During the short interval, crowded with events, that had elapsed since the first flashes and sound of gunfire had been noted on board the _Iron Duke_, the question of most urgent importance before me had been the direction and manner of deployment. As the evidence accumulated that the enemy’s Battle Fleet was on our starboard side, but on a bearing well before the beam of the _Iron Duke_, the point for decision was whether to form line of battle on the starboard or on the port wing column. My first and natural impulse was to form on the starboard wing column in order to bring the Fleet into action at the earliest possible moment, but it became increasingly apparent, both from the sound of gunfire and the reports from the _Lion_ and the _Barham_, that the High Sea Fleet was in such close proximity and on such a bearing as to create obvious disadvantages in such a movement. I assumed that the German destroyers would be ahead of their Battle Fleet, and it was clear that, owing to the mist, the operations of destroyers attacking from a commanding position in the van would be much facilitated; it would be suicidal to place the Battle Fleet in a position where it might be open to attack by destroyers during such a deployment, as such an event would throw the Fleet into confusion at a critical moment. [Illustration: H. M. S. “IRON DUKE” OPENING FIRE AT THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND H. M. S. “ROYAL OAK” AND “SUPERB” ASTERN, AND “THUNDERER” AHEAD] The further points that occurred to me were, that if the German ships were as close as seemed probable, there was considerable danger of the 1st Battle Squadron, and especially the _Marlborough’s_ Division, being severely handled by the concentrated fire of the High Sea Fleet before the remaining divisions could get into line to assist. The 1st Battle Squadron was composed of many of our weakest ships, with only indifferent protection as compared with the German capital ships, and an interval of at least four minutes would elapse between each division coming into line astern of the sixth division and a further interval before the guns could be directed on to the ship selected and their fire become effective after so large a change of course. The final disadvantage would be that it appeared, from the supposed position of the High Sea Fleet, that the van of the enemy would have a very considerable “overlap” if the deployment took place on the starboard wing division, whereas this would not be the case with deployment on the port wing column. The overlap would necessitate a large turn of the starboard wing division to port to prevent the “T” being crossed, and each successive division coming into line would have to make this turn, in addition to the 8-point turn required to form the line. I therefore decided to deploy on the first, the port wing, division.