The Washington herald., 1915-03-28
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there Germany has the allied foe on
her rear. The Belgian base presuma bly,
is supremacy useful to the Kaiser in
his submarine operations.
In the grim but inElorious game OF
starve-out, to which the two nations,
seem to be settling down. tho com
determining factor. If England should
be cut Off from the water her sur
render would be only a matter of
hours. for sine gets four-ffths OF hsr
food by sea and is dependent on it
even for her butter and eggs.
But can she be isolated while hsr
superior feet remains intact! Can Ger
many destroy Ensland's control OF tho
water without first DESTROYING or seri-
ously impairinG the English navy?
Can the sea be mastered from beneath
Submarine warfare is in the expert
mental stage. and II is an historical
fact that privateertnE never deter
mined or affected the result OF a ma
val war. BY privateeriuE. a beIligerent
often has succeeded i'll disturbing tho
enemy's control of the sea. but &c
never has succeeded in establishing It's
own. For example. French privateers
in the wars of the revolution and the
empire captured no less than 10. 900 or
1 1000 English ships. but without nd
vancing the power of France on the
water.
At times as many as 800 merchant
ships were gathered together within
the, protecting guns of British frisates
zone. The British fleet has done well
in protecting itself from submarine
attacks. Its cruisers and destroyers
ought to be equally efficient in con-
| voying merchant ships. if 4 convoy
should become necessity.
As for Englands effort to shut in
from the sea a continental nation must
| be more slowly felt than In the case
of an island. Napoleon withstood it
twelve years: but he had the free
va Of vi ~ No hal %
| rope
cast of the fortunes of a great. re-
| sourcefuI land like Germany in its
| struggle with her maritime foe. It
, ought to he unnecessary to say. how
ever. that unless she conuuers the sea,
| the sea ultimately will conquer her.
| Mysterious Power.
The control of the sea exercises
! still somewhat mysterious power.
century ago. no one. not the English
themselves. understood how complete
| ly every victory Of France on the land
was offset. every move she made on
the chessboard of Europe was check
| mated on the water
Even so great a strateEist as Napo-
| leon perhaps did not always visualize
how closely English ships logged his
steps as he marched from one seeming
victory to another. Yet they drove him
and to his destiny; they marooned him
on n desert amidst his useless con-
quests in Egypt: they turned him back
| from the walls of Acre: they blocfe ed
his way to Italy and compelled him
| to leap the Alps. and they were drawn
across his path when. with his 200 600
he prepared on the heights Of Rou-
loSne to plant his eagles on the Tower
| of London.
As he marched away to the con-
| quest Of Europe at Austcrlitz. Nelson
| obliteratsd the French navy a. Ira
| falgar. Again he was n,arooned Just az
cnectually as in Egypt. although NAT
| urally in Europe he would not 50
quickly feel his Isolation.
| Thenceforth he struggled in tho in
| visible hut ever tightening toll ot
| the sea power OF England. He march
/ ed and battled and conquered unit,
| the one whose watery line of COM
munication and retreat he could not
| cut Vet never red coat did he SEQ
until one rainy June afternoon in 1915.
! whom he came TO the road leading to
| Waterloo.
| ~ asst when all Europe was upon
i hirr- ND he turned for flight. the I'M
corrucred sea opened its arms to taKc
hin, pnrive At the harbor mouth lay
! a British ship that had been in the
! brit of the Nile and in the battle
\ Of Trafalgar and. climbing aboard the
\ Reuerophon. he tardily completed Nell
sorTs victory Il ten years before.
| wherever there Is water to float q
| ship" he sighed to his English cap
| tor. I'VE are sure 70 find you in our
! way" The Great Captain had failed
as 1000 years before him Hannibal had
| failed to conquer on the land power
that held the sea
r. Copyright. 1876. by James Mcr-anl