Another flash an instant later, and a shell struck the British cruiser’s third funnel, tearing a great hole in it, but failing to burst. Then every German gun followed, laid on the _Polyphemus_, which blew her steam siren and fired a 12-pounder, the prearranged signal to the British ships for opening, and an instant later, just after 5 a.m., both squadrons were exchanging the most furious fire at a distance which did not exceed 5000 yards. As the two lines turned, the British were able at last to make out the strength and numbers of their enemy. There were ten German armoured cruisers in line--at the head of the line the fast and new _Waldersee_, _Caprivi_, and _Moltke_, each of 16,000 tons, and armed with four 11-in. and ten 9.4-in. guns, with astern of them the _Manteuffel_, _York_, _Roon_, _Friedrich Karl_, _Prince Adalbert_, _Prince Heinrich_, and _Bismarck_. The last four did not follow the first six in the turn, but maintained their original course, and headed direct for the rear of the British line. Thus the position was this: One German squadron was manœuvring to pass across the head of the British line, and the other to cross the rear of that line. Each German squadron was attended by two torpedo divisions. Retreat for the British Admiral was already out of the question, even if he had wished to retire. But as he stood in the _Polyphemus’s_ conning-tower and felt his great cruiser reel beneath him under the concussion of her heavy guns--as he saw the rush of splinters over her deck, and heard the officers at his side shouting down the telephones amid the deafening din caused by the crash of steel on steel, the violent explosion of the shells, the heavy roar of the great guns, and the ear-splitting crack and rattle of the 12-pounders and pom-poms--he realised that the German squadrons were manœuvring perfectly, and were trying a most daring move--one which it would need all his nerve and foresight to defeat. CHAPTER VI FIERCE CRUISER BATTLE Contrary to anticipation, in the interchange of fire the ships of the two combatants did not suffer any disabling injury. The armour on either side kept out the shells from the vitals, though great smoking gaps began to show where the unarmoured sides had been riven. The _Waldersee’s_ turrets flashed and smoked incessantly as she closed; the whole German squadron of six ships, which included her and followed her, turned its concentrated fire upon the _Polyphemus_, and the British cruisers to the rear of the British line were at some disadvantage, since their weapons could only fire at extreme range. The Germans aimed chiefly at the _Polyphemus’s_ conning-tower, wherein, they knew, dwelt the brain that directed the British force. Amidst the smoke and fumes of high-explosive shells, with the outlook obscured by the hail of splinters and the nerves shaken by the incessant blast of shells, it was difficult to keep a perfectly cool head.