This was the situation then, and, before considering in detail one of the completest naval victories in our history, let us examine it for a moment as it presented itself to Admiral Sturdee, a remarkably cool-brained and deliberate tactician. With a long day in front of him, with nothing to fear in the way of destroyer or submarine-attack, with the whole of the enemy squadron now before his eyes, and with perfect visibility, he possessed under his command, in his own flagship, in the _Inflexible_, and in the _Glasgow_, three vessels at least that, in the matter of speed, were considerably superior to the enemy. Further, although the enemy's gunnery was known to be excellent both in speed and accuracy, the 12-inch guns of the _Invincible_ and _Inflexible_ enabled him to dictate a long-range action; and there were two other weighty considerations that suggested the wisdom of such a course. For, while in gun-power the two battle-cruisers were far ahead of the _Scharnhorst_ and _Gneisenau_, in armour they were not so strong; and the nearest repairing yard was at Gibraltar. There were no obligations, therefore, to run {69} any risk. There was every reason for not doing so. So long as, in the end, the Germans were sunk, a few hours would make no difference. Sailors fight best when well fed. Tobacco is an excellent solvent for undue excitement; and the British admiral therefore gave orders that dinner was to be served as usual, and that the men were to be allowed a few minutes for a quiet smoke. As one of the officers on the flagship afterward observed, they might almost have been at manoeuvres off Spithead--precisely the atmosphere that Admiral Sturdee had wisely designed to create. It was at five minutes to one, at a range of about nine miles, that the first shot was fired by the _Inflexible_, taking for her target the light cruiser _Leipzig_, the last vessel of von Spee's line. Five minutes afterward the _Invincible_ followed suit, also taking the _Leipzig_ for her target; and soon afterward the battle resolved itself into three separate encounters--that between the _Invincible_, _Inflexible_, and _Carnarvon_, and the _Scharnhorst_ and _Gneisenau_; that between the _Glasgow_ and _Cornwall_, and the _Leipzig_; and finally, after an epic chase, that in which the _Kent_ overtook and sank the _Nürnberg_.