The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1914-12-05
GERMAN SEA STRATEGY


who sped away at the first intimation
Of u possible war. Out of sight of
lana they scattered. each i'm different
erection. The commander Of each
vessel, Il member Of the German nav
III reserve. also had in his possession
map of the world, which had been
furnished him by the Government. On
1t he found no crosses in red ink and
but one black dot on the areas of green
representing the sea. That spot was
his objective. And he crowded on all
steam to get there. Once his obser-
vations showed that he was directly
at the point represented upon his
chart he ordered the engines stopped,
the fires banked. If 1t could be done
with safety, and a sea anchor cast out
IL the depth of the water was too
great to permit the lowering Of . a
kedge. Then he settled himself
down to await developments.
Generally developments came quick
ly in the shape Of Ions. gray war;
ship. the Prussian naval flag whipping
from the mast ut its stern and q forced
draft squirting column of smoke
from its tunnels.
IL tho warship needed small
quantity of coal 1t secured 1t from
the anchored merchantmen and went
on Its way. II 1t needed a large quan-
tity Of coal or provisions and men to
bring tho crew up to a war basis. the
coal and provisions and men, and any
thing else Of value, were transferred
from the merchantmen to the war
vessel. Then the steamer was sent to
the bottom by charge of explosive
placed where 1t would tear q hole in
her hull below the water line. Ger
many would rather send the ships of
It's merchant marine to the bottom
than risk having them fall into the
hands Of the enemy.
The plan has been we'll carried out.
1t has enabled the German ships to
sail the seas and prey on shipping of
the allied nations on q scale never
even believed possible. It has reduc-
Cd to a minimum the danger of cap
tnrc or Of meeting with an over
whelming forcc Of the enemy. While
the British ships have been making
their way In and out OF harbors all
over the world and having their
whereabouts reported. the Germans
have been Sinking far out to sea,
awaiting a chance to strike at a mer-
chant ship. and then scuttle off to q
base ship. as the German naval officers
call these vessels that anchored on
tho war maps black dots, and re-
plenish their supply Of men. coal or
provisions. The plan also called for
the ultimate mobilization of these
ships. Every move they have made
since the beginning OF the war was
mapped out at least three years ago.
The majority of moves were determine
even two years before that.
The British fleet steamed into am
bush off the coast Of Chile-this is
admitted. even by the Admiralty.
There Is reason to believe that the
Germans knew. for two weeks prior
to the battle. the exact location Of the
British ships.
On the war maps Of the seven seas,
given to the commanders Of the Ger
man ships, there was little red cross
somewhere between the coast Of South
America and Easter Island. The ex-
act location Of that cross I do not
know. But the German ships
that engaged the British fleet off
Valparaiso gathered there about Oc-
tober 10. They came from all parts
of the Pacific.
The German cruisers that have
operated In the Atlantic have been
handicapped to a certain extent be-
cause only three of their base ships
succeeded In reaching spots where
they could be of any service. OF these
one was the KrOnprinz Wilhelm.
which sneaked out Of New York at the
very beginning of the war. loaded to
her utmost capacity with coal. The
kronprinz was caught once coaling
the cruiser Karlsruhe. Soon after
that an English cruiser intercepted
wirelesss messages passing between
the Dresden and the Kronprinz vii.
helm.
What has become Of the Kronprinz
Wilhelm since then? She has not
been captured. She has not put into
any port. Her coal has been taken b.
warships. and 1t has been physically
impossible for her to reach any port
in Germany.
One Of two things has happened to
this steamer--she has either been sent
To Soma romofo onnt i,, tho