CONTINUATION OF THE STRUGGLE AT SEA
But the German Admiral had anticipated the British move, and as the two
fleets closed, replied with a daring and hazardous blow. His irregular
line dissolved once more into its elements as the flashes came from
every heavy gun that would bear in his twenty-two battleships. The
Germans, as they drew abreast of the British Fleet, steaming on an
opposite course, broke into three columns in three lines ahead, one of
which steered straight for the British rear, one for the centre, and one
for the van.
The _Vanguard_ and the other three large battleships with Lord Ebbfleet
had increased speed, and moved ahead of their original station till
their broadsides bore and they practically belonged the British line.
They circled at full battle speed of nineteen knots to pass across the
German rear. Sheltering under the lee of the German battleships several
destroyers or torpedo-boats could be discerned, and there were other
destroyer or torpedo-boat divisions away to the north-east, moving
gently apart and aloof from the battle out at sea.
The fire on either side had now become intense and accurate; the range
varied from minute to minute, but it constantly fell. The tumult was
indescribable. The German third division of six “Kaisers” passed round
the rear of the main British division, executing against it the
manœuvre of “crossing the T,” but receiving serious injury in the
process.
A stunning succession of blows rained upon the _Glasgow_, the sternmost
battleship in the British line, and her excessively thin belt was
pierced by three German 9.4-in. shells, one of which burst with dreadful
effect inside the citadel, denting the armoured deck, driving bolts and
splinters down into the boiler and engine-rooms, and for some instants
rendering the ship uncontrollable. A great fire broke out where the
shell had burst.
Almost at the same instant the _Glasgow’s_ fore barbette put two shells
in succession home just above the upper level of the _Zahringen’s_
armour-belt amidships, and one of these shells bursting, wrecked and
brought down the German battleship’s after-funnel, besides putting two
of her Schultz boilers out of action. The _Zahringen_ took fire, but the
flames were quickly got under; she carried no wood and nothing
inflammable.
Dense clouds of smoke from funnels, from bursting shells, from burning
ships, began to settle over the water, and the air was acrid with the
taint of burnt cordite and nitrous fumes from the German powder. In the
twilight of smoke the dim forms of monster ships marched and
countermarched, aglow with red flame.
The four “Dreadnoughts” passed round the first German division
containing the four battleships of the “Sachsen” class, interchanging
with them a terrific fire at about 5000 yards. Each side made many hits,
and some damage was done to unarmoured portions of the huge hulls. An
11-in. shell struck the _Thunderer’s_ centre 12-in. barbette, and jammed
it for a few minutes; the _Vanguard_, at the head of the British
division, received a concentrated fire, seven 11-in. shells striking her
forward of her centre barbette. Several of her armour-plates were
cracked; her port anchor gear was shot away, and her fore-funnel much
shattered. Her whole structure vibrated under the terrific blows.
Splinters swept her fore-bridge, and a hail of small projectiles from
the German 40-pounder guns beat upon her conning-tower, rendering
control of the battle exceedingly difficult.
The noise and concussion were terrible; the blast of the great 12-in.
guns, when they fired ahead, shook the occupants of the tower, and
extreme caution was needed to avoid serious injury. Lord Ebbfleet
triumphantly achieved the manœuvre of “crossing the T,” or passing
across the head of the German line and raking it with all his ships,
against the Germans, though the enormous bow-fire of the _Sachsen_
served her well at this point.
But the German Admiral diminished the effectiveness of the manœuvre
by turning away a little, and then, when the danger had passed, resuming
his original course. The second German division rapidly came up on the
port beam of the British main division, its head ships receiving a
fearful fire from the British line. Closing upon the first German
division, it formed up astern of it into one long line, and attacked the
British rear.
Thus the Germans had surrounded the British ten battleships under Sir
Louis Parker, and had concentrated against them twenty-two battleships.
The fire of this great host of German ships told heavily upon the weak
armour of the “Defiance” and “Valiant” classes. The “Sachsens,” at about
4000 yards, put shot after shot from their 11-in. guns into the hull of
the _Glasgow_, the last ship in the British line, and clouds of smoke
and tongues of flame leapt up from her. She was now steaming slowly, and
in evident distress.
The four “Dreadnoughts” worked to the north of the Germans, maintaining
with them a long-range action, and firing with great effect. But seeing
the German concentration against the other division of his fleet, Lord
Ebbfleet turned and stood towards it, while at the same time Admiral
Parker began to turn in succession and move to meet the “Dreadnoughts.”
As his line turned, the rearward ships received further injuries.
Outside the armour the structure of many ships on both sides was fast
being reduced to a tangle of shattered beams and twisted and rent
plating. Most of the smaller guns were out of action, though the 6-in.
guns in the casemates of the British ships were still for the most part
intact. The _Sultan’s_ 7.5’s were firing with great effect; while the
_Captain_, which headed the British main division, had resisted the
battering superbly, and inflicted great injury on the _Preussen_ by her
fire. At moments, however, her guns were blanketed by the ships behind
her, from the fact that the German columns were well astern. It was to
bring his guns to bear as well as to rejoin his Commander-in-Chief that
the British Vice-Admiral altered course and steamed south-westward.
The Germans now practised a masterly stroke.
Their third division of six “Kaisers” headed direct for the van of the
British line, closing rapidly upon a generally opposite course. At the
same time their other two divisions steered to prevent the British ships
from making a countermarch and avoiding the charge which was now
imminent.
Lord Ebbfleet saw the danger, and increased speed, closing on the
“Kaisers,” well astern of them, and plying them with a terrific fire
from the three 12-in. turrets which bore ahead in his flagship. Smoke
and sparks flew upwards from the _Friedrich III._, the last ship in the
division. Her after-turret was out of action; her after-military mast
fell amidst a rain of splinters; her stern sank slightly in the water.
At the same time the “Kaisers” began to catch the full fire of the other
British division, and they were doubled upon. The head of their line was
being raked by Sir Louis Parker; the _Captain_ put shell after shell
into the bows of the _Wilhelm II._; her 9.2’s and 12-in. guns played
with a steady stream of projectiles upon the German battleship, until,
at 2000 yards, the _Wilhelm’s_ upper works appeared to be dissolving in
smoke and flame as before some irresistible acid.
The bows of the German battleship sank a little, but she turned, brought
her broadside to bear, and the five ships behind her did the same. The
range was short; the position favourable for torpedoes; and the six
Germans fired, first their bow tubes as they came round, and then twice
in quick succession their two broadside tubes at the British line. The
thirty torpedoes sped through the sea; the British replied with the two
broadside tubes in each ship, as those tubes bore.
There was amidst all the din and turmoil and shooting flame a distinct
pause in the battle as the crews of both fleets, or all those who could
see what was happening, watched spell-bound the issue of this attack and
counter-attack. They had not long to wait. One of the huge German
torpedoes caught the _Excellent_ right astern and wrecked her rudder and
propellers. Another struck the _Sultan_ almost amidships, inflicting
upon her terrible injury, so that she listed heavily. The _Wilhelm II._
was struck by a British torpedo right on her bows, and as she was
already low in the water, began to fill and sink.
The scene at this point was one of appalling horror. One battleship, the
_Wilhelm II._, was sinking fast, with none to rescue her crew; the men
were rushing up on deck; the fire from her guns had ceased; she lay on
the sea a shattered wreck, riddled with shell, and smoking with the
fires which still burnt fiercely amidst the débris of her upper works.
Not far from her lay the _Excellent_, completely disabled, but still
firing. Near the _Excellent_, again, moving very slowly, and clearly in
a sinking condition, but still maintaining gallantly the battle, was the
_Glasgow_, in a dense cloud of smoke caused by the bursting shell from
the guns of sixteen enemies and the blazing fires on board.
Making off to the south to beach herself was the _Sultan_, in lamentable
plight, with a heavy list. It was 8.40 a.m., or little more than an hour
since the joining of battle, and the German Admiral at this moment
signalled that victory was his.
The news was sent by wireless telegraphy to the German cruisers out at
sea, and by them transmitted to Emden and Berlin.
At 11 that morning newspapers were selling in the streets of the German
capital with the news that the British Fleet was beaten, and that
Britain had lost the command of the sea. Five British battleships, it
was added, in the brief wireless message, had been already sunk or put
out of action.
+--------------------------------------+
| Berlin um Eins! Berlin um Eins! |
| |
| Das Kleine Journal |
| |
| Mittags-Ausgaße. |
| |
| Berlin, Montag, den 3 September 1910 |
| |
| Triumph der |
| Deutschen |
| Waffen. |
| |
| Vernichtung der |
| Englischen |
| Flotte. |
| |
| Von Kronhelm Auf |
| Dem Vormarsche |
| Nach London. |
+--------------------------------------+
THE FIRST NEWS IN BERLIN OF THE
GERMAN VICTORY.
The German lines closed upon the two injured British ships, _Exmouth_
and _Glory_, showering shells upon them. At once the two British
Admirals turned and moved to the rescue, through the clouds of smoke
which had settled on the sea, and which were rendering shooting at long
range more than ever difficult. Through the smoke German torpedo-boats
could be made out on the move, but they did not attempt as yet to close
on the intact battleships, and kept well out of the range of the British
guns. The first and most powerful German battleship division covered the
other German ships in their attack upon the disabled British
battleships, and encountered the fire of the eleven British battleships
which still remained in action. Meantime the other thirteen German
battleships closed to about 1000 yards of the injured British ships. The
11-in. shells from the German turrets at this distance inflicted
terrible injury. The German guns were firing three shots in two minutes,
and under their fire and the storm of 6-in. and 6.7-in. shells which
their smaller guns delivered it was impossible for the British gunners
to shoot with any effect. Great explosions occurred on board the
_Glory_; an 11-in. shell struck her fore barbette, where the plating had
already been damaged by a previous hit, and, perforating, burst inside
with fearful effect, blowing the crew of the barbette to pieces, and
sending a blast of fire and gas down into the loading chamber under the
barbette, where it exploded a cordite charge. Another shell struck the
conning-tower, and disabled or killed all inside it. The funnels fell;
both the masts, which were already tottering, came down; the ship lay
upon the water a formless, smoking hulk. Yet still her crew fought on, a
hopeless battle. Then several heavy shells caught her waterline, as the
Germans closed a little, and must have driven in the armour or pierced
it. More explosions followed; from the centre of the ship rose a column
of smoke and flame and fragments of wreckage; the centre lifted visibly,
and the ends dropped into the sea. The _Glory_ parted amidships, and
went to the bottom still firing her after barbette in that supreme
moment, having proved herself worthy of her proud name. Several German
torpedo-boats steamed towards the bubbles in the water, and fell to work
to rescue the crew. Others had drawn near the _Wilhelm II._, and in
neither case were they molested by the fire of the British fleet.
A scene as terrible took place on board the _Exmouth_. To save her was
impossible, for only a few brief minutes were needed to complete the
torpedo’s work, and no respite was given by the German officers. They
poured in a heavy fire from all their guns that remained battle-worthy
upon the _Exmouth’s_ barbettes and conning-tower, raining such a shower
of projectiles upon the ship that, as in the case of the _Glory_, it was
impossible for the British crew to fight her with effect. Her 7-in.
armour did not keep out the German 11-in. projectiles at short range,
and the citadel of the ship became a perfect charnel-house.
Amid the tangled steel-work, amid the blaze of the fires which could no
longer be kept under, amid the hail of splinters, in the choking fumes
of smoke from burning wood and linoleum and exploding shells, officers
and men clung manfully to their posts, while under them the hull sank
lower and lower in the water. Then the _Braunschweig_ headed in to 500
yards, and at this range fired her bow torpedo at the British ship
amidships. The torpedo struck the British battleship and did its
dreadful work. Exploding about the base of the after-funnel, it blew in
the side, and immediately the British ship listed sharply, showed her
deck to her enemy, and with a rattle of objects sliding across the deck
and a rush of blue figures, capsized amid a cloud of steam.
While the two disabled battleships were being destroyed, and the
_Swiftsure_ was crawling off to the south in the hope of reaching the
shore and beaching herself, the fight between the rest of the British
Fleet and the German divisions had reached its full intensity. For some
minutes, indeed, both fleets had been compelled by the smoke to cease
fire, but the heavy thunder of the firing never altogether stopped. The
four big German battleships were still seemingly undamaged in any vital
respect, though all showed minor injuries. The four British
“Dreadnoughts” had stood the stern test as well.
But the other battleships had all suffered grievously. The _Duncan_ and
_Russell_ had lost, one both her funnels and the other both her masts,
and the speed of the _Duncan_ could scarcely be maintained in
consequence. The _Montagu_ had one of her barbettes out of action, and
one of the _Albemarle’s_ 12-in. guns had either blown off its muzzle or
else had it shot away. The _Albemarle_ had received a shell forward
below the waterline, and had a compartment full of water. In the German
line the _Lothringen_ was on fire amidships, had lost her fore and
centre funnels, and was low in the water, but her heavy guns were still
in action. On her the British line now concentrated most of its fire,
while the Germans plied with shell the _Duncan_ and _Russell_. The
second and third German divisions used their port batteries against the
British main fleet, while their starboard batteries were destroying the
_Exmouth_ and _Glory_.
At this juncture the _Duncan_ fell astern and left the British line, and
almost at the same moment the _Lothringen_ quitted the German line. The
British Admiral turned all his ships eight points simultaneously,
inverting the order of his line, to rescue his injured vessel. To
attempt an attack upon the _Lothringen_ would have meant forcing his way
through the German line, and with the ever-growing disparity of numbers
he did not dare to risk so hazardous a venture. But before he could
effect his purpose, the German Admiral closed on the _Duncan_, and from
the _Sachsen’s_ and _Grosser Kurfuerst’s_ 11-in. turrets poured in upon
her a broadside of twenty 11-in. shells, which struck her almost
simultaneously--the range was now too short for the gunners to miss--and
caused fearful slaughter and damage on board her. Two of the
projectiles, which were alternately steel shell and capped
armour-piercing shell, perforated her side-armour; two more hit her fore
barbette; one exploded against the conning-tower; the others hulled her
amidships; and when the smoke about her lifted for an instant in a puff
of the wind, she was seen to be slowly sinking and motionless. One of
her barbettes was still firing, but she was out of the battle and
doomed. Four British battleships had gone and two German, though one of
these was still afloat and moving slowly off to the north-east, towards
two divisions of German destroyers, which waited the moment to close and
deal a final blow against the British Fleet.
It was now about 10 a.m., and both fleets drew apart for some minutes.
Another German battleship, the _Westfalien_, quitted the German line,
and followed the _Lothringen_ away from the fight. Her two turrets had
been jammed temporarily by the British 12-in. shells, while most of her
smaller guns had been put out of action by the _Agamemnon’s_ 9.2-in.
weapons, which had directed upon her a merciless fire. The Germans could
be seen re-forming their divisions, and one of the battleships moved
from the second to the first division. With seven battleships in each of
these two divisions and five in the third, the Germans once more
approached the British line, which had also re-formed, the _Agamemnon_
taking station to the rear. The battle was renewed off Dunbar. Astern of
the Germans, now that the smoke had cleared away, could be seen fifteen
or twenty torpedo craft. Other destroyer and torpedo divisions were
farther away to sea.
The German battleships steamed direct towards the British battleships,
repeating the manœuvre which they had employed at the opening of the
battle, and forming their two first divisions in one line, which moved
upon the port bow of the British, while the other division, the third,
advanced against the starboard bow. Both fleets reopened fire, and to
avoid passing between the two German lines, Lord Ebbfleet turned towards
the main German force, hoping, at even this eleventh hour, to retrieve
the fortunes of the disastrous day by the use of his big ships’
batteries. Turning in succession in the attempt to cross his enemy’s
bows, his ships received a very heavy fire from both German lines;
simultaneously the conning-towers of the _Vanguard_ and the _Sachsen_
were struck by several shells. Two British 12-in. projectiles caught the
_Sachsen’s_ tower in succession; the first weakened the structure and
probably killed every one inside, among them Admiral Helmann; the second
practically demolished it, leaving it a complete wreck.
The blow of the German 11-in. shell upon the _Vanguard’s_ tower was
equally fatal. Lord Ebbfleet was killed by a splinter, and his
chief-of-the-staff received mortal injuries. Not a man in the tower
escaped untouched. The brains of both fleets were paralysed, and the
_Vanguard_ steered wildly. The German destroyers saw their opportunity,
and rushed in. Four boats came straight at the huge hull of the British
flagship from ahead, and before she could be got under control, a
torpedo fired from one of them hit her right forward, breaching two
compartments and admitting a great quantity of water. Her bows sank in
the sea somewhat, but she clung to her place in the line for some
minutes, then dropped out, and, in manifest difficulty, headed for the
shore, which was close at hand to the south. Another division of four
destroyers charged on her, but her great turrets were still intact, and
received them with a murderous fire of 12-in. shrapnel.
Two of the six guns made hits and wrecked two boats past recognition;
the other four missed the swiftly moving targets, and two boats survived
the first discharge and closed, one to port, and one to starboard. Her
smaller guns were out of action, or unable to stop the boats with their
fire. Both boats discharged two torpedoes; three torpedoes missed, but
the fourth struck the flagship under the fore-turret. She took in so
much water that she grounded, east of Dunbar, and lay there submerged up
to the level of her main deck, and unable to use her big guns lest the
concussion should shake her in this position to pieces. The Germans
detached the battleship _Preussen_ to wreck her with its fire. With the
rest of their fleet they followed the remaining British ships, which
were now heading seawards. Admiral Parker had determined to make a
vigorous effort to escape to the south-east along the British coast, and
surviving, to fight again on a less disastrous day, with the odds more
even. Nothing could be achieved with nine ships against eighteen, even
though many of the eighteen were much damaged. Moreover, on board some
of the British ships ammunition was beginning to run low.
The seventeen German ships formed into a single line and pursued the
British, steering a parallel course, the head of the German line
somewhat overlapping the head of the British line, so that the four
German battleships of the “Sachsen” class could bring their entire fire
to bear upon the three remaining “Dreadnoughts.” The other fourteen
German battleships pounded the six older and weaker British battleships
in the line. The distance between the two fleets was from 4500 to 6000
yards, and the fire of each fleet was slow, as the want of ammunition
was beginning to be felt. For nearly five hours the two fleets had
fought; it was now 11.30 a.m. Well out to sea, and some distance to
leeward of the German battleships, the British captains could discern
several German armoured cruisers, which, after having effected hasty
repairs and shipped further ammunition from a store-ship in the offing,
were closing once more. With them were at least four or five divisions
of torpedo craft, shadowing and following the movements of the two
fleets, prepared to rush in if a favourable opportunity offered. Both
fleets were making about thirteen knots, for the worst damaged of the
British battleships were not good for much more.
The fire of the _Thunderer’s_ 12-in. guns, concentrated on the hull of
the _Sachsen_, at last began to produce some effect. The conning-tower
had already been wrecked by the _Vanguard’s_ guns, which rendered the
control and direction of the ship a matter of great difficulty. Two of
her 11-in. turrets were also out of action, jammed by shells or
completely disabled. She turned northward out of the German line, about
twelve, leaving the _Bayern_ at its head. About the same time the
_Albemarle_ signalled that she was in extreme difficulty; a great fire
was raging on board her, her funnels were much damaged, both her masts
were down, two compartments were full, and but few of her guns could
fire. Looking down the British line from the battered afterbridge of
the _Thunderer_, it was evident that other ships were finding difficulty
in keeping station. Strange changes and transformations had been worked
in their outward appearance. Funnels and cowls were gone, masts had been
levelled, heaps of wreckage appeared in place of the trim lines of the
grey-painted steel-work. The sea was red with the blood that poured from
the scuppers. Great rents gaped everywhere in the unarmoured works.
In the German line the conditions were much the same. Certain ships were
dropping from their stations and receding to the rear of the long
procession; many of the German battleships had been grievously mauled;
all showed evident traces of the British gunners’ handiwork. The huge
steel superstructures of the “Deutschland” class were wrecked beyond
recognition. The _Braunschweig_, as the result of receiving a
concentrated broadside from the _Bellerophon_, which caught her near the
foot of her foremast, had an immense opening in the hull extending from
the fore-turret to the foremast 6.7-in. gun turret, and her fore-funnel
and foremast were completely shot away; her conning-tower, with its
armoured support, stood up out of the gap, from which poured volumes of
smoke and steam. She was clearly in a parlous condition, and only her
after-turret still fired.
About 1 p.m. the _Albemarle_ could keep up with the British line no
longer. Admiral Parker signalled to her, with extreme difficulty, for
most of his signalling appliances were shot away, and his message had to
be conveyed by “flag-wagging,” to beach herself if possible on the coast
to the south. To have turned with his fleet to protect her would have
meant annihilation of the rest of his force. She stood away to the
south, and as the rest of the British fleet, now only six ships strong,
increased speed to about fifteen knots, two German battleships were seen
to follow her, shell her, and then rejoin the German fleet. The remnant
of the British fleet, with the _Agamemnon_ at the rear in the place of
honour, began slowly to draw out of range, though still to the north the
German torpedo craft followed in a sinister manner, and caused the more
anxiety because, in view of the large quantity of ammunition that had
been expended, and the great damage that had been done to all the
smaller guns in the surviving British ships, their attacks would be
extremely difficult to resist with success.
About 2 p.m. the German Admiral fired the last shot of the great battle
of North Berwick at a range of 10,000 yards.