The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1916-08-15
reviews
YEAR Of SEA WAR
German Expert Says Battle of
JutIsnd Proved feutonlc
/, Prowess On Water
tBy The Associated Presuo

your VI the war would end without
a seafght OF the first magnitude, but
May 81 brought a gratifying proof
that our great battleships were not
built in vain and that our feet, de-
spite seeming inactivity, was quietly
and assiduodsly preparing itself for a
blow against the strongest sea power
in the world. We still hear the ques.
ton asked as to who was the real
victor in the fight off Skagerrak. A
comparison of the clear concise re-,
ports of the German admiralty staff
with Admiral Jellicoe 8 long -winded re-
ports which contain only a few facts.
leaves no doubt that the German
official account gives a thoroughly
truthful description of the battle. The
English version with its barenness of
facts, labors in vain to conceal its i'm
probability.
" Whatever the final Judgment is of
the battle in detail the loss of British
prestige ut sea and the pronounced
success of our feet remain indisputable
If only the British losses in men and
ships arc counted. The waves of the
North sea swallowed 6,l04 British sen.
men and ll7,ll0 gross registered tons
of shipping while che German losses
were 2,414 men and 6O,72O tons. These
figures were officially published on
both the German and British sides.
Proud Of Great Showing
Numberless authorities, both hostile
and neutral have expressed opinions on
the battle but the German people will
not permit themselves to be influenced
by any foreign judgement. They un-
derstand alone how proud they may be
of a navy whose quality and honor
have stood the test of battle with the
strongest sea powers. They know that
Chancellor Won Bethman- Hollweg,
rightly expressed the general sentiment
in his speech in the Reichstag on , une
5, when he said This victory too,
shall not make us vainglorious We
know that England is not subdued or
conquered by this battle
Beside the battle of the Skagerrak
the other events of the second year of
the war, navally speaking, pale into
lnsignificance. In the first year the
activity of German submarines aroused
general establishment. In the second
year their activity was sharply cir
cumscribed, but nevertheless, the sue
cesses in war upon commerce were con.
siderable in comparison with those of
the first year.
"On the other hand, the destruction
of warships by submarines occurred
but seldom. The U27 destroyed an
English protected cruiser in the North
Sea on August 10, 1918. Another of
our boats sank the French armored
cruiser Admiral Charnier in the east
n1i fnr N,Ir
1916. A number of minor war vessels
also were sunk
English submarines did some dam
age to German commerce in the Baltic
and succeeded in tOrpedOing several of
our warships like the armOred cruiser
Prince Adelbert, October 90; Undine,
November 7, and Bremen, December H.
Marine Aircraft Efficient
Especial mention is merited by the
bold flights of our marine aircraft and
their important scout work in the
North sea and Baltic. Attacks were
made against fortified places on Eng
land 5 coast and the English were able
to destroy only two airships, No. IS
on April l and No. 7 on May 4.
Within a few hours our airships are
able to reconnoitre the entire North
sea and they did valuable service IN
the battle off Skagerrak Marine
aerOplanes also did excellent work and
especially distinguished themselves On
the Baltic where they were of the ut
most value in various ways. On srv-
eral occasions they were able even to
take the offensive with success, dumag.
ing warships with bombs and capturing
merchantmen.
In the Black sea and the Medi
terranean German submarines working
with those of Austria Hungary oper.
ated successfully in War against com
merce and destroyed numerous trans
ports laden with troops and war mate.
rial. In the Black sea the Yawuse Sui
tan Selim, formerly the German cruiser
Goebeu and the Midlu, formerly the
German cruiser Breslau bombardod
Russian fortified towns on the Crmean
coast at various times and damaged
Russian commerce.
Deeds Of Auxiliary Cruisers
1.-The glorious deeds Of several Ger
man auxiliary cruisers remain to be
mentioned. The Moewc, under the
command of Count Won Donna, made II
successful raid into the Atlantic in
January and February. The Appam
one of the steamers captured by it,
carrying the passengers and crew of
other captured merchantmen to tn"
United States under the command If
Lieutenant Berg. The Moewe herself
made her home port safely on March
1, laden with booty
1.-THE auxiliary cruisers Meteor AMI
Greif destroyed on August and Feb
ruary 2 respectively the much stronger
armed British auxiHaries Ramsay and
Alcantara.
"On the threshold of the third year
of the war it remains to be pointed
out that the German navy has hitherto
fulfilled its chief task of keeping the
enemy from German coasts and be.
yond this, has scored series of sue,
cesses that have exceeded our most
sanguine expectations. The German
people do not ignore the fact that the