iernian aeroplane reeoniioitii'il ovit slieerness. Admiral .stuvdce arrived at Montevidin. En^'iiieer ottiecr.s absorbed into militaiy branch. ,. -IX Kaid on Ciixhaven by seven British seaplanes, supported by siilmiarines and liffht

cruisers. ,, 2(). Press accounts received from South America of Falklands action.

Goeben seriously damaged by mine in the Bo.sphorus. „ 27. Result of Vuirk court-martial (held December 23) announced in Oeruian Press. ,, 2s. French submarine Curie captured at Pola and re-named Zentn. American Xote on contraband presented to Great Britain.

('apt. Karl von Miiller, late of h'uuieii, reported arrived in England as prisoner of war. ,, 2;). Kevised regulations le pensions, etc., to widows and children published in Loudon

Gazette. ,, so. Verdict of •' Accidental Death' returned at inquest on Bulwark victims. ,, 31. Austrian battleship Viribim L'nilii reported damaged by French torpedo.

F'light-Comnianiler Hewlett, missing after t'uxhaven raid, reporteil safe. lOir.. Jan. 1. Xew Year promotions and honours gazetted.

Despat'lies of Sydney and KimUn action, and air raid on Friedrichsliafen, published. Formidable Mink liy submarine in Channel. ,, 2. Turkish transport liozeta sunk by mine in Bosphorus.

Rjxiding operation at Dar-es-Salaam by Goliath and Fox reported. ,, ."5. Flight-Commander Hewlett arrived in England.

'., '<. Turkish transport mined between Siuope and Trebizond.

First auction of prize steamers at the Baltic. ,, G. Action between Faissiau Fleet and Breslau witli Hamidleh.

German supjdy shij) (formerly a W'oermann liner) captured by Australia. ,, 7. Speeches on the naval position in House of Lords by Lords Crewe and Selborne.

Reply of (ireat Britain to United States Xote on contraband. Parly landed from Dopis at Alexaudretta. ,, S. Bombardment of Sinope by Russian Fleet reported.

Steamship Dacia, formerly German, sold in America to Mr. Breitung. 0. January ''Xa^'y List" shows exchange of appointments in December between Vice- Admirals Sir Cecil Buruey and Sir Lewis Bayly, former becoming second-in-command to Admii'al Jellicoe. ,, 10. Goebeii reported damaged by mines. ,, 12. Farn (captured by Karlxruhe) arrived San Juan, Porto Rico.

Bremen reported aiTived at Wilhelmshaven, damaged by mine.

Interview with Count Reventlow published in Xew York Worhl and London Daihj

Chronicle. French official denial of reported submarine attack