tribute to the widely recognized efficiency of Vice-Admiral Sims; he had
also superlative praise for Rear-Admiral Rodman, who commanded our
battleships attached to the Grand Fleet; for Vice-Admiral Wilson,
commanding our forces in French waters; for Rear-Admiral Niblack, our
Mediterranean commander, Rear-Admiral Dunn in the Azores, and
Rear-Admiral Strauss in charge of mining operations.

When the fighting ended our force in European waters comprised 338
vessels, with 75,000 men and officers, a force larger than the entire
navy before the war. The navy, in its operations, covered the widest
scope in its history; naval men served on nearly 2,000 craft that plied
the waters, on submarines, and in aviation, while on land, marines and
sailors helped to hold strategic points. The regiments of marines shared
with the magnificent army their part of the hard-won victory;
wonderfully trained gun-crews of sailors manned the monster 14-inch
guns--which marked a new departure in land warfare--while naval officers
and men in all parts of the world did their full part in the operations
which mark the heroic year of accomplishment.

While the destroyers led in the anti-submarine warfare, the 406
submarine chasers, of which 335 were despatched abroad, should have
credit for efficient aid, also the American submarines sent to foreign
waters.

The transportation of 2,000,000 American troops 3,000 miles overseas,
with the loss of only a few hundred lives, and without the loss of a
single American troopship on the way to France, was an unparalleled
achievement. From a small beginning this fleet expanded to 24 cruisers
and 42 transports, manned by 3,000 officers and 41,000 men, these being
augmented by 4 French men-of-war and 13 foreign merchant vessels, a