Evening star., 1915-05-09

S@ OSTON harbor should have been
~ impregnable to attack from the
in1 sea- Had nature been a mod
q ern army engineer she could
not have constructed an oceanic gate
more perfectly designed for modern
defense against modern ships.
One might picture Boston as being
protected by two great claws that
curve seaward and wait there on
guard, pointing toward each other. The
northern claw would be Winthrop
peninsula. with its beach and summer
cottages. The southern one would he
the long. narrow arm of land that has
famous Nantasket beach on il, and ends
northward at Point Allerton.
Between these two claws a prodigal
hand has scattered islands. From Deer
Island. lying in the north close under
Winthrop, to Georges Island. in the
SOUTH they form a stone wall with
gaps that are the channels. Far out,
grouped around the portal. the sea is
sown with lodges and rocks, whose
kelp boards stream in an ever heaving
sea. Here are the Brewsters, the Dew
IFS Back. the Graves, the Roaring
Bulls.
Within there is glorious harbor.
great enoneh for worlds armada.
But the entrance is a Pass of Their
mopylae.
Commanding that pass and all ap-
proaches far out to sea with zones of
fire. whose intersecting circles marked
rings of sure destruction. were defenses
honestly built. They were ready to
hat c1i nf
destructiveness which mans science
has embodied in the conical steel pro-
5ectile fired from the rifled gun.i
The navy that invested the harhor
entertained no illusions on that score.
1t had not dared the attempt to force
the passages of Narragansett. 1t would
not dare to force the passages of Bos-
ton. AS at Narragansett, it's business
was to occupy the defenders and wear
them out, while the army fell on them
and on Boston from the land.a
The ships entered a shrouded. black
sea. where there was not a light to
warn of reef or shoal. Lightless them
selves. they groped with deep-sea lead
and sounding machines till they as
sured themselves of safe positions
where they might have sea room to
swing around in great closed circles at
high speed.
These circles would cut deeply into
the circles of the fire zones of the de-
fenses. At close range the vessels, in
visible to the forts. could send furious
volley into them, and rush past before
the guns could find them, to return on
their circle and fire from some other
point. 1t was the penalty that dark
ness lays on land defenses. But II
penalized the ships also.'
They would have to fire without
sighting their mark. They dared not
betray themselves to the waiting guns
on land by throwing their searchlights
on the defenses. while the defenses
could sweep the sea fncessantly, for
their searchlights were disposed along
miles of coast, far aloof from the bat
tories.
II the searchlights were effective. the
ships should have to fee to the farthest
limit OF the coast guns range At that
distance they. in turn. could not de-
liver an effective bombardment of the
land 30 long as 1t was dark. So. then.
all the ferocious game of war centered
death-laden ships. the death-laden
guns on land, had to wait till it was
learned what the lights would do.'
The enemy knew that the American
defenses had only about one-half the
searchlight installation that was need
ed. The hostile sailors had not been
forced to depend on spies for this in
formation. 1t was in American reports
that had been made to Congress session
after session.
They had prepared for their game of
blind mans buff by long consultations
over charts. Every ships officer was
provided with minute instructions for
every contingency that human wit
could forecast in the headlong game
of chess that Is played with cannon.
The defenders were ready, too. In the
human chain that began with the bat
tie commander, and reached from him
through links of district commanders
to fire commanders and battery COM
manders. each man had his orders for
any one of a hundred things that might
occur. however quickly it might come.
They knew what batteries to fre and
when. at the extreme fire zone. at the
intermediate zone and at the third fre
zone, which commanded the mine fields.
They had before them, worked out TO
the ultimate detail. the order of hre il
the enemy ships should come in column,
in double column or in scattered for
nation. Far down the beaches, north
and south. they had every range plot
ted. that the great guns might be turn
ed on landing parties if the secondary
shore defenses should fail to hold
thems
The ships struck simultaneously all
along the line of defenses They fred
close in north and south, and from
battleships out at sea. A plunging fire
went over Nahant and across into Win
throp. The speeding ships missed the
defenses and their bursting shells
wrecked the town instead AS its
flames redeemed the sky, the flames Of
Hull, at Point Allerton on the end Of
the southern peninsula. made a red
reply.
The quick searchlights caught the
ships Again and again the white light
shafts fell on veering. speeding vessels
and made them hurry to get away be-
fore the fre-control of the defenses
could cover them.
Still they returned. Each time they
and conatruction are Of the very highest type bas
heeu acknowledged many times BY the technical
experts Of the world More than once the q: :thor
has heard foreign officers express the belief that
they we're practically impregnsbIe TO naval Ore.
provided they fully Supplied and equipped
fense-
2 generous sys,em Of reIiefs Is imperative
In harbor defsus-s during Peace time
naneuveFs have developed the fact that tho
mere strain Of incessant watchfu4ress while
waiting for ao enemy who may appear At
expected points suddenly is 20 great that unless
the men have frequent relief they cannot exert
that concentrated energy which is needed IN
stsntly IN RE crisis
3 This system OF nigh. attack has been de-
as is now laid down for battle practice in the
ta"rics Of nsvies The SQUADRON
will enter -. and will msneuver at range Of
ab"ut 300 yards from Fort -, hring heat
ny. To induce the defense eIpeod as much
ammunition possible Extract from actual
orders in authors possession. given TO q squadron
of bsttleships and cruisers for night attack.
IL will be noted that this distance Il less than