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THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE BRITISH NAVY IN THE WORLD WAR
HODDER AND STOUGHTON LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO MCMXVII
THE ACHIEVEMENT _of the_ BRITISH NAVY IN THE WORLD-WAR :: JOHN LEYLAND
[Illustration: THE KING CHATTING WITH ADMIRAL BEATTY]
THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE BRITISH NAVY IN THE WORLD-WAR
CHAPTER PAGE I. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SEA SERVICE 1
III. SWEEPING THE ENEMY FROM THE OCEANS 21
IV. THE GRASP OF THE MEDITERRANEAN: SEA- AND LAND-POWER 29
X. WHAT THE BRITISH NAVY IS AND WHAT IT FIGHTS FOR 79
THE KING CHATTING WITH ADMIRAL BEATTY _Frontispiece_
PAGE A BRITISH FLEET STEAMING IN LINE AHEAD 6
A DRIFTER AT SEA: LOOKING FOR SUBMARINES AND MINES 22
FLEETS IN ALLIANCE: BRITISH AND ITALIAN SHIPS IN THE ADRIATIC 38
ON BOARD THE _Queen Elizabeth_ AT MUDROS 38
THE CAPTURED GERMAN SUBMARINE MINE-LAYER UC5 64
I. THE CENTRE OF SEA-POWER: THE NORTH SEA _At end of book_
II. THE GRASP OF THE MEDITERRANEAN: SEA- AND LAND-POWER _At end of book_
THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE BRITISH NAVY IN THE WORLD-WAR
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SEA SERVICE
Had I the fabled herb That brought to life the dead, Whom would I dare disturb In his eternal bed? Great Grenville would I wake, And with glad tidings make The soul of mighty Drake Lift an exulting head.
When King George returned from the visit he paid to the Grand Fleet in June, 1917, he sent a message to Admiral Sir David Beatty, who had succeeded Sir John Jellicoe in the command, in which he said that “never had the British Navy stood higher in the estimation of friend or foe.” His Majesty spoke of people who reason and understand. But it is certainly true that the work of the Sea Service during this unparalleled war has never been properly appreciated by many of those who have benefited by it most. The silent Navy does its work unobserved. The record of its heroism and the services it renders pass unobserved by the multitude. Sometimes it emerges to strike a blow, engage in a “scrap,” or, it may be, to fight a battle, and then it retires into obscurity again. Its achievements are forgotten. Only the bombardment of a coast town or the torpedoing of a big ship, which the Navy did not frustrate, is remembered. Such has been the case in all the naval campaigns of the past. Englishmen, who depend upon the Navy for their security and the means of their life and livelihood, as well as for their power of action against their enemies, are but half conscious of what the Fleet is doing for them. On this matter, British statesmen, when they speak about the war, almost invariably fail to enlighten them.