Referring to the obsolescence of men-of-war, Mahan, in his latest work on Naval Strategy,[1] writes: " The last expression of foreign professional opinion, concerning these so-called obsolete ships, is that, in the later stages of a war, when the newest ships have undergone their wear and received their hammering, the nation which then can put forward the largest reserve of ships of the older types will win."
Tables I and II show that, whereas Great Britain has twenty-four big and little vessels in the Mediterranean and six battleships and seven cruisers in the Atlantic (Irish waters), Germany has not a single vessel in either;
- ↑ Naval Strategy, p. 7, by Captain A. T. Mahan, D.C.L., LL.D., United States Navy.
hopelessly inefficient for every service "; but he adds: " The policy may be carried too far." Eleven battleships of the Japanese Navy " are similar in armament, protection, and speed to the battleships we have lately sold at nominal prices, ... all of large dimensions, powerfully armed, of good speed, with ample coal [space], and in sound condition." See also his remarks, at p. 9, regarding the hasty scrapping of cruisers.
