The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-05-19
WILL AID DEFENSE
War Secretary Sees Weakness
in q. S. FOrtresses.
In No Condition to Meet Land
Side Attack.
INSTALL ALL-R0UND GUNS
Betterment of Batteries Is Pro.
lection Plan.
System Holds Cities Against
Hostile Fleets.
INSTALL ALL-ROUND GUNS

Washington, May 19.-Secretary Gar
r1son, in prepared statement, discuss
ed the preparedness of seaboard cities
to defend themselves against land at
tack. Mr.. Garrison emphasized at the
outset of his statement that he had
issued it because of "a recently pub
lished article respecting the land side
defense Of our coast defenses"
The statement follows in part:
1T is perfectly true that many OF
seacoast defenses would find great diff
Guilty in defending themselves by their
own garriSons against a land attack
by numerous force; and it is also true
that they have been constructed. in
many instances, without any reference
to an attack coming from the land side,
but, as was natural. in view of their
purpose, almost wholly with a view to
giving protection to the cities and har-
bors behind them against an attack
by a hostile feet.
This being their principal function,
almost everything else was subordina-
ted to this end, and in many cases
fortihcations were so placed in the ef-
fort to obtain the best field of fire over
the seafront and channels as to render
their defense from land attack extreme
ly difficult. 1t can be said of many OF
them-in fact. most of them Except
those which are islands)-that their de-
the land side must rest upon bodies of
mobile troops assigned to this duty.
Old Fortress Was Sufficient.
Before the advent of the modern
gun, the common type of fortress con-
struction was in the form of an in
closed work, capable of defense against
land attack by it's own garrison; but
with the advent of the modern guns,
and the construction of works involv-
ing great outlay of money, insufficient
attention was given to the problem of
their defense from land attack, and as a
result, many of them are so situated
and constructed as to be liable to sue
cessful attack by even moderate forces
landing from ships.
with view to correcting this de-
feet, lines of land defense works
have been laid out and necessary in
structions prepared for their prompt
construction in case of threatened war.
In future construction it is believed
that much more attention will be de-
voted to making each individual group
of works reasonably secure against
land attack, even though unsupported
by troops other than its own garrison.
Protection to Cities.
This whole question brings up very
forcibly the folly of depending upon
fortresses alone. The purposes of
seacoast defenSes is to prevent hos
tile fleets bombarding cities behind
them. Their guns are of a heavy type,
necessarily-too heavy, in most in
stances, for work against troops. Their
function is to fight armored fleets.
Their flanks and rears must be pro-
tected by mobile troops, as must the
cities which lie behind them in case
the enemy decides to land at a point
outside the range of the guns and
make it's attack on the city from
a point overland.
I'm short, all systems of coast de-
fense which look to security through
Notifications alone are destined to be
of little use in time of real war. The
Qualifications are only a part of the
defense, and while they are entirely
adequate for the present, for which
they are constructed, they are fixed
defenses, effective only over the area
within range of their guns.
The department is now considering
the installation of guns up to 6-inch
caliber with all-round fire. with a view
to helping out defense of the works,
and it has paid much more attention
than heretofore to the construction of
batteries which have a we'll thought
out and prepared system of defense
a apaiDSt land attack