ffnly 10, 1915. 
LAND AND .WATER 
THE BLACK SEA. 
In the Baltic Russia's demonstration of her 
sea spirit and sea efSciency is on the grand scale — 
dramatic, convincing, entirely of a piece with her 
efBciency on land. Alone of the navies of Europe 
she has had experience of war, and learned by it, 
and there is certainly no navy in which profes- 
sional accomplishment is better combined with 
knowledge and enthusiasm. In the Black Sea, the 
persistence with which the Turkish fleet avoids 
the Russian squadron makes any similar demon- 
stration impossible. But we should be both short- 
sighted and ungrateful if we lost sight of the 
excellent service which Russia is doing to our 
cause in those restricted waters. .Whatever the 
truth of the Dardanelles military position may be, 
it cannot be questioned that by far the best solu- 
tion of its difficulties is to be found in cutting off 
the sources of Turkish supply. Our own sub- 
marines are, we may rely upon it, doing all that 
is possible to make the Sea of Marmara too dan- 
gerous for the transport and supply ships, and 
will do all that is possible to prevent the Dar- 
danelles themselves being ferried, if land bases 
further west than Panderma Bay are established 
by the enemy. But the same end would be gained 
if the most important item of the enemy's sup- 
plies — namely, the provision of shells, can be 
checked at the fountain head. 
It is generally supposed that Turkish projec- 
tiles have been partly imported overland from 
Germany, and, to a still greater extent, been 
manufactured in or near Constantinople, at shops 
established by representatives of German arma- 
ment firms. Almost all the raw material going 
to these shops— that is, all ore and coal from 
purely Turkish sources — has to be brought to Con- 
stantinople by sea. This is certainly true of coal, 
for the only coalfields the Turkish Empire pos- 
sesses are found in the valleys that run down to 
the Black Sea, between Bender Eregli, about 130 
miles due east of the Bosphorus, and ending at 
Tchatal Agzy further along the coast. The 
valleys in which coal is found are roughly parallel 
to each other, and the railways run down the 
valleys to the sea; but they are not apparently 
cross connected. Each district is therefore pro- 
vided with means of sending its coal only to the 
coast from which it must be shipped. Coming 
from west to east there are, then, a series of road- 
steads, or ports — Bender Eregli ; Koslou, an open 
roadstead; Zongouldak, the only port with a pier, 
loading gear, &c., where the French company, 
which before the war exploited the most valuable 
of these mines, had its headquarters. Beyond 
Zongouldak are two other open roadsteads — 
Kilibli, with ten, and Tchatal Agzy, with twenty 
miles of line up to the coalfields. It is, then, on 
these ports or roadsteads that Constantinople 
relies for its coal supply, and this supply is not • 
only the only source of illumination which the 
town possesses, but is equally its only source of 
power. It is for this reason that the Russians for 
some months now have been carrying on a ruthless 
campaign against all colliers. It will be noticed 
that, on the same eventful Friday that saw the 
sinking of the Dentschland and Albatross, a Rus- 
sian submarine sank three steam and one large 
sailing collier and a number of smaller craft. 
Meantime a destroyer squadron once more bom- 
barded Zongouldak, destroying tlie appliances for 
loading the coal aboard ship. This is a form of 
pressure which must tell, and tell seriously, in the 
course of a campaign in which munitions have to 
be used with extravagance. 
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Juite Juh^ 
THE SUBiMARINE G.\MPA1GN. 
A fortnight ago we published a graphic 
record of ships attacked by submarines from 
February 1 to June 17. To-day the record 
is carried on to July 3. In the seventeen 
days it will be seen that thirty-two ships 
have been attacked, though all of " them have 
not been sunk. The Turnwell, for instance, on 
June 17, and the Kotka, June 29, were brought 
safely into port. The Venus, June 21, was allowed 
to pass in circumstances which I described last 
week. The Tunisiana, on the 23rd, was beached 
near Lowestoft, and the Cameronia, on the 22nd, 
escaped altogether. In addition to these thirty- 
two ships — six of which were neutrals — two 
trawlers and six drifters were sunk, all round 
about the 23rd. 
The most striking part of this record is the 
fact that, between June 27 and July 3 no less than 
twenty-one ships were sunk in the approaches to 
the Irish, Bristol, and English Channels. All, 
that is to say, within an area 250 miles from east 
to west and about the same from north to south. 
It includes, roughly, then, 62,500 square miles. 

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It will be remembered that in the first 
fourteen days of the month, sixteen were sunk in 
the same neighbourhood. The extraordinary viru- 
lence of these attacks in this neighbourhood, and 
their success, has not unnaturally led to the ques- 
tion being asked, if something cannot be done to 
afford protection to merchant ships in this area? 
It has been suggested, for instance, that all trartic 
should be directed to certain narrow and easily- 
defined channels, which can be put under c/Iieient 
patrols. There would certainly have to be six 
routes, one coming in and one going out for each 
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