LAND AND WATEE 
October 24, 1914 
Now if we Bxaniine tie Usb, we find that, at the time of 
wntSL'. ihZl W ouly been ^ successful submaxme aOacka 
Tn s^^ty^ven day, of warfaxe. Of these six succcssfU 
att^l3 two were delivered by u«. Consequently o«rlos. 
works out at approximately one succcesful attack against 
us every nineteen days. There have been six gunnery ailairs 
in the same period, resulting in the loss of twice as many units, 
80 to date the submarine (counting in units) has boon only 
hnJf aa effective as the gun. As yet, therefore, there i3 no 
occasion for alarm, the more so aa there is reason t^ believe 
(hat the Russians sank some of their submarine attackera. 
In any case, the submarine is neither invulnerable nor 
invincible. The difficulty with it is mainly that it is a now 
arm— this is the first time that it has been effectively fci-ied m 
warfare. Means of defence have therefore to be invented, for 
only in actual warfare can the necessary experience be gained. 
Of iteelf a submarine is a specica of intelligent floating 
mine, its speed and visual ability both of a low order. The 
real danger lies in the German habit of using a trawler mother 
ship flying a neutral flag. Each German success has been thus 
secured — the trawler acting as the brain. 
Obviously, tlien, the first thing necessary is to deiyiso ways 
and means of dealing with the brain. 
That is to bo done either by restricting the liberty of trawlers 
to fish or cruise in submarinable waters, or else by utilising 
trawlers for the examination service. Further, it is probably 
not beyond the wit of man to devise some means of transform- 
ing small steamers into some kind of submarine destroyer. 
Take the harpooning of Nature's submarine — the whale— for 
example. And, finally, we should be well within our rights 
if we gave it clearly to be understood that the crews of all 
vessels assisting enemy submarines under the neutral flag 
would be hanged as pirates. The percentage of men who will 
face in cold blood the chance of being hanged is small. 
THE NORTH SEA. 
The process of destroying the British Fleet by " attrition " 
has decidedly failed in its object during the last we^ On 
the Gorman side tlie bag is one old cruiser, the Hawke; on our 
side four German destroyers, old, but still useful. 
None of these losses affect the main issue, save in k> far 
as the principle explained by Bemhardi is concerned. Our 
numerical superiority in the various classes of ships varies, but 
it can bo roughly generalised at from 33 per cenb. to 50 per 
cent. 
This makes no allowance for ships on foreign service, or 
for what the Germans have to detach to operate against the 
Generalised Broadly, the situation is approximately 
follows: — 
Typo. 
British. 
German. 
Bnlisb Surplus. 
" Dreadnonghta " 
Fre-XJreadnoaghti 
Cruisers 
Light Cruisera ..^ 
Torpedo Graf* 
S4 
40 
49 
72 
200 
84 
22 
30 
15 
30 
209 
30 
12 
10 
34 
36 
61 
64 
In every case the ships concerned are of widely varying 
fighting value in each class. But where numbers are at stake 
the fighting valuea of units are apt to coalesce in the general 
total. Taking an arbitrary 100 against seventy, it is obvious 
that if the lesser Power destroys ten of the cnoniy with a loss 
to itself of seven, it has made no progress whatever. The 
situation remains unaffected ; the superiority of three has no 
meaning. And since the Germans are actually up against a 
proposition which is nearor 100 to forty (even at a moderate 
computation), it is easy to see that even an apparent gain 
would represent an actual loss. 
The following is a list of losses in the North Sea and 
Baltic to date. These two areas cannot act in combination so 
far as the Allies are concomed; but so far as the Germans are 
concerned they are more or less one and the same thing : — 
asm. 
Loet by Allies. 
Lost by Germans. 
Cniisors >.■■■■ 
4 
2 
1 



T^ichfc Cruiaera •■■ 
6 
I 
Torpedo Craft 
6 
Submarines 
I to 4 
Total of all sorts 
7 
13 to 10 
PLAM SHOWIKO BOBKUM, OriT WHICH TH« OIEKAN DBSTBOTBES WEEK 
Russians in the Baltic. Nor does it take into account the 
considerable force of small craft which the French maintain 
in the Channel. In calculations of this kind, it is always 
bettor to allow a margin. The sui-plua given is therefore our 
minimum superiority, and the German total, correspondingly 
represents a maximum. 
Space does not permit of giving the whole sum in exact 
percentages— nor would there bo any particular advantage in 
giving it. In matters of this sort broad generalities aro the 
things that count 
Now, working in units this means that it has cost the 
Germans about double value for every unit which they have 
destroyed. Translated into terms of abUity to afford it in 
units this works out at something like sixpence expended for 
every penny gained. Translated into terma of fighting value it 
only works out at something like it costing twopence to make 
a penny against adversaries which have a shilling available for 
every German sixpence. " Attrition " 
is haj-dly to be achieved on these lines. 
Turning to the two latest actions; 
little of much moment is to be extracted 
from either. The Eawke was an old 
cruiser launched in 1891, in the days 
when the torpedo counted for very little. 
She displaced 7,350 tons. She was 
armed with two ancient 9'2'3, and ten. 
equally ancient 6 inch. Her palmiest 
speed was 19'5 knots. 
The destroyer action is in a 
different category. It must ho left to 
others to decide whether Mr. Churcliill 
was quite " happy " in his ratrdestroyiug 
simile. But whether he were or 
whether he were not, this particular 
action cornea under that head. 
So far as can be ascertained, the 
four old German destroyers, S 115, 117, 
118, and 119, sunk by the light cruisor 
Undaunted, and the t.b.d. Lancr, 
Lennox, Legion, and Loyal, were patrol- 
ling off Borkum. They were boats 
designed for the destruction cf battle- 
ships by toi-pedoes, without the least 
regard to conflict with others of their 
kind. To continue the Churchill simile, 
they were rata which crept out of thc-ir 
hole and found a man with a shot gun 
waiting for them. 
Directly they saw tho Undaunted they must have known 
that the game was up. To my mind, the disquieting feature 
of the matter ia that they did not surrender right off, but 
instead put up a fight with their popguns against over- 
whelming odds. 
The Undaunted, in common with the rest of her class, 
carries a couple of 6-inch guns. These guns mean death and 
deetruction on the first hit, whereas an old German destroyer 
might fire at an Undaunted for a whole day without daniaging 
her anything to speak of. 
14* 
