The Naval Review The copyright of this article rests with the author, or the author's estate.

THE FIGHTING SPIRIT.

THE true character of our great sea captains of the past is in some cases revealed by their letters or by something they have said at a critical moment. Nelson's letters and sayings are to be found in many books; Hawke's retort to the pilot who warned him that the ship was heading for the shoals off Quiberon Bay, "You've done your duty, keep a steady course;" Jervis's remark before the Battle of St. Vincent: "England is in need of a victory;" Collingwood's remark when he saw the flags conveying Nelson's famous signal appearing above the nettings: "I wish Nelson would stop signalling-we all know what to do," all help us to measure the full stature of these men. (Rodney in his letters again and again reveals his one failing, his failure to draw loyal and devoted service from his subordinates. "My eye on them [his captains] had more dread than the enemy's fire, and they knew it would be fatal.")

We may have to wait a long time before we can make the best selection of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Cunningham's signals, letters and sayings; but the arrival of most of the Italian Fleet in our own or neutral harbours is a good occasion to remember some of those that have come to light, as they help us to understand how his indomitable spirit triumphed against the heaviest odds, and why every officer and man in his Fleet responded to his magic gift of leadership.

On the situation when Italy declared war-

"We started very weak at sea and even more so in the air. However, because of the very fact of our weakness our policy had obviously to be one of aggressiveness ; and it paid handsome dividends."

To Rear Admiral Lyster in H.M.S. Illustrious, before the attack on Taranto-

"Good luck to your lads in their enterprise. Their success may well have a most important bearing on the course of the war in the Mediterranean."

To Rear Admiral Lyster after the attack-

"Illustrious manoeuvre well executed."

(A two-flag signal in common use in peace-time when a senior officer wishes to express his appreciation. The Taranto attack left the Commander-in-Chief master of the Mediterranean.)

To the Inshore Squadron supporting the westward advance of the Army, winter, 1941-

"The feat of the Army in clearing Egypt and occupying Cyrenaica in a period of eight weeks is an outstanding achievement to which the Inshore Squadron and the shore parties along the coast have contributed in no small measure. I am fully alive to the fact that this result has been made possible by an unbreakable determination to allow no obstacle to stand in the way of meeting all requirements. All officers and men who took part in these operations may well feel proud, as I do, of their contribution to this victory."

When told that he had been made a Knight Grand Commander of the Bath-

"I would rather they had given me three squadrons of Hurricanes."

The opening words of his dispatch on the Battle of Cape Matapan-

"Be pleased to lay before Their Lordships the attached reports of the Battle of Cape Matapan 27th-30th March, 1941. Five ships of the enemy fleet were sunk, burned or destroyed as per margin. Except for the loss of one aircraft in action, our fleet suffered no damage or casualties."

Of the Inshore Squadron after the fall of Tobruk in 1941-

"It was on these small ships, some of them very old, that the chief burden fell. As always they did magnificently."

After the evacuation from Crete-

" It is not easy to convey how heavy was the strain that men and ships sustained. Apart from the cumulative effect of prolonged sea-going over extended periods, it has to be remembered that in this last instance ships' companies had none of the inspiration of battle with the enemy to bear them up. Instead, they had the increasing anxiety of the task of trying to bring away in safety thousands of their own countrymen, many of whom were in an exhausted and dispirited condition, in ships necessarily so overcrowded that even when there was an opportunity to relax conditions made this impossible. They had started the evacuation already over-tired, and they had to carry it through under conditions of savage air attacks such as had only recently caused grievous losses in the Fleet. There is rightly little credit or glory to be expected in these operations of retreat, but I feel that the spirit of tenacity shown by those who took part should not go unrecorded."

Of the Greece and Crete evacuations-

"Battered incessantly from the air, sustaining appalling losses, without sleep, with their ships hopelessly overcrowded, the Mediterranean Fleet and the grimly determined merchant ships with them carried out their task. It may be said with some truth that Greece and Crete were reverses-perhaps-but I count it my greatest pride to have been privileged to command these men in that time of adversity."

On handing over the command to Admiral Sir H. D. Pridham-Wippell in April, 1942-

"The enemy knows we are his master on the sea, and we must strain every nerve to keep our standard of fighting so high that that lesson never fails to be borne in on him. We have not at times as large forces as we would like to carry the war to the enemy's front door. This will not always be so and I look forward to the day when the Mediterranean Fleet will sweep the sea clear and re-establish our age-old control of this waterway, so vital to the British Empire. I am confident that that day is not far distant,"

Before the Sicilian landing-

"1. We are about to embark on the most momentous enterprise of the war, striking for the first time at the enemy in his own land.

"2. Success means the opening of the second front, with all that implies, and the first move towards the rapid and decisive defeat of our enemies.

"3. Our object is clear, and our primary duty is to place this vast expedition ashore in the minimum time, and, subsequently, to maintain our military and air forces as they drive relentlessly forward into enemy territory.

"4. In the light of this duty great risks must be, and are to be, accepted. The safety of our ships and all distracting considerations are to be relegated to the second place, or disregarded, as the accomplishment of our primary duty may require.

"5. On every commanding officer, officer and rating rests the individual and personal duty of ensuring that no flinching in determination, or failure of effort on his own part, will hamper this great enterprise.

"6. I rest confident in the resolution, skill and endurance of you all to whom this momentous enterprise is entrusted."

On the 11th of September, 1943-

" The Italian Battlefleet is now anchored under the guns of Malta."

AMIR.