The Death of Hope by Andrew Wareham (inspirational books for women txt) 📕

side, you mightsay, Griffin. Handy, that. I must at this point formally warn you that anybreach of Dutch neutrality by our ships will result in a court and certaindismissal of the captain from his ship and probable loss of his commission. TheAdmiralty will accept no excuse other than your ship out of control due tostorm damage or enemy action – if you sink in Dutch waters, you will probably beexonerated, preferably posthumously!”

“You just said that the Germans habituallybreach Dutch neutrality, sir.”

“They do. We don’t. The Dutch know thatand act accordingly. They are building coastal defence ships, I am told. A yearat most and they will be able to defend their neutrality. For the while, everybreach they observe is beneficial to us. Interned soldiers are put on shipshome and escapees are escorted to the ports and sent off to England withoutcharge – because the Dutch are angered by the German contempt for their rights.The Commodore has told me that the bulk of the soldiers interned in ’14 havebeen returned to England, repatriated on medical grounds, officially. Most ofthem have been returned to active service.”

“So, sir, we must always stand clear, evenin hot pursuit?”

“Unfailingly. I will accept no excuse froma captain who breaches Dutch neutrality. The only reason for so doing is becauseyour ship is sinking; if that is the case, you cannot come back. If you do comeback, by definition, you must be guilty.”

Griffin thought that was excessively hard.

“It is. Intentionally so. Now then, haveyou further queries about your orders?”

Simon would have been surprised if he hadafter so uncompromising a question.

“Excellent. Now, what of your threecaptains? Are you happy with them? Are the ships in good order? What are theirneeds?”

Griffin had his papers with him. He hadinspected all three, and his own Lark, naturally, had statements of conditionfor them.

“All four vessels recently from the yard,sir. A high angle gun added to each, quite why, I do not know.”

“German seaplanes, Mr Griffin. Not acommonplace still, far less rare than they were. We shot one down on Lancelotlast year, using the Gunner’s machine guns, part of his unofficial stock. Theyare a nuisance at the moment. It is possible that they could become a menace.We hear of plans for aeroplanes to carry a ton of bombs. Was that to be thecase, they could become a dangerous weapon with the capability to close theChannel to us.”

Griffin was not pleased at such aprospect. He was much of the opinion that it was the job of the Flying Corps orNaval Air Service to put down such menaces.

“No doubt they will do all they can, Griffin.In their absence, we must protect ourselves. What have they given you?”

Whatever the yards could scrape togetherwas the answer.

“Two three inchers, sir. One twopounder-pompom. One French, Hotchkiss abomination, in millimetres, of allthings! A thirty-seven! It uses strips of shells, eight at a time, which itfires ‘semi-automatically’, the Gunner tells me!”

“Yes. Highly effective. Can also be firedwith the main armament, low angle. I wonder if a better means of loading mightbe found – the strips slow the gun’s rate of fire. That apart, it is the most usefulof close-range weapons. The pompom we know well enough. The problem there isthe canvas belts, as you will have noticed. A useful gun in the hands of a goodGunner. The three inchers are unsuitable to destroyers, should not be putaboard us. I shall send a formal complaint to the Commodore – the yards have beenasked not to put them aboard small ships. They will no doubt reply that theyhad nothing else to hand. If we ever see a Zeppelin, they might come in handy.Not otherwise. I hear, by the way, that they are proposing to build monitorswith a pair of high angle six inch guns to accompany the Grand Fleet andprovide protection against Zeppelins – drive them off if they are on reconnaissanceduty.”

Griffin had little doubt that they wouldbe a fine ship, just what was needed. Their Lordships tended to be well awareof what was best, what was ideal for the Navy.

“That brings us back to this Hotchkiss,sir. Utterly out of place, a French gun on a British ship!”

“Some Hotchkisses are now being made at Coventry,I am told, Griffin. Good enough for me. I had rather see them than three inch twelvepounders aboard our boats. What of your captains?”

“All three green, sir. New to command butyears in destroyers. I suspect they will do, sir, once I have curbed theirover-enthusiasm. Too much inclined to hare off after anything in sight. Need tobe brought up to the bit!”

“Possibly, Griffin. Destroyers must retaina degree of initiative, however. Don’t tie them too tight to your apronstrings. At the same time, make it very clear that orders are not up fordiscussion! Difficult to hold a balance. You have the experience to do justthat.”

“Thank you, sir. You mentioned thepossibility that we might be sent on other duties than the unending patrols inthe North Sea?”

Simon recalled he had done so. It seemedthat his every word would be remembered, might possibly be used against him.

“Oh, yes. Only an offchance. If the GrandFleet is brought to an action in the southern reaches of the North Sea – off theDanish coast, perhaps – we will be called out to sweep to the south. Theexpectation is that they will come to battle further to the north. The HighSeas Fleet will, if it comes out, be trying to break out into the Atlantic andso will be found off Norway, most likely.”

“Then let us hope for a battle to thesouth, sir. A chance for us to be part of the second Trafalgar!”

“We must all hope for that, Griffin. It isworth noting that so far in this war the naval balance has tilted to the Germanside – better gunnery than ours, particularly. If they bring the Grand Fleet tobattle at fifteen thousand yards, or more, then the results may be unhappy forus.”

“Admiral Jellicoe must have his plans, sir.The aim must be to close to three thousand yards at most before firing broadsides.Ridiculous to so much as consider action at seven or