The Washington herald., 1915-12-26
Only Four Channels Lead
Through Mines to North
Sea Coast and They Are
Guarded by Steel and Con-
crete Submarine Torpedo
Fortresses.

eroog and Wangeroog, all armed with
heavy guns and completely covering
the coast line a few miles behind
them.
The channel leading to Wilhelms-
haven passes a few hundred yards
from Wangeroog, and for ten miles Ii
skirts the short line before Wilhelms-
haven is reached. The shore is forth
fed by heavy batteries. Ships pass
ing to Bremerhaven, at the mouth Of
the weser. deviate from the Wilhelms-
haven channel when the great guns Of
Wangeroog are passed, but they, too.
must pass under the review of many
great cannon before they reach the
river mouth where Bremerhaven is
situated and up which they must pass
to Bremen.
EIbe Channel Best Guarded.
There remains the channel leading
to the Elbe. the Kiel Canal, and Ham
burg. the most important of all, and
the best guarded. IL there can be. de-
grees Of impregnability. This kads
past the guns of Helgoland. reputed
the most powerful fortress in the
world. On the islands of Scharhorn
and Neuwerk are great batteries which
command the channel leading to the
Elbe. a river whose mouth appears
is so choked up by sand bars that less
than one mile of its width is passable
for navigation. and most of that mile
is mined.
Critics of the British navy may have
suggested that, II II can do nothing
else in German waters. the feet ought
to be able to lombard at long range
the kiel Canal and wreck the naval
station of Brunsbuttel. at the entrance
to the canal. on the Elbe. Rear Ad-
miral Dsgouy. of France, in an article
published in the Revue de Paris and
suppressed in Great Britain. contend
ed that this should have been done.
and it has been pointed out by other
critics that Admiral Jellicoe's 15-inch
guns could achieve this desirable re-
suit from a range of 10000 yards.
Defended by Outer Gums.
The answer to this suggestion Is that
British battleships, before getting within
range of the canal. would have to pass
for twelve miles along a narrow channel
commanded by II and lS-inch guns a few
thousand yards away SO concealed that
they could not be spotted from the war
ships.
The coast line of SchIeswig- -Holstein
stretches twenty-five miles from the
mouth of the Elbe to the Danish frontier.
Rumors have constantly circulated in
Britain since the beginning of the war
that n landing. covered by the fleet.
would he attempted on this coast Not
only are all the waters mined. there be-
ing no channels for friend or enemy eX-
cepting channels parallel to the coast for
the use of German warships. but the sea
is too shallow for ships to approach with
in several miles OF the shore between
Dr..
rest Of the coast. to the north. is pro-
tected by more of these providentially
placed islands. Nordstrand. Pellworm.
Amrum. Fohr. Sylt and Rom completely
cover the coast. just as the Frisians do
between the Ems and the Weser. Great
guns are mounted on these barren
islands. and an attack on this coast is al
most as difficult as the much discussed
raid on German harbors to the south.
Say. Germans ..Fuak~d' IL.
There are both naval and military res-
sons for the belief that the Germans
nave 'funked it, as the middics put it,
The relative strength OF the British fleet
compared to the German is much
greater than IL was a year or even six
months ago. Hence naval men argue
that the German attempt. il one was in
tended. would have come long before
this The military view is that Germany.
by the continuance of her offensive
against Russia after the capture of War
saw and by her Balkan expedition. has so
depleted her armies that she cannot
spare by any possibility the four or five
army corps necessar to attempt an in
vasion of England. an invasion which
the German general staff could regard
only as desperate gamble from which
not a man. in all probability. would re-
turn.