FIERCE CRUISER BATTLE
Contrary to anticipation, in the interchange of fire the ships of the
two combatants did not suffer any disabling injury. The armour on either
side kept out the shells from the vitals, though great smoking gaps
began to show where the unarmoured sides had been riven.
The _Waldersee’s_ turrets flashed and smoked incessantly as she closed;
the whole German squadron of six ships, which included her and followed
her, turned its concentrated fire upon the _Polyphemus_, and the British
cruisers to the rear of the British line were at some disadvantage,
since their weapons could only fire at extreme range. The Germans aimed
chiefly at the _Polyphemus’s_ conning-tower, wherein, they knew, dwelt
the brain that directed the British force.
Amidst the smoke and fumes of high-explosive shells, with the outlook
obscured by the hail of splinters and the nerves shaken by the incessant
blast of shells, it was difficult to keep a perfectly cool head.
The next move of the British Admiral has been bitterly criticised by
those who forget that the resolutions of naval war may have to be
reached in two seconds, under a strain to which no General on land is
subjected.
Seeing that the main German squadron was gaining a position to execute
the famous manœuvre of “crossing the T,” and unable to turn away to
starboard for want of sea-room, the British Admiral signalled to his
fleet to turn simultaneously to port, reversing the direction of his
movement and inverting the order of his fleet. His van became his rear,
his rear his van.
Amidst all the uproar, the main German squadron replied with the same
manœuvre, while the second German squadron instantly headed straight
for the ships which had been to the rear of the British line, and now
formed its van.
Simultaneously two of the four divisions of German destroyers attacked,
one the rear and the other the head, of the British line, and the German
ships let go their long-range torpedoes.
The range had fallen to a distance of not much over 3000 yards between
the main German squadron and the _Polyphemus_. At the other extremity of
the British line, as the four armoured cruisers forming the second
German squadron closed on the British van, it rapidly decreased. The
confusion was fearful on either side, and if the British had had
destroyers with them the German official narrative acknowledges that it
might have gone very hard with the German fleet. But here, as elsewhere,
initial errors of disposition, in the famous words of the Archduke
Charles, proved fatal beyond belief.
The smaller guns on board all the ships of both sides had been in many
cases put out of action; even the heavier weapons had suffered. Several
of the turrets no longer flashed and revolved. Funnels and bridges had
sunk; wreckage of steel yawned where decks had been; dense clouds of
smoke poured from blazing paint or linoleum, and the fires were
incessantly renewed by fresh shell explosions. Blood covered the decks,
the scuppers ran red; inside the fore barbette of the _Imperieuse_,
which had been pierced by an 11-in. shell, was a scene of indescribable
horror. The barbette had suddenly ceased firing.
An officer, sent to ascertain the cause, was unable to make his way in
before he was swept away by a fresh projectile. Another volunteer
climbed up through the top into the steel pent-house, for there was no
other means of access--returned alive, and reported that the whole
barbette crew were dead and that the place was like a charnel-house.
There was no sign of disabling injury to the mechanism, but the problem
was how to get a fresh crew of living men through the hail of shells to
the guns.
The four German armoured cruisers of the second division turned within
1500 yards of the head of the British line, firing torpedoes and
delivering and receiving a terrific shell fire. One torpedo boat
followed each German cruiser closely, and as the four cruisers turned,
the torpedo craft, instead of following them, charged home.
The manœuvre was so unexpected and so hazardous that it was difficult
to meet. At twenty-five knots speed the German boats passed like a flash
through the British line. A great hump of water rose under the British
cruiser _Londonderry_, second in the inverted order of the line, and she
reeled and settled heavily in the water. A torpedo had struck her abaft
the fore-turret.
Almost at the same instant another German torpedo division attacked the
rear of the British line, and a German torpedo boat made a hit upon the
_Olympia_, last but one in the British line. She was struck abaft the
starboard engine-room, and she too listed, and settled in the water.
As the German boats attempted to escape to the south they caught the
fire of the British squadron’s port broadsides, which sent two to the
bottom and left two others in a sinking condition. Both the damaged
British ships turned out of the British line and headed for the coast to
the south. The only chance of saving the ships and crews was to beach
the vessels and effect repairs. As they steered out of the battle, the
tumult behind them increased, and their crews could see great tongues of
flame shooting upwards from the _Bismarck_, which was held unmercifully
by the British 9.2-in. shells. She was badly damaged and in sore
trouble, but the rest of the German ships still appeared to be going
well. The British torpedoes, fired from the cruisers’ tubes, seemed to
have made no hits.
The Germans offered no hindrance to the withdrawal of the injured ships.
They closed on the remnant of the British force, now reduced to five
ships, all much damaged. On their side, without the _Bismarck_, which
had fallen out of the line, they had nine ships in action and two intact
flotillas of torpedo craft to bring to bear.
The second German squadron had wheeled to join the other division, which
was now steering a generally parallel course, though well astern of the
British ships. The two fleets had drawn apart after the short but fierce
torpedo action, and the British were now heading north. A fierce cruiser
battle ensued.
In this sharp encounter at close quarters, at a range which did not
exceed 2000 yards, a grave catastrophe had befallen the _Polyphemus_. As
the Admiral was giving orders for his squadron to turn, two heavy
projectiles in quick succession struck the conning-tower, inside which
he was standing with the captain, a midshipman, a petty officer, and two
boys at his side. The first shell struck the base of the conning-tower,
causing a most violent shock, and filling the interior of the tower with
smoke and fumes.
The Admiral leant against the side of the tower and strove to ascertain
through the narrow opening in the steel wall what had happened, when the
second shell hit the armour outside, and exploded against it with
terrific violence. Admiral Hardy was instantly killed by the shock or by
the bolts and splinters which the explosion or impact of the projectile
drove into the conning-tower. The flag-captain was mortally wounded; the
petty officer received an insignificant contusion. The midshipman and
the two boys escaped without a scratch, though stunned and much shaken
by the terrific blow.
For some seconds the ship passed out of control; then, dazed and
bewildered, the midshipman took charge, and shouted to the chamber
below, where the steering gear was placed with the voice-pipes and all
other appliances,--an improvement introduced after the war in the Far
East,--orders to communicate the death of the Admiral and disablement of
the captain to the commander. For some minutes the British squadron was
without a chief, though under the system of “follow my leader,” which
had been adopted for the cruiser squadron, the captain of the
_Gloucester_ which led the line was controlling the battle.
Some confusion resulted, and the opportunity of finishing off the
_Bismarck_ which undoubtedly offered at this moment was lost. Captain
Connor, of the _Gloucester_, increased speed to eighteen knots, heading
northward, to draw the German squadron away from the damaged British
ships, and attempted to work across the head of the German line. The
fleets now fought broadside to broadside, exchanging a steady fire,
until Captain Connor, finding himself getting too close to the north
coast, and with insufficient manœuvring room, turned southward,
inverting the British line, and bringing the _Polyphemus_ once more to
its head.
The British squadron, after turning, steamed towards the _Bismarck_,
which was crawling off eastwards, with a division of German torpedo
boats near at hand to give her succour. The German squadrons had now
formed up into one compact line, in which two of the ships appeared to
be in serious difficulties. They copied the British manœuvre and
steered a parallel course to the British cruisers, holding a position a
little ahead of them. Simultaneously, their other intact torpedo
division took station to leeward of their line near its rear, and the
six remaining boats of the two divisions, which had executed the first
attack, took station to leeward near the head of the line. The two
fleets steamed 3500 yards apart, gradually closing, and fought an
artillery battle, in which the greater gunpower, of the Germans, who had
nine ships in action to the British five, speedily began to tell.
The _Gloucester_ lost two of her four funnels; one of her masts fell
with a resounding crash. The _Olympia_ had a slight list; the _Aurora’s_
forward works were shot away; the _Achates_ had lost one of her funnels.
In the German line the _Waldersee’s_ forward military mast tottered and
could be seen swaying at each instant, the network of steel girders had
been badly damaged. The _Caprivi_ was on fire amidships, and smoke was
pouring up from the fire. The _Moltke_ was without one of her four
funnels. The _Manteuffel’s_ stern had been wrecked till the structure of
the ship above the armour looked like a tangle of battered girders. The
_York_ and _Roon_ were less shattered, but gaping wounds could be seen
in their sides. The _Friedrich Karl_ had lost the upper portion of her
after military mast. The _Prince Heinrich_ was slightly down by the bow,
and was drooping astern.
Sparks and splinters flew upwards from the steel sides of the great
ships as the projectiles went home; the din was indescribable; mingled
with the dull note of the heavy guns was the crackling of the smaller
guns and the beating of the pom-poms, playing a devil’s tattoo in this
furious encounter of the mastodons.
The German Admiral saw that the two fleets were steadily nearing the
_Bismarck_, and essayed once more the manœuvre which he had already
tried, a manœuvre studiously practised in the German Navy, which had
for ten years been daily experimenting with battle-evolutions, and
testing its captains’ nerves till they were of steel. In these difficult
and desperate manœuvres, it was remarked then--and it has since been
proved by experience--the Germans surpassed their British rivals, not
because the German officer was braver or more capable, but because he
was younger taught to display initiative to a higher degree than the
personnel of the British fleet, and better trained for actual battle.
The four last cruisers in the German line suddenly altered course and
steered straight at the British line, while behind them, as before,
followed six torpedo boats. Through the intervals at the head of the
German line came the other six boats--an evolution which they had
constantly rehearsed in peace, and which they carried out with admirable
precision and dash in the crisis of battle--and charged the head of the
British line. The rest of the German squadron maintained its original
course, and covered the attack with a terrific fire, all its guns
accelerating the rapidity of their discharge till the air hummed with
projectiles.
The attack was suddenly and vigorously delivered. The British ships at
the rear of the line met it and countered it with success by turning
together south and steaming away, so that the German effort in this
quarter ended with a blow to the air.
But the flagship at the head of the line was not so alert; the death of
the Admiral was at this critical moment severely felt, and the
_Polyphemus_, though she eluded three torpedoes which were fired at her
at about 3000 yards by the German battleships, found two torpedo boats
closing in upon her from right ahead. She charged one with the ram;
there was no time for thinking, and she caught the boat fair under her
steel prow, which cut through the thin plating of the boat like a knife
through matchwood. Her huge hull passed with a slight shudder over the
boat, which instantly foundered with a violent explosion.
The other boat, however, passed her only a hundred yards away in the
spray of shells and projectiles which seemed as if by enchantment just
to miss it. Her crew had a vision of wild-looking officers and men busy
at the boat’s torpedo tubes; the flash of two torpedoes glinted in the
sun as they leaped from the tubes into the water; then a great shell
caught the boat and sent her reeling and sinking, but too late. The
mischief had been done. One of the German torpedoes struck the
_Polyphemus_ full on the starboard engine-room, and, exploding with
devastating effect, blew in the side and bulkheads. The engine-room
filled at once, and bereft of half her power the great cruiser broke
from the British line and headed for the shore with a heavy list. Almost
at the same moment the fire on board the _Caprivi_ blazed up so fiercely
under the impact of the British shells that she, too, had to leave the
line of battle.
The British line re-formed, heading east, now only four ships strong,
faced by eight German ships. For some minutes both fleets steamed on a
parallel course 4500 yards apart, the Germans, who had, on the whole,
suffered less damage, since their injuries were distributed over a
larger number of ships, steaming a little faster. Once more the German
Admiral essayed a surprise. Suddenly the eight German ships made each
simultaneously a quarter-turn, which brought them into line abreast.
They stood in towards the four British survivors, to deal the
culminating blow. End-on they caught the full vehemence of the British
fire. But with forces so weakened, the British senior officer could not
run the risk of a mêlée, and to avoid his antagonists he, too, turned
away from the Germans in a line abreast, and at the same moment the
_Achates_, _Imperieuse_, and _Aurora_ fired their stern torpedo tubes.
Realising the danger of pressing too closely in the course of a retiring
fleet, the Germans again altered course to line ahead, and steered to
cut the British ships off from their line of retreat up the Forth.
The four British cruisers now headed up the Forth, perceiving that
victory was impossible and flight the only course. They again received
the German fire, steering on a parallel course. At this juncture the
_Gloucester_, the last ship in the British line, dropped far astern; she
had received in quick succession half a dozen heavy German shells on her
6-in. armour and had sprung a serious leak. The German ships closed on
her, coming in to less than 2000 yards, when their guns battered her
with ever-increasing effect. She sank deeper in the water, heading for
the coast, with the Germans in hot pursuit firing continuously at her.
The other three cruisers were preparing to turn and go to her aid--a
course which would certainly have involved the annihilation of the First
Cruiser Squadron--when welcome help appeared.
To the west a column of great ships was made out coming up at impetuous
speed from the Upper Forth. The new-comers were the British battleships
steering to the scene of action.
At their approach the German cruisers wheeled and stood seaward, making
off at a speed which did not exceed 16 knots, and leaving the
_Gloucester_ to beach herself. They were now in peril, in imminent
danger of destruction--as it seemed to the British officers. Actually,
however, the risk for them had not been great. Within touch of them the
main German battle-fleet had waited off the Forth, linked to them by a
chain of smaller cruisers and torpedo boats. It would have shown itself
before, but for its commander’s fear that its premature appearance might
have broken off the battle and led to the retreat of the British
squadron. As the British fleet came up, the German cruiser _Bismarck_,
which had been for an hour in the gravest trouble, dropped astern of the
other German ships, and it could be seen that one other German ship had
been taken in tow and was falling astern.
Thus the preliminary cruiser action between the fleets had ended all to
the disadvantage of the British, who had fought for two hours, and in
that brief space lost four ships disabled. From seven ships on that
disastrous morning, the British strength had been reduced to three.
Impartial posterity will not blame the officers and men of the armoured
cruiser squadron, who made a most gallant fight under the most
unfavourable conditions.
The real criminals were the British Ministers, who neglected
precautions, permitted the British fleet to be surprised, and compelled
the British Admiral to play the most hazardous of games while they had
left the coast without torpedo stations, and England without any
military force capable of resisting an invading army.
Had there been a national army, even a national militia, the
Commander-in-Chief could have calmly awaited the concentration of the
remaining British fleets, which would have given the British Navy an
overwhelming superiority. Had there been a fair number of destroyers
always attached to his force, again, it is morally certain that he would
have suffered no loss from the German torpedo attacks, while a number of
torpedo stations disposed along the North Sea coast would have enabled
him to call up torpedo divisions to his assistance, even if he had had
none attached to his fleet.
Foresight would have provided for all the perils which menaced the
British Navy on this eventful night; foresight had urged the rapid
completion of the harbour at Rosyth, without which further strengthening
of the North Sea fleet was difficult; foresight had pointed out the
danger of neglecting the strengthening of the torpedo flotilla;
foresight had called for a strong navy, and a nation trained to defend
the fatherland.
It was the cry of the people and the politician for all manner of
“reforms” at the expense of national security; the demand for old-age
pensions, for feeding of children, for State work at preposterous wages
for the work-shy; the general selfishness which asked everything of the
State and refused to make the smallest sacrifice for it; the degenerate
slackness of the Public and the Press, who refused to concern themselves
with these tremendous interests, and riveted all their attention upon
the trivialities of the football and cricket field, that worked the doom
of England.
The nation was careless and apathetic; it had taken but little interest
in its Fleet. Always it had assumed that the navy was perfect, that one
British ship was a match for any two enemies. And now in a few hours it
had been proved that the German Navy was as efficient; that its younger
officers were better trained for war and more enterprising than the
older British personnel; that its staff had perfectly thought out and
prepared every move; and that much of the old advantage possessed by the
British Navy had been lost by the too general introduction of short
service.
The shooting of the British ships, it is true, had on the whole been
good, and even the cruisers, which in battle practice had done badly, in
action had improved their marksmanship to a remarkable degree. But it
was in the art of battle manœuvring and in the scientific employment
of their weapons that the British had failed.
The three surviving cruisers of the British squadron had all suffered
much damage from the German fire, and had exhausted so much of their
ammunition in the two hours’ fight that they were practically incapable
of taking further part in the operations. They had to proceed to Rosyth
to effect hasty repairs and ship any further ammunition that might with
luck be found in the insignificant magazines at that place.
The _Olympia_ had been struck three times on her fore barbette, but
though one of the 9.2-in. guns which it contained had been put out of
action by splinters, the barbette still worked well. Twice almost the
entire crew of the barbette had been put out of action and had been
renewed. The scenes within the barbette were appalling. Two of her
7.5-in. barbettes had been jammed by the fire; her funnels were so much
damaged that the draught had fallen and the coal consumption enormously
increased. Below the armour deck, however, the vitals of the ship were
intact.
The _Impérieuse_ and _Aurora_ had serious hits on the water-line astern,
and each of them was taking on board a good deal of water. They, too,
were much mauled about their funnels and upper works. As for the four
beached cruisers, they were in a parlous condition, and it would take
weeks to effect repairs. The losses in men of the cruisers had not been
very heavy; the officers in the conning-towers had suffered most, as
upon the conning-towers the Germans had directed their heaviest fire.
Most serious and trying in all the ships had been the outbreaks of fire.
Wherever the shells struck they appeared to cause conflagrations, and
this, though the hoses were spouting water and the decks drowned before
the action began. Once a fire broke out, to get it under was no easy
task. Projectiles came thick upon the fire-parties, working in the
choking smoke. Shell-splinters cut down the bluejackets and tore the
hoses. The difficulty of maintaining communications within the ships was
stupendous; telephones were inaudible in the terrible din; voice-pipes
were severed; mechanical indicators worked indifferently.
The battle-fleet had spent its respite at the anchorage in getting on
board the intact ships much of the ammunition from the _Indefatigable_
and _Triumph_, and stripping away all remaining impedimenta; in rigging
mantlets and completing the work of preparation.
While thus engaged at five a.m. the heavy boom of distant firing came in
towards it from the sea--the continuous thundering of a hundred large
guns, a dull, sinister note, which alternately froze and warmed the
blood. Orders were instantly issued to make ready for sea with all
possible speed, and hoist in the boats. Meantime the ships’ torpedo and
picket boats had dragged carefully for mines, as Lord Ebbfleet dared to
leave nothing to chance. Numerous mines were found floating on the water
or moored in the channel, and it seemed a miracle that so many ships of
the cruiser squadron had passed out to sea in safety.
Ten minutes later, at 5.10 a.m., Lord Ebbfleet signalled to weigh
anchor, and the battle-fleet got under way and headed out to sea, its
ships in a single line ahead, proceeding with the utmost caution. As it
cleared the zone of danger, speed was increased to sixteen knots, and
off Inchcolm the formation was modified.
Wishing to use to the utmost the high speed and enormous batteries of
his four battleships of the “Dreadnought “class, Lord Ebbfleet had
determined to manœuvre with them independently. They steamed three
knots faster than the rest of his fleet; their armour and armament
fitted them to play a decisive part in the approaching action. They took
station to starboard, and to port steamed the other ten battleships,
headed by the _Captain_, under Sir Louis Parker, the second in command,
who was given full authority to control his division. Behind the
_Captain_ steamed the _Sultan_, _Defiance_, _Active_, _Redoubtable_,
_Malta_, _Excellence_, _Courageous_, _Valiant_, and _Glasgow_--a
magnificent array of two-funnelled, grey-painted monsters, keeping
perfect station, with their crews at quarters, guns loaded, and
battle-flags flying. To starboard were the enormous hulls of the four
“Dreadnoughts,” the _Vanguard_ leading, with astern of her the
_Thunderer_, _Devastation_, and _Bellerophon_. The great turrets, each
with its pair of giant 45 ft. long 12-in. guns, caught the eye
instantly; the three squat funnels in each ship emitted only a faint
haze of smoke; on the lofty bridges high above the water stood
white-capped officers, looking out anxiously to sea. Nearer and nearer
came the roll of the firing; presently the four “Dreadnoughts” increased
speed and drew fast ahead of the other line, while the spray flew from
under their bows as the revolutions of the turbines rose and the speed
went up to nineteen knots.
The other ten battleships maintained their speed, and fell fast astern.
Off Leith a vast crowd gathered, watching the far-off fighting, and
listening in disquietude to the roar of the firing of the cruiser
battle, and cheered the great procession as it swiftly passed and
receded from view, leaving behind it only a faint haze of smoke. A few
minutes before 7 a.m. the group of officers on the _Vanguard’s_ bridge
saw ahead of them three cruisers, evidently British, steaming towards
them, and far away yet another British cruiser low in the water, smoking
under the impact of shells, with about her a great fleet of armoured
cruisers. The cruisers, as they approached, signalled the terrible news
that Admiral Hardy was dead, three British cruisers out of action, and
the _Gloucester_ in desperate straits.
The battleships were just in time to effect the rescue. At 11,000 yards
the _Vanguard’s_ fore-turret fired the first shot of the battleship
encounter, and as the scream of the projectile filled the air, the
German cruisers drew away from their prey. The “Dreadnoughts” were now
two miles ahead of the main squadron. Steaming fast towards the
_Bismarck_, which had been abandoned by her consorts, the _Vanguard_
fired six shells at her from her fore and starboard 12-in. turrets. All
the six 12-in. shells went home; with a violent explosion the German
cruiser sank instantly, taking with her to the bottom most of her crew.
Yet there was no time to think of saving men, for on the horizon ahead
of the British Fleet, out to sea, could be seen a dense cloud of smoke,
betokening the presence of a great assemblage of ships. Towards this
cloud the German cruisers were steaming at their best pace.
Lord Ebbfleet reduced speed to permit his other battleships to complete
their formation and take up their positions for battle. The ten
battleships of the second division simultaneously increased speed from
fifteen to sixteen knots, which was as much as their engines could be
trusted to make without serious strain.
About 7.15 a.m. the British Fleet had resumed its original order, and
was abreast of North Berwick, now fast nearing the cloud of smoke which
indicated the enemy’s presence, and rose from behind the cliffs of the
Island of May.
The British admirals interchanged signals as the fleet steamed seaward,
and Lord Ebbfleet instructed Vice-Admiral Parker and Rear-Admiral
Merrilees to be prepared for the sudden charges of German torpedo craft.
That there would be many with the German Fleet was certain, for,
although about twenty-four destroyers and torpedo boats had been sunk,
damaged, or left without torpedoes as the result of the previous attacks
during the night and early morning, the German torpedo flotilla had been
enormously increased in the four years before the war, till it mustered
144 destroyers and forty large torpedo boats.
Even ruling thirty out of action and allowing for detachments, something
like a hundred might have to be encountered.
Lord Ebbfleet was not one of those officers who expect the enemy to do
the foolish thing, and he had no doubt but that the Germans would follow
a policy of rigid concentration. They would bring all their force to
bear against his fleet and strive to deal it a deadly blow.
Five minutes passed, and the smoke increased, while now at last the
forms of ships could be made out far away. Rapidly approaching each
other at the rate of some thirty knots an hour, the head ships of the
two fleets were at 7.25 a.m. about nine miles apart. It could be seen
that the German ships were in three distinct lines ahead, the starboard
or right German line markedly in advance of the others, which were
almost abreast. The German lines had wide intervals between them.
In the British ships the ranges were now coming down to the guns from
the fire-control stations aloft: “18,000 yards!” “17,000 yards!” “16,000
yards!” “15,000 yards!” “14,000 yards!” followed in quick succession;
the sights were quietly adjusted, and the tension of the crews grew
almost unendurable. The hoses were all spouting water to wet the decks;
every eye was turned upon the enemy. Far away to the south the Bass Rock
and the cliffs near Tantallon Castle rose out of a heaving sea, and
behind them loomed the upland country south of Dunbar, so famous in
Scottish story. To the north showed the rocky coast of Fife. The sun was
in the eyes of the British gunners.
The guns of the _Vanguard_, and, indeed, of all the British battleships,
were kept trained upon the leading German. It could now be seen that she
was of the “Kaiser” class, and that five others of the same class
followed her. Her tier on tier of turrets showed against the sun; the
grim brownish-grey hulls produced an impression of resolute force.
In the centre German line appeared to be stationed several ships of the
“Braunschweig” and “Deutschland” classes--how many the British officers
could not as yet make out, owing to the perfect order of the German
line, and the fact that it was approaching on exactly the opposite
course to the British Fleet.
The port or left German line was headed by one of the new monster
battleships, built to reply to the _Dreadnought_, and of even greater
size and heavier battery than that famous ship. It was, in fact, the
_Sachsen_, flying Admiral Helmann’s flag, armed with twelve of the new
pattern 46 ft. long 11-in. guns, twenty-four 4-in. quick-firers, and ten
pom-poms.
The monster German battleship could be plainly distinguished by the
Eiffel Tower-like structure of her masts, each with its two platforms
carried on an elaborate system of light steel girders, which rendered
them less liable to be shot away. End-on she showed her four 11-in.
turrets, each bristling with a pair of muzzles. She brought two more
heavy guns to bear ahead and on the broadside than did the
_Dreadnought_, while her stern fire was incomparably more powerful,
delivered from eight 11-in. guns.
It was the completion of two ships of this class that had caused Lord
Ebbfleet so much anxiety for his position. Yet there were four of the
class in the German line of battle, two of which did not appear in the
official lists as ready for sea, but were given out to be only
completing.
The range-finders in the fire-control stations in the British flagship
were still sending down the distance. “13,000 yards!” “12,000 yards!”
and the tension augmented. The centre and port German columns of ships
slowed and turned slightly in succession, while the starboard line
increased speed and maintained its original course. By this manœuvre
the German Fleet looked to be formed in one enormous irregular line,
covering four miles of sea.
The numbers of the enemy could at last be counted; the British Fleet of
fourteen battleships had twenty-two battleships against it, and of those
twenty-two, four were as good ships as the _Vanguard_. The British Fleet
turned a little to starboard to bring its batteries to bear with the
best effect, and take advantage, as Lord Ebbfleet intended, of the
dispersion of the German formation. “11,000 yards!” “10,000 yards!” came
down to the barbettes. The _Vanguard_ fired a 12-pounder, and as the
flash was seen both Fleets opened with sighting shots, and the great
battle began.