Now the fruition of our fears allows us to speak
out. A.4 long as the Austrian Fleet remains in being the Allies are deprived of the use of the great opportunities given to them by the exposed sea front of Dalmatia and Albania. No doubt the reduction of Cattaro, Ragusa, Fiume, and Pola offered a good many difficulties, but we venture to say they were not insuperable. If once Austrian power at sea had been destroyed, there were several "useful schemes " which might have been put in operation. Unfortunately, however, instead of pursuing a sound policy of this kind, the Cabinet let Mr. Winston Churchill lead them his will-o'-the-wisp dance in the Dardanelles. The reduction of Austrian naval power in the Adriatic was a legitimate object for naval action. If that power had been destroyed, and we, not the Austrians, now held the Bocche di Cattam, Montenegro would have been saved. However, this is spilt-milk talk. What we must do now is to try to save what remains of Montenegro, a task which should primarily be undertaken by our Italian allies.
