I begin this chapter with a letter written to me on April 18th, 1918, by Colonel Sir Maurice Hankey, Secretary to the War Cabinet:—
My Dear Lord Fisher,
Last night I dined with Lord Esher. He showed me letters of yours dated 1904 describing in detail the German Submarine Campaign of 1917. It is the most amazing thing I have ever read; not one letter only, but several.
Also some astonishing remarks of yours about the Generals who ought to man the War Office in case of war. All men who have come to the top were your nominees. Finally, General Plumer (whom few people knew about) you picked out for Quartermaster-General, with this remark: “Every vote against Plumer is a vote for paper boots and insufficient shells!”[8]
Priceless, the whole thing! Neck-busy though I am, I have come to the Office early to pay this tribute of my undying admiration, and to beg you to get hold of these astounding documents for your Memoirs. But anyhow, they will appear in Lord Esher’s Memoirs, I suppose.
Yours ever,
(Signed) M. P. A. Hankey.
Now follows a letter which I wrote to a High Official in 1904, and which I had forgotten, until I came across it recently. It’s somewhat violent, but so true that I insert it. I went as First Sea Lord of the Admiralty shortly after—very unexpectedly—and so was able to give effect (though surreptitiously) to my convictions. Not only Admirals afloat, but even Politicians ashore, dubbed submarines as “playthings,” so the money had to be got by subterfuge (as I have explained in Chapter V. of my “Memories”).
Admiralty House,
Portmouth.
April 20th, 1904.
My Dear Friend,
I will begin with the last thing in your letter, which is far the most important, and that is our paucity of submarines. I consider it the most serious thing at present affecting the British Empire!—That sounds big, but it’s true. Had either the Russians or the Japanese had submarines the whole face of their war would have been changed for both sides. It really makes me laugh to read of “Admiral Togo’s eighth attack on Port Arthur!” Why! had he possessed submarines it would have been one attack and one attack only! It would have been all over with the whole Russian Fleet, caught like rats in a trap! Similarly, the Japanese Admiral Togo outside would never have dared to let his transports full of troops pursue the even tenor of their way to Chemulpo and elsewhere!