Although nothing definite has been reported lately about the Russian naval force in the Baltic, it would be a mistake to infer from this that Admiral von Essen's fleet is not playing its part in tke war, says the Naval correspondent of "The Time As I have already explained, it is not essential that naval force should be ex-excised in battle in order that its influence should be felt. Just as the German High Sea Fleet, under Admiral von Ingenohl, fror- the western end of the Kaiser Wilhe'm Canal can exert an influence in the Baltic, so also the Russian Fleet, although it may not leave thy Kron: stadt Roads, is unquestionably in-fluoricing the naval and military strategy of the war.
It true that the Russian admiral's squadrons are not in sufficient numbers and force to meet such a fleet as Germany could pass through the canal at any time or may even now be maintaining in northern waters. But the point is that Germany, so long as that Russian Fleet remains intact, must maintain a sufficient force ready to meet it. If her naval forces should become depleted in action with the British Grand Fleet, or by torpedo attack, either in the North Sea or the Baltic, the preesure upon the Russian squadron would at once be relieved. When it became manifest that the Germans were no longer able to meet the Russian Fleet in the Baltic in sufficient strength to defeat it, not only would that fleet immediately assume command in Northern waters, but the way would be open for Russian transports to cross to the northern coast of Germany.
Admiral von Essen's Force.
The Russian Fleet, under Admiral von Essen, is by no means insignificant in numbers and force, nor can its potential capacity be left out of account by Germany. It consists of four preDreadnought battleships, superior to any pre-Dreadnoughts in the German Navy; six armoured cruisers, likewise superior to any of the German
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.