THE ECKERNFORDE BATTERIES. 83 



by submarine mines, as he had the intention of entering 



f o 



Jutland with his whole army. When I replied that 

 the Eckernforde harbour was too open and its channel 

 too broad for resting its defence on mines, and that 

 a few well-placed batteries could do this with greater 

 certainty, a long discussion arose in the company with 

 regard to the supposed superiority of marine artillery 

 to land-batteries, in which I took leave to observe, 

 that a battery of eight 24 pounders well -placed and 

 protected by an earth-wall, using red-hot balls, might 

 engage the largest man-of-war. I added, the assertion 

 that a land -battery might be razed by a few broad- 

 sides from a man-of-war had not been proved, and 

 no wooden ship could long withstand a fire with 

 red-hot balls. 



The final result of this audience was that the 

 defence of the harbours of Kiel and Eckernforde was 

 formally entrusted to me. I was nominated commander 

 of Friedrichsort and received an open order to the 

 commander of the fortress of Rendsburg, in which the 

 latter was directed to comply with my requisitions of 

 guns, ammunition, and men for Friedrichsort and the 

 batteries to be set up at the harbour of Eckernforde. 

 This order was duly complied with in Rendsburg - 

 it is true with some reluctance, as the fortress itself 

 was very inadequately equipped for defence. Friedrichs- 

 ort was now provided with serviceable cannon, and put 

 as far as possible into a state of defence. In Eckern- 

 forde I erected a large battery for heavy 12 and short 



24 pounders on the level shore, somewhat eastward 



6* 



