Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 1918. THE NAVY'S EXPLOIT.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14589, 26 April 1918, Page 2

Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 1918. THE NAVY'S EXPLOIT.

-"AH that is best m: our naval* traditions —traditions whicli' Have been. multiplied and enhanced during the course of 'the present war— -was embodied m, the daring operations performed on the Belgiah coast, the details of which, no\*v published, have created a -thrill Adf pride throughout, the Empire. Courage, resourcefulness, and an (execution of well-laid plans with the brilliant dash and' completeness that are characteristic of the Navy marked the adventure, and ifc is gratifying to learn from to-day(s messages tliat aeroplane reconnaissances, Since made, have disclosed that a very considerable measure of success attended the enterprise. The objective* aimed at was tho Hermans' submarine negt m the Bruges Canal, and the design -was, by destroying the artificial -harbor* at Zeebrugge and blocking the entrances to the canal at Ostend and ZeebruggeA to bottle up the submarines within the canal and prevent them issuing forth on their missions of destruction against Allied shipping. The plans, which had been carefully rehearsed, were carried out that thoroughness and disregard' of .the enormous risks involved wliich eVeryjone expects from the sea service, and the Germans were evidently, taken * hy [complete surprise. In their wrecked lharbor works and obstructed submarine channel they have a very forceful reminder of the long arnvof the. British Navy. Whilst the German high seas fleet skulks m its harbors and sends only thp sneaking underwater craft to. prey upon merphant shipping, the.British Navy maintains 'its ceaseless : patrol,'- and with great. and ever-deyelbpiyg ingenuity nas devised numerous measures lor combatting the', operations.', of these pirate vessels, to sftch effept that Sir Eric Geddes was able to appoupep copfidgritly a few weeks agp our nayal efforts wore accounting for as mapy submarines %? Gprmapy pap build! fhe difficulty of completely, aoping. wij}]. snbijmrines ip onp *that must be apparent to anyone who givps the matter a "moment's thought. Along the coast of. Belgium and m, tbe HeHgolapd Bight there • are shoal*, ; extending ip the lattgr position for a radius of 150 -miles. These provide J

easy lurking places where the submarines can lie on the bottom undetected, waiting till (he patrol boats go back to port lo refuel or till mist .-md rain nnd the darkness of the night conceal their movements, jind' then proceeding on their nefarious business. Though those shoals give the U-boat an advantage over the searching patrols, the net has been gradually drawn round the submarine, and largely through the utilisation of aircraft Which can "spot" the submarines lurking m their lairs, and" by the utilisation of depth charges : tlie shallow waters have been made unhealthy for the pirates. One plan that was proposed for the -destruction of these ora ft was the deposition m the shallow waters adjacent to the harbors of large blocks of concrete, which sunken snags Mould be liable to tear holes m the bottoms of submarines going to and' fro, but the Navy (apparently adopted the boldier idea of 'proceeding direct into the harbors, and causing such obstructions there as would prevent the U-boats issuing 'from the safety waters of the Bruges Canal, if the obstruction created by their daring and well-executed enterprise is complete we should* soon find a substantial diminution m the sinkings of our merchant vessels, and even two or three months gained m this respect will be a great gain to the Allies, for every transport saved from destruction will mean so many hundreds more of American soldiers and much more fighting material hurried forward to France. Even if the naval operation has not succeded m completely blocking -, the submarines it has been a thrust of the British fist into the face of Germany, conveying a forceful reminder that pur Navy is still alert and ready, and possibly that it has further enterprises on hand of an equally bold and daring character to confound the Hun. The spirit displayed by our men at Jutland still endures, and the attack on O'stend and Zeebrugge was equivalent to "a coward blow," daring the Gfftiian navy to borne out and fight. Nothing would please oui- glorious seamen better than to get once more into grips with the German navy, and by. their latest deed they have plainly told the Kaiser that if his ships wont come out and fight they will go ashore and dig them out. With the appointment ofe Sir -Rosslyn Wemyss.to the .position pi First Sea Lord, and with the active co-operatibn of the American fleet, who are spoiling for fight, we have been led to expect that the early future will see a British na^aj j offensive < , Th£ steps taken against 'fife submarines may have been merely the first, blow. Sir Rosslyn's experience ;of what the Navy was .able to accomplish by means ,of landing ; . parties, gained during the Dardanelles operations, doubt less gave him confidence m sending the Vindictive and other vessels into Zeebrugge, and that confidence was amply i justified by the magnificent behavior , of the crews and, the results attained. We may expect, with the success of this enterprise, further developments m the strategic Use pf sea power. ' Meantime, for what has been so brilliantly accomplished, hats off to the Navy !