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.