The Achievement of the British Navy in the World-War — John Shaqi
The Achievement of the British Navy in the World-WarLeyland, John
History
The Achievement of the British Navy in the World-War
Leyland, John
Great Britain. Royal Navy; World War, 1914-1918 -- Naval operations, British
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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