New-York tribune., 1918-05-13
Success of Exploit May
Lead to Definite Often
sive Against U-Boats.
u. S. Officers Urged
Bottling-Up Process
Plan Was Suggested to Bal
four; Allies Are Now
Watching Results
By C. w. Gilbert

WASHINGTON, May 12.-The re-
neweJ and probably successful attempt
of the British navy to block Ostend
shows that at last the policy of bottling
up the submarines in their bases is
being tried. Apparently the raid
against Zeebrugge succeeded, and that
port has been closed to the entrance
and exit of Uboats for time.
The stoppage of both this harbor and
that at Ostend means these two near
est and in many ways most important
Of submarine bases will be of little use
to Germany in the future, unless she
chooses to defend them against future
raids with a naval force, which will
invite a naval engagement, the last
thing Germany wants.
Ostend is blocked after warning,
| which proves that the exploit can be
repeated as often as Germany reopens
the channel unless she improves the
defences of her U-boat bases. Appar-
entity British vessels can pass safely
over mine fields and under the guns Of
shore batteries, even when the ele-
ment of surprise is lessened, as it was
! in the repeated raid at Ostend.
Shows Possibilities of
Naval Aggressiveness
The lesson of the raids favors greater
naval aggressiveness. The Allies are
nibbling at the naval deadlock. A lit
tie raid, and these have been minor
efforts not boldly conceived, leads to
a bigger raid. A little offensive. if
successful, toa bigger offensive.
Out of what has been done at Os-
tend and Zeebrugge may develop a
| general aggressive policy against the
submarine. For it is to be borne in
mind that the whole problem of the
U-boat is only the problem of Ostend
and zeebrugge on larger scale.
The German submarines always
come out Of bottle, the neck of which
can be closed. Ostend and Zeebrugge
are little bottles, which can be corked
with shipload of cement. The Baltic
is a big bottle, with wide neck, the
closing of which to the passage of
submarines has been challenging the
energy and resourcefulness of Ger
many's foes ever since the "frightful"
submarine campaign began.
Policy Long Urged By
American Officers
More than year ago American
naval officers urged upon the British
the policy of shutting the submarines
up in their ports. 1t was suggested to
Mr., Balfour, when he was here at the
head of the British mission, and he
went back to England impressed with
it's possibilities. Now it will be feast
Bile to test it's value. If, as result of
shutting up Ostend and Zeebrugge, a
reduction in the submarines effective
ness is shown, the necessity of solving
,,lc bigger problem Of closing the en-
trance Of the Baltic will be enforced.
The reasons why the bottling up of
the submarine-which is just applying
the established naval policy of block
ade to undersea warfare as it is applied
to sea surface warfare--has not been
tried until recently are twofold: First,
there is magnitude of the enterprise;
second, there has been right along an
improvement in the offensive weapons
against submarines, from which great
results were expected, and much has
been achieved in the destruction of u
boats as they cruised through British