October 17, 1914 
LAND AND WATEE 
THE WAR BY WATER. 
By FRED T. JANE. 
NOTE. — THIS AETICLB HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO TH3 PKESS BOaBAU, WHICH DOES NOT OBJECT TO THH PUBLICA.TIOK AS CIN30RBD 
AND TAEBS NO BBSPONSIBILITT FOB TEC! COBBECTNBSS OF THB STATBUBNTS. 
msM 
THE NORTH SEA. 
THE principal event of last week was the sinking, 
oS Schiermounikvog, of the German destroyer 
S 126 by the British submarine E 9, the same 
boat which sank the Hela. 
The Germans now appear to have raised some 
query about the incident having happened inside Dutch 
territorial waters. This is absurd, as no submarine could 
act inside territorial waters owing to the depth being too little. 
So far as can be gathered <S 126 — which was a boat of 487 tons 
and 28 knot speed, laid down ten years ago — was patrolling 
across the mouth of the Ems. She was torpedoed forward and 
sank in three minutes. 
The significance of the incident is two-fold. In the first 
place — as the map indicates^.S 126 was torpedoed virtually 
inside " the front door " and the moral eSect of this following 
on the loss of the Hda cannot but be considerable. At the 
present time the importance of any successful submarine attack 
lies rather with the locality in which it takes place than with the 
actual value of the bag. For example, suppose a German battle 
cruiser to be submarined while attempting to enter Harwich 
harbour, the loss would be heavy but it 
would not come under the head of " un- 
expected." Therefore, it would have no 
particular moral effect on the enemy. On 
the other hand, an unexpected loss is 
bound to influence nerves. 
In the second place — and the moral 
effect of this on the Germans is bound 
to be great — a destroyer is in the ordin- 
ary way immune from torpedo attack as 
a torpedo will pass underneath her. 
Consequently, the torpedo which sank 
S 126 was clearly deliberately " set " for 
a depth suitable to hit a destroyer. This 
means that all patrol work by destroyers 
will be nervy work in future ; they will 
at once realise that we have marked 
them down for destruction, and draw 
tiieir own conclusions as to the why and 
wherefore. 
Out of which the pressure on the 
German Fleet will become greater than it 
already is. 
ANTWERP. 
The Germans state that Antwerp 
will be valuable to them for the attack 
on England, but imlesa this means that 
they intend to ignore the neutrality of 
Holland it is an idle proposition. The 
Scheldt is a neutral river. 
Supposing the neutrality of Holland 
to be violated by them, there will still 
be the circumstance that all shipping at Antwerp has been 
destroyed, and such as can be got there by canal or by 
land transit is inconsiderable. Old torpedo boats and the 
lesser-sized submarines could possibly be transported as the 
Russians transported them across Siberia ten years ago ; but a 
naval base cannot be improvised, and the Dutch Fleet, 
which is specially designed for inshore work, would probably 
soon make short work of any German naval force in the 
Scheldt. 
Consequently, it is unlikely that, for the present at any rate, 
the Germans intend to violate Dutch neutrality, and we may 
take it that statements about what they mean to do from Antwerp 
ire merely bluff intended to produce a " moral effect " on us. 
THE LOST CRUISERS. 
The Ne7o York Herald " through the kindness of the German 
Admiralty " has been permitted to publish the personal narrative 
of Kapitan Lieut. Weddingcn of U 9, and how he sank the 
three Cressies sini^Ie-handed. It is an interesting story, made- 
all the more realistic by its compliments to our sailors. But, 
technically, it is absurd. The V 9 does not carry any spare 
torpedoes, and she has only three tubes. Four is less than the 
six known to have been fired ; but the four specifically mentioned 
as fired is still one too many. We may, I think, safely take it 
that at least one German submarine went under. 
THE MEDITERRANEAN. 
There are (at the moment of writing) no fresh developments, 
nor do any seem likely, in the Adriatic just at present. 
In the black Sea, on the other hand, quite another state of 
affairs prevails. 
The Russian Black Sea Fleet is reported to have put to 
sea, presumably in an effort to make certain that the Goeben 
and Breslau do not become German again in the Black Sea. 
The Goeben is individually more than twice as powerful 
and a very great deal faster than any battleship in the Russian 
Euxine Fleet. Should she emerge nothing but blockading a 
fleet very close to Constantinople could effect anything against 
her. Her possibilities are as serious as they are enormous. 
Of the Russian battleships only three — pre-Dreadnoughts 
all — possess any modem fighting value, and it is probable that 
the Goeben could outrange all of them easily, since all are mounted 
with big guns of a now antique model. 
The situation is further complicated by the fact that there 
•{'Approximate spot where 3 126 was submarined. 
CUABT TO ILLDSTBATB THB SUBUABINIKO OF OBBILAM T. B. D. S 126 BT BRITISH &UBKABINB 
is understood to be a secret treaty between Turkey and Roumania, 
so that should the Goeben emerge asa belligerent Turk she could 
look to find a possible base in a Roumanian harbour. The 
attitude of Turkey is, therefore, of international importance ; 
and the flight of the Goeben may yet turn out to have been a 
clever piece of high strategy. 
THE BALTIC. 
Here, again, nothing of much moment ia taking place. 
Presumably the Germans have established a blockade, but 
since this must accord with Russian plans and anticipations 
it can hardly be considered as a German advantage. The Russian 
official reports deny that a single Russian ship has been lost, 
and there is every reason to deem this correct. 
Incidentally, the Russian Admiral is that Von Essen, who — 
as captain of the Novik — was one of the two or three Russian 
officers who earned glory in the Russo-Japanese War debacle. 
The other, once Captain Wiren of the Bayan, is now 
Commander-in-Chief at Kronstadt. As for the still one other — 
Admiral Grigorovitch — what he has done for the Russian Navy 
is too well-known to need comment. The Germans have nothing 
to put against this trio of men who have been through the mill. 
It is unfortunate for our national pride (though it is really a 
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