MINE-LAYERS.
PELIKAN.
—This is the oldest German mine-layer in commission. She was launched in 1890, displaces 2,300 tons, and can steam at 151⁄2 knots. The armament consists of four 21-pounder quick-firing guns, and, of course, a large number of mines charged with high explosives. She is used as a sea-going training ship for mine work. The complement is 195 officers and men.
NAUTILUS.
—This ship was specially built for mine-laying work, and was launched in 1906. Her displacement is 1,935 tons, the designed speed 20 knots. She carries eight 21-pounder guns, and has magazines for a large number of naval mines, with special gear for dropping them. Her crew numbers 198 officers and men.
ALBATROSS.
—This ship, which was specially built for mine-laying work, was launched in 1907. The displacement is 2,185 tons, the designed speed 20 knots. She is armed with eight 21-pounder quick-firers, and has magazines for a large number of naval mines, with special gear for dropping them. The crew numbers 198 officers and men.
CHAPTER IV
Admiral Sir John Jellicoe
Immediately the Home Fleets had been mobilised the Admiralty issued the following announcement:
With the approval of his Majesty the King, Admiral Sir John R. Jellicoe, K.C.B., K.C.V.O., has assumed supreme command of the Home Fleets, with the acting rank of Admiral, and Rear-Admiral Charles E. Madden, C.V.O., has been appointed to be his Chief of the Staff.
His Majesty immediately sent an inspiring message to Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, as representing the whole Navy, and it was communicated to the officers and men of the squadrons in all parts of the world.
At this grave moment in our National history I send to you, and through you to the officers and men of the Fleets of which you have assumed command, the assurance of my confidence that under your direction they will revive and renew the old glories of the Royal Navy, and prove once again the sure shield of Britain and of her Empire in the hour of trial.
George R.I.
Admiral Sir John Jellicoe’s reply to the King’s message was as follows:
On behalf of the officers and men of Home Fleet, beg to tender our loyal and dutiful thanks to your Majesty for the gracious message, which will inspire all with determination to uphold the glorious traditions of the past.
(Signed) Commander-in-Chief,
Home Fleet.
Sir John Jellicoe, on whom the eyes of the nation are fixed, is one of the most distinguished admirals of the sea service. He has wide sea experience, is a splendid administrator, and is at the same time a man of cool and determined judgment.
The appointment of Sir John Jellicoe was in itself of the nature of a romance. He had no small share in shaping the instrument he now commands, and he chose as his Chief of Staff another most distinguished officer, who happens to be his brother-in-law. Sir John Jellicoe and Rear-Admiral Charles Madden served together at the Admiralty on more than one occasion, both having, indeed, been Sea Lords, and they married daughters of Sir Charles Cayzer, Bt.
The Admiralissimo and his chief staff officer are known to be in the most complete accord on matters of strategy and tactics, and were both associated in the creation and equipment of the ships of the Home Fleets on which the fortunes of the British Empire will depend. They were members of the famous Dreadnought Design Committee, and were associated with Admiral of the Fleet, Lord Fisher of Kilverstone, in his many reforms in naval administration.
No officer whom the Admiralty could have selected to go afloat at a juncture of such transcendent importance enjoys so completely the confidence of the naval service as Sir John Jellicoe. In December, 1912, he became a member of the Board of Admiralty, and then vacated the command of the Second Division of the Home Fleet, to which he was appointed over the heads of eleven vice-admirals—a fact which in itself points to the high estimation in which he is held by the naval authorities.
Born on December 5, 1859, he is the son of Captain J. H. Jellicoe. Educated at Rottingdean, Sir John Jellicoe entered the Royal Navy as a cadet on July 15, 1872, passing out of the “Britannia” first of his “batch” by over a hundred marks. In the examination for sub-lieutenant, which rank he attained six years later (December 5, 1878), he took three “firsts,” in itself a remarkable achievement.
On August 23, 1880, he was promoted lieutenant, and two years afterwards, as a lieutenant on board the “Agincourt,” he served in the Egyptian War. He was awarded the Egyptian medal and the Khedive’s bronze star. On his return to England, in the following year, he studied at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, where he won the special £80 prize for gunnery lieutenants. In May, 1886, while serving on board the “Monarch,” he was awarded the Board of Trade silver medal for gallantry in saving life at sea, by commanding a gig which went to the rescue of a stranded ship near Gibraltar, the sea being so heavy that the boat was capsized, but he and the crew were washed ashore. He served also as gunnery lieutenant of the “Colossus,” and on the staff of the “Excellent” gunnery establishment.
Gazetted a commander in 1891, he was for a time employed as assistant to the Director of Naval Ordnance, being subsequently appointed first lieutenant to the “Sans Pareil,” and later to the ill-fated “Victoria,” Admiral Sir George Tryon’s flagship, on the Mediterranean station, which was sunk off Tripoli, on the Syrian coast, in collision with the “Camperdown,” when the admiral, twenty-one officers, and 350 men were drowned. At the time of the collision Commander Jellicoe was on the sick list in his cabin. When the ship capsized he, with the aid of Mr. West, a midshipman, contrived to keep himself afloat till picked up. Commander Jellicoe’s silver medal was lost with other effects in the “Victoria,” and the Board of Trade, so it was reported at the time, intimated that another medal could be obtained on payment.
After serving as commander of the “Ramillies” flagship in the Mediterranean, he was promoted to the rank of captain (January 1st, 1897), and joined the Ordnance Committee. Admiral Sir E. H. Seymour selected him as flag captain in the “Centurion” on the China station. During the expedition to succour the Legations at Pekin in 1900, in which he narrowly escaped death by a severe gunshot wound, Captain Jellicoe commanded the Naval Brigade and acted as Chief Staff Officer, when he gained not only the C.B., but was awarded by the German Emperor the second class of the Red Eagle with crossed swords.
Returning from China at the end of 1901, he was, in November of that year, appointed to superintend the building by contract of ships of war; he next served as Naval Assistant to the Controller of the Navy, which post he vacated in August, 1903, to take command of the “Drake,” and in February, 1905, he took up the post of Director of Naval Ordnance and Torpedoes, in succession to Captain Barry.
Much has been said about the improvement of good shooting in the Navy, and in this connection considerable praise is due to Admiral Jellicoe. Without his help—so a writer in the United Service Journal once remarked, reflecting a judgment which is known to be well founded—the good work fostered by Admiral Sir Percy Scott would have been heavily handicapped—in fact, impossible; for the then Director of Naval Ordnance proved himself a man of original thought and prompt action, and one of the most capable gunnery experts in the Navy.
During the time he was in command of the “Drake,” he turned it into one of the best shooting ships of the Navy, and while he was at the Admiralty as Director of Naval Ordnance Captain Jellicoe did all that was possible to ensure the guns mounted in ships in the first fighting line being fitted with the most up-to-date day and night sights, as well as to instal a fire-control set of instruments in each ship for “spotting” and controlling at long-range shooting. The fittings of the guns and gunnery appliances generally were also greatly improved during the tenure of his appointment.
CHAPTER V
Officers and Men of the British Navy
From the current Navy Estimates the following particulars are taken of the number of officers and men voted in 1914-15 for the naval service. First the strength of the Reserves is given, then the number of active service ratings and lastly the aggregate mobilised for war:
| ROYAL NAVAL RESERVE (Consisting of Merchant Seamen, Yachtsmen, etc.) Home Force—General Service | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Numbers Voted 1914- 1915. | Numbers borne on 1st Jan., 1914. | |||||
| OFFICERS. | ||||||
| Executive Officers | 1,340 | - | 1,790 | |||
| Com. Engr. Officers | 140 | |||||
| Accountant Officers | 120 | |||||
| Warrant Engineers | 190 | |||||
| MEN. | ||||||
| Leading Seamen | 220 | - | 17,280 | |||
| Seamen | 10,780 | |||||
| Wireless Tel. Operators | 120 | |||||
| Engine Rm. Art. | 560 | |||||
| Ldg. Strs. | 110 | |||||
| Stokers | 5,490 | |||||
| Home Force—Trawler Section | ||||||
| Officers | 142 | |||||
| Men | 1,136 | |||||
| Colonial Branches | ||||||
| Newfoundland: | ||||||
| Men | 600 | |||||
| Malta: | ||||||
| Men | 400 | |||||
| Australasia: | ||||||
| Officers | — | |||||
| Men | — | |||||
| 21,348 | 19,467 | |||||
| ROYAL FLEET RESERVE | ||||||
| (Consisting of Naval Seamen and others who have served in the Fleet for five years or more) | ||||||
| MEN | ||||||
| Class A.—Pensioners. | ||||||
| Seamen Class | 3,800 | - | 8,327 | |||
| Stoker Class | 2,500 | |||||
| Police rat. | 187 | |||||
| Royal Marines | 1,840 | |||||
| Class B.—Non-Pensioners. | ||||||
| Seamen Class | 9,150 | - | 18,710 | |||
| Stoker Class | 6,500 | |||||
| Police rat. | 10 | |||||
| Royal Marines | 3,050 | |||||
| Immediate Class.—Non-Pensioners. | ||||||
| Seamen Class | 1,600 | - | 4,070 | |||
| Stoker Class | 1,870 | |||||
| Royal Marines | 600 | |||||
| 31,107 | 27,734 | |||||
| ROYAL NAVAL VOLUNTEERS | ||||||
| Officers and Men (efficients) | [6]4,500 | |||||
| 4,500 | 4,605 | |||||
| PENSIONERS | ||||||
| Seamen | 6,376 | |||||
| Royal Marines | 1,734 | |||||
| 8,110 | 8,740 | |||||
| Total | 65,065 | 60,546 | ||||
| Total, Active Service Ratings | 151,000 | 144,871 | ||||
| Total Reserves | 65,065 | 60,546 | ||||
| Grand total | [7]216,065 | 205,417 | ||||
[6] Includes 300 South African Division.
[7] 1,562 Ranks and Ratings on the Active List. Royal Fleet Reserve Men and Pensioners have been lent for service under Colonial and Foreign Governments.
When war was declared there was no dearth of officers and men for the British Fleet. The presentation of a Supplementary Estimate to Parliament by the Admiralty, after the declaration of hostilities, gave rise to a misunderstanding. This action was a mere formality in order to keep the right side of Treasury procedure, and it did not mean that 67,000 additional officers and men were going to be raised. What happened was that Reservists to the number of about 60,000 were called up and they were forthwith transferred to Vote A., which fixes the number of active service officers and ratings and provides pay for them.
Whereas Parliament provided in the spring of 1914 for an active personnel of 151,000 with 60,000 Reservists, the two totals had to be added together so as to obtain Parliamentary sanction for full pay being provided for 211,000. In addition the new vote left room for a slight actual expansion—consisting of a number of retired officers and a quota of artisan and other skilled ratings to be forthwith raised.
Thus we get an aggregate of 218,000 officers and men for service ashore and afloat. This total includes cadets and boys under training, and approximately 200,000, it may be assumed, were available for service in the Home Fleets and the squadrons in distant seas. It is an axiom that in peace we have more ships than we can man, while in war we shall have a good surplus of men after manning all the ships. When passing from a peace to a war footing, Royal Fleet reservists—well-trained men with from five to seven years’ service—and others became available and the Fleet was fully mobilised, having no inconsiderable surplus to make good the casualties of battle.
CHAPTER VI
The Commander-in-Chief of the German Fleet
There is a certain parallel between the circumstances which have brought the commanders-in-chief of the British and German battle fleets into the positions they respectively hold to-day. Just as Admiral Sir John Jellicoe was long since “ear-marked” for the supreme command of the Home Fleets, so was Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl selected for the control of the German High Seas Fleet years before his appointment was actually gazetted.
The German commander-in-chief, whose flag now flies in the Dreadnought, Friedrich der Grosse, is without doubt one of Europe’s most distinguished naval officers. In a navy where more than elsewhere, a premium is placed upon scientific leadership, this officer early attracted the attention of his superiors by reason of the skill and resourcefulness he displayed during manœuvres. He is said to have specialised in cruiser tactics, and to have been one of the first officers to urge upon the Navy Department the wisdom of adopting the battle-cruiser design when that novel conception materialised in the British “Invincible.” He is also known as the leading advocate of that system of tactics which is known in Germany as the “rücksichtslose Offensive,” and which in homely idiom may be translated as “going for” the enemy hammer and tongs.
In a word, Admiral von Ingenohl is the embodiment of the strikingly progressive spirit which pervades the modern German navy. It is by no means a spirit of mere reckless dash, which reckons on gaining a victory solely by impetuous onslaught. Under modern conditions, tactics such as these might well be fatal to those who employed them, owing to the deadly precision of heavy guns and the development of the torpedo. The German school of naval thought favours, instead, a preliminary period of “mosquito warfare,” seeking thus to reduce both the material and the moral strength of an enemy before the actual clash of armoured squadrons takes place. That this idea is faithfully to be adhered to is clear from the opening incidents of the present campaign at sea, which have already shown that reliance is placed on the torpedo and the mine as a preliminary means of diminishing our preponderance in big ships. So far, indeed, the German plan of campaign has been singularly true to the principles advocated by the leading German authorities who have written of naval warfare. They lead us to anticipate a good deal of this “Kleinkrieg” before the High Seas Fleet emerges from cover. On the other hand, it were unwise to suppose that the German Fleet will continue to act strictly by the book, especially in view of the character of its commander-in-chief.
In German naval circles Admiral von Ingenohl is known as one of the first German flag officers who completely freed themselves from the military traditions in which the fleet was cradled and has been reared. The German navy, as is well known, was founded as a branch of the army, and its early development proceeded on distinctly military lines. Until the present Emperor came to the Throne the head of the Admiralty was always an army officer, and it followed that, in so far as the different conditions permitted, the strategy and tactics of the fleet were brought into line with those of the land forces. Ships were regarded primarily as units for coast defence, in the most limited sense of the word. This held true far into the nineties, and it is actually less than two decades since Germany first undertook the construction of ships which were specially designed to meet and defeat the foe in open sea. It seems probable that Admiral von Ingenohl owes something of his broader views on naval strategy to the large amount of foreign service he has seen.
Born in 1857 of comparatively humble parents, he entered the navy at the age of 17. The service in those days enjoyed nothing like its present prestige. It offered no attractions to the sons of the upper classes, and was completely overshadowed by the army, then in the zenith of its brilliance and popularity, after the successful war against France. The navy drew a large majority of its officers from a class whose social status was considered scarcely high enough to give its sons the entrée to the army. Proof of this will be seen in the conspicuous absence of naval officers who are hereditary nobles. Admiral von Ingenohl, in common with Grand-Admirals von Tirpitz, von Koester, and several other flag officers, received his patent of nobility as a mark of Imperial favour.
While on his maiden cruise in foreign waters the young officer was privileged to see some fighting. His ship, the old “Vineta,” was one of a small German squadron which was assembled to teach the Chinese pirates a lesson. Nineteen years later he was again in action in the same quarter of the globe, and against the same opponents, when the gunboat “Iltis,” which he commanded, shelled a battery at Tamsui, which had fired on a German steamer. In the intervals of command afloat he was engaged at the Navy Department, where he put in one spell of nearly three and a half years as divisional chief of the ordnance board, and subsequently directed a department of the Admiral Staff. His first important independent command was the battleship “Wörth,” in her day one of the best ships in the navy. He was next appointed to the cruiser “Kaiserin Augusta,” and shortly after to the “Hertha,” a more powerful ship of the same class. After another short interval of shore work he was appointed to command the Imperial yacht “Hohenzollern,” where, of course, he came under the direct eye of the Kaiser, who was quick to recognise his qualities.
POSEN CLASS.
NASSAU, POSEN, RHEINLAND, WESTFALEN.
Displacement: 18,900 tons.
Speed: 20 knots; Guns: 12 11in., 12 6in., 16 24pdrs.; Torpedo tubes: 6.
| Astern fire: | Broadside: | Ahead fire: |
|---|---|---|
| 6 11in. | 8 11in. | 6 11in. |
| 4 6in. | 6 6in. | 4 6in. |
As early as 1889 he had been a lieutenant in the old Imperial yacht in which the Emperor made his first long cruises. On leaving the “Hohenzollern” in 1908 he was promoted to Rear-Admiral, and placed in charge of the second division of the First Squadron. In the following year he hoisted his flag as admiral of the cruiser squadron in China, whence he was recalled twelve months later to assume charge of the Second Battle Squadron in home waters. The commander-in-chief of the High Sea Fleet was then Admiral von Holtzendorff, who, after Grand-Admiral von Koester (the president of the Navy League), is considered to be the finest naval strategist in Germany. Under this officer the battle fleet is said to have increased remarkably in efficiency, both in regard to gunnery, seamanship, and general smartness. This period witnessed the introduction into the fleet of up-to-date shooting methods, and notably of long-range practice. In the manœuvres of 1912 the Second Squadron, commanded by Admiral von Ingenohl, was held to have scored a decisive success against a much stronger fleet, which included seven Dreadnought battleships, whereas his own squadron was composed of older and weaker ships. In January, 1913, Admiral von Holtzendorff hauled down his flag, and was succeeded by Admiral von Ingenohl as commander-in-chief.
The leader of the German battle fleet has, therefore, held his present appointment for upwards of eighteen months, and it is to be supposed that he is thoroughly familiar with every unit of his fine force, especially as the ships in active commission spend more than nine months of the year at sea. The fleet certainly stands to benefit by this comparatively long period of single command. It will feel the confidence born of experience in its distinguished leader, and he in turn, knowing exactly what his ships can do, need fear no check to his plans by unsuspected defects in personnel or material. Whatever the near future may bring, it is certain that the German navy will put forth its utmost effort to fulfil the hope placed in it by the nation, and those who anticipate a cheaply purchased naval victory for us are laying up a rude disappointment for themselves. The material resources of the German fleet alone can give some idea of its formidability, but its potentiality will be incalculably increased if the leadership is of the high order which the reputation of the present commander-in-chief leads us to expect.
CHAPTER VII
Officers and Men of the Foreign Navies
PERSONNEL OF THE NAVIES
| Officers (including cadets). | Non-com- missioned officers and men. | Total (all ranks). | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 4,491 | 74,895 | 79,386 | [8] |
| France | 2,844 | 62,611 | 65,455 | |
| Russia | 3,404 | 57,000 | 60,404 | |
| Austria-Hungary | 1,377 | 19,132 | 20,509 | |
| Japan | 4,713 | 49,950 | 54,663 | |
[8] Including 7,726 “Seamen Artillerists” and “Marines” who do not serve at sea.
NOTES TO PERSONNEL STATISTICS
GERMANY.—The Imperial German Navy is manned largely by conscription. About 25 per cent. of the non-commissioned personnel consists, however, of volunteers, or long-service men, who have made the Navy their profession. These “professionals,” as they are called, are the backbone of the fleet. They fill all the really important posts, such as that of gun-captain, gun-layer, torpedo-gunner, leading signalman, and they are responsible for the efficiency of the conscripts under their charge. Seventy-five per cent. of the personnel is represented by conscripts mainly from the inland districts whose term of service is three years, and who see the sea for the first time after entering the Navy. Enrolment takes place each October, and after two or three weeks of rudimentary instruction on shore, they are distributed among the battle-fleet and the torpedo flotillas. Hence, at the outbreak of war, 25 per cent. of the German personnel had been under training about 34 months, 25 per cent. about 22 months, and 25 per cent. no longer than 10 months.
Owing to the limited period of service German naval training is extremely strenuous and intensive. Every effort is made to specialize, newcomers being selected for certain duties according to the aptitude they display. The German bluejacket is not a “handy man” in the sense that the British sailor is, but he is said to be efficient in his own particular groove. Discipline is exceedingly strict, and the relations between officers and men are rarely cordial.
The officers are well educated and very scientific in their methods.
FRANCE.—The French Navy is manned principally on the conscript system, but as France has a large maritime population, the majority of the naval recruits are men who have followed the sea since boyhood and who, therefore, adapt themselves very quickly to service in the Fleet. There is also a large percentage of long-service volunteers. The period of compulsory service was, until lately, two years, but under the new Law this has been raised to three years. Authorities speak highly of the French bluejacket’s intelligence and courage. Discipline is good, but not so strict as in the German Navy. The officers are, as a rule, men of high scientific attainments and very keen on their work.
RUSSIA.—The Russian Navy is manned almost exclusively by conscripts, who serve for five years afloat. Although his education generally leaves much to be desired, the Russian sailor has many excellent qualities. He is obedient, courageous, and never gets into a panic. Since the disastrous war with Japan, the Navy has been purged of many of the elements which impaired efficiency. The officers are now capable and zealous. The change which has come over the Fleet is evidenced by an “order of the day,” recently promulgated, which enjoins all naval officers never to surrender their ships under any circumstances, but to sink them if capture is imminent.
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.—The Austro-Hungarian Navy is manned by conscripts and volunteers, the former largely predominating. Four years is the period of service. The men are drawn almost exclusively from the Dalmatian coast, and represent a very hardy and courageous type. The average of education is, however, very low, the percentage of illiterates being abnormal. Although Italian is the mother tongue of the majority, German is the official language of the Navy. All-round efficiency is maintained on a high level. The officers are men of excellent education, wide knowledge, and unlimited zeal.
JAPAN.—The Japanese Navy is principally manned on a compulsory basis, the term of active service being three years. The men are excellent in every way, smart, intelligent, resourceful, and amenable to discipline. They display a wonderful aptitude for manipulating the complex mechanism of a modern warship, as was proved in the campaign against Russia. The officers are highly trained and enterprising.