The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-07-20
.FORCER AND B|CAM|ST WAS
CAPTURED BY CHIEF GORMON
FLEETS IN FIGHT
OFF LONG ISLAND
Both Enemy and Defense
Claim Victory in Mimic
Naval Battle.

bioth iSiuLNs July n !iCSt Va
nine battleships. representing half the
strength of the Blue" Wednesday
bore down on this little island in an
effort to capture Long Island sound
and the back door" to New York For
three hours the attacking fleet engag-
ed in battle with the defenders. COM
posed of submarines and torpedo des-
troyers
Whether the invaders were van
quished or conquered the defense will
not be known for some monhs, or un-
til the national board of strategy re-
ports. Both sides are claiming the vic.
tory today.
The Blue fleet. commanded by Rear
Admiral Osterhaus, is alleged by its
supporters to have penetrated the de-
fense line with several minutes to
spare. Theoretically. the battleships
have sunk all of the defending vessels,
its officers claim. On the other hand.
the defense says that, theoretically.
there is none of the attacking vessels
afloat. The officers under Commander
Edward w. Eberle say the submarines
and destroyers annihilated the foe.
"Enemy" Suffers Real Loss.
The attacking force suffered one
real loss. The flagship Connecticut
cracked its crankshaft during the fight
and went out of action. 1t will sail for
New York tomorrow and Rear Ad
miral Osterhaus will transfer his flag
to another vessel
So far as could be learned today,
Commander Eberle, in apparent anti
cipation of an attempt on the part Of
Rear Admiral Osterhaus to split his
invading squadron and make simulta-
neous attacks upon both the entrance
to Narragansett bay and the eastern
entrance to Long Island sound, divid-
ed ihs defensive fleet and was prepar-
ed to prevent the enemy" from pene-
trating the line of defense that extend
ed from Montauk Point to Block Is
land, guarding the entrance to the
sound and from Block Island to New
port. protecting the entrance to Nara
gansett bay.
Defense in Long Line.
The defending fleet was composed
of cruiser near Brenton's Reef
lightship, Off Newport, Southwestern
ly, near to Point Pudith, apparently
defending the entrance to Narragan-
sett bay, and several other cruisers
in the vicinity of Point Judith.
Paor Admiral .Ocforbauc nd
er of the attacking fleet, massed the
greater portion of his battleships to
the eastward of Block Island. Nine
of these battleships were lying off
there, cleared for action, as another
division of the attacking fleet came in
from sea and, rounding Northeast
light, at the end of Sandy Point, head
ed over towards Gardeners bay Fif-
teen or twenty miles to the eastward
oof Block island and in the direction
of No Mans Land another fleet of
battleships was apparently ready to
cooperate with the main squadron in
simultaneous attacks upon both New
port and the eastern entrance of Long
Island sound
Admiral Osterhaus' fighting squad
ron is backed up, theoretically. by a
large fleet of imaginary transports
laden with invisible troops.
Defenders Tell of Victory
The views of the defense as to the
result of the battle became known
when the torpedo boats and torpedo
boaats destroyers, comprising the
seventh, eighth, and ninth torpedo
divisions, steamed into port and re-
ported that the invaders had been re-
pulsed.
The enemy" refused to consider
itself defeated, and as the decision of
the umpires in the war game will be
submitted to the navy department at
Washington and not be made public,
the world probably will not know the
extent of the destxuction and carnage
in this mornings fight.
Accordingto the story told by one
of the officers of the defending fleet,
the craft forming the line of defense
across the entrances to Narragansett
bay and Long Island sound discovered
nine great salte colored battleships
coming in towards shore soon after
daylight. Led by Commander Eberle
on the flagship Dixie, the defenders
steamed at full speed towards the
foe. and. as the defenders allege, de-
stroyeG the nine great sea fighters