WAR OF THE NATIONS 



0170 



WAR OF THE NATIONS 



sels and power of guns was fought in an arm 

 of the Baltic Sea on May 31, 1916. Historians 

 very generally have agreed in calling it the 

 Battle of Jutland. 



Into open sea the German Grand Fleet sailed 

 to invite battle, and was met by a strong con- 

 tingent of Britain's battle cruisers. Nearly all 

 clay the content continued, the vessels of the 

 two forces fighting at a distance of about eight 

 to ten miles. Towards evening the dread- 

 naughts of the British fleet, which had been 

 called over a hundred miles by wireless, arrived 

 and joined the battle line. The Germans with- 

 drew behind their mine fields. The latter were 

 first to give a version of the battle to the world, 

 and they announced a German victory. How- 

 ever, the British were yet masters of the sea, 

 and at the 'conclusion of the war the truth was 

 told. A captain of the German navy admitted 

 that the German claim was mere boasting; that 

 in the Jutland battle the fleet was saved from 

 destruction only by good leadership and favor- 

 able hazy weather. Had the atmosphere been 



dear and the leadership less able the destruc- 

 tion of the whole German navy would have been 

 inevitable. As it was, the losses were so great 

 that every naval man knew that Jutland must 

 be the sole naval engagement of the war. The 

 British admitted the loss of fourteen vessels, 

 aggregating 114,100 tons, and 5,613 men. The 

 Germans conceded the loss of eleven ships, of 

 63,015 tons, and 3,966 men. The British state- 

 ment has been verified; Germany's actual loss 

 is not yet known to the world. 



By terms of the armistice there were delivered 

 to the allied and associated powers in Decem- 

 ber over seventy German w r ar vessels of all 

 classes, from mighty battleships to submarines 

 and destroyers. These were interned at Scapa 

 Flow, on the north shore of Scotland, and Ger- 

 man sailors were left aboard as caretakers. De- 

 spite a vigilant watch, the Germans sunk half 

 of the flotilla in June, 1919, after terms of peace 

 had been definitely arranged. This was de- 

 clared an act of treachery, and it incensed the 

 entire allied world. 



The War in the Air 



An American invention revolutionized the 

 intelligence departments of the armies of the 

 world. Flying machines were used for the 

 first time in war in 1914; they were utilized 

 for scouting for observing the positions and 

 strength of the enemy and for the purpose of 

 taking photographs but not in that year for 

 fighting. In 1914 the best machines could fly 

 ninety miles an hour and could carry two per- 

 sons; early in 1916 the French government 

 would accept no machine unless in its trial 

 flight it could go 160 miles an hour, and carry 

 two men and 800 pounds additional weight. A 

 year later 175 miles per hour was possible, and 

 good machines could carry a ton of bombs and 

 machine guns. One giant machine carried 

 twenty passengers for an hour. 



In 1914 heights of 6,000 to 10,000 feet were 

 the average points of observation; in 1917 

 aerial battles, participated in by from three to 

 a dozen machines, were fought 20,000 feet 

 nearly four miles above the earth. Electri- 

 cally-heated clothing and special engine de- 

 vices make it possible to reach, and remain at, 

 such distances above the ground. Motors of 

 120-horse power satisfied aviators in 1914; in 

 1917 double motors of over 200-horse power 

 each were common. Before the end of the lat- 

 ter year it was declared that one man in the 

 air was worth a thousand men on the ground. 



Such is the brief record of improvement of 

 one of the main dependencies of the armies in 

 the war. 



When the war began there were fewer than 

 500 flying machines in England, France and 

 Germany. France had the greatest number, 

 estimated at 250; England the smallest num- 

 ber, believed to be about ninety. Almost at 

 once their paramount importance was recog- 

 nized, and every nation engaged hurriedly in 

 their manufacture. When it was discovered 

 they could be used for other purposes than for 

 observation, they first became the eyes of the 

 artillery. From aloft the air man began to 

 direct the gunners by wireless; ranges would be 

 found, shots would be directed, degree of error 

 wired to earth and adjustment made. During 

 the last week of the war American airships were 

 directed by wireless telephone. Soon airships 

 carried bombs for the destruction of military de- 

 pots, railroad trains, camps and ammunition fac- 

 tories. As aviators grew bolder they flew low 

 with incredible speed over enemy lines some- 

 times 200 feet above the ground and sent down 

 into their ranks destructive machine gunfire. 



Aerial battles became common through the 

 efforts of each side to force the enemy out of 

 the air. Before the end of 1917 mastery of the 

 air on the western front was possessed by the 

 allies. 



