By RICHARD WILSON, Litt.D.
[A] _From “The First Year of the Great War.” By Richard Wilson,
Litt.D. (W. & R. Chambers.)_
The affair off Coronel put the heads of the British navy upon their
mettle, and within forty days it was followed by a counter-stroke,
complete and effective. Silently and with steady determination,
preparations were made to deal with the _Scharnhorst_ and her
companions; and the man who was entrusted with the work was
Vice-Admiral Sir F. C. Doveton Sturdee.
To the east of the southern portion of South America lies the British
group known as the Falkland Islands. Due east of the large island
called East Falkland, Sturdee’s squadron came within sight of Von
Spee’s cruisers, the British admiral having been helped in finding the
“quarry” by the clever wireless signalling of a lady and her servants
who lived on the islands, and who were afterwards presented with
valuable gifts by the British Admiralty as some slight acknowledgment
of their timely help.
After the battle off Coronel, the _Glasgow_, along with the battleship
_Canopus_, had put into the harbour of Port Stanley, in East Falkland.
The former vessel had been damaged, but she was quickly repaired; and
when Admiral Sturdee arrived from home, she took her place in his
squadron, her officers and men being eager to set things right with the
Germans. It was reported that Von Spee’s squadron was going to make
a raid on the Falklands; but when he came round Cape Horn he found
awaiting him eight British ships of war, and, so far as we know, this
was a complete surprise to him.
At about half-past nine in the morning the _Gneisenau_ and the
_Nürnberg_ drew near to Port Stanley Harbour with their guns trained
on the wireless station. Between them and the harbour was a long low
stretch of land running eastward, behind which lay the _Canopus_. The
surprise of the Germans must have been great when they were met by a
smart fire across this low-lying land at a range of about six miles!
The two ships stopped, considered, and turned away, hoisting their
colours, however, as they did so. About the same time the _Invincible_
sighted other hostile ships between nine and ten miles distant; and in
a short time the British squadron was moving from the harbour towards
the enemy’s five ships, which could be plainly seen to the south-east.
The day was fine, with a calm sea, a bright sun, a clear sky, and a
light breeze from the north-west.
The British vessels at once began a chase in extended order, and the
hearts of our men must have been deeply stirred by the admiral’s
simple signal, “God save the King!” One of the signallers afterwards
wrote: “It was taken up and flung far and wide through space by each
of the fleet in turn, until it seemed as though it would never cease.
I consider it a privilege to have been one of the few to bear the
signal.” A little after noon Admiral Sturdee came within suitable range
of the five enemy ships, and decided to attack with the _Invincible_,
the _Inflexible_, and the _Glasgow_. How the officers and crew of the
last-named vessel had longed for this happy moment!
The signal was given, “Open fire and engage the enemy,” and the
_Inflexible_ began the battle, followed a few minutes later by the
_Invincible_. This firing was at a range of about nine miles--no
opportunities for boarding here, cutlass in teeth, and pistols in both
hands!--but the British gunnery was so good that three of the German
ships turned away. Then the _Glasgow_, with the _Cornwall_ and the
_Kent_, gave chase. We shall follow their work when we have considered
that of the heavier craft.
The _Invincible_ engaged the enemy’s flagship, the _Scharnhorst_, and
the _Inflexible_ the _Gneisenau_, the fight being a running one, and
the range varying from about eight to nine miles. Before long the
German flagship took fire, lost one of her funnels, and slackened her
firing. “The effect of our fire,” writes Admiral Sturdee, “became more
and more apparent in consequence of smoke from fires, and also escaping
steam. At times a shell would cause a large hole to appear in her side,
through which could be seen a dull red glow of flame.” Yet the German
kept grimly on with her work.
The _Gneisenau_ now gamely faced the _Invincible_ and the _Inflexible_,
but about 5 o’clock she lost one funnel and was on fire in several
places. She continued, however, to reply to the British gunners with a
single gun, until, an hour later, she suddenly heeled over and sank.
Here is an entry in the diary of one of her officers: “5.10, Hit, hit!
5.12, Hit! 5.14, Hit, hit, hit again! 5.20, After turret gone. 5.40,
Hit, hit! On fire everywhere. 5.41, Hit, hit! Burning everywhere and
sinking. 5.45, Hit! Men dying everywhere. 5.46, Hit, hit!”
After this the officers had something else to do than make entries
in a diary. Boats had been lowered from the _Invincible_ and the
_Inflexible_, life-buoys and ropes were thrown into the water, and
about 300 men were saved, “including their captain--a tall man with a
black beard.”
Meanwhile the _Glasgow_ and the _Cornwall_ had fought and sunk the
_Leipzig_. Like the other German ships, she took fire fore and aft,
and as the shades of night were closing in she turned over on her port
side and disappeared. The _Cornwall_ began to lower boats when the
_Leipzig_ was settling down, but the British Captain leant over the
rail of the bridge and said, “It’s no good; she’s going.”
While this was going on the _Kent_ was dealing with the _Nürnberg_,
after a desperate chase with only a small amount of fuel to rely upon.
When the engineers had done their best and worked up the speed well
above the rate which the _Kent_ could do “officially,” they reported
that their coal was almost used up. Then the captain suggested that the
boats might prove useful in such a case! No sooner said than done! The
boats were promptly broken up, the pieces smeared with oil, and packed
by the stokers into the furnaces.
This use of the boats had suggested other means of providing fuel, and
soon the men were hurrying to the furnaces with officers’ armchairs,
chests, ladders, and anything which would burn. So the speed limit was
much further exceeded, the _Nürnberg_ was caught and sunk, but not
before she had put up a stiff fight. Fire was stopped on the _Kent_
when the German hauled down her colours, and every preparation was made
to save life. As the ship sank the British sailors saw a group of men
waving a German ensign fastened to a staff. Only five Germans were
rescued alive from the doomed ship.
Only one of the German ships, the fast cruiser _Dresden_, escaped from
the battle, the clouds which overcast the sky in the evening assisting
her in getting clear away. The darkness closed in, but near midnight
Admiral Sturdee received a message from H.M.S. _Bristol_ to the effect
that during the action two enemy transports had been destroyed near the
Falklands, their crews being removed before the ships were sunk. So
ended a memorable day in British naval history.
[Illustration: DESPERATE STRUGGLE FOR THE CHÂTEAU DE MONDEMENT DURING
THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE.
_Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”_]