The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1922-07-25

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! armies that flowed like waves int
Belgium but neither the world no
more than one in ten thousand French
men has yet heard the exactly con
temporaneous story Of how the ligh
! squadrons of the French navy steame'
forth to offer their lives as a checl
to the progress of the German higl
sea fleet down the North sea. Thi
stirring incident was filled with NOR
dramatic possibilities than anything
that then had happened at sea since
Trafalgar, says Paris correspondent
Of the New York Tribune.
1t required the Washington confer
ence and the framing of the nava
treaty to drag this brave story out o.
the archives Of the French ministry Of
marine in Paris.
Frenchmen in general know very lit
| tie about their navy. Thanks to az
communicative ministry Of marine
the world in general knows practically
nothing Of the French efforts at sea-
Incidents which, if published freshly
would have gained for the sea forces
VI IduCC ~ dlSC do hi6h dc ChnS -
the heroes of Verdun.
Georges Leagues, president of the
foreign affairs commission of the
chamber of deputies, former premier
and minister of the French marine
during the war, stirred by adverse
publicity which the French navy re-
ceived in America, has now unmasked
the ministry archives. Frenchmen will
soon pick up a booklet from their
newsstands which M. Leagues entities:
Lies Marines de France" 1t is hither-
to unpublished history. It gives the
story of how the French sailors I'M
hesitatingly took station to throw
themselves across the path of the
kaisel.'s overwhelming superior navy.
Fight to the Death Order.
On Monday, August %, 1914 at mid
night, Rear Admiral Rouyer-whose
name might rank today with that of
Jellicoe, Beatty, possibly Sturdee or
even Nelson-received wireless orders
from the squat, gray ministry Of
marine building, on the Place de la
Concorde to steam at full speed for
the Pas de Calais-the narrowest
crossing of the English channel, be-
tween Calais and Dover-and, stand
ing there, fight it out to the death with
the German high seas fleet.
Rouyer had under his command the
three armored cruisers, Marseillaise,
Gloire and Admiral Aube, constituting
his peace-time fleet, and the Jeanne
d Arc, the Dupetit-Thouars and Guey-
don, the latter three of the Navy
school division, which had joined him
from Brest The fleets of torpedo
boats and submarines of the Channel
and Pas de Calais also had been or
dered at Admiral Rouyer's disposal.
These formed the comparatively
small French force ordered to throw
itself at the naval squadrons of the
Kaiser. England's great seadogs Of
lreadnaughts, swift battle cruisers
and schools of fast small craft were
lot yet in the war They were still
swinging at their anchors in a state |
If neutrality in a struggle which hour |
~ hour threatened to cut off Britain |
rom the continental mainland The |
OBJ at the moment belonged to France
ilone. The main electives of the
rrench fleet were concentrated in the |
Mediterranean.
Rouyer, with all his ships cleared for
elton, left the port of Cherbourg at
80 a. M, steaming in battle formation
t top speed for the narrow strip of
yater that separated the eastern lobe
f England from the continental main
trip the French call the Pas de Calais
Calais pass. Rouyer's fleet was to
ar ''the pass" against the great fleet
f the Germans, who already might be
leaning toward it from the north
18th their dreadnaughts, armored
ruisers, battle cruisers, light cruisers,
estroyers, submarines and all, and
orse still, numbering behind them,
assive transports filled with the same
green material that was at the
irresistibly crushing its way
trough Belgium by land.
Counted on Submarines.
To describe what were the emotions
BOARD the pitifully outnumbered
tile fleet of the French as it rushed
,rth from Cherbourg, Georges Ley
les, the former minister Of marine,
cords:
sNone knew what events were to
ing but all were ready to take their
title posts when the signal sounded.
i knew that the French cruisers were {
It of the size to attack the battle
users and line ships of the German
gh seas fleet; that the enemy had
crushing superiority in numbers and
weight, but everybody accepted the
ance to enter into this unequal com |
t. 1t is said that moral force can,
certain cases, compensate for lack
material force. The French fleet !
united on the submarines of the Pas
Calais division knowing how to y
oft at the moment of the melee to
ike at the adversary ships and scat Q
: them"
The battle Of the Pas de Calais, as
doubtless would have been known in
story, was not visualized by the
ench so much for the protection of !
gland as to prevent the German