November 21, 1914. 
LAND 'AND WATER 
THE WAR BY WATER. 
By FRED T. JANE. 
BOTE.— Thli Article hu beeo iibDitted to the Preji Bnreaii, which doei not object to the publication at ceniored, and taket no 
retpontibility for the correctnex of the itatementi. 
THE FAR EAST AND PACIFIC. 
AN official list of tbe enemy warsliips found sunk in 
Kiao Cliau Harbour has been issued. It is as fol- 
lows: — Austrian cruiser Kaiserin Elizabeth; Ger- 
man gunboats, litis, Jaguar, Tiger, Luchs, tho 
unprotected cruiser Cormoran, and tli© mine- 
layer, Euchin — tJiis last an extemporised mer- 
chant vessel — and the destroyer, Tahu. 
Of the above, the Gortnoran belonged to the Australian 
station, where she wa^ serving with tiie Condor, which is as 
yet unaccounted for. 
Of the rest of the German China Station fleet the de- 
strojer S 90 was sunk outside Kiao Chau, and the Emden 
Bunk elsewhere. There remain the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, 
Leipzig, and Nurnherg — to which the Dresden (which belongs 
really to the High Sea Fleet) is attached. 
It is these ships which engaged Admiral Cradock's squad- 
ron. A fresh German official account of the engagement has 
been issued, but it adds little to Admiral Graf von Spee'a 
original report, except that the statement is made that " tho 
Monmouth was found by the Nurnherg in the course of its 
flight, ehowing a heavy list. She was bombarded, and cap- 
sized." 
This is a modification of a previous official statement to the 
effect that the Nurnherg single-handed destroyed both the 
Good Hope and Monmouth! 
The official circulation of such an utterly ridiculous state- 
ment is puzzling to a degree. The modifying statement is 
also improbable; if there be any truth in 'it, it means that 
the Nurnherg found the Monmouth helpless and sinking, and 
fired into her as she sank. It is tantamount to saying, " We 
found a wounded enemy and killed him." 
In the psychology of either statement there is something 
amazingly mysterious. Last week I put forward a Chesler- 
tonian sort of theory to the effect that the Battle of Chila 
would indicate that the German victory was a moral defeat. 
These officially circulated statements about the Nurnherg — ■ 
a small cruiser of the Emden type — certainly seem additional 
evidence in the direction. Then we are further told by the 
Germans that the Glasgow "escaped" and that the Ot'ranfo 
" managed to get beyond the range of our guns after the 
first shot." Also " there were no losses on our side, and the 
damage was insignificant." 
Germans do nothing without a reason. But for w!>.at 
reason are they labouring to convey the impression of the 
British squadron in flight — a flight before an inferior German 
force in the first instance? One could understand it ia a 
popular newspaper; but why the oSicial dissemination of an 
obvious lie I 
Does it mean that the efiect of forced inaction is telling 
on the morale of the High Sea Fleet, as the Yarmouth aSair 
appeared to indicate (see my notes on this matter last week), 
'and that at all costs an impression of " the brave Germans and 
cowardly English " must be created. It seems a somewhat 
hyperbolical hypothesis, but other hypotheses seem more hyper- 
bolical still. 
Doubtless the Good Hope damaged von Spee more than he 
is disposed to admit— but we certainly sunk none of his ships. 
They were subsequently seen at Valparaiso — apparently little 
hurt. So we cannot put it down to concealment of losses 
sustained in that aSair. 
There is one other hypothesis — though it is really a corol- 
lary to the first — and this is that the true story of the Battle 
of Chile is that Sir Christopher Cradook shook the German 
nerves by deliberately forcing action against absolutely 
superior odds. 
a— < fcilups, faept. 10LU-14th. B—6 Ships, Sept. SOtli. G—7 Ships, Oot. 20th. 
J^—2 Warships, Oct. 2Sth. T)"— Destruction of Emden, Nov. 8th. 
»ne dotted Une represents approximately tha areas aasi^ed to tho Emden (liKht) and the Kmigsberg (leftj, 
11* 
n—l Ship, OcU 527 tu. 
