WHAT THE OCEAN MEANS TO GREAT BRITAIN 319 



war, the Russo-Japanese struggle, each of which has 

 afforded many lessons as to the actual effect of gun- 

 fire, the torpedo explosions upon ships in action, but 

 in each case the fighting has been essentially one- 

 sided, and always for the same reason. The Chinese, 

 the Spaniards, and the Russians stood no earthly 

 chance from the beginning against their opponents 

 because of the corruption either among their officers 

 or the Government officials who fitted them out. It 

 would be ridiculous to doubt that, had the ammunition 

 and equipment of the Russian ships and the discipline 

 of the crews and ability of the officers been equal to 

 that of the Japanese, a very different ending to the 

 battle of Tsu-Tshima would have resulted. It seems 

 quite a platitude to say that the best gun is useless 

 without ammunition, the best machinery of no avail 

 if neglected and rusty, and that neither perfection of 

 armament or abundance of proper ammunition will 

 prevent defeat if in the hands of incompetent or 

 undisciplined men, however brave. For the day of 

 hand-to-hand fighting at sea, of mere brute force and 

 contempt of death as a means of victory is gone, 

 never to return. It still obtains on land, to a certain 

 extent, and probably will continue to do so, but it 

 has nothing now to do with naval warfare. 



Therefore, it seems necessary to point out that 

 where modern fleets are equally matched in all the 

 respects just alluded to, the merest accident may 

 decide the fate of the battle a shell not particularly 

 well aimed, perhaps, but partly directed by the scend 

 of a sea, may strike a great battleship in such a place 

 as to disarrange her internal complexities in such a 

 manner as to put her virtually at the mercy of an 



