THE KAISER'S FLEET.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1505, 30 July 1912, Page 10

THE KAISER'S FLEET.

6TIU UNTRIED. I ; .-ORGANISED BY A SOLDIER,' . '[From the New York Post.] It is inevitable that the presence iu these, waters of a Gorman Heel, led by tho great battle-cruidor Aloltke, said by Germans to be the fastest armoured craft in. the world, fliunltl direct the attention ui Americans to the navy of the leatherland, a navy, which, hue ours, lias been' built up out of practically nothing to a ptacu among the iirst three amvies of the wovlil, but which, unlike ours, has never bceu. called upon to withstand the test of battle. Exactly what is the German, navy worth? That question is the principal preoccupation oi the Admiralties of every country in Europe and of our own sen-lighting' experts in Washington bardiy less, it has been racking tlio brains of the persons who are supposed to keep track of the balance of sea-power over since the German warships' building prognumno caught the attention of rival fowers some live or six years ago. At that time, within the memory of the merest schoolboy, the- German fleet ranked far down in the- list. But it was a very short time before the Kaiser's naval programme, as thoroughly Teutonic in its rigid orderliness and economic system as the organisation of his army corps, plac-ed-Germany ahead of all countries except Great Britain and the United States. Then the- naval experts at Washington began, to-turn anxious ejes towards tho vast arsenals and shipyards at Kiel, Hamburg, Elbing, and other points, where the workmen were labouring over-time to keep up with the appropriations of a Reichstag that seemed to sharo its Emperor's views of the, importance of making .sure of the Fatherland's share in tho Empire of tho ocean, so long a British monopoly. Climbing Towards the Top, Slowly, steadily, the German fleet crept forward toward the first rank among the world's navies. It is true that up to within a couple of years ago our own American, battleships were in individual powor probably superior to those of Germany; but Germany, with jealous eyes turned on her principal maritime rival, England, saw tho signs of the times before wo did, and set out to build, gigantic battle-cruisers and swift Dreadnoughts 1 like the Von dor 'faun and lloltke of tho one class and tho Oldenburg of tho other. Now, wo have nothing which can compare with the Von der 'J.'ann or Jloltke, while it is extremely doubtful if there is anything to choose between our ■ Dreadnoughts and Germany's, with the chances rather in favour of tho Germans, inasmuch as their earlier all-big-gun ships have tho legs of any vessels of ours of the same period. Besides which they are building new ships faster than we are. It is difficult to contrast the German and American fleets with fairne&s, because : there are so many points of difference bo- ■ tween them. According to the latest avail.ablo tables issued by our own Navy De- '. partment, the German armoured fleet esi ceeds ours in tonnage, if wo leave out of our list the cruisers of the St. Louis class; i but, if these be. included, then the comparative tonnages are 797,311 for the TJnit- : ed, States fleet, and 787,638 for the German fleetj a scant and debatable margin of 10,009 tons superiority for our fleet, In ; torpedo boats there is no comparison be- ■ tween tho. two countries, tho great weakness of.that arm of our sea service militating against us in this respect, asi it docs in comparison with the fleets of even • secondary naval Powers. • • But, after all, tho most interesting facts - about tho Gorman. Navy are those which tell of its creation, of tho forces and men and able management that brought it into existence. One might, of course, go back, to tho very beginnings of German sea-power, drift backwards to the : days of the Hanseatio Leaguo, and tell of tho times when the sea-rovers of the northern provinces of tho Empire were almost as much dreaded as their neighbours, the Danos. But all this would be beside tho mark, although it is interesting to: note that, perhaps, the most pointed lesson in the needs of an efficient navy which the Germans ever received was gained at the hands of tho Danes. The . brief and successful campaign, by meana of which Bismarck wrested tho Duchies I- of Schleswig-Holstein from the_ Danish rule was marred, from the Prussian point I of view, only by a sea-fight, in which ! tlio Danes thrashed the Germans soundly, getting what satisfaction they could |. out.of this single- victory in the war with their overwhelming adversary,' Their Only Modern Sea Finht. It is noteworthy that this battle was the only on© fought at sea by the. Germane, in. modern times. Perhaps it would bo unfair to weigh this too heavily against them, and yet it is a factor that is always counted in by naval experts in estimating- tho effectiveness of the "German fleet. On tho other hand, it should ; bo said, of course, that the German fleet of to-day is no more like that which was . beaten by the Danes than, it is like. Andrea Doria's armada. It is a brand-new, high- ' ly scientific, military machine at sea, inspired throughout by that system, order, and exactitude which the Germans possess the ability of imparting to every organisation they create. To 't tho rigidity of drill and discipline found in the Gorman Army, whether for better or for worse, has been , transferred with all the thoroughness which welded tho ring of bayonets and cannon, about Sedan, in 1870. In fact if , one is to criticise the German Not - }', onei is faced by tho necessity of criticising the entire German war system, ;i from which the boldest might well shrink, in view of the success with which. Gorman campaigns met during tho turbulent period of tho middle of last century, when the great Prussian leaders wero carving out their country's destiny. The most striking illustration of the military naturo of the German Navy is the fact that it was created by a- soldier, 'General Stosch, tho first Imperial Minister of Marine. Before Stosch's time, tho Prussian which formed tho nucleus of the naval forces, first of the North German. Confederation and then of the German Empire, had been, usually under the direction of tho War Department, without any autonomy of its own. I'or a few years, it is true, it was established independently under the direction . of Prince Albrr-cht of Prussia, but in 1861 it was returned to the jurisdiction of the War Office. Created by a Soldier, . For Stosch it' inust be said that all his. torians 'agree in conceding him to have been a first-rate disciplinarian and organiser. Ho built foT the Gorman. Navy- thfl solid, substantial basis to which any success it may, have must, be largely attributed. He waat about the task ot founding an effective.' navy according to the recognised German precept; to advance only according to carefully framed plans, without adhering to tliom pedantically when circumstances called for a modification cf their line*.' What he locked. , in technical sea knowledge, bo made up for by lifelong militoay training and his ability as a theoretical orga-uiser. .As early as 3SG7, tho German War Office had mapped out a scheme for a fleet of sixteen iroiukds .'aid fifty smaller, vessels, to cost 25,000,000 dollars; but this scimme was narcuy more man etarteu wneu the hostilities of 1870 broke out. Such ships as wore in the water were wholly unaSjle to face the strong French sea force, though, iu the one or two small actions that, were fought tho Germans did ■ jiot discredit themselves. At the snino time, it should be said that the French admirals wholly neglected their opportunities. From this time on, the German Navy expanded very slowly. The first modern flwt-class warsliips were laid down in 1890, about the same time the United Stated w<s beginning to experiment with tattleShips. These early battleships, properly so-called, of the German Navy were known as the Brondenbury clas3; they had about tlis samft displacement as our 'Oregon, mid they were, in a. sense, an anticipation of the aU-big-gim type of Hne-of-battleship in use to-day, inasmuch, as they carried main batteries of six 11-inch guns, two more big guns than, wore carried by warships in other navies, wliilo their secondary batteries wero comparatively light Stuck to Smaller Guns. Apparently, tho all-big-gun battleship did not appeal to tho German naval authorities of t-ho early nineties, for in tho nest, class of battleship to be built, the Kniser class, t-ho. .imminent, was shifted to a lighter basis, consisting of four f1.4- I inch, guns and eighteen 6-inch. From this timi? until nivmt a 'yenr ago-Minre n-aa .not- a battleship in. the "Kj>tj

that carried n heavier gun. than ono of 11inch bora. Although other navies wero arming their ships with Hie 12-inch, and in our navy with 13-inch gun was used twelve years and more ngo> the Germans stuck to the 11-inch, Even their first dreadnoughts of the Nassau typo wero equipped with 11-inch guns. Tho first ships to carry tint heavier pieces wero th» Kuper-dreiuluuiurlits of the- Ostfriesland class. It was in 1900 that the present progressive building programme for tho navy was instituted hi Germany,- partly through the exhortations of the Emperor, who is devoted to the idea uf milking his country powerful at sea, and partly in. consequence of tho anger aroused among Germans by the seizure of the German steam ship Bundesratli by a British cruiser on the coast of Africa on a charge of carrying contraband of war to tho Boers. Under tho spur of the public indignation and the appeal of t-ho Emperor,, tho Keichstag passed an extended Naval Defence Act, under the terms of which it was proposed to spend 224,000,000 dollar* on construction nnd 100,000,000 dollars on. dockyards. With this money, it was anticipated, Germany should have in 1917 a fleot of thirty-eight first-class battleships with a proportionate number of cruisers and other smaller vessels. * The history of the German. Navy since ' then has been simply a caso of rivalry with England, Germnny'a only dangerous competitor iu the contest for control of the world's maritime commerce. When England fully apprehended tho ficopo of the German building, programme, she made what ehe thought would be a crashing answer in the' launching of the first dreadnought. Germany answered with tho Nassau class. Then England laid down the first battle-crui&er, the Indomitable. Almost siniultanc-ousuly, the Germans launched their first all-big-gun cruiser, tho Bluecher. But the Bluecher was comparatively small Hi contrast with tho mighty Indomitable aa\d her sisters, and Germany set to work on. the Von der Fann and Jloltke, which, the Gorman authorities say, aro incira powerful than j the ships of the British , Inflexiblo class, j The Moltk'-e. j Aβ evidence of tho strides which have been taken in battleship construction, it may be interesting to give teome of tho details of the Jloltke. She cast, completed, the enormous sum of 10,491,'f100 dollars, or Oioro than twice the entire appropriation for tho German navy in ■ Her registered displacement is 22,632 -tons, more than that of the largest American battleship afloat. She is GlO feet lang- 96 feet 9 inches beam, has u draught of 20 feet i) inches, and carries a main battery of ten 11-inch 50-calibre rifles, throwing a shell weighing 7(50 pounds and having practically the .same penetrative- power as the -15-calibre J2-inch guns used in othci navies. Finally she has developed 70,680 horse-power, which gives her n. mean speed of 27.25 knots and a inaxininm speed of 28.i knots, and she carries side armour ranging from 9 to 10 inches in thickness. It is claimed for the Jloltke that on two of her runs over a .measured mile course she did a fraction over 29 knots at 325 revolutions » minute, which would makeher as speedy as most torpedo-boat 'deBtroyers and a good bit faster than tho British trans-Atlantic greyhounds, Jtauretania and Lusitania, which wore the fastest big craft in tho world prior to the creation of the battle-cruiser. -At tho siiine time it should be said that neither tho German nor tho British battle-cruis-er's, whose builders vaunt their extraordinary speed, hare ever made a practico of doing round-trips across the Atlantic every three weeks' at an average speed, of 2-1 or ■ 25 knots <. . One of the reasons which actuated the German Admiralty in including tho Jloltke in the fleet which is visiting tho United States was a hope that she might interest Americans sufficiently in the work of German shipbuilders to win some orders for tho great shipyards that have sprung up in all tho principal seaport towns along with the Empire's commercial and naval marine. Then, tob, it is said that Germany is rather anxious to win admiration for her navy in this country, in view of the jealousy which afflicts her relations with England. The seriousness of the naval rivalry between these two nations was amply shown by the reception accorded tho recent threat of WinstonChurchill, tho First Lord of the Admiralty, that for every ship Germany laid down Great Britain would lay down two, and that this would keep up until ono country or tho other should bo bankrupt. "And that country will not be England," the First Lord suggested grimly. The Reichstag promptly, authorised an increased building programme for ' tho navy in addition to an increase of tho army by more than 20,000 men. . No Lack of Men. One thing that has nover worried the German navy, by the way, has bein the want of crews. With the conscript system to back it -up, the Imperial navy has more men than it can use, and there is never any necessity for laying up ships for lack of men, as is constantly done in this country. The latest returns give

the German personnel at G2,000 officers nnd moil, and more can l;e had if they am wan tod, besides which, in tho German mercantile marine*, tho navy has a splendid twining school for seamen. Gwinan merchant ships, unlike English and American ships), aro usually manned by German crows. All things considered, it would be very interesting to seo what tho German navy would do if it ever got under lire. It is perfectly safe to say that ho who would draw any definite parallels between the KnUer's big fleet of to-day, and the squadron that was so well trounced by tho Danes, would bo very rash, indeed" The Germans are veiy reticent about nil tho intimate details of their naval organisetiou. Their methods of firo-oontrol, tar-get-practice, battle manoeuvres, and communication are quite unknown, as well as the success they have attained in each branch of the work. It is safe to as-t-uine,- however, that liko the United States navy, the German admiralty has availed itself of the advanoes in fire-con-trol due to Admiral Sir Percy Scott, of tho British navy, and that, as in tho case of our officers, again Sir Percy's original theories may have been improved upen. Tho only thing that can safely be said about the practical work of tho Kaiser's fleet is that it is drilled constantly, rigorously, painstakingly, under every kind of condition, with the utmost elaborate care and attention to details. People interested in the subject should lie able to get eonio pointers by visiting tho big flagship of Bear-Admiral Von Kobeur-Paschwitz, presently to drop anchor in the North River. Aβ ono of the Bmpnror'a naval nids and advisers, Rear-Admiral von RcbourPaschwitz may be expected to have carried Gorman discipline to its highest } point of perfection.