The Dominion. MONDAY, JUNE 5, 1916. THE GREAT SEA BATTLE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2788, 5 June 1916, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, JUNE 5, 1916. THE GREAT SEA BATTLE

. The first news of the great sea battlo off the Danish coast which came through oil Saturday morning was of a somewhat depressing nature. The British Admiralty apparently ' thought it. its duty to supply the public with a record of the losses suffered in the engagement with tho German High Seas Fleet, treating as a secondary matter the losses inflicted on tho enemy. As a consequence the public obtained a quite one-sided and misleading idea of the result of the encounter, and there was a tendency on the part of itfany to tako a somewhat gloomy; view of the situation. This perhaps was accentuated by tho commonly-held belief that when tho British and German fleets did meet [if ovor] there would be an end to the German Fleet. Tho later news placed a very different complexion on the situation, and Admiral Jellicoe's official report made it quite clear that our losses had boon well balanced by those of the enemy. Even how there are people no doubt who are astonished and disappointed that the German Fleet was allowed to escape without suffering still greater losses. Such disappointment is perhaps natural, but it should not be permitted to obscure the real merits of tho achievement which lies to tho credit of the British Battle-cruiser Squadron and its auxiliary vessels in this desperate sea fight against what must havo been heavy odds. For it should be clearly understood that the British High_ Seas Fleet was not engaged in this battle with the enemy's fleet. It was not a trial of strength between the British and the German main fleets, as tho German News Bureau are attempting to get tho world to believe. On the contrary, at the approach of tho Main Fleet of British battleships the German Fleet scuttled.back to the shelter of its minefields and harbour defences, and, having reached those havens of refuge, proclaimed to the world its defeat of the mighty British Navy. As one Dutch paper is reported today to have remarked: "If tho German Fleet won such a victory as it claims, why did it rush back to tho protection of its coastal defences with the British Fleet in full chase V'

Now let us see exactly what tho facts of "'tho situation arc. What are the actual losses of tho rival fleets engaged, and what is their relative clfect on the navies of the two Powers 1 Before touching on these in detail, we may briefly outline,the battlo as it is presented to us in the details available. From neutral observers we gather that q, great Gorman ■ Fleet, composed of somo 90 vessels of all was seen to pass along tho Danish coast in a northerly direction some timo i prior to the firing being heard. This fleet was lured on by British, destroyers in the hope of bringing on a general engagement with the heavier ships of both sides. In 'the meantime the British Battlecruiser Squadron—fighting ships with a speed of from 28 to 33 knots —was dashing up in an endeavour to cut off the German Fleet and force it. to fight. These battlecruisers are, so far as we know, operating in two squadrons, probably, of five vessels each. At the outset it is likely that only the First Squadron, with , a flotilla of destroyers and some arfnoured cruisers, came up in timo to engage the whole of tho German Fleet. They woiikl be at a distinct disadvantage until the heavier and slower battleships arrived, and it would bo during this period, while tho battleships were coming up, that our chief losses were suffered. When the battleships camo into action, tho German Fleet fled. What, then, are tho losses 1 The information to hand goes to show that the British losses were three battle-cruisers, three armoured cruiscrs, and eight destroyers—l 4 vessels in all. Tho German losses definitely stated arc: One battleship, one battle-cruiser, one German light cruiser, six destroyers, and one submarine—ten in all. But if will be noted that in addition to the above, Admiral Jellicoe reports that a battleship is believed to have been sunk by gunfire, and three others wore disabled: a battle-cruiser was seen disabled and stopping, and another was observed to be seriously damaged; and at least two light cruisers were seen to be disabled. The Admiralty - is given to underrate rather than to overstate enemy losses, mul it is fairly certain that the battleship believed to havo been sunk by gunfire was sunk, -and the battlecruiser which was seen to be disabled and stopping is also in all probability at the bottom of tho North Sea. Possibly, too, somo of tho other German vessels mentioned never readied port. In other words, we know the full extent of our own losses—we are told the worst—but the German losses are in all probability much heavier than is disclosed. For instance, it will be noted that sonic German sailors rescued by a Danisli vessel state that their fleet lost about 20 tariW" Irsats, whereas Admiral

Jellicoe only records the six ho knows to have boon sunk. Two German Zeppelins arc also reported from Denmark to have been destroyed, and of these the British report makes no mention, probably because the Zeppelins fell out of sight of the British ships. The facts then go to show that the German losses mentioned by Adhieal Jellicoe are in all probability far less than the enemy actually suffered. But it is not tlio number of vessels lost that affects the situation. Tho real test is the loss in capital ships : that is to say, fighting ships of tho first class. Of these we know that Britain lost three battle-cruisers: Tons. Crew. ' Queen Mary 27,000 1000 Indefatigable 18,750 800 Invinciblo 17,250 750 The Queen Mary is one of our best battle-cruisers, tho others are older ancl less powerful. The Germans wo know had a battleship and a battlecruiser blown up, and Admiral Jellicoe states that ho believes a second battleship was sunk by gunfire and a second battle-cruiser as disabled and seen to be stopping, which means that in all probability she- met with the same fate as the Warrior. Putting aside _the other damaged German battleships and battle-cruisers, and assuming that they succeeded in reaching port, the German losses in capital ships (battleships and battlecruisers) is as follow:— DEFINITE. Tons. Crew. Westfalen (b) 18,900 3G3 Derfl'Ungcr class (b.c.) 28,000 1100 PEOBABLE. Kaiser class (Ij) 21,700 1088 Lutzow class (b.c.) 28.000 1100 Tho Germans lost two capital ships for certain, and in all probability lost four. But even assuming that it was only two to the British three, and this is straining the position greatly in our enemy's favour, the relative strength of tho two fleets is changed iu our favour, and not against us. The "victory" which Germany claims actually leaves her fleet weaker proportionately to the j British fleet than it was before the battle began. At the end of last year Germany had 24 capital ships to Britain's 45, or 53 per cent. Today, taking it that tho British lost three and the German only two capital ships (probably it was four), and the relative positions are: Germany 22 ancl Britain 42, the German strength having thus shrunk from 53 per cent, of tho British to a small fraction over 50 per cent. At this rate of loss the German Fleet would be exhausted while the British still had a fleet of 12 capital ships. But) as we have before explained, the probabilities point to the Germans having lost at least as many capital ships as the British, and in all likelihood more, and the position of our enemy is in consequence so much tho worse. The details of the battle are discussed in v our notes in Progress of tho War, and need not bo dwelt on here. It is sufficient to add that Britain's sea supremacy, quite apart from the fleets of her Allies, is not reduced in tho slightest by last week's sea "battle. Our greatest loss has been, the brave men who went so gallantly 'to their deaths. The blockade of Germany will go on as before, and the German Fleet will continue to run for shelter when the main British Battle Fleet comes within striking distance.