The Washington herald., 1915-10-10
DEFEATS
u. 5. Home FLEET
Theoretical Invader Makes
Night Torpedo Attack and
Lands Forces.
NAVAL WAR GAME ENDS
Admiral Fletcher's Battleship Squad
ron Destroyed by Red Fleet
Under Admiral Knight.
A night torpedo attack by the enemy

A night torpedo attack by the enemy
resulted in the destruction of the
home" fleet. and the invader landed
on the shore of Delaware Bay at s
o'clock last night. according to an
nouncement made at the Navy Depart
ment yesterday at the conclusion of the
naval war game that had been in prog
ress off the Atlantic Coast since last
Monday.
Details of the operation of the enemy
and defending fleets have not yet been
received at the Navy Department. but
it Is known that Admiral Frank F.
Fletcher. commander-in -in-chief of the
Atlantic fleet. suffered complete de-
feat at the hands of the Red or
enemy fleet The seas are announced
to have been cleared" and the enemy
is in position to land his forces except
for such opposition as the United
States army may be able to offer.
The rules of the naval war games
are such that all one of the opposing
forces has to do is to establish con-
dition which would. under ordinary
circumstances, make 1t certain that the
other force would meet with destruc-
ton. 1t is assumed. therefore. that
what happened to Admiral Fletcher's
battleship squadron was that it was
surrounded by enemy destroyers that
succeeded in getting close enough to
make torpedo craftsmanship certain
before being discovered by the battle
ships.
Significance Doubtful.
Naval officers explained last night it
was impossible to determine the full
significance of the maneuver until all
details have been received. The whole
value of the demonstration will be
known only to those in the secret of
lNn
strength ascribed to the attacking
force. 1t is understood the enemy was
given fleet and equipment about
equal to that of the German navy
that is. superior to the American force
Admiral Fletcher had but fifteen
battleships under his command. HIS
force included also 16 destroyers. II
submarines. a mining division and
number of auXiliaries. The game was
more real test of the United States
navy than usual. as Admiral Fletcher
was forced to go forth to meet the
enemy without having opportunity to
get into his fleet the battleships that
are in navy yards for repairs, and
other vessels in reserve, The enemy,
however, was assumed to be advancing
with his full strength, conveying a
fleet of transports carrying an eXpe-
dictionary force. When the game start
notified that the enemy was then 1,2O0
miles to the eastward. and moving
on to the United States coast.
Admiral knight Commands.
Rear Admiral Austin NJ. knight
commended the enemy fleet, which
consisted actually of the cruiser Brook
lyn. his lagship; three destroyers. ana
five auxiliaries. Constructively. it was
an entire fleet of strength superior
to that of the United States. AT the
be ginning of the maneuver the Blue
or defending fleet was at Hampton
Roads.
The Blue fleet was supposed to ad-
vance and throw out scouts to locate
the enemy. The battleship squadron
was so disposed as to be ready to at
tack the enemy and his transports as
soon as they We're located. In this
task. however. the Blue fleet totally
failed. and was itself Outmaneuvered.
The Red scouts located Admiral
Fletcher and his main force. The dis
covery of the whereabouts of the Blue
fleet was followed by the Red de-
stroyers making a night surprise at
tack on the American battleship
squadron.