REPRISALS

Evening Star, Issue 16547, 5 October 1917, Page 6

REPRISALS

HOW TO EXECUTE THEM. THE WEAPONS. HARD HITTING THE THING. SUBMARINE SINKINGS. [By Guineas.]

~ w c t i’ at * lr Lloyd George has given tlio definite promise “We will bomb Germany with compound interest,” tho consideration of ways and means becomes of topical importance. First of all it is essential that we should clear our minds not only of sentimental cant, but of confusion of ideas. The ‘Daily Chronicle’ declares that we shall shortly bo in a position to conduct extensive air raids on Gorman towns, “ but at present our military requirements demand almost all available aeroplanes for the west front.” It is precisely because we need all tho aeroplanes we can muster for the fighting fronts that we should hat back as hard and as swiftly as possible. The very object of these German raids is to divert vast numbers of aeroplanes and anti-aircraft guns from the western front for the defence of London and other British towns; while so long as we refrain from retaliating they are absolved from the necessity of tying up their own aircraft in similar passive defensive work. By means of quite a small number of aeroplanes they can maintain a constant senes of raids upon British towns, and if we adopt purely defensive measures they can keep a dozen or a score of our machines occupied for every one of their own. Our machines will'thus bo wasted lor .effective military' purposes, and yet Butish towns will not be satisfactorily' defended. Tlie aeroplane is so small, swift and elusive, so easily able to disappear among the clouds or jn the darkness of the night, that no number of defending machines will prevent tho killing and maiming of hundreds of British civilians, therefore no pseudo-military reasons should bo accepted for not hitting back promptiy, as the aeroplanes now wasted in passive defence would be better employed in hitting tho enemy. The attempt of the Press Bureau to minimise the importance of the raids by pointing out that during nine months 487 people were killed and 14,104 injured in London insult of street accidents, whereas 191 have been killed and 749 wounded by the raids, is pointless. There need be no f 1 ’ material increase in the number ot ki led and wounded from accidentshut the number of casualties from raids will be limited only by the capacity of tho Ltorman to destroy or the promptness with which wo put the fear of the Lord into his soul.

SOME SERVICEABLE WEAPONS. A good sample of the typo of machine, the types of machines, required is the Italian giant bombing aeroplane, called the Caproni, which is described in the American.’ It is a huge tnp.ano, and it carries three men, three guns, and no less than 2.7501b (or over a •i lf lplos ™' The total useful load is 4,0001b. It is equipped with three 200 horse-power Tsotta. Fraschini motors, and can make about 80 miles an hour. Major Perfetti, of the Italian Roval Flviim Corps stated recently that Italy had also developed a 900 horse-power machine, capable of carrying three tons; and 1.000 horse* rower aeroplanes, with a. cruising radius of 300 or 350 miles, are contemplated. Machines of corresponding size have been built for both the British War Office and the British Admiralty ; while the French, as is well known,' arc to the fore in the construction of plant mnchincs. Ohviously, a hundred such machines, operating from a. suitable base close to the German frontier, would soon give our German friends to understand that nithlrsrsness is a rame not entirely to their advantage. But these big machines, which are heavy and relatively slow in manoeuvring, are of little use for fighting purposes, although they carry machine guns for self-defence. They will need to be escorted bv squadrons of small; swift, and nimble fighting machines, and these can be obtained by_ setting aside some of the machines now being practically wasted in passive defence at home.

THE POTXT OF DEPARTURE. It is often ureed that Britain is not in a position to hit back—that, while the Germans have an ideal jumping-off place on the Belgian coast, our machines would have to flv some hundreds of miles across cither Belgium or Holland to get at Germany. Bat tin’s is* only partly true. The French front from Verdun to Switzerland is right on the German border. An arrangement could be made by the courtesy of the French for the establishment of a suitable British base in the salient angle behind the French lines in the Verdun region. Here our base would be within 109 or 150 miles of scores of populous German towns. ,Thc French have not hesitated to utilise their proximity to the towmS. of the German Rhine provinces to hit l»ek for every raid upon French towns, and ft has paid them to do so. To gefl at the German towns it will he necessary to cross the German lines. The anti-aircraft guns can be avoided by high flying, but Use German fighting planes will lie a tougher proposition to deal with. They can best he met by obtaining a lor;! superiority at the point selected for the raid. There should he complete FrancoBritish co-operation, and a secret assembling of powerful fleets of fighting planes at the selected point, so that the bombing tfnachines may he effectively protected in Their work. Any attempt bv the Germans tn lie in wait for them on their wav back can be defeated hy adopting a. different route for tho return journey, and they can thus systematically drop ton after ton of bombs on German towns, until the Germans have thoroughly learned the lesson that frightfulness is a game that two sides can play at. HIT HARD, HIT OFTEX.

Tho fighting motto of Lord Fisher is said to he: “Hit hard, hit often, hit anywhere." With the exception of the third clause, which is a trifle unscientific, this might well he adopted ns the guiding principle of retaliation. Having committed ourselves to the policy, we should lay ourselves out to make it as effective as possible. The most densely populated towns should be selected, and their most densely populated quarters should ho chosen for attack. This will sound terribly cruel to the sentimentalist, but it is really the truest form of humanity. Wo are going to hit back as a matter of military expediency, not from mere vindictiveness. Our obiect is tn stop the German outrages against allied civilians, and as soon as tho Germans stop their raids we will stop our counter-raids, as we do not lovo these methods for their own sake. The German intelligence, in its present condition, can only be reached through the German hide, and the more ruthless our blows the more quickly the lesson will be learned. These matters must be dealt with by dispassionate logic. Well-meaning sentiment is as disastrous and cruel, on tho one hand, as callousness and brutality on the other, and the man who can only deal with the problem in a sentimental way would do much better to leave it alone. THE FROXTS. From the west front comes the news of the opening of a fresh offensive by the British on a wide front east of Ypres, but there are no particulars at the moment of writing. That the talk of the correspondents about the tremendous character of the bombardments is not all exaggeration is revealed by the statement of Mr Winston Churchill that the tonnage of the shells hurled into the German trenches last week was fourfold that fired in the Somme offensive. Whether he meant during the whole of the Somme offensive or only four times its weekly average is not clear, but the Germans are evidently getting a thorough strafing. On the other hand, they are working their own artillery at full pressure, according to Mr Philip Gibbs. . Prom Russia there are nothing but political reports, save a statement from Odessa that the enemy are preparing an offensive in Northern Moldavia. Probably that in-

dicates an attempt-to turn the river lines from Bukowina. With the ‘rainy season close at hand, the present is not a very good time for an offensive. When the frost comes it will be moro likely. Hindenburg is then sure to try for more tactical successes over the Russians, but there is no sign as yet that he is capable of developing a really comprehensive scheme of grand strategy. THE SINKINGS. The latest summary of sinkings is distinctly gratifying, and .jprovides an instructive commentary upon Lord Northcliffe’s assertion that there has been no real decrease in the tonnage lost. Only 13 British ships all told have been sunk, against 15 in the last report. Of these 11 are over and 2 under 1,6C0 tons, as against 13 over and 2 under that figure for tho previous summary. Arrivals and departures aro well maintained, the figures being respectively 2,680 and 2,742, against 2,775 and 2,691. On tho other hand, the Italian losses have risen slightly, two sailing vessels over 1,600 tons and three under that figure having been sunk.