ts of Dunkirk and Calais. As a result of these raids, which,
though regrettable, were of no military importance, a good deal of
ill-informed criticism was levelled at the Admiralty and the
Vice-Admiral commanding at Dover. To anyone conversant with the
conditions, the wonder was not that the raids took place, but that the
enemy showed so little enterprise in carrying out--with the great
advantages he possessed--operations of real, if not vital, military
value.

The only explanation is that he foresaw the moral effect that his
tip-and-run raids would produce; and he considered that the effect of
the resulting agitation might be of no inconsiderable value to himself;
the actual damage done was almost negligible, apart from the loss of
some eight lives, which we all deplored. It is perhaps natural that
people who have never experienced war at close quarters should be
impatient if its consequences are brought home to them. A visit to
Dunkirk would have shown what war really meant, and the bearing of the
inhabitants of that town would have taught a valuable lesson.

The conditions in the Straits have already been mentioned, but too much
emphasis cannot be laid on them. The enemy who possessed the
incalculable advantage of the initiative, had at his disposal, whenever
he took heart to plan an attack, a force of at least twenty-two very
good destroyers, all unfortunately of higher speed than anything we
could bring against them, and more heavily armed than many of our
destroyers. This force was based within seventy miles of Dover, and as
the Germans had no traffic of any sort to defend, was always available
for offensive operations against our up and down or cross-Channel
traffic. Our Dover force was inferior even at full strength, but owing
to the inevitable absence of vessels under repair or refitting and the
manifold duties imposed upon it, was bound to be in a position of marked
inferiority in any night attack undertaken by the Germans against any
objective in the Straits.

The enemy had a great choice of objectives. These were: first, the
traffic in the Channel or the destroyers watching the Straits (the most
important military objective); second, the merchant ships anchored in
the Downs; third, the British monitors anchored off Dunkirk; fourth, the
French ports, Dunkirk, Boulogne and Calais, and the British port of
Dover; and fifth, the British undefended towns of Ramsgate, Margate,
Lowestoft, etc., which German menta