The victory of Germany would have been swift and decisive if the great armies represented by these figures had not come to the support of France. French troops from Northern Africa and the East also joined her brave army, because transport in the Mediterranean was secure. The great army of Russia could have made no offensive movement if she had not received the immense supplies of guns, munitions, motors, and other material which came to her from abroad. Because of British supremacy at sea and the shipping that consequently came there, Archangel, from being a sleepy harbour, developed into one of the busiest ports on the continent of Europe. Italy could have made no headway if many of the things she required had not come to her by sea. Greece would have remained permanently on the side of the enemy if sea-power and the troops transported there had not rallied her to the Allies. The German colonies would not have been occupied if fleets had not carried to them the troops for their subjection. England, by virtue of sea command guaranteed by her Fleet, has gathered her armies from India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and from every colony and possession, and has sent them to serve in France, Belgium, Greece, Gallipoli, Egypt, Palestine, Macedonia, Mesopotamia, and Africa. Not a soldier has gone afloat but a seaman has carried him on his back.
Before we can appreciate this aspect of the work of the Navy in the war, we must gain some idea of what is implied by the military service of these armies in the field. It is not enough to dispatch armies. They must be maintained and supplied. The communications of an army are vital to its operations, and the communications of all the armies that England is employing are by sea, and are guarded by the Navy. It would not be an easy thing to estimate the vast requirements of fighting forces; but that is unnecessary. They are on an infinitely greater scale, in proportion to the strength of the troops employed, than in any previous war. Guns are far more numerous and much heavier than they were. The expenditure of ammunition has gone beyond all anticipation, and a real fleet is required for its transport. Horses, mules, many descriptions of heavy and light ordnance and ammunition for them, warlike and general stores of innumerable kinds, aeroplanes, balloons, the gigantic “tanks,” hospitals and hospital requisites, clothing, food, forage, camp equipment, transport vehicles, traction engines, pontooning, railway, telegraph, building, and mining material, locomotives of many kinds, petrol, and a hundred other stores and things are necessary, and they must day and night be in transit, without rest or pause. It will illustrate the gigantic nature of the operation if we record that between November, 1916, and June, 1917, 2,000 miles of complete railway track were shipped, with nearly 1,000 locomotives, and other supplies by railway companies. Labour and work for a hundred different services have to be provided also. The United States and other countries have contributed enormous supplies, and, with the coming of the American Army, the volume of the ceaseless torrent—the veritable Niagara—will increase still more. History has no parallel for such operations.
This vast business being the charge of the British Navy and of the navies allied with it, we see how great an object it must be of the enemy to strike at the lines of supply. That they have completely failed would appear almost miraculous, if we did not know that the reasons for the failure are altogether of a practical character. It was inevitable that there should be some losses when submarines and mine-layers were at work, but the destruction effected has been a mere fraction of the whole, and the influence upon the campaigns is entirely negligible. The Ministry of Munitions imports 1,500,000 tons of material every month. The most considerable loss due to attack has been in the matter of shell components, but it did not amount to more than 5.9 per cent. of the whole supply from the beginning of the submarine campaign up to June, 1917. The most serious disasters were in the Mediterranean, where submarines sank the French transports Provence II. and Gallia, engaged in the Salonika expedition, with the loss of about 1,600 lives. The enemy will certainly continue his efforts.
Never was a more seriously planned attempt made than that of June 22nd, 1917, when General Pershing’s American Expeditionary Force was crossing the Atlantic. German submarines, in considerable force, made two attacks upon the transports, and on both occasions were beaten off with every appearance of loss. One submarine was certainly sunk, and there was reason to believe that the accurate fire of the American gunners sent others to the bottom. For purposes of convenience the expedition had been divided into contingents, each composed of troop-ships and a naval escort designed to keep off such raiders as might be met with. An ocean rendezvous was arranged with the American destroyers then operating in European waters, in order that the passage through the danger zone might be attended by every possible protection. There was reason to believe that the Germans had secret intelligence of the course taken by the transports to the rendezvous and of the time appointed for their arrival there.
The first attack occurred at 10.30 p.m. at a point well on the American side of the rendezvous, in a part of the Atlantic which might have been presumed free from submarines. The heavy gunfire of the American destroyers scattered the enemy boats, and five torpedoes were seen. The second attack was launched a few days later, against the other contingent, on the European side of the rendezvous. Not only did destroyers hold the boats at a safe distance, but their speed resulted in sinking at least one submarine. Bombs were dropped firing a charge of explosive timed to go off at a certain distance under water. In one instance the wreckage covered the surface of the sea after a shot at a periscope. “Protected by our high seas convoy destroyers and by French war vessels,” said the Secretary of the United States Navy, “the contingent proceeded, and joined the others at a French port. The whole nation will rejoice that so great a peril has passed for the vanguard of the men who will fight our battles in France.”
This incident illustrates the method of protection chiefly employed by the British Navy. When the original Expeditionary Force was sent to France, the Grand Fleet was in readiness if the High Sea Fleet should venture to issue to sea. Cruisers, destroyers, naval aircraft, and submarines were on watch and guard in the North Sea and the Channel, and the patrol was maintained, day and night, without intermission until the army had been effectively transported. The patrol was then organised upon a greater scale as the transport grew in volume. The Dover Patrol undertook a work of the highest importance, and was instrumental in holding off all destroyer attacks from the eastward. Cruisers, destroyers, armed motor launches, mine-trawlers and drifters, and other vessels have been constantly at work, and observation balloons and seaplanes have never ceased their vigil. The triumph has been complete, the enemy submarines have never penetrated the guard, and the Channel communications of all the armies in France have been made secure. There are certain features of this organisation which cannot be dealt with here. The same system has been carried into the Mediterranean and elsewhere, and the French, Italian, and Japanese navies have shared in the work.
In this matter of transport protection the British Navy has rendered magnificent service to all the Allies. General Sir Charles Munro, after the evacuation of Gallipoli, said it was a stroke of good fortune for the Army to be associated with a service “whose work remained throughout this anxious period beyond the power of criticism or cavil,” and General Sir Ian Hamilton reported that “one tiny flaw in the mutual trust and confidence animating the two services would have wrecked the whole enterprise.” This is true not only of Gallipoli but of every place in which the Navy has been serving as the guard of the communications, and the base and support of the military forces.
It will be understood that the Transport Department of the British Admiralty undertook a colossal work at the beginning of the war. It possessed the unrivalled experience gained during the South African War, 1899–1901, when about 275,000 men were dispatched and supplied with all army requirements over a distance of 7,000 miles of sea and land. Then there was no enemy afloat, but the operation was greater than any previously undertaken, and evoked the admiration of the world as a revelation of resource, energy, organisation, national spirit, good management, and business-like capacity. What will be said when the now incalculable work of the Transport Department in this war can be estimated and described? The inspection and selection of ships and the conversion of them for the accommodation of troops and horses was a great business. In 1899 it was estimated that a satisfactory transport should be capable of carrying a number of men equal to 25 per cent. of her tonnage. What is the rule now one cannot say. There are important considerations of ballasting, speed, coal consumption, and other matters in such business, and the removal or adaptation of existing fittings and the allotting of space for various purposes have occupied the Admiralty officers and officials.
It was a business both of embarkation and disembarkation, on both sides of the Channel, and special provision was required for the wounded and sick. The Naval Transport and Embarkation Officers have had a very exhausting and anxious time in taking up, fitting, coaling, and otherwise preparing vessels for sea, and in giving orders for the movements of ships at the ports on arrival and departure, as well as in providing for the safety and expedition of all embarkations of men, horses, and stores, and arranging for docking and like matters. They merit the gratitude of the country and the Allies. It may be said that in all the naval and commercial ports of the United Kingdom, and in the French ports as well, work of this or like kind has been in progress uninterruptedly since the beginning of the war. It is strictly naval work, and was set on an excellent and satisfactory footing by the Admiralty; but, as the war progressed, and the pressure grew greater, imposing additional duties on the Transport Department, some matters dealt with by certain of its branches, and concerned with ship construction, modification, and repair, were placed in charge of competent civilians.