Viewing page 85 of 150

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

its own resources. In naval war, coast defense is the defensive factor, the Navy the offensive. Coast defense, when adequate, assures the naval commander-in-chief that his base of operations -- the dock yards and coal depots -- are secure. It also relieves him and his government, by the protection afforded to the chief commercial centers, from the necessity of considering them, and so leaves the offensive arm perfectly free."

In order to provide the necessary defenses to relieve the Navy from any responsibility for the mere safety of the parts, nearly two billion dollars was spent on our fixed Coast Defense during the twenty years following the Spanish-American War. This, however, did not relieve the Navy of the responsibility of providing for the patrol of our coastwise sea lanes and the protection of coastwise shipping, and the Naval Coast Defense Forces still remained a necessity even though it resulted in curtailing the power and activity of the fleet. With the advent of air weapons, the necessity of maintaining these forces became less important and has now ceased altogether in the case of those nations equipped with an adequate Air Force. Thus the last link binding the fleet to the shore has been cut, and the dream of a sea-going, offensive Navy been realized.

The Navy, however, instead of seizing this advantage, continued to make provision for the increase of the Naval Coast Defense Forces by planning the establishment of land bases for aerial operations along the coast, paralleling those of the Army. This naturally resulted in their



-37-