Perth Amboy evening news., 1918-11-20
NAVAL CRITIC
FLAYS GERMANY
Boasted Strength Was All Lies
and Greatly 0ver-Estimated
Says German Officer
Bv Associated Press.

By Associated Press.
LONDON, Nov. 20-Captain Per-
sius, the German naval critic, has
chosen the moment when the finest
vessels of the German navy are about
to be surrendered TO the allies to pub
lish in the Berlin Tageblatt a sensa-
tional article containing revelations
regarding the German feet.
Captain Persius says the hope that
the German feet would be able In a
second Skagerrak to beat the British
feet rested upon the bluff and lies of
the naval authorities.
In August 1914, Germany had
about one million tonnage In warships
the writer points out, while Great Bri-
tain had more than double that, and
thanks to the mistakes OF Won Tirpitz
the German material was quite infe-
rior to the British. In the Skagerrak
battle, he declares. the German fleet
was saved from destruction partly by
good leadership and partly by favora-
BILE weather conditions. Had the
weather been clear or admiral Won
Scheer's leadership less able. the de-
struction of the whole German navy
would have resulted. The long range
British guns would have completely
smashed the lighter armed German
ships As 1t was. the losses OF the
German fleet were enormous and on
June /, Captain Pers'us says II was
clear to every thinking man that the
Skagerrak battle must be the only
general naval engagement OF the war.
On all sides. continues the writer.
Admiral Won Tirpitz was advised to
construct only submarines, but he re-
mained obstinate. On October /, 10 15
several members of the Reichstag
made an earnest appeal to the army
command-not the naval staff-with
the result that an order was Issued
A ~ 4 "a l..
ships in order that the material might
be used for the making OF U-boats.
In the meantime so great n scarcity
OF material had arisen that II became
neceesary to disarm a number of the
battleships and take the metal. In
this manner, at the beginning of 1915
twenty three battleships had been dis.
armed as well as one newly built
cruiser.
At the beginning OF this year. Cap
tain Persius says. the German navy
consisted only of dreadnoughts and
battleships of the Heligoland. Kaiser
and Markgraf type, and some few
battle cruisers All the ships which
Won Tirpitz had constructed from 1897
to 1916 at a cost of innumerable mil
lions, had been destroyed. and the
U-boats that had been constructed had
proved unable TO fight against British
warships.
Admiral Won Cappelle during his
period as head of the navy. says Cap
tain Persius, constructed very few
submarines. work being continued
only on the construction of subma- =
rines of the large type, but In official
quarters it was still stated that Ger
many possessed an enormous number
of U-boats and that the losses were
virtually nil.
That was not true the writer ad-
mits In 1917, he states, eighty-three
submarines were constructed while
sixty-six were destroyed. April, 1917,
Germany had 1875 submarines and in
October 146. In February. 1918, she
had 1876 and in June of the same year
113, according to Captain Persius's
figures.
Only a small percentage of these
submarines were actively operating
at any given time, Captain Persius de-
clared. In January. 1917 for instance.
when conditions were favorable for
submarine work, only twelve per cent.
were active while thirty per cent.
were In harbor. thirty-eight per cent.
under repairs, and twenty per cent
"incapacitated" Submarine crews he
said were not sufficiently educated
and trained and they looked with dis
gust upon the weapon.
In the last month. he reveals, II
was very difficult to get men for sub
marine work. as experienced seamen
looked upon the submarine warfare as
political stupidity.