The year 1914 ended gloomily for the British public; nothing could have disappointed them more than the failure to catch the Germans. Nor did the new year open brightly for Britain, for on the first day of January, 1915, there came the news of disaster to the _Formidable_, sister ship to the _Bulwark_. The lesson of the _Hogue, Cressy_, and _Aboukir_ had not been learned, for this ship went down under the same circumstances. While patrolling near Torbay during a night on which there was a bright moon and a calm sea, this ship, in company with seven other large ships unaccompanied by a "screen" of destroyers, was hit by a torpedo fired from a German submarine. Most of her crew were asleep when the torpedo struck and damaged the engine room so much that no lights could be turned on. In the darkness they hurried to the deck, which was slanting from her list. In obedience to orders issued by the admiralty after the sinking of the _Cressy_ and the ships with her, the rest of the fleet immediately sailed away from the scene, so that no more of them would be hit. Only a light cruiser stood by the sinking _Formidable_. A second torpedo struck her and this had the effect of letting water into her hold on the side which was slowly coming out of the water. She took a position with even keel after that, and this fact enabled most of her crew to get off safely before she sank. Once more the Germans were to attempt a raid on the coast cities of England. The date of this third attempt was January 24, 1915. This time the British were a bit better prepared, for a squadron of battle cruisers, consisting of the _Lion, Tiger, Princess Royal, New Zealand_, and _Indomitable_, put out from a port in the north of England at about the same time that the Germans left their base. All of these ships, with the exception of the last named, were quite fast, having speeds of from 25 to 28.5 knots; they were at the same time carrying heavy armament--13.5-inch guns in the main batteries. In company with them went four cruisers of what is known in England as the "town class"; these were the _Nottingham, Birmingham, Lowestoft_, and _Southampton_, together with the three light cruisers _Arethusa, Aurora_, and _Undaunted_, and a squadron of destroyers. The German fleet which was engaged in this raid consisted of the _Seydlitz, Moltke, Derfflinger_, and _Bluecher_, in company with a fleet of destroyers. The German ships were not quite as fast as the English ships, nor did they carry guns of such range or destructive power as their British opponents.