In the previous year the emancipation of the Navy had gone forward apace. And not the least significant of the stages in the process were first the appointment of Admiral Sir Roger Keyes to be head of the Planning Division at the Admiralty, next his removal from the Admiralty to Dover, next the inauguration of the Channel barrage, and finally his surprising and masterly stroke at the Flemish ports. The enumeration of these stages is worth making, for they mark the genesis of the plan we have seen achieved. It was, if I am correctly informed, quite understood when Admiral Keyes went to Dover that his mission was temporary. If he was sent to do the things which he has done, and now that he has done them is taken back to Whitehall, then it might seem as if we might look forward to an aggressive policy at sea more worthy of the superb force which we possess, and more consonant with its glorious heritage than anything which we have witnessed in the past. And if Sir Roger cannot be spared from his new command, so auspiciously inaugurated, then we must trust that some other of equal brains and spirit has already taken or will take his place. Zeebrügge and Ostend, then, will figure in naval history, not only as the names of achievements unique and splendid in themselves, but more famous as the harbingers of still greater things to come. END [Illustration: 1. 6·0-6·20] [Illustration: 2. 6·20-6·30] [Illustration: 3. 6·30-6·50] [Illustration: 4. 6·50-7·6] [Illustration: 5. 6·0-6·25] [Illustration] THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS GARDEN CITY, N. Y. Transcriber’s Notes Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed. Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced quotation marks retained. Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained. Text within some diagrams has been enlarged to improve readability. Empty space in some diagrams has been removed to allow those diagrams to be enlarged for improved readability. Page 163: Closing quotation mark added at the end of “voice pipes in the beginning.’” Page 262: Opening quotation mark removed at “Mr. Churchill’s speech”. End of Project Gutenberg's The British Navy in Battle, by Arthur H. Pollen