ملف ١٩١٦/٣٥٧٩ "تركيا: مستقبل القسطنطينية" [و‎‎٦‎٦] (٥٣٠/١٤٠)

27
EM
(&£)
hands, it really does not matter.
MR. BALFOUR: May I ask ^ne military question? This is a
purely military or naval question. I remember s discussion -
X was at the Admiralty in fact at the time when much if it was going
on - whether you could force the Dardenelles and how you could force
them, and I rather came to the conclusion that you could make the
place almost intolerable for passenger ships without having any
forts at all, by having heavy howitzers right back from the shore,
four or five miles back from the shore, right in the middle of
' the
Constantinople> In the old days the forts wercythings; but you
can make it very difficult now without forts. X can quite imagine
that if the Turks have actu 1 control of Constantinople and oi
the unfortified lands on each side of the josphorous and of the
Dardenelles, they could put, inland, batteries of a very temoorary
kind if they had the guns somewhere about, and could have places
marked and have everything ready and could mane the px&ce almost
impassable, end then if they had stored mines and torpedoes they
could make the thing very difficult, although every permanent
fortification were removed. I do not know whether that po^n.. of
view has any military or naval force at uxl; but I should ^ much
like to hear what the soldiers say about uiat,
GRIFRAL TH'RAITES: The question of the use of howitzers has
been very freely demonstrated in this war. You can use a howitzer
in exactly the same way as you can use a gun. aou can P-^
behind a wall. But in every case of the use of artillery y-a must,
be able to see from some point of view or other thu cojcco bh<~.t j ou
&r6 going to fare at. Therefore you must have a position of
Observation; and a]though you may be able to put your howitzers
well back; you must have positions from which your artillery
officers must able to see the object. The persons controlling
the fire will have to be sitting somewhere very close to the was-
erway to be able to see the ships.
KR. BALFOUR: They will. I suppose that there is nothing
difficult in that; is there?
4 . u ,, T - <..* 1*1 iie-ncl communications .
nr. pp.RAL TIL AITES: You must hav«s &fl uno UwU.-x •