THE WORLD'S GREATEST SEA FIGHT.
_British and German High-Sea Fleets Finally Clash in the
North Sea--Huge Losses in Tonnage and Men on
Both Sides--_British Navy Remains in Control of the
Sea._
After many months of unceasing sea patrol on the part of the British,
and of diligent preparation in port on the German side, it came at
last--the long-expected clash of mighty rival fleets in the North Sea.
It was on the misty afternoon of Wednesday, May 31, that Admiral David
Beatty, in command of Britain's battle-cruiser squadron, sighted the
vanguard of the German high-seas fleet steaming "on an enterprise to the
north" from its long-accustomed anchorages in the placid waters of the
Kiel Canal and under the guns of Helgoland.
The British battleship fleet was far away to the northwest, but the
wireless promptly flashed the signal, "Enemy in sight," and as the
battle-cruisers raced to close quarters with the tardy foe, and
sacrificed themselves in the effort to hold him in the open sea, down
from the north rushed the leviathans of the Mistress of the Seas, that
were counted on to crush the enemy when the opportunity came.
But the early stages of the fight found the British battling against
odds. Germany's mightiest warcraft were in the shadows of the mist,
behind the cruiser scouts; destroyers swarmed around them, submarines
appeared from the depths, and Zeppelins hovered overhead.
Gallantly did Admiral Beatty on his victorious Lion struggle to hold
his own till the British battleships came up; but one after another his
hard-pressed cruisers succumbed to weight of metal, until five of them
had sunk beneath the sea, with all their devoted crews, before the
near approach of Admiral Jellicoe and his dreadnaughts sent the enemy
scuttling back to port, to claim a victory that startled the world for a
day, only to disappear when the full extent of the German losses became
known, and it was learned that the German high-seas fleet had lost
some of its proudest units, that its losses, not only relatively but
absolutely almost equaled those of the British fleet, and that the
British remained in full control of the high seas, after scouring them
in vain for further signs of the enemy.
THE BRITISH LOSSES.
The ships lost by the British in the battle included three
battle-cruisers, the Queen Mary, Indefatigable, and Invincible; three
light cruisers, the Defense, Black Prince, and Warrior, and eight
destroyers, the Tipperary, Turbulent, Nestor, Alcaster, Fortune,
Sparrowhawk, Ardent, and Shark. The Warrior, badly damaged, was taken in
tow, but sank before reaching port. All but one of its crew were saved.
The British dreadnaught Marlborough was also damaged, but succeeded in
making port for repairs.
Following are particulars of the British cruisers sunk:
QUEEN MARY--27,000 tons; 720 feet long. Eight 13.5 inch guns, sixteen
4 inch guns, three 21 inch torpedo tubes. Complement, 900. Cost,
$10,000,000.
INDEFATIGABLE--18,750 tons: 578 feet long. Eight 12 inch guns, sixteen
4 inch guns, three 21 inch torpedo tubes. Complement, 900. Cost,
$8,000,000.
INVINCIBLE--17,250 tons; 562 feet long. Eight 12 inch guns, sixteen
4 inch guns, three 21 inch torpedo tubes. Complement, 731. Cost,
$8,760,000.
DEFENSE--14,600 tons; 525 feet long. Four 9.2 inch guns, ten 7.5 inch
guns, sixteen 12 pounders, five torpedo tubes. Complement, 755. Cost,
$6,810,000.
BLACK PRINCE--13,550 tons; 480 feet long. Six 9.2 inch guns, twenty
pounders, three torpedo tubes. Complement, 704. Cost, $5,750,000.
WARRIOR--13,550 tons; 480 feet long. Six 9.2 inch guns, four 7.5 inch
guns, twenty-four 3 pounders, three torpedo tubes. Complement, 704, all
saved but one. Cost, $5,900,000.
The destroyers sunk were each of about 950 tons, 266 feet long, and
carried a complement of 100 men. Only a few survivors were picked up
after the battle.
THE GERMAN LOSSES.
The German losses, as claimed by the British, included two dreadnaughts,
believed to be the Hindenburgh and Westfalen, each of approximately
26,000 tons, with a complement of 1,000 men; the battle-cruiser
Derfflinger, 26,600 tons, complement, 900 men; the battleship Pommern,
of 12,997 tons, complement, 729 men, cost, $6,000,000; the new fast
cruiser Elbing, of 5,000 tons, complement, 500 men; the cruisers
Frauenlob, of 2,715 tons, complement, 264 men, and Wiesbaden, not
registered; a number of destroyers, variously estimated at from six
to sixteen, and one submarine rammed and sunk. Besides these, the
battle-cruiser Lutzow, of 26,600 tons, was reported badly damaged, and
the battle-cruiser Seydlitz, of equal size, suffered heavily in the
battle and was hotly pursued to the mine fields of Helgoland.
The total loss of life in the battle amounted to approximately 4,
British, including 333 officers; and probably 4,000 or more Germans.
Rear-Admiral Horace Hood, second in command of the battle-cruiser fleet,
went down with the Invincible. Rear-Admiral Arbuthnot went down with the
Defense.
STORY OF THE BATTLE.
The great naval battle, which may go down in history as the battle of
the Skager Rack, was fought in the eastern waters of the North Sea, off
the coast of Denmark. It lasted for many hours, fighting being continued
through the night of May 31-June 1. In general, the battle area extended
from the Skager Rack southward to Horn Reef off the Danish coast, the
center of the fighting being about 100 miles north of Helgoland, the
main German naval base in the North Sea.
Both in the number of lives and the tonnage lost, the battle was the
greatest sea-fight in history, as well as the first in which modern
dreadnaughts have been engaged. Never before have two naval forces of
such magnitude as the British and German high-sea fleets engaged in
combat.
The greatest previous tonnage loss was during the Japanese-Russian war.
In the naval battle of Tsushima in May, 1905, the loss totaled 93,
tons. Twenty-one Russian craft were sunk in this fight.
The text of the first British admiralty statement was in part as
follows:
"On the afternoon of Wednesday, May 31, a naval engagement took place
off the coast of Jutland. The British ships on which the brunt of the
fighting fell were the battle-cruiser fleet and some cruisers and light
cruisers, supported by four fast battleships. Among these the losses
were heavy.
"The German battle fleet aided by low visibility avoided a prolonged
action with our main forces. As soon as they appeared on the scene the
enemy returned to port, though not before receiving severe damage from
our battleships."
The battle was one in which no quarter was asked or even possible. There
were no surrenders, and the ships lost went down and carried with them
virtually the whole crews. Only the Warrior, which was towed part way
from the scene of battle to a British port, was an exception.
Of the thousand men on the Queen Mary, only a corporal's guard was
accounted for. The same was true of the Invincible, while there were
no survivors reported from the Indefatigable, the Defense or the Black
Prince.
TELL OF BATTLE HORRORS.
After the battle there were many stories of ships sinking with a great
explosion: of crews going down singing the national anthem; of merchant
ships passing through a sea thick with floating bodies.
From survivors came thrilling stories of the horrors and humanities of
the battle. The British destroyer Shark acted as a decoy to bring the
German ships into the engagement. It was battered to pieces by gunfire,
and a half dozen sailors, picked up clinging to a buoy by a Danish ship,
told of its commander and two seamen serving its only remaining gun
until the last minute, when the commander's leg was blown off.
A lifeboat with German survivors from the German cruiser Elbing rescued
Surgeon Burton of the British destroyer Tipperary. He had sustained four
wounds.
THE FIRST OFFICIAL STORY.
The first account in detail of the battle was given by a high official
of the British Admiralty, who said on June 4:
"We were looking for a fight when our fleet went out. Stories that the
fleet was decoyed by the Germans are sheerest nonsense. In a word,
with an inferior fleet we engaged the entire German high sea fleet,
interrupted their plans, and drove them back into their harbors.
"In carrying out the plan decided upon we sustained heavy losses, which
we expected, but we also attained the expected result of forcing the
enemy to abandon his plan and seek refuge after we had given battle in
his own waters near his coast.
"With the exception of two divisions, part of which was only partly
engaged, the brunt of battle was borne by the battle-cruiser fleet, and
with one exception our battle fleet is ready for sea service. I must
admit that we had exceptionally hard luck with our battle-cruisers,
but the loss of three great ships does not in any measure cripple our
control of the sea.
"The great battle had four phases. The first opened at 3:15 p. m., when
our battle-cruisers, at a range of six miles, joined action with German
battle-cruisers. Shortly afterward the second phase began with the
arrival on both sides of battleships, the Germans arriving first. But
before their arrival our three battle-cruisers had been blown up,
supposedly the result of gunfire, although possibly they were victims
of torpedoes. "Such close range fighting with battle-cruisers might be
criticized as bad tactics, but our fleet, following the traditions
of the navy, went out to engage the enemy, and on account of weather
conditions could do so only at short range.
"The third phase was the engagement of battleships, which never was
more than partial. This phase included a running fight, as the German
dreadnaughts fled toward their bases. All the big ship fighting was over
by 9:15 p. m.
ENEMY GONE BY DAWN.
"Then came one of the most weird features of the battle, as German
destroyers made attack after attack, like infantry following artillery
preparation, on our big ships. But these onslaughts were futile, not a
single torpedo launched by them getting home.
"With the morning these attacks ended and the scene of battle was swept
by Jellicoe's fleet. Not a single enemy vessel remained in sight.
"An incident of the great battle was the torpedoing of the
super-dreadnaught Marlborough, which is now safely an harbor. It must
have struck a veritable hornets' nest of submarines, as by skillful
maneuvering it avoided three of these before it was finally hit.
"Early in the engagement, according to Admiral Beatty's report, a German
battle-cruiser, after being hotly engaged, blew up and broke in two.
"Officers of the fleet also reported passing a closely engaged German
battle-cruiser which was left behind while the British pursued the
Germans. On their return this vessel was missing. Judging from its
previous plight it must now be at the bottom of the sea. This accounts
for two of the enemy's battle-cruisers, and we have their admission that
they had lost two battleships.
"Zeppelins did not play the important part attributed to them. Only one
appeared. It remained in action a brief time, retiring under heavy
fire, evidently badly damaged. Weather conditions were such that it is
doubtful whether any aircraft would have been of much service.
"The enemy sprang no surprises. We saw nothing of any 17-inch guns. No
tricks were used which were not already known in naval warfare.
"From the standpoint of actual strength the navy's loss in personnel,
while great, was not serious, as we have plenty of men to replace them.
But the deaths of so many gallant officers and men have caused profound
grief.
"Admiral Hood went down with his flagship Invincible, in the words of
Admiral Beaty's report, 'leading his division into action with the most
inspiring courage.' His flag captain, Cay, went down with him. Capt.
Sowerby, former British naval attaché at Washington, perished with
his ship, the Indefatigable, while Capt. Prowse died on the Queen Mary."
BODIES FLOATING IN THE SEA.
From Copenhagen it was reported on June 3 that hundreds of bodies, many
of them horribly mutilated by explosions, and great quantities of debris
were drifting about in the North Sea near the scene of the battle. All
steamers arriving at Danish ports reported sighting floating bodies and
bits of wreckage.
The steamer Para picked up a raft aboard which were three German
survivors from the torpedo boat V-48. They had clung to the raft for
forty-eight hours and were semi-conscious when rescued. They reported
that ninety-nine of the V-48 crew perished and that in all about twenty
German torpedo boats were destroyed.
Other German sailors, rescued by Scandinavian steamers, described the
Teutonic losses in the Jutland battle as colossal. A number of the crew
of the cruiser Wiesbaden and men from several German torpedo boats were
rescued and brought to Copenhagen. They reported that many of their
comrades, after floating for thirty-six hours on rafts without food or
water, drank the sea water, became insane and jumped into the ocean.
The German survivors said that several of their torpedo boats and
submarines were capsized by the British shells and sank instantly.
Bodies of both British and German sailors were washed ashore on the
coast of Jutland.
OFFICER'S STORY OF THE FIGHT.
Survivors who arrived at Edinburgh on June 5 from British destroyers
which made a massed attack on a German battleship in the battle off
Jutland, were convinced that they sent to the bottom the dreadnaught
Hindenburg, the pride of the German navy. These sailors said that
the Hindenburg was struck successively by four torpedoes while the
destroyers dashed in alongside of its hull, tearing it to pieces until
the mighty ship reeled and sank.
An officer from one of the British destroyers gave the following graphic
account of the battle:
"The ships of the grand fleet went into action as if they were going
into maneuvers. From every yardarm the white ensign flew, the flag
which is to the sailor as the tattered colors were in days of old to a
hard-pressed regiment. That it went hard with the battle-cruisers is
apparent, but one ship cannot fight a dozen. They had fought a great
fight, a fight to be proud of, a fight which will live longer than many
a victory.
"We fought close into the foe, and if anything is certain in the
uncertainties of naval battle it is that we gave at least as good as we
got. We passed along the line of German ships some miles away and let
off broadside after broadside. The air was heavy with masses of smoke,
black, yellow, green and every other color, which drifted slowly between
the opposing lines, hiding sometimes friend and sometimes foe. The enemy
ships were firing very fast, but watching the ships in front one came to
the conclusion that the shooting was decidedly erratic. Again and again
salvos of shells fell far short of the mark, to be followed immediately
by others which screamed past high in the air.
ROAR OP THE GUNS TERRIFIC.
"I watched the Iron Duke swinging through the seas, letting off
broadside after broadside, wicked tongues of flames leaping through
clouds of smoke. The din of battle was stunning, stupendous, deafening,
as hundreds of the heaviest guns in the world roared out at once. Great
masses of water rose in the air like waterspouts, reaching as high as
the masts, as the salvos of German shells fell short or went over their
target. Now and then a shell found its mark, but it left us absolutely
cold as to its effect on each man at a time like this. A dozen men may
be knocked out at one's side. It makes no difference.
"It was impossible to see what was happening among the ships of the foe.
The smoke obscured everything so effectually that one could only get a
glimpse at intervals when a kindly wind blew a lane through the pall. It
was apparent that the best ships of the enemy were engaged, but how many
neither eye nor glass could make out. The number was certainly large. It
was equally impossible to see what damage we were causing. Only the high
command knew fine progress of the battle. That the damage inflicted on
the German ships was great does not admit of any doubt. At one time two
vessels, red with fire, gleamed through the smoke.
FLAGSHIP LOSES ITS WIRELESS.
"It is a curious feeling to be in the midst of a battle and not to know
to which side fortune leans. Where only a few ships are engaged it is
different. Our own losses were known with some degree of exactness, but
even that was uncertain. Thus at one time it was thought that the Lion
had been lost as it did not answer any call. It transpired that its
wireless had been destroyed.
"With the dusk came the great opportunity of the mosquito craft and both
sides made use of it to the full. It was in this way that one of the
saddest of many sad incidents occurred. A destroyer, true to its name,
dashed for the big enemy ship. It soon got into effective range and
loosed its torpedo and with deadly effect on a German battleship. The
ship went down and the destroyer raced for safety, the commander and
officer standing on the bridge indulging in mutual congratulations at
their success. At that moment a shell hit the bridge and wiped out the
entire group.
"We fought what was in its way a great fight, although it was not a
sailor's battle. Both the grand and the terrible were present to an
almost overpowering degree. As a spectacle it was magnificent, awful.
How awful, it was impossible to realize until the fever of action had
subsided, until the guns were silent and the great ships, some battered,
others absolutely untouched, were plowing home on the placid sea."
MEN THRILLED BY BATTLE FEVER.
After describing the battle itself, the officer reverted to incidents
preceding it, saying:
"I shall never forget the thrill which passed through the men on the
ships of the grand fleet when that inspiring message was received from
the battle-cruiser squadron many leagues away: 'I am engaged with heavy
forces of the enemy.' One looked on the faces of his fellows and saw
that the effect was electrical. The great ships swung around into battle
order and the responsive sea rocked and churned as the massive vessels
raced for what were virtually enemy waters. As the grand fleet drew near
the scene of action the smoke of battle and mutter of guns came down on
the winds. The eagerness of the men became almost unbearably intense and
it was a blessed relief when our own guns gave tongue."
RUSSIAN TROOPS LAND IN FRANCE.
Between April 20 and June 1, a large flotilla of transports arriving at
Marseilles, France, brought Russian soldiers in large numbers to the
support of the French line. The transports were understood to have made
the voyage of 10,250 miles from Vladivostok under convoy by the British
navy.
EARL KITCHENER KILLED AT SEA.
The British armored cruiser Hampshire, 10,850 tons, with Earl Kitchener,
the British secretary of state for war, and his staff on board, was sunk
shortly after nightfall on June 5, to the west of the Orkney Islands,
either by a mine or a torpedo. Heavy seas were running and Admiral
Jellicoe reported that there were no survivors. The crew numbered
officers and men. Earl Kitchener was on his way to Russia for a secret
conference with the military authorities when the disaster occurred. His
latest achievement was the creation, from England's untrained manhood,
of an army approximating 5,000,000 men, of whom he was the military
idol.