Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-09-24
Comparison of Mighty
Fleets Which May Clash
Great B4itain's Navy overtops Them All, But German Fleet Is
Powerful and Others Are Good.

In the triple alliance the most Tor
midable naval power Is Germany. The
German fleet has been making rapid
strides in the last few years and can
send to sea II battleships or battle
cruisers of the dreadnaught class
She has II noreron the way, but not
now available.
Besides this first feet, Germany
can still show a second line, IN re-
serve, Of 20 other battleships, all
built in the last 20 years. Many OF
these, however, need not be taken
seriously. In the first place, they are
not all, by any means, in full commits
sion, and there is no doubt that 1t
would take weeks Of hard WORK, at
least, to get them all ready for sea.
In the second place, until less than
ten years ago Germany maintained
the remarkable policy of arming none
of her ships with guns OF more than
nine-inch caliber, and all these ships
belong to that period. Sending them
into action with modern dreadnaughts,
with ~ and 1876 inch rifles, would be
pure slaughter.
Itaiy's Sea Strength.
The SECOND naval power OF the
triple alliance Is italy. She can send
out q powerful and homogeneous
squadron Of four dreadnaughts, which,
designed as they were by the man
who is conceded to be the ablest war
ship designer now living, will have to
be reckoned with in any sea fight.
She has two more fine ships on the
ways, but not within months Of COM
missimtrg,
81 With. this one contribution, how
ever, I Italy's bolt is shot. She has
eight old battleships, which, although
probably, gun for gun, better ships
than Germany's 20 old ships, are open
to much the same criticism.
Austria, numerically, is stronger
than Italy in fighting ships, but their
quality is not comparable. She can
bring into action two ships Of the
d~readnaught class and three others,
which, although older, smaller and
slower, wouldn't compare unfavorably
with the United States Connecticut
class. Besides these, she has three
more which class with Germany's and
Italy's secondary line. All her fleet
Is in full commission.
EnqIand's Mighty Fleet
Against these three fleets, for the
triple entente the backbone, If not
practically the entire opposing force,
is in England's great war feet. Eng
land hastalow at sea and ready for
action, 80 battleships Of the dread
naught or superdreadnaught type, be-
sides ten others which, like the Lord
Nelson and Agamemnon class but IT.
tie below the ~dreadnaught rating.
The ships carry four 12-inch guns;
therefore they are classed below the
d~readnaughts. But they carry no less
than ten 9.2-inch, which makes them
far superior to any other battleship
not Of ~dreadnaught rating now afoat.
And that is aside from the fact that
the British 9.2.inch is a gun Of terri
Bile effectiveness, but family Swallowed
forth in figures.
Besides, England has SO smaller and
older battleships, which outclass the
30 older ships Of Germany. OF ar
mored cruisers, England has 16 to
Germany's three, italy's four and Aus
tria's none.
France, the second member of the
entente, in battleships al show bat
dreadnaughts, but she has nine
ships of the Justice, St. Louis and
classes, all worthy to be
say, with the Connecticut,
and. 10 old craft which could, in emer-
gency, be hauled out to the firirV
line!I France has also Is armored
cruisers, and these, though perhaps
not OF tremendous fighting value, are
really fine ships.
The Russian fleet need hardly be
taken seriously, though she has four
battleships-on paper-one of which
be e%xtricated from the dock
yard in time to fire a shot at an
enemy. This brings the question down
TO the really important basis Of com
parison-morale, training, discipline
and fighting efficiency.
German Discipline.
The German navy is a wonderfully
efficient organization-in a typically
German way. There is no ~discounting
The thoroughness with which the Ger
man fleet has been drilled, the faith
that has gone into It's prepara-
ton, from driving the first rivet in
each vessels keel to the training Of
the turret-pointers and the drill at
~maneuvering in squadron.
The faithfulness is apt to produce
results-provided the enemy doesn't
produce some maneuver that wasn't
In the tactical text books.
The Italian navy has almost none
II the snowy precision of discipline
IF the German. For one thing, their
ships are dirty compared to the spot
less decks beneath the banner Of the
Tatherland: for another. their drill
-