BATTLE OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS (III)
C. ACTION WITH THE LIGHT CRUISERS
At about 1 P.M., when the _Scharnhorst_ and _Gneisenau_ turned to port
to engage the _Invincible_ and _Inflexible_ the enemy’s light cruisers
turned to starboard to escape; the _Dresden_ was leading and the
_Nürnberg_ and _Leipzig_ followed on each quarter.
“In accordance with my instructions, the _Glasgow_, _Kent_, and
_Cornwall_ at once went in chase of these ships; the _Carnarvon_, whose
speed was insufficient to overtake them, closed the battle-cruisers.
“The _Glasgow_ drew well ahead of the _Cornwall_ and _Kent_, and at
3 P.M. shots were exchanged with the _Leipzig_ at 12,000 yards. The
_Glasgow’s_ object was to endeavour to outrange the _Leipzig_ with her
6-inch guns and thus cause her to alter course and give the _Cornwall_
and _Kent_ a chance of coming into action.
“At 4:17 P.M. the _Cornwall_ opened fire, also on the _Leipzig_.
“At 7:17 P.M. the _Leipzig_ was on fire fore and aft, and the
_Cornwall_ and _Glasgow_ ceased fire.
“The _Leipzig_ turned over on her port side and disappeared at 9 P.M.
Seven officers and eleven men were saved.
“At 3:36 P.M. the _Cornwall_ ordered the _Kent_ to engage the
_Nürnberg_, the nearest cruiser to her.
“Owing to the excellent and strenuous efforts of the engine-room
department, the _Kent_ was able to get within range of the _Nürnberg_
at 5 P.M. At 6:35 P.M. the _Nürnberg_ was on fire forward and ceased
firing. The _Kent_ also ceased firing and closed to 3,300 yards; as the
colours were still observed to be flying in the _Nürnberg_, the _Kent_
opened fire again. Fire was finally stopped five minutes later on the
colours being hauled down, and every preparation was made to save life.
The _Nürnberg_ sank at 7:27 P.M. and as she sank a group of men were
waving a German ensign attached to a staff. Twelve men were rescued,
but only seven survived.
“The _Kent_ had four killed and twelve wounded mostly caused by one
shell.
“During the time the three cruisers were engaged with the _Nürnberg_
and _Leipzig_, the _Dresden_, who was beyond her consorts, effected her
escape owing to her superior speed. The _Glasgow_ was the only cruiser
with sufficient speed to have had any chance of success. However, she
was fully employed in engaging the _Leipzig_ for over an hour before
either the _Cornwall_ or _Kent_ could come up and get within range.
During this time the _Dresden_ was able to increase her distance and
get out of sight.
“The weather changed after 4 P.M. and the visibility was much reduced;
further, the sky was overcast and cloudy, thus assisting the _Dresden_
to get away unobserved.”
Sir Doveton Sturdee’s account of the two actions between the two light
cruisers is almost too syncopated to be intelligible. Fortunately,
however, many other records of these two encounters are available,
so it is possible to describe what happened in somewhat greater
detail. From 1:20 until about quarter to four, _Glasgow_, _Kent_,
and _Cornwall_ were engaged in a plain stern chase with the three
enemy cruisers. At that time the enemy began separating out, and the
three British cruisers worked into a line abreast following suit. The
_Glasgow_ was at the right of the line between three and four miles
from _Cornwall_ and about a mile to a mile and a half ahead of her.
_Kent_ was to the left of _Cornwall_, about two and a half miles off
and about abreast of her. Straight ahead of _Cornwall_ was _Leipzig_,
the centre ship of the enemy. She was about eight miles from _Cornwall_
and between six and seven from _Glasgow_. To _Leipzig’s_ right, and
two or three miles ahead of her, was _Dresden_, and to her left and
about the same distance off was _Nürnberg_. There had been a certain
exchange of shots before this condition was reached, for _Glasgow_,
very much the fastest of the British cruisers, had more than once drawn
up towards _Leipzig_, and opened fire on her in hopes of turning her
towards _Cornwall_ and _Kent_. And each time her attack was met by
resolute and accurate fire by the Germans. As the German ships began
to separate, _Glasgow_ headed off to the right towards _Dresden_,
once more coming under the broadside fire of _Leipzig_. It must be
remembered that _Glasgow_ only had two 6-inch guns, only one of
which--the bow gun--could be employed in these conditions, and that the
_Leipzig’s_ 4.2’s completely outranged her 4-inch. It appears to be a
universal practice with the Germans to mount all their guns from the
largest to the smallest, so that they can be used at extreme elevation.
It will be remembered how the _Koenigsberg_ showed the most perfect
accuracy of fire at nearly 11,000 yards with guns of a calibre that in
pre-war days few in the British Service would have thought it possible
to employ at greater range than 7,000 or 8,000 yards. These efforts
of _Glasgow_ to manœuvre _Leipzig_ into contact with Cornwall, gave
_Dresden_ a chance she was not slow to take. She was much the fastest
of all the German craft, and managed, between four and five, to slip
completely out of sight and escape.
This escape was made easier, and all the shooting throughout the two
cruiser actions was made much more difficult by the sudden change in
the weather that has already been noted as having begun shortly before
4 o’clock. A drizzling rain had set in, and not only had it become
practically impossible to use rangefinders owing to the poor light, but
it became extremely hard to detect the fall of shot and so correct the
fire. In considering these two fights then, the extremely difficult
conditions that prevailed must be taken into account. Let us deal first
with the pursuit and destruction of _Nürnberg_.
“KENT” V. “NÜRNBERG”
At 5 o’clock _Kent_, after a chase of nearly four hours, was getting
within range of _Nürnberg_. _Nürnberg_ had crept away to the eastward
of _Leipzig_, so that by the time fire was opened, a considerable
distance separated this from the other engagements. In point of fact,
when the action began, the rain and increasing mist hid every other
ship from sight. It was _Nürnberg_ which was first to open fire and,
so far as could be judged, the range must have been about 11,000 yards
or slightly over. _Kent_ held her fire for another ten minutes, as if
waiting to see what the _Nürnberg’s_ guns could do at this range. She
could of course, only use her two guns on the quarter-deck, and the
after gun on the port side. To the astonishment of the _Kent_ all her
first salvoes were right over. The range would have been a long one
for a 6-inch gun; it seemed almost fabulous for a 4.2. Ten minutes
later _Kent_ opened with her bow turret, and for the next half hour
an active duel was maintained. The _Kent_ had sheered off a little
to the left so as to bring her forward casemate guns also to bear.
There was no doubt about the _Nürnberg’s_ shots falling over close,
and the _Kent’s_ guns seemed from the ship to be fairly on the target.
But for a considerable time there was no evidence that they were
hitting, and _Kent_ was certainly not suffering from _Nürnberg’s_ fire,
astonishingly accurate as it was. But suddenly, soon after half-past
five, _Kent_, who was keeping up a speed of nearly a knot more than she
had ever done before, began to gain enormously on her opponent. The
range had been over 11,000 yards at 5 o’clock; by twenty minutes to six
it got almost down to 7,000. It was obvious that _Nürnberg’s_ motive
power had somehow come to grief. Had one of _Kent’s_ shells landed in
her engine, or had one of the boilers, under the strain of so many
hours’ high pressure, given way?
Whatever the cause, the results were exactly what Captain Allen
was looking for. If the light had been bad at five it was getting
worse every minute, and if the business was to be finished it had to
be finished quickly. With the shortening range, the effect of the
British lyddite was soon visible, and _Nürnberg_ had no alternative
but to repeat the manœuvre of Von Spee and turn broadside to for her
assailant. _Kent_ turned too, and not this time to lengthen the range,
but to bring her whole nine broadside guns to bear. In point of fact,
she closed the range as rapidly as she could, consistently with keeping
all her guns bearing, and by 6 o’clock had reduced it to 3,000 yards.
_Nürnberg_ was now a beaten ship. She had one topmast gone; her funnels
were riddled; her speed had fallen from twenty-four knots at 5 o’clock
to about eighteen at a quarter to six, and now almost to ten. Of the
five guns on her port side only two were in action. Shortly after this
she turned bows on to the _Kent_, and was at once caught by several
6-inch shells in the forecastle, which smashed up both the bow guns,
shattering the bridge and conning-tower. Ever since the turn at a
quarter to six, _Kent_ had kept ahead of her, though shortening the
range, doubtless with an eye to the possibilities of _Nürnberg_ using
a torpedo. When, therefore, at 6:10 she was almost stopped and seemed
beaten, _Kent_ passed her and pushed on to about 5,000 yards to await
developments. Shortly after six, _Nürnberg_ ceased fire altogether, and
seemed a wreck. But her colours were still flying, and it was necessary
to fire at her again. Just before seven she hauled down her colours
and surrendered. Both ships were now at a dead stop, and _Kent_ got
out her boats as far as she could to take possession of the enemy.
But, as Captain Allen told the Association of Kentish Men in his very
interesting letter about the action, the ship had received no less than
thirty-six hits during the short but decisive engagement, and though
she had been singularly fortunate in losing very few men--four men
killed and twelve wounded--all her boats but two were in splinters,
and both of these needed repairs before they could be used. They were,
however, manned and lowered as quickly as possible, but they were
hardly on their way towards the _Nürnberg_, some two miles off, when
the enemy was seen to turn slowly on her side and sink. As she went
below the waves, some of her gallant crew were seen on the stern waving
the German ensign defiantly. For an hour and a half, that is until some
time after dark, the _Kent’s_ two boats searched for survivors. Only
seven were saved alive. Some were lashed to hammocks and gratings,
and others were swimming. But in the extreme cold the great majority
perished. One account of this dismal episode that has been sent to me
says that the albatrosses were actually attacking the living as well as
the dead in this last melancholy scene.
[Illustration: Plan of action between _Kent_ and _Nürnberg_, and of
that between _Cornwall_ and _Glasgow_ and _Leipzig_]
“CORNWALL” AND “GLASGOW” V. “LEIPZIG”
We have seen in the account of the _Kent_ and _Nürnberg_ action that
up to 4 o’clock cruisers of both sides kept fairly well together, and
that then the Germans opened out. It was shortly after this that they
got out of sight of each other. _Kent_ pursued _Nürnberg_ in a more
easterly direction, the _Glasgow_ and _Cornwall_ pursuing _Leipzig_
more to the south. In order to bring the _Leipzig_ to action _Glasgow_
was sent forward on the _Cornwall’s_ left, which made Leipzig, while
still of course retreating as fast as she could, turn slightly
towards _Cornwall_ and transfer her fire to her. All three ships were
now firing, but the shots were falling short, until at about 4:20
_Cornwall_ made the first hit on the enemy, carrying away his foremast.
This made the enemy edge away to the right, a move which was followed
by _Cornwall_ also. The range was now shortening. When it was 8,000
yards _Leipzig_ made her first hits. _Cornwall_ thereupon altered
course still more to starboard thus bringing about two effective
results. The whole broadside of guns came in play, and the change of
course threw out _Leipzig’s_ fire control. Both ships kept on these
courses, and the range increased again to nearly 10,000 yards. As we
have previously seen, it was at this time that the weather began to
get really thick, and as a consequence of this it became exceedingly
difficult to see the fall of shot, but it is worth remembering that
_Leipzig_ was still hitting with her 4.2’s. Shortly after 5 o’clock,
however, the range reached over 10,000 yards, and it became necessary
to close once more. Between five and a quarter to six _Cornwall_, that
had now clearly got the speed of _Leipzig_, carried out precisely the
same tactics that the Vice-Admiral had adopted in the case of the
battle-cruisers. Alternately, that is to say, closing the enemy at full
speed, shelling him with the fo’c’sle guns, and then turning sharply to
starboard to bring the whole broadside to bear. At about a quarter to
six _Leipzig_ landed a shell in _Cornwall’s_ paint room, which shook
the ship but did no damage. Captain Ellerton now decided to shorten the
range and use lyddite shell. In the half hour between a quarter to six
and a quarter past the range was brought down to about 8,500, and by
about 6:40 it was reduced to 7,000. A far better proportion of hits was
now being obtained, and the effect of the lyddite became immediately
apparent. First one and then another of _Leipzig’s_ guns ceased firing,
and by ten minutes to seven a big fire started forward. A few minutes
before _Cornwall_ had heard the news by wireless of the sinking of
_Scharnhorst_ and _Gneisenau_, and officers and men redoubled their
efforts. The range was closed still more, the hitting became more
intense, but the enemy in spite of his losses and damages kept every
gun that could still work firing, and was actually hitting _Cornwall_
frequently right up to five minutes past seven, but in another five
minutes two of her funnels were gone and the ship was blazing fore and
aft.
_Cornwall_ thereupon ceased fire, expecting the enemy to strike his
colours, but he did not do so. So _Cornwall_ closed about 5,000 yards
and gave her a few more salvoes of lyddite. At a quarter to eight
there was a loud explosion on board _Leipzig_ and her mainmast went
over the side. At 8:12, it was of course dark by now, she sent up
signals of distress. Both _Cornwall_ and _Glasgow_ now lowered boats
as fast as they could be repaired and manned, but they were not able
to reach the enemy until after 9 o’clock, and before they did so the
ship turned over and sank. Only six officers and nine men were rescued
from the water. Heavy as the casualties must have been, there were in
all probability more than these unwounded at the end of the action,
and all of those not killed, wounded as well as unwounded, might have
been saved, for the ship was not actually in a sinking condition from
_Cornwall_ and _Glasgow’s_ fire, and had been sunk by the orders of her
own officers.
_Cornwall_ was hit eighteen times, but did not suffer a single
casualty. _Glasgow_ had one man killed and five wounded. One of the
_Leipzig’s_ officers said that from a quarter past six till seven, that
is when the range had been brought down to about 7,000 yards, some
rounds out of every salvo fired hit the ship. The effect of the lyddite
appears to have been appalling. Men were blown to pieces and the ship
was littered with ghastly fragments and relics of humanity. When the
ship could reply no more, for there was no ammunition left for such
guns as might still have been worked, the captain called the survivors
together and said any one who liked could go and haul the flag down,
but he would not do it. Nor did any one volunteer. About fifty jumped
overboard, and when the ship sent up signals of distress there were
only eighteen left alive on board. All but one of them were saved.
D. ACTION WITH THE ENEMY TRANSPORTS
“A report was received at 11:27 A.M. from H.M.S. _Bristol_ that three
ships of the enemy, probably transports or colliers, had appeared off
Port Pleasant. The _Bristol_ was ordered to take the _Macedonia_ under
his orders and destroy the transports.
“H.M.S. _Macedonia_ reports that only two ships, steamships _Baden_ and
_Santa Isabel_, were present; both ships were sunk after the removal of
the crew.”
It is not clear from this what became of the third ship. But there were
persistent rumours in various South American ports that the Germans
had, in the course of the autumn, collected a very considerable number
of trained reservists from the different South American States and
cities, and had got them on board a transport with arms, etc., so as to
be ready for any military purpose the naval commander-in-chief might
select. It is exceedingly probable that the reason Von Spee did not
appear off the Falkland Islands till five weeks after his defeat of
Admiral Cradock was that he had had to spend a considerable time in
getting these reservists ready for action. It certainly is quite clear
that on December 8th he arrived off the Falkland Islands intending
to attack, and it is far more probable that he intended to attack,
seize, and annex the colony than merely to subdue and rob it. To
seize and annex he would have needed troops, and the third transport
that _Macedonia_ did not find when she got _Santa Isabel_ and _Baden_
probably contained the men destined to hold the colony. That the
British Admiralty expected some attack of this kind is shown from the
fact that _Canopus_, after being ordered north, was told to return to
the Falkland Islands and to do the best possible for the defence of the
colony. The only military strength possessed by the colony was three
hundred volunteers who had had very little training and practically
no arms beyond rifles. _Good Hope_ had left a field-gun when passing
at the beginning of October, but of other artillery there was none.
The seizure of the island, then, by Von Spee’s force of five ships,
supplemented by a regiment of reservists, was a perfectly feasible
project. Had it succeeded and the island been left with an adequate
supply of machine and field guns, to resist a landing, it would have
been an extremely difficult job to have turned them out. For with guns
properly emplaced, the ships’ artillery could have done very little
to protect landing parties, and Admiral Sturdee’s ships carried no
sufficient surplus of men for it to have been practicable to incur a
heavy sacrifice of life to regain the island. So far as this adventure
was concerned the whole thing miscarried through being a week too late.