Evening star., 1939-10-30
North Sea battle-ground and the Mediterranean
Naval Bases
and B|ockades

UpOll lltl COllIllluCu SOllClOl
of the high seas. Her STRAIT
egy unquestionably is based
upon maintaining the Of
fensive position she has
taken at sea with the CO.
operation Of France.
This means as nearly
ironclad a blockade of Ger
many as can be maintained.
With Russia sending sup
plies to Germany, the Brit
ish role becomes increas-
ingly difficult. She must
blockade not only the North
Sea and possible Mediter-
ranean approaches to Ger
many, she must prevent the
shipment of such war es-
sentials as rubber and
many metals, especially
those required for alloys, to
ports of countries friendly
to the Reich, from which
they may be transshipped
into Germany.
Great Britain must at
the same time deny the
seas to German naval ves-
sells acting in the role of
commerce raiders, since
British success, even more
than German, depends
upon freedom of supply.
These maps indicate es-
sential features of the naval
campaign. Locations of
naval bases of the various
powers and normal loca-
tions of the major fleet
units are shown by initiated
symbols and battleships.
Principal mine fields and
blockade lines also are in
dicated in the upper map.
AS indicated, the German
and British mine fields off
the German and Danish
coasts overlap, the British
mining the area to keep
German ships in, the Ger
mans to keep British YES
sells out.
Throughout the early
part of the World War. un-
til the German fleet was so
savagely mauled by the
British at the battle of Jut-
land, May 81, 1916, the
British fleet was main
tanned constantly on the
alert against thrusts in
force by the German high
seas fleet. There is almost
no likelihood of such a
German attack during the
present war because of the
overwhelming superiority
of the Franco-British feet.
Germany's small, new navy
must content itself with
possible raids on small, iso-
lated allied units which can
be assaulted by the "hit and
run" method or in eluding
the blockade to engage in
commerce raiding on the
worlds sea lanes-a risky
procedure, which might in
the long run end in disaster
for the raiders, as it did
during the World War.
Upon the attitude, of
Italy must depend Franco
British naval strategy in
the Mediterranean, and
upon the role Of Turkey
any possibility of naval
activities in the Black Sea,
at Germany's "back door"
Turkish alignment with the
allied powers tends to insure
opening of the Dardanelles
to the navies of Britain and
France, without necessity of
a full-scale Joint naval-land
effort, the success of which,
as during the World War, at
best would prove doubtful.
With Italy in the war
on the German side, Great
Britain and France, despite
their great strength in
Mediterranean fleets and
bases, might find it eX-
ceedingly difficult and
costly to keep open the
route from England to the
East, familiarly known as
"the British life line" The
alternative would be the
routing of naval vessels and
merchantmen around the
Cape of Good Hope to India
and the British possessions
in the Far East and South
ern Pacific.> This would
prove an enormous handi-
cap to both the French and
British.
No effor. has been made
on these maps to show ma
val air bases. In general,
such bases are located in
cnni11nctiOn with the nrin-