From a military point of view, the loss of the battleship is the most serious blow which the enemy has dealt us. The incident occurred in the English Channel, the agent of destruction was apparently a submarine or mine, and evidently the battleship was under way at the time, as she would not be with engines stopped in the open seaway. Other events which have occurred since the war opened have been almost negligible regarded purely from the military standpoint, but this one cannot be dismissed as of no importance.
As a rule, speed is an effective defence against submarines, but not always. The under-water vessel may simply sit down at some point in a traffic way and patiently wait until a passing ship comes on its sight, so to speak, then discharge its torpedo. It may be that this is what happened in the case of the Formidable ╤
suddenly 300lb. of T.N.T. was thrust into her by a foe waiting for her to pass, and all was over.
The significance of the circumstances in which the vessel sank and the destruction of so many lives are arresting. We could not afford to lose so many officers and men ╤ among the finest representatives of our race. They are irreplaceable. The ship, which belonged to the 1897 programme, was still useful, and there are several we could have sooner spared, but she was not in her prime.
We had reason to anticipate such blows would be struck. On August 7, I remarked in this column that ╥it would be folly to imagine that because we are in superior strength we can hope to secure command of the sea except after a fierce struggle. We may have to suffer colossal loss of life before the trident is ours.╙ In fact, we have not paid as heavily for the control of the sea which we have exercised for five months as it seemed probable that we should pay. Those who study the war from armchairs cannot realise how fierce the struggle has been, but the navy knows and some day may tell.
