The progress., 1904-07-23
roRPEpoEs AND WARsHlPs.
Opinion Of = French Admiral Regard
ing Their Rsspsctivs 1mcacy
In Action.

Look at what happened at Port AT
thur. People are inclined to judge th'
operations there merely by the some
what uncertain statements that com'
over the cable. Everything is credited
to the torpedo. The torpedo boats JUS
now on top, and, with the assistance 81
. little imagination, part Of the sue
cess Of the Japanese may be attributed
to submarines Can 1t be seriousl,
thought, even admitting that all the re.
ports OF damage done by torpedoes ars
true, that the Japanese boats would have
been able to perform the tasks assigned
to them II they had not been supportee
by powerful feet? What could the IL
tie things have accomplished II they had
been left to their own resources? Tney
would soon have been short OF coai
their crews would have been harasseo
and worn out, and they would inevitaply
have been destroyed, says Admiral MAJ
tarne, of the French navy. in the Matin'
The attacks of torpedo boats are less
dangerous than they are generally De-
lieved to be. In order to be SUCCESSFUL
many boats must be employed. Tney
must be handled with vigor, which can
only be expected from men perfectly
fresh and they must be steered with ex-
traordinary skill. Their attacks are
extremely difficult in daylight and are
very hazardous at night. Now this IS
contrary to the opinion of the pubic.
but it is true. In daylight by losing one
half of its number, fiotilla OF TORPEDO
boats might do serious injury to meet.
At night its chances OF success wouio
be reduced, because then the conditions
would be very much more unfavoraDle'
Certainly, If fleet were to travel al
night in any order with Its unitles
grouped, It would facilitate an attack
from torpedo boats. But in time OF war
that is not the way they go. And, more
over, the torpedo boats do not always
succeed in reaching the proper distance
for discharging their torpedoes.
am not an out-and-out and exclusive
partisan of the battleship; on the con-
trary, am convinced of the utility OF
torpedo boats and submarines. These
little engines are destined to play very
important part in naval warfare; but to
render them effective, they must be sup
ported by a powerful naval force and
that force lies in the battleship and the
armored cruiser.
The really redoubtable engine is the
gun. Sufficient attention has not been
paid to what happened at Chemulpo.
The Japanese began to fire at the Variag
at distance of about five miles, and
their shots told. That is noteworthy
fact in which there is profitable lesson.
1t is necessary now to multiply artil-
lery practice at long ranges. In the
French navy we have,a trained and de-
voted personnel whose professional
value is universally recognized. Very
WE'LL 1t is necessary to increase ten
fold that value by constant practice.
The English, who obtain remarkable re-
suits from the frequency of their prac-
tice,. have made heavy gun firing per-
feet sport. Let us initiate them.
Tell your readers that the battleship
does not mean so much money tossed
into the water. In order to obtain the
best results, fleet must include all
unities possessing tactical value, and
In wisely determined proportion.