The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-09-08
SIMS TELLS HOW WE SAVED
BRITAIN

Admiral Sims, in his intensely in
teresting article in this months
Worlds Work. says that there was
only one man connected with the
British government with whom he
talked when he reached London just
after the declaration of war who was
optimistic. That was Lloyd George
The others told him privately that
Germany was winning the war by
reason Of the enormous losses which
she was infiicting on British and neu-
| trail commerce with her submarines.
In April the sinkings of all craft rose
! to one million tons. Jellicoe and 9TH
ers in the admiralty feared that II
che sinkings were not reduced Great
Britain would be forced to make
peace in about four months. The
public never knew how desperate
was the situation. and how the en-
trance OF America and the use Of the
American destroyers saved the situa-
ton.
ut is obviously absurd TO say" ac-
cording to the admiral, that a bel
ligerent which was losing 100000 or
5000 tons of shipping a month, as
were the allies In the spring of 1917.
was the undisputed mistress of the
seas. Had the German submarine
campaign continued to succeed at
this rate the United States could not
have transported its army to France
and the food and materials which we
were sending to Europe. and which
were essential to winning the war,
could never have gone across. That
is to say. complete control OF the
sub-surface by Germany would have
turned against England the blockade.
the very power with which she had
planned to reduce the German en-
pire."
Won Tirpitz and his party were
playing for high stakes when they
changed their policy in February and
they came deuced near success. The
British press and our own newspa-
pers minimized the seriousness OF
the situation. It may be remembered
that The News was one Of the few
who saw 1t.
Ludendorff. It has since TRANSFERRED.
was hopeless OF success on land In
1917, and the submarine was looked
on as a last resort. The breakdown
of Russia changed his point of view.
hence the German drive of March,
1918.
Admiral Sims explains how futile
would have been an effort TO cap
ture the German bases or to build
mine barrage across tho channel or
North sea- He gives some interest
ing information as to the number Of
submarines. There were only fifteen
or twenty at a time. They remained
out from thirty to sixty days. 1t
wasn't exhaustion of the supply OF
petrol which sent them back. They
could take all they needed of fuel.
1t was the exhaustion of their tor
pedo supply which. controlled their
Admiral Sims gives an
interesting sidelight in his expressed
opinion that Germany did not for the
first six months attack our vessels
because they did not wish to stir us
too muc's. There was. he says, "a de-
sire tc play gently with the United
States eni in that way, delay our
military preparations and win the
war without cmoing into bloody con-
flict with the American people"
He pays this tribute to Great
Britain:
1.-THE fact is that no nation was
ever placed in so tragical position
as Great Britain in the spring and
early summer of 1917. And l think
that history records few spectaoles
more heroic than that OF the great
British navy, fighting the hideous ana
form of warfare in half
dozen places with pitfully inadequate
forces, but with an undaunted spirit
that remained firm even against the
fearful odds which l have described
What an opportunity for America
and it was perfectly apparent what
we should do"