But the Navy has never left the Belgian coast
secure from attack. It has never lost its aggressive
spirit. It has attacked from the ship and the air.
The seaplanes of the Royal Naval Air Service
spotted for the guns when the monitors were bom-
barding. Bombs have repeatedly been dropped on
Ostend, Zeebrugge, and the places in the rear.
When the giins were silent there were reasons for it.
A conjoint naval and mihtary expedition was
required. The enemy began to feel his hold on the
coast precarious. Continued operations by sea and
land might compel him to relax his grasp. Ships
may not' attack places defended by big guns,
mine-fields, and submarines and destroyers issuing

20



The Centre of Sea-Power

from secret passages through them, but it is
certain the British naval offensive will never be
paralyzed.
Such is the magnificent work of the British Navy
in blockading the German Fleet, molesting the
enemy's coast positions, and controlling his com-
munications with the oceans.
