GOULD GERMANY INVADE ENGLAND

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XL, Issue 13170, 2 September 1913, Page 8

GOULD GERMANY INVADE ENGLAND

MANOEUVRES PROVE INVASION POSSIBLE.

RED FLEET HARRYING COAST.

Interest of country aroused. \ LONDON, July 23. The mimic, naval war which promises to settle some of the vital problems entering into the, problem bf defence" began yesterday. The*' whole" s of the ships engaged number 347, and l are divided ii.to two fleets, the red' fleet attacking and the blue defending. Ihe latter is. the stronger, and consists of 24- battleships, 3 battle-cruisers, 27 heavy ships m all. In addition to this {first line of battle there are eight cruiser squadrons, two light cruiser squadrons with mine layers, five destroyer flotillas numbering 100 boats, and four submarine flotillas. The redi or attacking fleet consists of 13 battleships, 2 battle-cruisers, 1 cruiser squadron with three attached cruisers, one light cruiser squadron, 3 destroyer flotillas of 60 boats, and two submarine flotillas.

The problem to be solved is whether an enemy such as Germany with greatly inferior strength can land troops m sufficient force to paralyse British credit, intimidate the '-public security,' and impede oversea food supplies, without which England would be starved m'turpc weeks. *

The enemy's fleet, with the exception of some torpedo craft, was at the Nore when the manoeuvres- started, while the main defending force was distributed between Scapa Flow m the Orkneys and Cromarty Firth m the North iof Scotland, with some smaller*: vessels -m the Firth of Forth.

RAID SUCCEEDS RAID. ' London, July 28. — Unless Admiral CaJJag'han has a big surprise rin store which will sweep Vice- Admiral Jellicoethe attacking*: Red' sea from the sea, the naval manoeuvres of 1913 will undoubtedly be interpreted as a-grave. warning to the country. The Daily Express,- - taking a somewhat » alarmist view, says : — "Although the hostile Red fleet -is only half the strength of the defending Blue fleet, the latter -has met disaster after disaster. -Raid- succeeds : raid. ..on defenceless norts. The defeat of an important section of the defending British fleet m the fierce battle On"' the mouth of : the Humber has been followed by the capture of - Sunderland, Blythe and all coal fields m that' district.' To complete the chapter of catastrophes the forts at the mouth of the Tyne mistook the Blue cruisers and destroyers for. the^enemy,, and opened tiro on them', inflicting' heavy loss." „-v :■." The Times, however, warns the public to await the umpire's final decision before taMrig the raids' j too-¥er"ousry . l -It suggests that the raiders have been unable to retire after coming ashore, and have --really, therefore,.. Jiee/i. captured,. Tlie , Times* adds that* iidfrbiug "cou^'be plainer than that if the raids have neen successful their success has been due to an iiisiunicient protecting force afloat, not to the lack of any shore defences. .This is the answer the Times gives to the local authorities of Grimsby and Hull, who, made fearful of- raids m real warfare by their experience of iast week, are already petitioning the Go-vern**-tent •to construct n"pf"i} forts 'at the entrance to the river Humber. I SUMMING up vTHE MORAL. London, July 3Q.-r-Nbw that, the most interesting phase of the naval manoeuvres ia over, the experts are 'trying to sum up their moral. All seem to agree that they prove that •raids.'.are mjore serious than was foreseen. 'It is apparently easier for transports ', to I get through the lines of naval defence; than: was anticipated. They can then, make their way up -unfrequented wat^wa-ys-.to convenient landing places. > """""he Taad*ers^ ; Jiaving landed and done .considerable, .damage, can sometimes get away without being caught. Equally general is" 'the' conviction that land forts,, however well armed, are no. .defence . against, ,such l ,ra*d'vNobody seriously supports the "alarmist local authorities .along .^the, , ftast coast, , who arei afready beginning to Tciamor for fortifications and guns. Hot- even, wealthy England can fortify every possible landing place., As the rtavM. editor oi the Daily Telegraph says: "There is Only ope form of protection for. a long and exposed coast-line, and .that ; is ships, preferably those using the torpedoes.' The manoeuvres. suggest the* startling Taptdity with which the naval warfare develops under modern, conditions. .It is apparently proved that with a foree 1 exceeding that, of the entire , German navy : —such as was: under. the. command of Sir George Cailaghari~ it \is .impossible to prevent an enemy landing at ' three or four places on the east coast; four <days of the outbreak,. of war. SlfclOiND STAGE OF MANOEUVREiS.

London, Aug. 2. — A state of war- once more exists m the North Sea, and the country this time is really excited. As a rule the naval manoeuvres are regarded like most other annual affairs, as the rtfiicia! beginning of the holidays, the end of the London and the commencement of the yachting season. But the first week's operations have roused tremendous interest, especially alii along the east coast. Agricultural laborers.., at work m the fields hay-making, discuss the probability of another raw!"'-; tHei*e is over all a feeling of pent-up -excitement that shows how deeply British imagination has been stirred by the success of Admiral Jellicoe last week. •

CHURCHILL ON THUNDERER. The -Red, .or. attacking. ,flee.t, ; started the war again when it disappeared into the morning mists of the North Sea Yesterday: , Mr Winston, .jGJhurphjll, the First Lord of the' Admirajtyi :* vanished With it on board Admiral Jellicoe's flagship the Thunderer. This battleship and the Orion are sister ships, and of the latest auper-Dreadnought type, though the new shin* building outclass iJhem. The Thunderer, however, has ten 13.5-inch guns, arid cart steam*-- 1 21 knots under contract speed. She has made a good deal more than this on her trials, but the Admiralty is rather chary <>f giving accurate information regarding the speed of the new ships. , It is recognised that speed combined with gun power is essential, and this problem is being carefully studied during these manoeuvres. The question of bigger guns, the 15-inch gun is ordered for the Valiant and Queen Elizabeth., is also •under examination, as there is a close relation ,bet\veen the size of the gun and the. speed of the ship. Seaplanes as scouts.

The other phases of the manoeuvres that is exciting great attention is the value of the naval seaplanes. As already advised, these did some wonderful work as scouts last week, especially with regard to submarine attack. It has transpired that the Red fleet has taken with it threes of the latest seaplanes and a number of. the men of the naval flying corps for. aerial scouting. The importance of these seaplanes is obvious. If An attacking fleet can raid a coast under the cover of armed seaplanes which caii; a-lso guard against oubmarine and torpedo attack, its hitting power is very much enhanced. It must not be forgotten that although the principal object of the Admiralty appears to be to prove the weak spots on the coast m case of an invasion, it has also to test' the ability <if an attacking fleet to drive honw- a tblov, especially m the North Sea. The defence of the country lies on the shore.' 'of the enemy. The fleet is not supposed m war ; time to be tied to British shores but to be blockading the enemy's jooast and destroying its warships. Ihe interest which has been aroused and the way m which the newspaper.' are scanned for the latest tidings is one of the most interesting things about th "war." It would never have been bo lieved that m one short week the wholo country could be roused to such a pitch of excitement over what has hithertc ibeen generally considered a. naval panic.

AN ABRUPT END. jLondon, Aug. 4.— The naval manoeuvres have come to a somewhat abrupt end without any ntore dramatic incidents such as occurred m the nrst phase. The second stage only lasted 48 hours Presumably the defending fleet of Blue.' caught the Reds somewhere out m tnr Sea on Friday or Saturday morn ing and annihilated them, leaving U» enemy -nothing to go on with.. It is saic* that heavy firing was heard, hut nothing has yet transtoijed as to what actuaii> -occurred. The ships are hoW all returning to their various? stations, and Seavc js being glT£n,

The manoeuvres show that the problems of defence demand early and very serious consideration. It is believed that when the full story is told m the House of Commons the operations will have made it clear that most of the theories of the impracticability of an effective invasion are wrong, and that something rather more serious than mere raids can be carried out with comparative immunity by an enemy despite t'hs great fleet with which Great Britain can cover the North Sea.