The Invasion of 1910, with a full account of the siege of LondonLe Queux, William
Science
The Invasion of 1910, with a full account of the siege of London
Le Queux, William
Great Britain -- Defenses; Imaginary wars and battles
A scene as terrible took place on board the _Exmouth_. To save her was
impossible, for only a few brief minutes were needed to complete the
torpedo’s work, and no respite was given by the German officers. They
poured in a heavy fire from all their guns that remained battle-worthy
upon the _Exmouth’s_ barbettes and conning-tower, raining such a shower
of projectiles upon the ship that, as in the case of the _Glory_, it was
impossible for the British crew to fight her with effect. Her 7-in.
armour did not keep out the German 11-in. projectiles at short range,
and the citadel of the ship became a perfect charnel-house.
Amid the tangled steel-work, amid the blaze of the fires which could no
longer be kept under, amid the hail of splinters, in the choking fumes
of smoke from burning wood and linoleum and exploding shells, officers
and men clung manfully to their posts, while under them the hull sank
lower and lower in the water. Then the _Braunschweig_ headed in to 500
yards, and at this range fired her bow torpedo at the British ship
amidships. The torpedo struck the British battleship and did its
dreadful work. Exploding about the base of the after-funnel, it blew in
the side, and immediately the British ship listed sharply, showed her
deck to her enemy, and with a rattle of objects sliding across the deck
and a rush of blue figures, capsized amid a cloud of steam.
While the two disabled battleships were being destroyed, and the
_Swiftsure_ was crawling off to the south in the hope of reaching the
shore and beaching herself, the fight between the rest of the British
Fleet and the German divisions had reached its full intensity. For some
minutes, indeed, both fleets had been compelled by the smoke to cease
fire, but the heavy thunder of the firing never altogether stopped. The
four big German battleships were still seemingly undamaged in any vital
respect, though all showed minor injuries. The four British
“Dreadnoughts” had stood the stern test as well.
But the other battleships had all suffered grievously. The _Duncan_ and
_Russell_ had lost, one both her funnels and the other both her masts,
and the speed of the _Duncan_ could scarcely be maintained in
consequence. The _Montagu_ had one of her barbettes out of action, and
one of the _Albemarle’s_ 12-in. guns had either blown off its muzzle or
else had it shot away. The _Albemarle_ had received a shell forward
below the waterline, and had a compartment full of water. In the German
line the _Lothringen_ was on fire amidships, had lost her fore and
centre funnels, and was low in the water, but her heavy guns were still
in action. On her the British line now concentrated most of its fire,
while the Germans plied with shell the _Duncan_ and _Russell_. The
second and third German divisions used their port batteries against the
British main fleet, while their starboard batteries were destroying the
_Exmouth_ and _Glory_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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