173 
NATAL ATTACK OF FORTIFICATIONS. 
by 
CAPTAIN H. J. MAY, R.N. 
(Lecture delivered at the School of Gunnery, Shoeburyness ), 
PART II. 
Gentlemen, I spoke last week of what I considered were the general 
conditions of naval warfare, and of the operation which I thought most 
feasible and most likely in connection with forts—that is to say, run¬ 
ning past the forts, either by big ships or by boats. I will now come 
to another matter which has been much feared by some people abroad, 
and that is bombardment. 
It is apparently considered abroad that places which are open to 
bombardment by ships are in very much more danger now than they 
were in the old wars. I confess that I cannot quite see it in the same 
light. The first question is : What is it that is in danger from bom¬ 
bardment ? The only answer that I know of is, ships. The only things 
that it is worth while for ships to attack are other ships, and perhaps 
we may add to that, the stores essential to ships. Now, we have 
perhaps a dockyard (or an arsenal, as they generally call it abroad) 
which contains ships re-fitting, and their stores which are stowed on 
shore, and we oppose to that sea-going ships afloat, fit for sea in every 
respect. If you damage a ship which is in the dockyard on shore she 
is very easily repaired. Of course you cannot sink her, because she 
is practically on shore already; and you will not prevent her going to 
sea, because she is not fit for sea, or she would not be in the dockyard. 
Again, as to the stores : it is a fact that certain stores which are pretty 
easily injured are stowed now, in some instances, fairly close to waters 
which might be occupied by hostile ships; but it is not necessary that 
they should be so stowed. It is easy to move those stores if you think 
it advisable, or you might put the stores (as they do not now) in bomb¬ 
proof casemates. All this appears to me to be evidence of the fact 
that bombardment is not really very greatly feared, at least by the 
people who have charge of the stores, or they would take more care of 
them. On the other hand, abroad especially, they are putting up in 
all directions anti-bombardment batteries ; and in one particular case, 
at any rate—that is Cronstadt—I believe they are spending mints of 
money in obstructing the waters by miles and miles of piles and 
breakwaters and things of that kind, so that you cannot get anywhere 
near bombarding distance at all, unless you go up a channel about the 
size of the Suez Canal. 
4, VOL. XIX. 
