The Wichita daily eagle., 1904-03-11
LESSONS OF The WAR
British Navy Officers and Ma
rineS Are Busy,
THERE Is MUCH TO LEARN
Theories Concerning Naval
Warfare May Be Tested.

London. March 10-This has been a week
of moving incidents for every British ma
val man. 1t has. of course, seen put to
a test many of the theories of naval war
fare which have occupied every naval
mind in England for years past, and
enough conclusions have already been
drawn to furnish forth a whole volume.
a high British naval authority has been
induced TO put down the following notes
at the request Of the New York Evening
Post He says:
Naturally the dramatic opening of hos
tilities affoat between Russia and Japan is
being discussed in naval circles. and it
follows that the torpedo enthusiasts have
been delighted with the course events
have taken. There is an endless rivalry
between the gun and the torpedo. and the
first accounts of the attack on Port Ar
thur certainly seemed to warrant the
torpedoists' pleased I told you so Later
details Of the fighting show that the gun
also gave a good account Of itself on the
day after the midnight sortie. In a mat
ter of thirteen hours Russian battleships
of the value of s.. .000.0o0 were put out of
action, and the morale of the Russian
forces was evidently affected What les
sons have been learned from this opening
move i'm the war came2 am asked.
IN the first place. no ships can remain
IN an open harbor at nicht time owing TO
the menace of the torpedo. This is not a
new truth: it is in accordance with this
modern axiom that we are spending many
millions on harbor words at Dover, Port
,fc
night ships must be protected by some de-
fensive works. or they must be on the
move When steaming in narrow waters,
Il IS not yet proved that they are safe and
the danger is 1essened. Secondly, the
morale of the men is of even more i'm
portance than Il slight superiority in
material. Japan and Russia were practic-
ally on an equality when operations be
gan. hut the dash and intrepid bravery OF
the little japanese. who are masters in
torpedo tactics shifted the balance In
their favor in few hours. At the time
OF writing they have command Of the
Yellow Seattle Cclomb school may ques-
tion this, but the proof lies in the fact
that under the protection of the fleet the
transports are bearing troops TO the
mainland
~ THE most important lesson Of the war
90 far is, as n most distinguished admiral
pointed out TO me this week. that pre-
paredness for action is half the battle.
and does more tha nanything else to put
spirit into the personnel and make for
success. In December last Admiral Togo
had news Of Russias strength and he
drew UP his plans with elaborate care.
snd tested every detail. In this period
the japanese fleet was being manoeuvred
and drilled at sea with persistent regu-
iarity At the same time Gen Baron
Kodama was studying the military prob
lens. and the arrangements for the trans
port Of the field army were being made.
The whole scheme Of the war had been
Thought out even 10 the detail Of wireless
communication between the first military
base ut ChemuIpo and the feet acting
against the Port Arthur squadron. with
the island of Miso-tao. a small place near
Wei-hai-wei. as its base. This island, the
japanese. unknown TO the Russians seiz-
ed some time before the war broke out, 1
and fitted for their purposes. 1t lies right
across the path to Port Arthur.
The truth seems TO be the same as was 4
Illustrated in the South African campaign (.
military and naval preparations must .
proceed pari possu with diplomatic action
-and If there is TO be fighting with ships /
do not forget that the torpedo is the .
weapon OF great range and accuracy Of 4
aim
Secretary Hays attempt to obtain The =
assent Of the Powers TO the severe fnita--
tion OF the area of action during the war
and to exclude China from the sphere Of +
the hostilities should remove the last .
fears and other nations VIII b drawn in
10 the fray. There has been little posi-
bility Of interference for some time past.
The only source of real anxiety was that
the Chinese in panic might again en-
danger the legations at Pekin. and that