Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1905-01-20
WAR INDICATES
The BwATTLESH|P
------
General Board OF the Navy Is.
sues a Report on Eastern
Contest.
PLACE Or TORPEDO BOAT
II Has Proved of No Value Whatever
Saws in the One Great Night
Surprise Of February 8 at
ORcnina of Conflict.

BattIeships alone will give n natl
command of the sea. Torpedo boat
are practically useless. either in a
blockade or In battles at sea.
These are the conclusions OF the gem
eral board Of the navy, of which Ad-
miral Dewey is president, in q review
OF the Russo-Japanese war.
The board declares that Port Arthur
might have been captured months ago
a~ad that thousands OF lives and mill
lions in money might have been saved
had Japan possessed twelve battleships
instead Of six.
This official report is made at present
in an effort to correct the impression
in this country that the pattleship had
been discredited by the war In the east
and that undue value has been attached
10 cruisers and torpedo craft.
Single Blow for the Torpedo.
After commenting on the superb con-
dition and efficiency of the Japanese
fleet. the report says.
"In the brisk Inauguration Of hostil-
tiles by the Japanese torpedo boat flo
tilla February ., they did undoubtedly
deliver a telling blow by disabling three
Russian battleships. The temporary
crippling of that force affected the con-
duct OF operations throughout the en-
tire first phase OF the war; the Jap
anese having won the mastery of the
sea were able to land troops at the
Yalu and Newchwang instead Of at the
far south end OF Korea.
This mastery was due to their pre-
p~onderating battleships, which enabled
them TO blockade the Russian fleet. No
more eloquent tribute to the battle
ship 10 20 be found than this, hat the
small margin of superiority thus OBJ
tanned saved the army hundreds of
miles OF land transport, enabling them
TO strike swiftly. hard and continuous
~ upon q weaker enemy before he
could be reinforced.
February 9 Surprise Not a Test.
ION the other hand, if battleships can
be destroyed or seriously demaged by
unsupported torpedo boats, their value
is compromised. This does not appear.
The action of February . was a sur
prise. The Russian fleet, fourteen ves-
sells, were anchored IN the outer fun
~nel-shaped roadstead. without suspi-
cion of hostilities, not a patrol boat
out. crews sleeping III their berths.
Three japanese fotillas twelve vessels)
approached with lights burning. and
being mistaken for Russian boats were
alloWcd to approach the fleet. Then,
with q smooth sea. at close range, hard.
" disturbed by q single shot or flash
of searchlight, with all the conditions
of easy target practice, not less than
twenty-four torredoes We're discharged,
OF which three took effect.
THE results were undoubtedly mo-
mentous, out it would be a hardy logi-
clan who could deduce that torpedo
craft has displaced the battleship, or
diminished it's prestige. Although the
Russian destroyers in Por. Arthur
numbered t~wenty-four. not one has
scored a hit during the war.
Other Torpedo Attacks Fail.
Scores of other torpedo attacks have
been delivered by the Japanese. with
lack of success. although under cover
of darkness and against an enemy at
anchor, whose position was known.
on one occasion. after a soul-stir-
ring night, that OF June %. the Russian
ships being in the outer roadstead,
twelve torpedoes were picked up in the
morning, having missed their marks
and having their mechanism apparent
" set to float at the end of the run in
stead of to sink, as is customary, in the
evident hope that they might find a
target while drifting about. How
many others sank or drifted away will
never be known.
In u few other cas- ) hits were scored
which laid the victims up for a few
days. after which they returned TO
service.
But the fact remains that not a Rus
sian has been sunk by 4 torpedo until
just recently. when the Sevastopol sue
cumbed 10 the incessant attack, being
compelled to lie helplessly anchored
outside of the harbor entirely exposed
and with many OF its guns landed to
aid in the shore defenses. The Sevas-
topol was. a stationary target day and
night for two weeks, and a probably
low estimate of the number of torpe-
does fired against 1t would be $50.
Tcrpcdoes Useless in Daytime.
THE Japanese suffered severely in
the attacks. and lost two destroyers
II ofn torpedo boats. The weather.
while severe upon crews, was favorable
for torpedo work.
Day attacks by torpedo boats have
never been regarded as worth attempt
ing. When the yariag came out OF
Chemulpo TO face the Japanese SQUAD
ron, not a single torpedo boa was per-
rnitted to enter action.
Again, during and following the ac-
tion of August 10, although there were
present eight Russian and at least ff-
teen Japanese destroyers and many
torpedo boats. not a torpedo reached it's
mark--if ans were discharged. None
dared approach within torpedo range.
THE same Is true of the action OF
August IA between the Vladivostok ar
mored cruisers and Admiral Kami-
mur3's fleet.
$50 far as actions on the open sea
are concerned. in none have the results
been influenced by the torpedo boat