(By Our Naval Correspondent.) The boldness and daring of the stroke which the German destroyers attempted on Thursday night must be acknowledged, and it is to be wished that they had been made to pay more heavily for their audacity. It may be hoped that. in addition to the two destroyers which they have lost, there were others which did not escape scathless when driven off.
This is the first time that hostile destroyers have been reported to interfere with the cross-Channel traffic, and it will come as a surprise to many that they should have been able to attempt it. The exploit was a more venturesome example of the sallies for which the destroyers from Zeebrugge have become notorious It may be supposed that by creeping along inshore in the dark they managed to elude the vigilance of our patrol. The British loss, which is much to be regretted, may be explained if the convoy of the attacked transport was numerically inferior to the German raiding flotilla.
The fact that such a raid could be made seems to point to the necessity for an extended use of mines so as to close if possible egress from Zeebrugge and Ostend. The purpose of the raid may be easily conjectured. About two months ago Major Moraht, the German military critic, made the interesting discovery that the operations of the British Army on the Western front were dependent upon the continued stream of troops and munitions brought to France across the Channel. “If only we could,” he said, “With all the forces at our command, succeed in menacing the British lines of communication, we could then reckon on relieving our troops on the Somme.”
For some time past, with torpedoes and mines, the U boats have done their level best to harass the cross-Channel traffic, but, as Sir Reginald Bacon was able to record in his dispatch of July 27, not a single life has been lost in the whole of the vast transport operations.
It may be recalled that the recent visit of the Kaiser to Zeebrugge was expected to be the precursor of some further development of naval energy, and it seems quite likely that the night attack of Thursday is an indication of the form that development will take. Since this port was converted into a base the activity of the destroyers in the area guarded by the faver patrol has been frequently mentioned in communique and dispatches. Their enterprise has been considerable, and they even claim to have raided the mouth of the Thames. It is unquestionable that their successes have not been conspicuous owing to the alertness and efficiency of the light cruisers and torpedo flotilla on that station.