| | | | |
| at end of 9th period B| 388| 250| 112| 0| | | | | | |
|Damage done in 10th A| 39| 49| 59| | | | | | | |
| period B| 39| 25| 11| | | | | | | |
|Value of offensive power A| 349| 460| 574| | | | | | | |
| at end of 10th period B| 349| 201| 53| | | | | | | |
|Damage done in 11th A| 35| 46| 57| | | | | | | |
| period B| 35| 20| 5| | | | | | | |
|Value of offensive power A| 314| 440| 569| | | | | | | |
| at end of 11th period B| 314| 155| 0| | | | | | | |
|Damage done in 12th A| 31| 44| | | | | | | | |
| period B| 31| 16| | | | | | | | |
|Value of offensive power A| 283| 426| | | | | | | | |
| at end of 12th period B| 283| 111| | | | | | | | |
| | |etc.| | | | | | | | |
|Total damage done by A| 717| 789| 800| 700| 600| 500| 400| 300| 200| 100|
| B| 717| 574| 431| 317| 228| 159| 101| 60| 30| 10|
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It is interesting to note how this simple fact is the key to most
of the operations of strategy and tactics; how--the mechanical
tools in the way of ships and guns and torpedoes having been
supplied--the key to their successful use is simply to take advantage
of all opportunities of isolating one part of the enemy's force
from the rest, and then attacking one of the parts with a force
superior to it. Opportunities lacking, one must, of course, try
to create opportunities by inducing the enemy to detach some part
of his force, under circumstances such that you can attack it,
or the weakened main body, with a superior force. Naturally, one
must try to prevent a similar procedure by the enemy.

This does not mean that the sole effort of naval operations is
finesse in either strategy or tactics; sometimes the sole effort
is to force a pitched battle by the side that feels superior, and
to avoid a pitched battle by the side that feels inferior. Before
the actual inferiority or superiority has been ascertained, however,
the strategy of each commander is to bring about a situation in