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Page 22
While this engagement was in progress, a mighty explosion, caused
by a big shell, broke the Queen Mary, the third ship in line,
asunder, at 6.30 o'clock.
Soon thereafter the German main battleship fleet was sighted to the
southward, steering north. The hostile fast squadrons thereupon
turned northward, closing the first part of the fight, which lasted
about an hour.
The British retired at high speed before the German fleet, which
followed closely. The German battle cruisers continued the
artillery combat with increasing intensity, particularly with the
division of the vessels of the Queen Elizabeth type, and in this
the leading German battleship division participated intermittently.
The hostile ships showed a desire to run in a flat curve ahead of
the point of our line and to cross it.
At 7.45 o'clock in the evening British small cruisers and
destroyers launched an attack against our battle cruisers, who
avoided the torpedoes by manoeuvring, while the British battle
cruisers retired from the engagement, in which they did not
participate further as far as can be established. Shortly
thereafter a German reconnoitring group, which was parrying the
destroyer attack, received an attack from the northeast. The
cruiser Wiesbaden was soon put out of action in this attack. The
German torpedo flotillas immediately attacked the heavy ships.
Appearing shadow-like from the haze bank to the northeast was made
out a long line of at least twenty-five battleships, which at first
sought a junction with the British battle cruisers and those of the
Queen Elizabeth type on a northwesterly to westerly course, and
then turned on an easterly to southeasterly course.
With the advent of the British main fleet, whose centre consisted
of three squadrons of eight battleships each, with a fast division
of three battle cruisers of the Invincible type on the
northern-end, and three of the newest vessels of the Royal
Sovereign class, armed with fifteen-inch guns, at the southern end,
there began about 8 o'clock in the evening the third section of the
engagement, embracing the combat between the main fleets.
Vice Admiral Seheer determined to attack the British main fleet,
which he now recognised was completely assembled and about doubly
superior. The German battleship squadron, headed by battle
cruisers, steered first toward the extensive haze bank to the
northeast, where the crippled cruiser Wiesbaden was still
receiving a heavy fire. Around the Wiesbaden stubborn individual
fights under quickly changing conditions now occurred.
The light enemy forces, supported by an armored cruiser squadron of
five ships of the Minatour, Achilles, and Duke of Edinburgh classes
coming from the northeast, were encountered and apparently
surprised on account of the decreasing visibility of our battle
cruisers and leading battleship division. The squadron came under
a violent and heavy fire by which the small cruisers Defense and
Black Prince were sunk. The cruiser Warrior regained its own line a
wreck and later sank. Another small cruiser was damaged severely.
Two destroyers already had fallen victims to the attack of German
torpedo boats against the leading British battleships and a small
cruiser and two destroyers were damaged. The German battle cruisers
and leading battleship division had in these engagements come under
increased fire of the enemy's battleship squadron, which, shortly
after 8 o'clock, could be made out in the haze turning to the
north-eastward and finally to the east, Germans observed, amid the
artillery combat and shelling of great intensity, signs of the
effect of good shooting between 8.20 and 8.30 o'clock particularly.
Several officers on German ships observed that a battleship of the
Queen Elizabeth class blew up under conditions similar to that of
the Queen Mary. The Invincible sank after being hit severely. A
ship of the Iron Duke class had earlier received a torpedo hit, and
one of the Queen Elizabeth class was running around in a circle,
its steering apparatus apparently having been hit.
The L�tzow was hit by at least fifteen heavy shells and was unable
to maintain its place in line. Vice Admiral Hipper, therefore,
transshipped to the Moltke on a torpedo boat and under a heavy
fire. The Derfflinger meantime took the lead temporarily. Parts of
the German torpedo flotilla attacked the enemy's main fleet and
heard detonations. In the action the Germans lost a torpedo boat.
An enemy destroyer was seen in a sinking condition, having been hit
by a torpedo.
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