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TABLE I^[1]

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

4th Squadron of the 1st Fleet :
Battleships			6	No German Fleet.
Armoured Cruisers	4	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	8
Protected Cruisers	4
Destroyers			10

A new squadron, consisting of four cruiser-battleships and two armoured cruisers, is eventually to be based on Malta, a great place d' armes, in whose well-protected harbour all requisites for docking, repairing, and refitting the largest men-of-war are provided. The Torpedo-boat Destroyer Flotilla is to be increased next winter to thirty destroyers, a new base for small craft is to be formed at Alexandria, and a squadron of six battleships is to be based on Gibraltar, which is also a first-class naval harbour. This squadron is, in time, to be increased to eight battleships. The criticisms levelled against these changes are undeserved. A great naval base at Gibraltar will ensure our communications with India

1. Brassey's Naval Annual for 191 2, p. 71.