New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-12-30
A GERMANCRITIC OF THEWAR
ADMIRAL PLUDDEMANN'S ANALYSIS
TRANSLATED FOR AMERICAN USE.
SEVEN HEADS CONSIDERED AND VALUABLE
LESSONS DRAWN FOR FUTURE
WARFARE

LESSONS DRAWN FOR FUTURE
WARFARE.
Washington Dec % (speciaD.-Rear- Admiral
Piuddemann OF the German Navy has written an
analysis OF the recent with Spain which is
considered Of such value that IL has been trans
lated and printed by the Naval Intelligence once
for distribution among the officers OF the American
Navy for their instruction The German Admiral
has apparently had access TO more accurate and
extended information about Of the operations
ot tho war. particularly those In the Philippines.
than has officially reached :he United States Navy
Department. In introducing the pamphlet Of
eighteen pages Commander Glover. the chief In
.ieigence offccr. calls attention to the Admirars
comments on the high quality and endurance OF the
United States naval ordnance and on the defective
results from the Navy fuse now in use. and con-
tinues
As regards the question Of the Importance OF the
erence the landing OF the Army at Baiauri is in
discipline on board the merchant steamers char
tered transports for service under the Quarter;
and discipline at sea which foreign military
nized can only be Obtained through the Maybe
Under these circumstances it is not strange that
the landing of the provisions guns and ammun
tlon. and She entire equipment. all of which
~rcsources. effected with such slowness that
the troops were reduced from the outset the
meagre ra'ions which each man carried with him"
Admiral Pluddemann divides his criticisms under
seven heads viz: Battles OF the Fleet" Bonn
bariments." Coast Defences." "Bockades and
Cruiser Warfare" Landings" "Coaling' and
Auxiliary Warshps" In his general PREDATORY
statement he says
while the events Of the war Just ended show
nothing which might lead 10 p radical revolution
Of prcsen; ideas as TO rational warfare and the use
new appliances have been made use OF which might
cause us 70 anticipate change in the floating ma
war has enriched former experiences. But on the
as mary good devices did not have a chance to be
tested. the weakness Of the adversary making
bad results. because hey were counterbalanced by
tire defects and mistakes the part OF the enemy
or ny other favorable circumstances
The most importan, portion Of the emnen, Ger
man experts paper IN its bearing upon future
preparauons for empha sizes the necessity for
coahng stations particularly in the Pacific. lie
SAYS:
The late will give new irpuIse g the i'm;
fleets carving on war in region Where 5dey co 1I
depots in :heir Immediate Vicinity or whenever
they are not certain that there may not be oSca-
r,rilv should have their OWE golfers along. The
b sh SUNS n sbod f no be compaed to rely on
rendezvous the uncertainty OF Golfers sent after
suf.cisn Supply OF coal hut also 10 provide APP
planes FOR taking coal on hoard under al Gl'cuh
such appliances has coptrhnted not le 10 the
disasters Of the Spanish The coaling Of AdmifaI
comedy Admiral Cervera intended to coal rapidly
q; Santiago ard proceed Blu, the appliances for
States feet had shut him up in The haroor before
srsl DAYS. Az present not many ships are benz benz
built with tina; end in view. nor are they pens
es possible lime This viii he absolutely neces-
.sks on Soai or other fuel either from wharf
from a lighter or collier al seq.
ASIDE from ,he moral qualities Of the personnel,
which IN his opinion. constitute the prerequisite OF
success Admiral Pluddemann thinks there are i've
main factors which tho result OF battIe DE-
pends--thc construction and equipment Of the
ships. The artillery the torpedo, the RAM ana
speed The torpedo and the ram were not used in
The late war fo- the reason that the hostile ship'
never came close enough 10 each other. IL u
claimed saws the Admiral. that two Spanish to-
rc5o-boats attempted an attack at Cavte on May :.
Bu, these vessels were so entirely covered by
The rapid FIRE artillery OF the Oily mpia cNel 81 &
iance Of 1000 metres ihat theN touiu ONE soife
their crews by running ashore a. fast az posslDe.
boafs IF so the attack could only have beer made
owing entire ineXperionce win tol a..
lacks and complete ignorance OF modern r"P'''"'e
Tbe other TWO factors artillery and speed have
, very powerful effect. The superiority OF me
American ARTILLERY as 10 number. oalbrc and KIND
~ suus is we'll known. The genera OPINION Is alSo
,nai the shooting of the Americans Was VelE goou,
while OF tire spanish was niserable Ins wTaS
lie more essential for the Americans at taNlte,
owing 70 the fact that large numoeT o' }p bey
achieved such complete success and caused such
aeslG sTse Number Of hts there we're sim quite
considerable number of shells that osu 50 I"sn
T. wss a. dscoyered bat may Of the shells did not
explode but this fact was most noticeable 81 ne NJ
battle all the spanish vessels were under wseI 30
cogd not BE- vSrifed the parts above showed
number Of hits. and there is no reason b aTI 10
,ha OF unexpioded essentially different IN the
When the American feet advanced i9a D NE The
II was hred upon, by battery at Ma hntS shells
%%ps found Th unexpoded
The Governors house at cavite also s"0~e' Z" '"''
In this respect better results appear TO have been
ACHIEVED at Santiago IhI, nay nay rendris refer only
in few instances the explosive effects attaneG;
have been noticed on the Spanish ships as well as
In Connection with the Hrs. few figures as to
the consumption Of ammunition may be or inter r
ssas from 4n Oh TSpidsre gun nifty minutes
During the same period O. tine t%o TN Src~on
n used IN ali i.77s shells but 1870 OF mis- number
sed fO5 Inc d tbs en Of one side Of the
ship while the four 12-inch guns fired 'hr'y-o
maess has aafnpy as o My
only r. e wsTe in eu need SSo Of repairs a Of
he war in all OF when prctect'les had burst II.
4sq GeI failures Of uses SHOWS 'ns ne , com
str ion OF the fuse IN America j. SUI A' ''''''
perfect VALUE OF SPEED
While the Spanish were nero5 II me ey wbSe o'ee d
catastrophe OF Santiago By preserving ana ,aTins
advantage of their greater sreed when tney haa
Gown ar least al the trial trips OF taelr ships'
In his respect the Americans were at Srea' us
advantage from the outset. , ~-or
The speed OF me two armored cruisers n5. Enot
York and BROOKLYN |aS ssr hYt these We're the
only ones the speed Of all the oher vssses T b
inferior by from two and half 10 hye mes, re
Anerican ships aside from previous services re-
CURED OF thein-the Oregon Tor Nnstanc ma aro0 t
1e.rned Key Mes, her return rom san IRAN
cisco Until May 2thad been blockadins San -, AZ
a. Svo weeks Their boilers were IN consttHl USE
and could not be properly cleaned; the botiohs oi
80 -.N L. "a II Is ClaIrneI mn -