History of the World War, Volume 3 (of 7) : $b An authentic narrative of the world's greatest warMarch, Francis A., Jr.
History
History of the World War, Volume 3 (of 7) : $b An authentic narrative of the world's greatest war
March, Francis A., Jr.
World War, 1914-1918
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 Scheer determined to attack the British main fleet,
which he now recognized 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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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