Extracts From the Daily Telegraph 7th November 1914 Whilst the paper had to face the fact that there was a basic stalemate in the fighting on the Western Front, there was a less palatable fact it also had to face today, in that official news was finally released six days after the event of the Battle of Coronel, and it was confirmed that the Germans had been victorious and at least one, if not two ships had been lost (page 9), as well as the British commander. Worse, as our leader had to admit, “British strategy was at fault,” “the enemy had more ships, better ships, faster ships” and prestige had been undoubtedly lost for the Royal Navy. However, as usual with setbacks, the usual downplaying was in evidence – “it is only an incident”, we lost fights and ships during the Napoleon Wars and the War of 1812, and “success in this war depends on concentration” and hence the main crux of the naval strategy was in the North Sea between the Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet and this battle is merely a sideshow, not that again this will be much consolation for the bereaved. Even so, “we may hope that without delay that they [Graf Spee’s victorious squadron] will be hunted down, and on the day of battle the balance will be adjusted.” Despite reports of the capture of some of the German ships, possibly as an attempt to offset the bad news but which proved to be false, the paper would have a wait a month for the Royal Navy’s revenge, and it will be interesting to see the contrast in reporting in five weeks’ time when news comes in of the Battle of the Falkland Islands. The use of balloons on the Western Front is examined by an Aeronautical Correspondent A “new German war song” about wanting to go home is reported “The biggest victory of the Eastern campaign” is claimed by Russia The entry of Turkey into the war prompts William Maxwell to write an article blaming the Kaiser for this, and damning him as a “religious opportunist” A German spy is captured in Paris after accidentally giving himself away by the style of his salute
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 17:13:55 +0000
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