The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-08-08
THE VICTORY AT SEA
By ADMIRAL WILLIAM SOWDEN Sims

chiefs, as is shown by the quotation
from General Ludendorff's book, was
an extremely unhappy one. They had
blatantly promised the German people
that their submarines would prevent
the transportation OF American troops
to Europe. At first they had ridi-
culed the idea that undisciplined, un-
military America could ever organize
an army; after we adopted conscrip-
ton and began to train our young men
by the millions, they just as vehem-
emily proclaimed that this army could
never be landed in Europe.
In this opinion the German military
chieftains were not alone. No such
army movement had ever before been
attempted. The discouraging forecast
made by a brilliant British naval au-
thority in July, 1917, reflected the
ideas of too many military people on
both sides of the ocean. I am dis
tressed," he said "at the fact that ii
appears to me to be impossible to pro-
vide enough shipping to bring the
American Army over in hundreds of
thousands to France, and, after they
are brought over to supply the enor-
nous amount of shipping which will
munitions, food and equipment"
1t is thus not surprising that the
German people accepted as gospel the
promises of their Admiralty; therefore
their anger was unbounded when
America troops began to arrive. The
German newspapers began to ask the
most embarrassing questions. What
had become of their submarine? Had
eo6
that their U-boats would sink any
American troop ships that attempted
to cross the ocean? AS the shipments
increased, and as the effect of these
vigorous fresh young troops began to
be manifest upon the Western Front,
the outcries in Germany waxed even
more fierce and abusive. Won Capelle
and other German naval chiefs made
rambling speeches in the Reichstag,
once more promising their people that
the submarines would certainly win the
war-sr S,ches that were followed by
ever increasing arrivals of American
soldiers in France.
The success of our transports led di-
rectly to the fall of Won Capelle as
Minister of Marine; his successor Ad-
miral Won Mann, who was evidently
driven TO desperation ny LIE popoini
outburst, decided to make one frantic
attempt to attack our men. The new
minister, of course. knew that he could
accomplish no definite results; but the
sinking of even one transport with
several thousand troops on board |
would have had a tremendous effect |
upon the German morale. When the /
great British liner Justicia was tor
pedoed the German Admiralty official
ly announced that it was the Levia- /
than, filled with American soldiers;
and the jubilation which followed in |
the German press, and the subsequent
de lection when it was learned that
this was practically empty transport,
sailing westward, showed that an ac-
tual achievement of this kind would
raise their dropping spirits.
Admiral Won Mann, therefore, took
several submarines away from the
trade routes and sent them into the
transport zone But they did not sue
reed even in attacking a single east
bound troop ship. The only result ac-
was the one which, from
what I have already said, would have
,een expected; the removal of the sub
marine from the commercial waters
caused a great fall in the sinking of
merchant ships. In August, 1918, these
,inkings amounted to 100000 tons; in
September and October, when this flu
lie drive was made at American
transports, the sinkings fell to 100000
md 10000 tons.
(To be continued.)