New-York tribune., 1909-06-28
NAVAL MANGUVRES NJ
The Sea Po1rer of Great Britain
RiUdI Fleets.
London. June 70.


pressive on water. feeble and inadequate as they
may appear paper when there are fluent par
tisans to reason about two-power standards ana
balances of efficiency. The manoeuvres this
year will employ $50 ships of the home. At
lantic and Mediterranean fleets. 1t will be an
invincibe armada, with 40 battleships and -
armored cruisers and with 81 protected cruisers
and scouts No other fleet af1oat can live against
the concentrated battery fire Of this fighting
line No merchant ship can elude pursuit py
the fastest cruisers capable of making q knots
for six hours. There is fotilla of 204 torpedo
craft with 26 submarines and 10 mine laying
depot and repair ships. No branch of the naval
service is neglected. The combined fleets have
the best examples of war vessels of every class.
and are prepared for all the exigencies and even
for the startling surprises of naval warfare
They offer convincing evidence that Whatever
croakers and alarnnists may say to the contrary
England is in complete state of defence on the
high seas.
Not only are the ships of every class in readi-
for a sudden emergency. but men stokers'
supplies. ammunition and guns are available Tor
rapid reinforcement of the fleets in constant
service In ninety minutes, at the home ports
Of Plymouth Portsmouth and Chatham, nearly
two hundred vessels modified for the
naval rnaneuvres. There were nucleus crews
for these ships and when the bugle call was
sounded between II 900 and 10000 extra sea-
men stokers marines and gunners marched
through the dockyards and reported for duty
This great addition to the home fleet was
brought into use without confusion or delay
The majority of the ships were already coaled
and provisioned; the others were equipped for
service with remarka Bile celebrity. Within two
hours the vessels were manned and headed for
the appointed rendezvous. Every detail had
-~ft
third and fourth divisions were brought up te
war strength, and everything was worked out
with the precision of mechanism. The changes
are rung so often upon the thoroughness OF
German system and organization that II Is
pleasant TO have an English variant Not even
the German army is in better condition for the
processes of rapid mobilization than the British
navy. Everything goes like clockwork. ana
men supplies and ammunition are where they
are wanted.
When the regular fleets are reinforced there
will be manruvres a large scale. so that
commanders and men can have systematized
training for work in wartime. There Will be
three fleets red white and blue. one on the
east and one the west coast of Scotland. and
the third in the North Sea. White is 70 attempt
to Join blue by a rapid passage either of Pent-
land Firth or Of the Straits Of Dover and red
is 70 search the seas and coasts and to prevent
this combination Of forces. The problems OF
strategy and tactics may not be OF practical
utility. but the practice in handling vessels Of
every class and in rapid manpuvrIng for ad-
vantageous positions tends to promote efficiency
The three fleets will be at sea for forty-eight
hours before there is so-called state Of war.
and then each will receive wireless orders 20
carry out the tactical scheme. one will remain
passive but there will be a race between the
~
be done to avoid being sighted and to conceal
the objects OF the cruise. The orders secret,
the results are communicated TO the Admiralty
alone: and there is little II any copy" for the
newspapers. bl.t what advantage II is for
the navy a whole 10 have this special train
ing for manauvring and fighting in a wide area
Of operations, Every branch OF the service is
brought into and large fotillas Of sub
marines and torpedo craft freely handled in
connection with the most powerful battleships
and the fastest armored cruisers.
On exceptional occasions. like that of the
review at Spithead for the benefit Of the colonial |
press men. the British navy is exhibited for |
what II really is--an invncible armada in full
and undisputed command Of the Ordinarily |
the resources of the Admiralty are minimized |
expenditures is urged by n swarm OF loquacious |
and pessmistic experts. Is there the most |
formidable assemblage Of warships at Spithead |
ever afoat? Yes; but IL does not imply /
sufficency for imperial defence. for In Germany |
and in America Dreadnoughts are under con- |
structon, and England will never be safe unless |
both foreign fleets can be matched and 10 per |
cent added for accidents. Is there a marked |
superiority in classes. which tho experts have |
agreed to consider the most important for de |
fensive operations? Yes. again: but who knows |
what the unduly advertised Dreadnought and !
the fast Invincible are really worth in action: |
and is there not an inquiry already in progress
before "A special Cabinet committee of defence 10
prove Lord Charles Beresfords contention that |
the fleet is not prepared for war? Were not all |
the ships at Spithead on war footing without |
a single scratch crew or any evidence Of emer-
gency drafts? Has not that mighty feet been /
reinforced with another one in the course of |
two hours. and are not all the resources of the |
Admiralty at command for making OH an
scale? These things true.
No expert has the hardihood to question Eng
force any rival fleet Yet the bow of Ulysses !
must never be loosed: the empire must always /
be regarded as vulnerable and insecure.
Neither the experts nor the panic mongers !
allow themselves the relaxation of satisfaction |
over the overwhelming superiority of the navy. |
the readiness with which 1t be heavily re- |
inforced and the thoroughness with which ma
nouvres are conducted. If they temporarily |
depressed by the evidence that England has so |
marked an ascendancy in sea power that the |
highways of the empire never be closed they |
are not siIenced, but insist upon drawing the |
eloomiest forecasts OF the development of rival |
navies by 1912 or 1920 and complaining Of the |
burdens of taxation. which forced upon the |