352 
GOLD MEDAL PEIZE ESSAY; 1893 . 
“Memoirs 
of General 
Marbot.” 
hours* start; however; enabled the Confederates to destroy two valuable 
ships of the Federal fleet. 
Speed caused the surprise and destruction of the “ Blanco Encalada.** 
Speed takes the defenders unawares —acts before the cumbrous para¬ 
phernalia of mines; booms, el hoc genus omne , can be got ready and in 
working order. Speed produces the highest moral effect —his dat qui 
cito dat applies to blows as well as to gifts—in short; speed and prompt¬ 
ness are more than ever before the keynotes of a successful attack. 
(3.) Directness of Object .—For an attack to be successful; it must 
have a definite object; laid down beforehand; to be carried out; and all 
side issues must he avoided. This applies to subsidiary attacks, as well 
as to the chief ones. Every boat concerned must, as far as possible, 
have its particular mission. Any fighting should be left if possible to 
the covering boats, and the real attach should never fire a shot or even 
look aggressive, but steam rapidly and silently to its intended object. 
It is related by General Marbot that, on one occasiou, during the 
Russian wars, while serving as A.-D.-C. to a Marshal of France, it fell 
to his lot to have to convey an order to a French regiment, cut off from 
the remainder of the Army, and entirely surrounded by thousands of 
Cossacks. Two Orderly Officers had previously attempted to reach the 
regiment, but both had been slain. Marbot, however, had observed 
that both of these started with drawn swords, and thus invited attack. 
He, consequently, never attempted to draw his sword, but trusted 
entirely to his horse, and although recognised, and (( ho'orooshed ** by 
the Cossacks, yet’none really attacked him, and he actually passed un¬ 
scathed through their midst, reached his goal, and delivered his 
message. 
(4.) Subsidiary Attacks .—The attention of the defenders must be 
distracted and drawn from the real attack—by false attacks, possibly in 
several directions at once, and by real attacks subsidiary to the main one 
directed against local objects—these will include landing parties for the 
destruction of P.F. cells , Brennan torpedo stations, and the shore ends of 
mine-field cables , with the elaborate, complicated, and easily injured 
appurtenances belonging thereto. Feints, and real attempts, at creep¬ 
ing for cables, and countermining, will also be undertaken, generally 
in connection with other operations, but, above all, noise and smoke 
must be largely relied upon to cover operations of all kinds and distract 
the attention of the defenders. In the midst of all the above, and 
probably also in darkness and thick or rainy weather, the boats of the, 
real attack, manned by picked and determined men, must steam rapidly 
and silently to their real objective. 
(5.) Every endeavour must be made to get mixed up with the defenders. 
If this can be managed, both the gun and mine defence are paralysed and 
rendered impotent for the time, and an entrance to a defended harbour 
may be thus gained. To escape afterwards will be comparatively easy, 
as there is sure to be some uncertainty in the minds of the defenders 
as to whether boats leaving a harbour or channel may not be friends. 
Another point in which the defence may be made to positively assist 
the attack is by drawing as much fire from the shore guns as possible, 
and using their smoke as a cover. 
