We cannot tell whether Cradock weighed these considerations anxiously, or whether he instinctively felt that the tradition of the Navy would be more injured by his flight than by his own defeat and death. He does not seem to have hesitated. At 5.10 p.m. he signalled to his squadron to concentrate on the _Glasgow_—the ship nearest the enemy—and attempted to cross Spee’s line so as to gain the inshore position. The German admiral, however, kept away successfully, and at 6.18 Cradock made a wireless signal to the _Canopus_, giving his position, and adding, "I am going to attack enemy now." At 7 o’clock the sun set, and Spee, having now every advantage of light, opened fire at 12,000 yards. The _Good Hope_ in reply made a hit or two, but her forward 9.2 gun was soon knocked out, and the ship set on fire. The _Monmouth_ was also burning within three minutes. The _Glasgow_ was engaged by both the _Leipzig_ and the _Dresden_, but was saved by the German smoke which drifted towards her. With the sunset glow behind them, our ships were a fair target, while the British gunners could no longer see anything but the flash of the enemy’s guns. Both the _Good Hope_ and the _Monmouth_ were continually on fire, and at 7.45 the flagship blew up with an explosion which sent up flames 200 feet high. By 8 o’clock the _Monmouth_ too was silenced and sinking in the heavy seas; as the moon rose the German ships could just be seen closing on her. Captain Luce, left alone with the _Glasgow_ and the _Otranto_, had now to face the most painful duty of his life. His ship had been hit by only five shells out of the six hundred aimed at her, and he was in a position to make use of her superior speed by going to warn the _Canopus_ of the danger towards which she was heading. He steered north-west into the darkness, intending to turn south as soon as he was out of sight. The _Monmouth’s_ men were all crowded on her quarterdeck, and they cheered the _Glasgow_ as they saw her going away—a cheer that should never be forgotten when the tale is told. At 9.20 firing was heard again, and from the _Glasgow_ seventy-five flashes were counted—"No doubt," says Captain Luce, "the final attack on the _Monmouth_." She went down, like the _Good Hope_, with all hands.