The claim of British observers, that the events of the week immediately preceding Christmas proved that the Allied Navies had complete mastery of the seas, and that the Royal Navy and Royal Airforce, while acting as separate units, were ce-operating with the best results, is clearly justified. The facts have plainly demonstrated the effectiveness of the convoy system, while the recent landing of Canadian contingents in Britain fully proves that it is as possible now as it was in the last war to transport large bodies of men across the Atlantic without suffering casualties. The Germans have made much of the claim that they have secured control over the North Sea basing their contention upon the fact that the British Navy is not using Scapa Flow as its headquarters, and that German aircraft have been able to make uninterrupted flights over the North Sea. It has to be remembered that in the early stages of the last war Lord Jellicoe made the same decision as has been made on this occasion, transferring his base to Lough Swilly, which, while it meant that the fleet was a long way away from. the normal scene of its operations, did not in any way moderate the effectiveness of the control which the British Navy exercised. The recent air-raids over Heligoland _have demonstrated the use of new tactics in which the close ce-operation between the air and naval forces tends to keep German naval units bottled up in their naval bases, and it is being shown that the German Navy is being reduced to a state of idleness quite comparable with that which was imposed upon it for the greater portion of the last war. Short of actual destruction of the enemy war vessels their reduction to a state of inactivity is a signal success, and the German claim to control over the North Sea is just as absurd as its other claim to control the Atlantic. The effectiveness of the Allied blockade of Germany is apparent practically every day, and while the amounts of enemy goods which are seized must naturally decrease because they are no longer being shipped in similar quantities, the fact that this is so is in itself the best test of the naval efficiency of the Allies.
There is very little in the German claims that because an odd raider managed to get through the Allied blockade it is ineffective. The advent of the aeroplane has considerably altered naval tactics, and whereas during the last war it was possible to maintain the blockade closer to the German coasts, the distances which the aeroplane can cover make it imperative for the naval forces to operate a great distance away from the enemy, and consequently along much longer lines. It is not, therefore, surprising that German vessels do occasionally succeed in passing through the blockade. Indeed it would be more surprising if they did not, for whatever blame may be laid at the doors of various officers of the German Navy it cannot be gain said that they are both courageous, and able enough to take the risks which the blockade involves for them. On the other hand there has been no lack of initiative on the part of British vessels. The feats of the Ursula and the Salmon are in accordance with the highest British traditions. The former penetrated the German mine fields in the North Sea, entered the shallow waters of the mouth of the Elbe, slipped past a cordon of German destroyers, and, risking destruction from the air, tor-pedeed, and sank a cruiser of the Koeln class. The Salmon succeeded in accounting for one German cruiser, and damaging another all in circumstances of very considerable danger, thus doing very great damage to the German fleet as a fighting whole, and considerably reducing the strength with which Germany embarked upon hostilities. It may safely be said that, making all due allowance for the damage inflicted by the Germans upon the British navy, and that damage is small as compared with that which was done in the early weeks of the last war, the balance is decidedly in favour of the Allied forces. They undoubtedly have control of the seas, and are exercising it to the fullest advantage, while the German Navy is not even safe behind its own. mine fields. In addition to that the greater proportion of the submarines with which Germany entered the war have been accounted for, and while she can undoubtedly replace them fairly quickly she has yet to surmount the difficulty of providing fully trained submarine crews.
In the air the British forces have demonstrated that they are quite as good, and, in all probability, superior to their German opponents. The description of the air battle which occurred on December 18 clearly demonstrates the excellence of British material and men. The British bombers carried out their mission over Heligoland with the completest success, resisting all German attempts to break up their formation, and in a heavy action demonstrating complete ability to meet and fight off the very energetic attacks which were made by the Germans. The question as to who is to have control of the air has yet to be decided. There is at the moment no pressing need that this shall be decided immediately, for it is quite obvious that with the enormous strides which are being made in the production of British machines, and the development of new models based upon the e: periences of this present war, the delay is more to the advantage of the Allies than it is to the Germans. That issue, however, will have to be fought out sooner or later, and upon it depends much of the future of the war. Should the Allies secure that command then it may reasonably be expected that the blockade of Germany will be drawn closer than it is at present, and that the same rigid control of the North Sea will be established which marked the conclusion of the last war. There is, then, every reason in the world fpr looking forward to the future with the completest confidence. It would, of course, be foolish to underestimate the enemy, but signs are apparent that the Allies are laying solid foundations upon which the fabric of victory will be built, and there is every reason for believing observers to be correct in their judgment of the situation when they hold that exchanges up to the present have considerably favoured the Allied cause, and that the results obtained are in every way excellent, and in fact much better than could have been anticipated in the early days of the hostilities.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.