The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1914-08-20
LIBAU VITAL POINT
Port Bombarded by the Germans
Means Much to Gar.
is RussIa's Great Naval Base for the
Baltic, Constructed at Vast Ex-
pense, and Center for Her
Submarine Flotllas.

II the bombardment Of Libau by a
German warship was effective, then
Russia was certainly wounded in one
of her most important naval strategic
positions. To Russia Libau is port
of very great concern and one that
normally in time OF war should be of
prime Importance to her, especially in
the winter time.
ST. Petersburg is substantially ice
bound for months each year This is
the reason for ibau's military signifi-
canoe. This Baltic city lies far enough
south of the capital TO be substantially
an open port the year round, and by
moderate use of an ice breaker contin-
uous intercourse by sea is maintained
the winter through by vessels running
to Germany, England and the United
States In fact, Libau is the home
port for the Russian volunteer fleet
whose ships enter New York.
Originally Libau offered poor induce
ments for either naval base or
commercial port, the town lying upon
a stretch Of low sandy coast directly
exposed to the sweep Of the Baltic
gales, while the water off shore deep
ened so gradually that its shallowness
induced a very nasty sort Of sea. How
ever, it was a matter Of necessity and
money was not allowed to count.
Accordingly, the Russian authorities
adopted heroic measures and set about
the building of an artificial harbor.
With characteristic extravaganza the
work was started and carried through
in the face of many difficulties.
Today Libau boasts two harbors,
one military, the other commercial,
and both lie behind a great breakwater
more than four miles long, pierced by
two narrow and heavily guarded en-
frances. Once inside of that shelter
a very large fleet can anchor securely
no matter how hard 1t may blow In
the Baltic without. II was there that
Admiral RoZhdestvensky assembled
his ships before setting out for the
far East and the fateful battle Of
Tsushima.
Breakwaters are commonly built Of
big masses of piled rock capped with
a topping of cut stone. But ordinary
practice was out Of the question at Lii
bau, and the engineers were soon face
to face with a serious difficulty. Rocks
were scarce in that sandy region, and
even small stones could be gathered
only by dint OF a good deal Of search
ing.
To overcome the dearth of desirable
material of natures making and to
avoid the impracticable alternative of
bringing rock overland by very made
quate rail facilities, it was decided to
fashion monster blocks of concrete,
weighing 30 tons apiece, out of the
readily available sand. In this way
millions of dollars were spent in the
producing of artificial stone, and these
enormous units were dumped upon the
bed of the Baltic until they reached
above the waters surface.
For some years Libau has been the
prime Baltic center for Russia's sub
marine flotillas and an Institutional
base for these craft. Indeed, the ad-
miralty has been engaged for some
years in working out a general sys-
TEN of submarine defence for the Bal
tic, and any grave damage to the port
will seriously affect her strategic pro-
gram for those waters.
Although bombarded by the Ger
mans, it is doubtful If any material
damage has been done the navy yard,
and the destruction of the town, unlike
the hidden naval basin and docks,
would not hamper the port in a mill
tary sense.
1t must not be forgotten that Libau
is naturally an important railway ter
minal. with lines running both back
toward the Russian-German frontier
and up along the coast TO the other
Baltic ports. with northern terminal
at st. Petersburg. For purposes Of
supply 1t is therefore of the greatest
concern to Russia to hold the harbor
of Libau open to her shipping and to
other craft bringing her contraband
The German attack was logical, but IL
is yet to be learned whether or not the
results we're conclusive. II so, the
kaiser has scored heavily against the
car should the present struggle run
on into the winter months.