A Reverse and a Victory
"Through the fog of the fight we could dimly see,As ever the flame from the big guns flashed,That Cradock was doomed, yet his men and he,With their plates shot to junk and their turrets smashed,Their ship heeled over, her funnels gone,Were fearlessly, doggedly, fighting on.. . . . . . . . . ."We could see by the flashes, the dull, dark loomOf their hull as it bore toward the Port of Doom,Away on the water's misty rim—Cradock and his few hundred men,Never, in time, to be seen again."While into the darkness their great shells screamed,Little the valiant Germans dreamedThat Cradock was teaching them how to goWhen the fate their daring, itself, had sealed,Waiting, as yet, o'er the ocean's verge,To their eyes undaunted would stand revealed;And snared by a stronger, swifter foe,Out-classed, out-metalled, out-ranged, out-shotBy heavier guns, but not out-fought,They, too, would sink in the sheltering surge."John E. Dolson.(In an American Newspaper.)
A sadbut glorious day in the annals of the British Navy has now to be referred to—the defeat of Sir Christopher Cradock's squadron off the coast of Chile, with the loss of theGood HopeandMonmouthwith all hands. Sad because of the defeat and the loss of so many gallant officers and men—glorious on account of the way they fought and met their deaths. It is the only thing approaching a naval victory scored by the Germans up to the time of writing.
The German squadron, which was commanded by Admiral Graf von Spee, consisted of theScharnhorst,Gneisenau,Dresden,Nürnberg, andLeipzig. The two former had been on the Chinese station and were big armoured cruisers of 11,600 tons, dating from 1907. They were sister ships, each mounting eight 8·2-inch, six 6-inch, and several smaller guns. TheScharnhorst(flag) was the crack gunnery ship of the German fleet. The other three ships were third-class cruisers of between 3000 and 4000 tons, similar to theEmden, and carried ten 4·1-inch guns apiece, firing 34-pound projectiles. They had been carrying on various separate commerce-raiding operations in the Pacific, had bombarded the French port of Papeete in Tahiti, and now, when the numerous cruisers of the allied Powers were beginning to make the Pacific Ocean "unhealthy" for them, had apparently concentrated off the Chilian coast with the view of slipping out of it into the Atlantic in hopes of doing further mischief, after capturing the Falkland Islands as a base, or possibly of eventually attempting to find their way back to a German port.
On 1st November at 2 p.m. a British squadron consisting of theGood Hope(14,100 tons),Monmouth(9800 tons),Glasgow(4800 tons), andOtranto(12,100 tons) were at sea to the westward of Coronel, in Chile, when it was reported that there were enemy's ships in the neighbourhood. The two first-named ships were armoured cruisers of large size, but not too well gunned for their displacement. TheGood Hopehad a couple of 9·2-inch guns and sixteen 6-inch guns, theMonmouthfourteen 6-inch guns. TheGlasgowwas a light cruiser with two 6-inch and ten 4-inch guns, while theOtrantowas merely a big mail-boat, belonging to the Orient line, armed as a mercantile auxiliary.
At 4.20 the smoke of hostile ships was made out on the horizon, and about a quarter to six the British squadron was formed in line ahead in the order in which their names have been already noted. The enemy came in sight about this time at 12 miles distance, but kept away as long as the sun was above the horizon, as it showed them up well to ourgunners and was in the eyes of their own. As soon as it dipped, the light was entirely in their favour. The grey forms of their ships were but dimly discernible, whilst ours were silhouetted black against the ruddy glow of the sunset.
The following account of the action is from the pen of one of the crew of theGlasgow:[94]"By 6 p.m. we were steaming abreast each other. TheMonmouth, as she passed us close on our port side, gave us a few cheers, which were readily returned. Everyone was stripped and ready, and all seemed satisfied to think that we had found the enemy after searching for nearly three months. The sea was still very rough, and the ships were washing down forward. The enemy's squadron seemed to be going faster than we were, and were getting on our port bow. The sun was setting in the west, and we must have made very nice targets for the Germans, as we were between them and the sun. They had some dark clouds behind them and were difficult to see even then. As soon as the sun had set they altered course towards us, and we turned slightly towards them, theOtrantogoing away off our starboard quarter and taking no part in the action. As soon as the enemy were within 14,000 yards they opened fire, each of the armoured ships firing at theGood HopeandMonmouth, while the two smaller ships concentrated their fire on theGlasgow, although they did not open fire until the fourth ship had joined them and they had got much closer than when the armoured ships opened fire.
"TheGood HopeandMonmouthreturned the enemy's fire, and soon the action became general. We were very close to each other on the British side, but the Germans were much farther apart. The enemy soon got the range of our ships and were hitting theGood Hopeand theMonmouthvery often, and it was not long before theGood Hopewas on fire. Soon after theMonmouthtook fire, but this was kept under.
"After about forty minutes theGood Hopeseemed tobreak out of the line and close towards the enemy, and she was not seen again (although some state that she was still firing her after-turret)." According to the official report made by the captain of theGlasgow:"At 7.50 p.m. an immense explosion occurred on boardGood Hopeamidships, flames reaching 200 feet high. Total destruction must have followed. It was now quite dark."
TheMonmouthandGlasgowstill fought on gamely, both sides firing at the flashes, the Germans firing salvoes. "TheMonmouthwas very badly damaged by this time", continues the account we have already quoted, "and she hauled off to starboard, followed by theGlasgow, as the big ships had now commenced to fire on us as well as the small ones. It was very dark now, but owing to the fire on theMonmouthno doubt the enemy had a good mark to aim at. The enemy's fire ceased as soon as we turned away to starboard. It could easily be seen as we passed theMonmouththat she had suffered heavily, and it appeared to me that she was still on fire. She also had a list to port and was down by the head.
"Our captain made a signal to her, asking if she was all right, and was told that she was making water badly forward and was trying to get her stern to the sea. He then asked him if he could steer north-west, but received no reply. The enemy were now coming towards us, and we thought that we might have drawn them away from theMonmouth, but in a few minutes we could see search-lights and gun-flashes, and we knew that it was theMonmouththey were firing on." Under the growing light of a full moon, which was now rising slowly in the stormy heavens, the practically undamaged German squadron was seen bearing down directly on the littleGlasgow, which, as she could by no possibility be of any assistance to theMonmouth, made off at full speed to avoid annihilation, and by 8.50 had run the enemy out of sight. About half an hour later a number of flashes were seen afar off, which, without doubt, marked the death throes of thegallantMonmouth. TheGlasgowwas badly knocked about. She had an enormous gash in her side 9 feet long and 3 feet wide, besides minor injuries. But she lived not only to fight another day, but to take signal revenge on her opponents.
"Nothing could have been more admirable than the conduct of the officers and men throughout. Though it was most trying to receive a great volume of fire without chance of returning it adequately, all kept perfectly cool, there was no wild firing, and discipline was the same as at battle-practice. When target ceased to be visible, gunlayers spontaneously ceased fire."[95]
It must be borne in mind that the only guns in the British squadron equal in power to the sixteen 8·2-inch much more modern weapons of the two big German armoured cruisers were the two 9·2-inch guns carried by theGood Hope, one of which was knocked out ten minutes after the battle began.
TheGlasgow, on the second day after her escape, had a curious experience, if we are to believe the story of one of her men, as she ran plump into a sleeping whale! "That was another shock for us. The ship trembled and we all rushed up on deck to find out what had happened." TheGlasgowpicked up the pre-Dreadnought battleshipCanopus, which at the time of the fight was unfortunately 200 miles away to the southward, and both ships proceeded in company to Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands. The German ships do not appear to have followed them, but went to Valparaiso, presumably to send home news of their victory. The news of the disaster to Sir Christopher Cradock's squadron naturally created great enthusiasm in Germany and corresponding grief in this country. But the naval authorities, in dead secrecy, at once prepared to settle accounts with Von Spee and his ships. On the 8th December, just over a month after the catastrophe off Coronel, their efforts bore the fullest fruit. On the previous day a squadron consisting of the battle-cruisersInvincibleandInflexibleand the cruisersCarnarvon,Cornwall,Bristol, andKent, under the command of Sir F. C. Doveton Sturdee, had arrived at Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, their crews greeting theGlasgow, which was lying there in company with theCanopus, with round after round of cheering.
The inhabitants of these remote islands were unfeignedly glad to see the new arrivals, since they had received warning that they might expect a German raid. At 8 a.m. the look-outs on Sapper Hill to the south-west of Port Stanley reported columns of smoke coming up over the south-west horizon. Soon afterwards a two-funnelled ship and a four-funneller were made out, and theKentwas ordered out to the harbour mouth and orders given for all ships to raise steam for full speed. TheKent, it is interesting to note, went into action this day flying the silken ensign and jack which had been presented by the ladies of Kent on her first commission. To conceal the presence of the two big battle-cruisers, which might be spotted by their tripod masts, these two ships were ordered to stoke up with oil fuel, and the thick black greasy smoke billowing from their funnels soon shrouded the harbour with a dusky veil. Twenty minutes later other smoke columns were reported more to the southward.
The two ships first observed, which proved to be theGneisenauandNürnberg, continued to advance steadily towards the island, training their guns on the wireless station, and about an hour and a half after they had first been sighted came within 11,000 yards of theCanopus, which let fly at them with her big guns, firing over the low-lying land between the south side of the harbour and the open sea. The Germans at once hoisted their colours and turned away. Then, seeing theKentat the harbour mouth, they turned towards her, but very shortly afterwards turned away again and went off at full speed towards their consorts, who were now coming up. It is thought that they must have got aglimpse of the "surprise packet", in the shape of theInvincibleandInflexible, that was awaiting their advent.
At a quarter to ten theCarnarvon,Inflexible,Invincible, andCornwallweighed and stood out to sea in the order named, and overtook theKentand theGlasgow, which had gone out and joined her a few minutes earlier. The German ships were now in full sight to the south-east—hull down, and doing the "Goebenglide" for all they were worth. In the British ships the stokers were working furiously, the smoke belching in thick volumes from the funnels; and, with every man at his post, their decks flooded with water as a preventive against fire, and hoses ready, the vessels gradually gathered way.
At 10.25 the big ships were making 23 knots, and gradually drew ahead of their consorts. TheInvincibleled, theInflexiblefollowed at some little distance on her starboard quarter. TheGlasgow—all on board burning with eagerness to avenge their late squadron-mates—was ordered to keep at 2 miles distance from the flagship. It was a fine, clear, bright day, comparatively warm for those latitudes, and it was easy to keep the enemy in sight.
Shortly before one o'clock the two battle-cruisers opened fire with their big guns, presently concentrating on the light cruiserLeipzig. She was not hit, but the big shots crept closer and closer, till after about a quarter of an hour she turned away to the south-west, followed by theDresdenandNürnberg. At the same time the remaining German ships, the two big armoured cruisers, turned slightly to port and began to return the fire of our battle-cruisers. Thenceforward the fighting resolved itself into two battles, one between the big ships, the other between the smaller cruisers.
As soon as the German light cruisers turned off to their starboard hand theKent,Glasgow, andCornwallstarted after them in accordance with the orders they had received from Admiral Sturdee. TheBristolhad previously signalled that three more Germans, looking like colliers or transports, hadappeared off the Falklands, and, having received orders to take the armed auxiliary cruiserMacedoniawith her and destroy them, had proceeded to chase them to the westward. The strangers turned out to be two and not three ships, theBadenandSt. Isabel. Both were captured and sunk after the removal of their crews.
Meanwhile theInvincibleandInflexiblewere pressing closer and closer on theScharnhorstandGneisenau. "Suddenly we altered course", wrote a midshipman on board theInvincibleto his father,[96]"and made for the enemy. I had not noticed we were closing, and when their first salvo went off I was still on the top of the turret. I could see all the shells coming at us, and I felt they were all coming straight at me. However, they all missed except one, which hit the side of the ship near the ward-room, and made a great green flash, and sent splinters flying all round. I hopped below armour quickly and started working again. We were nearing theScharnhorstand began firing for all we were worth. We hit again and again. First our left gun sent her big crane spinning over the side. Then our right gun blew her funnel to atoms, and then another shot from the left gun sent her bridge and part of the forecastle sky-high.
"We were not escaping free, however. Shots were hitting us repeatedly, and the spray from the splashes of their shells was hiding theScharnhorstfrom us. Suddenly a great livid flame rushed through the gun-ports, and splinters flew all round, and we felt the whole 150 or 200 tons of the turret going up in the air. We thought we were going over the side and would get drowned like rats in a trap. However, we came down again with a crash that shook the turret dreadfully, and continued firing as hard as ever. Nothing in the turret was out of order at all. The range continued to come down, and the whistles of the shells that flew over us grew into a regular shriek. Down came the range, 11,000,10,000, 9000, 8800 yards. We were hitting theScharnhorstnearly every time. One beauty from our right gun got one of their turrets fair and square and sent it whizzing over the side." By 3.30 theScharnhorstwas in a bad way. She was on fire, smoke and steam poured out of her in many places, and when a shell would knock a big hole in her side a dull furnace-like glow was seen within. Several of her guns were out of action and she now turned partially to starboard, apparently with the idea of getting her starboard guns to bear.
Just after four o'clock she was observed to give a heavy roll to port. She slowly listed farther and farther over, till she lay on her beam-ends, and at 4.17 disappeared below the waves in a dense cloud of smoke and steam. TheGneisenau, passing on the far side of the mass of scattered debris marking the grave of her consort, still spat out defiance from her guns. But her hours were numbered, and everyone on board must have known that it was only a matter of minutes before her two huge opponents settled accounts with her. She put up a first-rate fight for nearly two hours longer. She ranged her guns well and hit her adversaries again and again. But each of them was much more than her match, and their great 850-pound projectiles got her time after time.
"5.10. Hit, hit!" wrote one of theGneisenau'sofficers in a pocket diary.[97]"5.12. Hit! 5.14. Hit, hit, hit! again! 5.20. After-turret gone. 5.40. Hit, hit! On fire everywhere. 5.41. Hit, hit! burning everywhere and sinking. 5.45. Hit! men dying everywhere. 5.46. Hit, hit!" The ship must have been an inferno. At last she could only fire a single gun at intervals, and at 5.40 theInvincible,Inflexible, andCarnarvonclosed in on the stricken leviathan and the "cease fire" was sounded. At six o'clock she turned slowly, slowly, over to port till only her rounded side was visible lying in the water like a great whale, with those of her crew who survived walking and crawling over it. Then,suddenly, down she went amid a swirl of waters, leaving those of her crew who were not sucked down with her struggling amid the waves. During the fighting the weather had changed for the worse, the sea had begun to rise, and now a cold drizzle was falling.
"Out boats," was the order on board the British ships, and no pains were spared to rescue their late enemies. Some of them had their heads quite turned and tried to kill their rescuers, or jumped into the sea again and drowned themselves. "One officer tried to shoot us with an automatic pistol, but it was wrenched from his hand and we escaped," wrote the midshipman before quoted. It is thought that before she sank 600 of theGneisenau'sship's company had been killed or wounded. The British seamen, working indefatigably, were only able to save less than 200, fourteen of whom subsequently died from the effects of cold and exposure.
We must now return to the other running fight which had been proceeding between the smaller ships on both sides. The Germans had no notion of fighting if they could avoid it, and seem to have gone off "helter-skelter" without assuming any definite formation. TheGlasgowwas our fastest cruiser and was ordered to head off theNürnbergandLeipzig. As for theDresden, she seems to have got a very long start from the first and was never overtaken. TheGlasgowopened fire on theLeipzigandNürnbergwith her 6-inch guns about three o'clock, and succeeded in making them alter course. The former turned to meet theGlasgow, while the latter was obliged to turn in a direction which rendered it easier for theKentto come up with her. TheKent, an older and slower ship than theNürnberg, made a record spurt and succeeded in getting within range of the German. She had but little coal on board. "The oldKentset off and her engines worked up to 22 knots—more than she had ever done on her trials. Then the word was passed that there was hardly any coal left. 'Well,' said the captain, 'have a go at the boats.' Sothey broke up all the boats, smeared them with oil, and put them in the furnaces. Then in went all the armchairs from the ward-room and the chests from the officers' cabins. They next burnt the ladders and all. Every bit of wood was sent to the stokehold. The result was that theKent'sspeed became 24 knots."[98]But it was five o'clock before she could get within range and both ships went at it hammer and tongs for an hour, by which time theNürnbergwas evidently on fire. The sea was by now rather choppy and the atmosphere somewhat misty. Just after half-past six theNürnberg, well alight forward, ceased firing. TheKentthereupon ceased fire also and closed in to 3300 yards; but, as the German still kept her colours flying, she once more set her guns to work. Five minutes of this and down fluttered the German ensign, and theKentset herself to save as many of her late opponents as she could; but she was, of course, handicapped by having burnt her boats, and only twelve could be rescued with the assistance of theCornwall. It was nearly half-past seven before theNürnbergtook her final plunge.
TheKentwas hit a considerable number of times and lost four killed and a dozen wounded, nearly all by one shell. She had, moreover, a very narrow escape from destruction, from which she was only saved by the heroism of Sergeant Charles Mayes of the Royal Marines. In the words of the notification awarding him the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal: "A shell burst and ignited some cordite charges in the casemate. Sergeant Mayes picked up a charge of cordite and threw it away. He then got hold of a fire-hose and flooded the compartment, extinguishing the fire in some empty shell-bags which were burning. The extinction of this fire saved a disaster which might have led to the loss of the ship."
While theKentwas disposing of theNürnberg, theGlasgowand afterwards theCornwalltackled theLeipzig. "We continued to fight theLeipzig," writes one[99]of theGlasgows,"and theCornwallwas now coming up to help us, so she hauled off again, and we followed. We soon got close enough to open fire again, and this time we had begun to make good shooting though it was at a long range. She had then turned slightly towards us, and we began to get her range; but she was altering her course so much that it made it extremely difficult to hit her. We got one shell through our control and the splinters killed one man and injured several others. This was the only shell that did much damage. We were getting much closer now and our shells were hitting her as her fire slackened, but we had to be careful owing to the enemy throwing mines over the side. As we got closer . . . our fire became even more effective, she turned to port and we had to cease fire for a while. Then the other battery had a chance and they made some very good shooting. By this time she had altered course again and this allowed theCornwallto open fire on her, but it looked to us as if her fire was going very short. TheLeipzignow fired at theCornwalland we got up fairly close and poured in a heavy fire. She then took fire on her stern, and her mast and funnel went over the side. Then she was smoking amidships and a shell knocked away the upper half of her second funnel. She was now beaten but she refused to answer our signal to surrender, and after a while we opened fire on her again, and, as it was by this time quite dusk, we could see the shells strike and burst. She was lying quite helpless now and burning fiercely from amidships to the after end. The smoke which came from her in dense clouds, came across us and we could smell the faint burning.
"Then she fired one of her guns, and this was a signal for a fresh outburst from us. We kept steaming round near the burning ship, and then we saw them fire a white rocket. We and theCornwallthen lowered boats and went nearer to the now sinking ship." "When we went right close to", says another eyewitness, "she looked just like a night-watchman'sbucket—all holes and fire. She was a mass of white heat. You would not think an iron ship would blaze like that." To continue to quote the previous narrator: "Our boats had just arrived near the ship, when she rolled gently over and then sank. Our boats picked up ten of them and theCornwall'sfour. . . . Everyone seemed overjoyed to think we had avenged the loss of theGood HopeandMonmouth, and especially so later on when we heard that theKenthad sunk theNürnberg!"
TheGlasgow, which had fought and escaped at Coronel, and participated in the signal revenge taken upon Von Spee and his squadron off the Falklands, was lucky enough to assist in the final act of retribution when theDresden, which had got away for a time, was caught and sunk off Juan Fernandez—Robinson Crusoe's island. TheGlasgowandOramacame up from the south-west, and presently theKentappeared hurrying up from the south-east. After the exchange of some shots theDresdenappeared to be on fire and hoisted a very large white flag, while many of her crew jumped overboard and made for her boats, which were in the water at a little distance off. "As soon as it was clear she did not intend to fight again, we lowered boats and sent medical aid, and several of the wounded were brought alongside the ship for treatment." Eventually the magazine seems to have been blown up—possibly intentionally by her officers, as just previously the German ensign was re-hoisted, and she sank with it and the white flag of surrender both flying.
With the sinking of theDresdenthe German Navy disappeared from the ocean. Not a man-of-war of German nationality floated in the "Seven Seas", and only in the security of their own fortified harbours and in the mine-defended area of the Baltic dared the "black, white, and red flag" show itself.
German Raids and their Signal Punishment
"I saw a mast abaft the lightIn the tail of the offshore breeze,A beacon flared on Dover Head,A lean hull slipped the quays;And out of the mist beyond the Fore,Hell howled across the seas."Sudden and terrible, in one night,A fleet had sprung to grips;Nor' and nor'-east the signal spedTo the scattered scouts and the ships;And racking the Channel fog the warRoared in apocalypse."Lewis Hastingsin theNavy.
Earlyin November, 1914, a German squadron of considerable force made what the Germans proudly termed a "hussar stroke", a number of big ships approaching the English coast, driving off theHalcyon, an antiquated gunboat, and firing a few futile shots at long range at Yarmouth. Suddenly they turned tail and made off. They strewed mines behind them, one of which blew up the submarine D5; but the so-called raid was a case of "much cry, little wool", and finally ended by theYorck, a very big cruiser, running into a German mine defending the entrance to the Jahde and being blown up with great loss of life.
On the 23rd November a patrol vessel rammed the German submarine U 18 off the north coast of Scotland. She was badly damaged and shortly afterwards foundered. Five days later the navy suffered a severe loss in the blowing up of thepre-Dreadnought battleshipBulwarkas she lay at her buoy off Sheerness. The cause of this catastrophe was, of course, impossible to ascertain with any certainty, as the ship was sunk and destroyed with almost every soul on board.
Encouraged by what they seem to have considered the success of their vaunted "hussar stroke" at Yarmouth, the Germans thought they might as well have another. This time their raid resulted in the deaths of a large number of civilians, men, women, and children, at East and West Hartlepool, Whitby, and Scarborough, upon which undefended places they opened fire with their heavy artillery. Another "famous victory!" To make it look more like an operation of war, and to excuse themselves to neutrals, they tried to make out that these towns were fortified positions. It is not very likely that anyone believed them, since these places are well known to be nothing of the kind.
As a matter of fact, it was a carefully-planned affair. "Practically the whole fast-cruiser force of the German Navy, including some great ships vital to their fleet and utterly irreplaceable," wrote Mr. Winston Churchill to the Mayor of Scarborough, "has been risked for the passing pleasure of killing as many English people as possible, irrespective of sex, age, or condition, in the limited time available to this military and political folly. They were impelled by the violence of feelings which could find no other vent."
There is little doubt that the First Lord's diagnosis of the cause of the raid was absolutely correct, though it was perhaps more generally considered that it had the ulterior motive of "frightening" the British nation. So far from doing anything of the kind, it produced a perfect rush to enlist. Men wanted to take a personal hand in the payment due for such violence. The few British destroyers and patrolling vessels that were encountered opened fire on the big German leviathans, but were naturally in no position to put up anything of a fight against such overwhelming odds. That theGermans were unable to sink them goes to prove that they were in too great a hurry to fire carefully, as all they wanted to do was to escape, for, to quote the official announcement, "on being sighted by British vessels the Germans retired at full speed, and, favoured by the mist, succeeded in making good their escape". What a pity that mist intervened! But it merely postponed the evil day for the raiders after all.
Our men-of-war about this time set to work to give the German positions along the Belgian coast another shaking up, and the year finished by a brilliantly executed naval air raid on Cuxhaven and the German war-ships lying in the Elbe, in the process of which their escorting flotilla had a somewhat unique scrap with German submarines and Zeppelins, an account of which will be found in a later chapter.
The year 1915 opened badly for us with the loss of theFormidable—a sister-ship to theBulwark—which was torpedoed, it is supposed, by a German submarine well down the Channel. At two o'clock in the morning there was a heavy explosion, and the ship began to settle down to starboard. There was no panic, the boats were got out, and some were already in the water when there was a second explosion and a mass of debris was shot into the air. The sea was rough, and the survivors, who numbered less than a hundred, endured severe hardships. Some were rescued by a Brixham trawler, and others managed to row ashore at Lyme Regis. "The discipline was splendid," said a bluejacket survivor.[100]"The last that I saw of Captain Loxley"—who was in command of the ship—"was that he was on the bridge calmly smoking a cigarette. Lieutenant Simmonds superintended the launching of the boats, and as he got the last away I heard the Captain say: 'You have done well, Simmonds'. The stokers must have done magnificently, as they drew all the fires, and, steam being shut off, there was no boiler explosion when theFormidablesank.
"Captain Loxley was as cool as a cucumber. He gave his orders calmly and coolly, just as though the ship was riding in harbour with anchors down. I thought nothing was amiss. The last words I heard him say were: 'Steady, men, it's all right. No panic, keep cool; be British. There's life in the old ship yet!' Captain Loxley's old terrier 'Bruce' was standing on duty at his side on the fore-bridge at the last."
One of the few stokers who were saved said that they were expecting to be relieved, and to have gone back to port, in about another hour. "An officer passed down by us. He stopped and explained in a matter-of-fact way that the ship had been struck, was sinking fast, and it was now a question of saving as many lives as possible. He advised us to go on deck and lay hold of anything we could." One of the finest examples of self-sacrifice was given by Bugler S. C. Reed of the Royal Marines, a mere boy, who, when advised to use his drum to keep himself afloat, replied that he had thought of it, but had given it to one of the bluejacket boys for that purpose, as the lad had nothing to keep himself afloat in the heavy seas then prevailing, andthat he did not feel very nervous. Surely the cool courage in the face of death, superlative bravery, and absolute self-devotion that have been displayed during the last few months by officers and men—yes, and boys too—of navy and army alike, have equalled, if not eclipsed, the finest deeds of our forefathers "in the brave days of old".
At last, on 24th January, our eager navy had its chance of castigating the evasive enemy. The Battle-cruiser Squadron, consisting of theLion,Princess Royal,Tiger,New Zealand, andIndomitable, under the command of Sir David Beatty, who flew his flag on theLion, in company with Commodore Goodenough's Light Squadron, comprising theSouthampton,Nottingham,Birmingham, andLowestoft, was patrolling in the North Sea, preceded some way ahead by theUndaunted,Arethusa, andAurora, with destroyer flotillas, when about half-past seven in the morning the flashing of guns wasobserved to the south-south-east. Presently came a message to the flagship from theAurorathat she was in action with the enemy.
Speed was increased, and the British squadrons rushed at full speed towards the scene of conflict. Other messages came in from the ships in advance reporting that the enemy's force, consisting of theBlücher, three battle-cruisers, and six light cruisers, had altered course to south-east, while a number of destroyers were heading to the north-west. The main body of the enemy very shortly came in sight, but they were at a great distance, and making off as fast as they knew how. After them ploughed the British leviathans and their satellites, but it was not till nine minutes after nine that theLiongot in her first hit on theBlücherat something like 10 miles distance!
The enemy were in "line ahead", theBlücherbeing the rearmost ship. Their light cruisers were away ahead and their destroyers on their port flank, apparently meditating a dash against the advancing British. Our flotillas, with their attendant cruisers, were at this time away on the port quarter of the battle-cruisers, where they had been placed so as not to obstruct the aim of the big guns by their smoke, but the "M" division of destroyers was now sent ahead in order to attend to the German flotilla.
By this time the leading German ship—supposed to be theSeydlitz—was on fire, and so was the third ship in their line. The enemy's destroyers now began to stoke up, and threw out thick black clouds of smoke, under cover of which their big ships altered course to the northward. As soon as this manœuvre was apparent, the British ships, which by now were tearing through the water at tremendous speed, turned to follow, whereupon their destroyers again evinced a disposition to attack. But upon theLionandTigerturning their guns upon them they thought better of it, and returned to their former position. Our light cruisers kept station on theport quarter of the enemy, ready to pounce upon any cripples. Just after a quarter to eleven theBlücher, which had been gradually falling astern, turned out of the line to port. She was on fire, had a heavy list, and was evidently very badly mauled. A few minutes later the periscopes of a number of submarines were noticed on the starboard bow of our battle-cruisers, which at once turned to port to avoid them.
At the pace at which our ships were travelling these insidious foes would soon be left behind. Soon afterwards the flagship, having received damage which could not be at once repaired, was ordered to go off to the north-west, the admiral calling the destroyerAttackalongside and going in her to thePrincess Royal, on board of which he rehoisted his flag. On arrival he was informed that theBlücherhad been sunk, and that the remainder of the enemy's ships were making off to the eastward in a badly-damaged condition.
TheSeydlitzandDerflinger, particularly, were said to have been desperately knocked about. But as the battle had now approached the area of the German mine-fields, it was wisely determined to break it off and return to English waters, theLion, which had received a shot in her condensers, being taken in tow by theIndomitable. The only ships on our side that were hit were theLionand theTiger, and the littleMeteor, which led the destroyers interposed between the German destroyers and our main line; and the total casualties were only fourteen officers and men killed and twenty-nine wounded. The German losses must have been terrible.
One of the survivors of theBlüchergave a vivid account of the effects of our gunnery.[101]"The British guns were ranging. Those deadly waterspouts crept nearer and nearer. The men on deck watched them with a strange fascination. Soon one pitched close to the ship, and a vast watery pillar, a hundred metres high, fell lashing on the deck. The range had been found. Now the shells came thick and fast, with a horribledroning hum. At once they did terrible execution. The electric plant was soon destroyed, and the ship plunged in a darkness that could be felt. Down below there was horror and confusion, mingled with gasping shouts and moans as the shells plunged through the decks. At first they came dropping from the sky. They penetrated the decks, they bored their way even to the stokehold. The coal in the bunkers was set on fire. Since the bunkers were half-empty the fire burned merrily. In the engine-room a shell licked up the oil, and sprayed it around in flames of blue and green, scarring its victims and blazing where it fell. Men huddled together in dark compartments, but the shells sought them out, and there death had a rich harvest.
"The terrific air-pressure resulting from explosion in a confined space left a deep impression on the minds of the men of theBlücher. The air, it would seem, roars through every opening and tears its way through every weak spot. All loose or insecure fittings were transformed into moving instruments of destruction. Open doors bang to and jamb, and closed iron doors bend outwards like tin plates, and through it all the bodies of men are whirled about like dead leaves in a winter blast, to be battered to death against the iron walls." Has Dante beaten this description of an Inferno?
The Royal Naval Air Service
"The human bird shall take his first flight, filling the world with amazement, all writings with his fame, and bringing eternal glory to the nest whence he sprang."Leonardo da Vinci.
"The human bird shall take his first flight, filling the world with amazement, all writings with his fame, and bringing eternal glory to the nest whence he sprang."
Leonardo da Vinci.
"The feathered race on pinions skim the air,Not so the mackerel, and still less the bear;Ah! who hath seen the mailèd lobster rise,Clap her broad wings, and claim the equal skies?"Poem inThe Anti-Jacobin.
"The French are all coming, for so they declare;Of their floats and balloons all the papers advise us;They're to swim through the ocean and ride on the air,On some foggy evening to land and surprise us."The Invasion.Dibdin.
Wehave had a good many surprises during the Great War, and so also have the enemy; but the fine record of the British air service is not the least of them. It is not that we had not every confidence in the pluck and resourcefulness of our gallant British flying-men, but, if we may trust available sources of information, we began the war miles behind our French friends and our German foes, both in numbers and organization.
Of course no exact figures can be quoted, but, according to an authority on aeronautic matters,[102]Germany alone was in possession of a thoroughly organized and equipped fleet of 1300 aeroplanes. According to the same authority, Austria had about 100, France 800, and Russia 300, while we ourselves are credited with 100 machines belonging to the military wing of the air service, besides those in the naval wing, whose number is not forthcoming, but which, I think, may fairlybe put down at well below a hundred. Neither we nor our allies had more than three or four air-ships or dirigible balloons, while Germany had a fleet of nearly twenty, most being of the famous Zeppelin type, from which very great things were expected. The naval and military authorities in this country either did not or would not believe in these "gas-bags", and, so far, events seem to have proved that they were correct in their views.
In every estimate of the strength of navies we must not only make comparisons of material, but of personnel. "The man behind the gun" is a factor of the highest importance, and it is here that we "came in", handicapped as we were in other respects. I do not think that I can do better than again quote the same authority on this point. As regards the enemy, his estimate of the German air personnel is that its pilots were "mediocre, with a few brilliant exceptions". The Austrians were "brave and skilful pilots badly organized". As to our allies, he considers the French to have had "a very uneven air service". "Many magnificent fliers, many very bad"; while the Russians possessed "numerous skilful and daring aviators, but not very well equipped". We must not overlook the little Belgian squadron of five-and-twenty aeroplanes, which he assesses as "good", both in men and machines. We may, without vanity, accept his estimate of our own aerial establishment as "a small but highly efficient flying corps", since its efficiency has been proved over and over again.
The "Royal Flying Corps" only dates from a few years ago, and we are principally indebted to Major-General—then Lieutenant-Colonel—Sir David Henderson, K.C.B., D.S.O., for its formation. He had no easy job before him when he took the matter in hand, since neither Admiralty nor War Office appeared to be in any hurry to attain a commanding position in the novel arm, in spite of the great efforts being made by France, and more especially by Germany. However, nothing daunted, he made the very best possible of the small beginningshe was able to deal with, and we are now reaping the harvest he sowed. For a time naval and military officers and men worked together, but gradually, as numbers increased, drew rather more apart, and the naval wing had its own flying-schools at Eastchurch, near Sheerness, and at Upavon, near Salisbury, its central air office at Sheerness, an establishment at Hendon, and nine or ten air stations on the coast.
At the beginning of the war, confident in their numbers and organization, the German aviators showed considerable boldness, and their skilfulness in picking out our guns and positions, and signalling them by flares, strips of glittering tinsel, circling movements, and other devices to their gunners, rendered the fire of their artillery—which at first greatly outnumbered that of the Allies—very deadly indeed. Our own airmen were by no means such adepts at this particular work to begin with, but, few as they were, they soon proved themselves the better men. They worked on the old principle that so often brought us victory afloat in Nelsonian days. "Directly you see an enemy go for him." This system of fighting enabled Sir John French to report, quite early in the campaign, that "The British Flying Corps has succeeded in establishing an individual ascendancy which is as serviceable to us as it is damaging to the enemy. . . . Something in the direction of the mastery of the air has already been gained." The fact was that the very qualities of preciseness, method, painstaking, and avoidance of risk which make the German so formidable in some respects do not fit in where such warfare is concerned.
The German cavalry was the same. It worked by the book. If it could mass against ours at a strength of three to one, then by all the rules of the game we ought to have retired or waited for their ponderous squadrons to ride us down and overwhelm us by sheer weight of flesh and bone. But when our dashing horsemen whirled into their masses in their shirt-sleeves, and plied sabre and lance in a way that showed they meant business, and then turned round and cuttheir way home again in the same way, they did not like it. They have never dared to "take on" our cavalrymen on anything approaching equal terms. Brave as we must admit the Germans have shown themselves, they have not the same individual dash and self-reliance as the British races.
No German would ever attack single-handed like Sergeant O'Leary, V.C. If any proof were wanted of this, one has only to consider that the mass attack formations, which have proved so deadly to our enemies, were deliberately designed by the German military experts, with full knowledge of the growing power of modern guns and rifles, because from their experience of the war of 1870 they had formed the reasoned opinion that in no other formation could they keep their "cannon fodder" up to the scratch. All their views are well set forth in a German pamphlet published some years ago, entitledA Summer Night's Dream. It has been translated into English, and is well worth perusal at the present time.
Now look at our own men. Here is what Viscount Castlereagh wrote of them from the front to his wife last autumn. "The thing that has impressed me most here has been the aeroplane service; a splendid lot of boys who really do not know what fear is."[103]The German army was provided with a large quantity of guns especially designed for bringing down hostile airmen; but they proved singularly ineffective, and our flying-men simply laughed at them. And yet, with all their talk of air-raids and the effect they were supposed to have on this country, the German fliers have never attempted to attack any place over here where they thought there might be any guns in waiting to receive them.
The Naval Air Service, primarily intended for scouting at sea, not only for hostile ships but for submarines—for from high up these deadly craft are visible deep under water, just in the same way that one can see fish from a bridge that are invisible from the bank—was originally equippedwith water-planes, fitted with floats instead of wheels, so that the naval aeronauts could rise from or alight on the water.
But though these machines proved of the greatest service in guarding and watching the Channel and the Straits of Dover, the enterprising spirit of the naval and marine officers who acted as air pilots, squadron commanders, &c., was not content to devote itself entirely to such necessary but perhaps rather monotonous work. The Naval Air Service after the outbreak of war went ahead by leaps and bounds. Not only were the numbers of sea-planes increased, but wheeled aeroplanes were purchased as fast as they could be obtained, and supported by a whole fleet of armoured motors fitted with machine-guns, a regular naval air contingent appeared on the Continent ready to assist the army by raiding in any direction likely to be of service. All sorts of mechanics, motor-drivers, and other men were enlisted for special service with this new organization, which lost no time in proving its great value and efficiency.
The leading spirit and commanding officer was Commander Samson, R.N., and by 4th September, 1914, he was able to report that bombs had been dropped on four German officers and forty men who had got rather too near Dunkirk. Then, about a fortnight later, came the first raid in force against the enemy's country, which created quite a scare in the German frontier cities, since, judging our gallant airmen by their own low-down standards, they feared for the lives and property of civilian inhabitants.
After carefully and successfully assisting in covering the transit of the Expeditionary Force to France, a temporary base for the naval wing was established at Ostend. It was to assist in establishing this base that the three battalions of Royal Marines were dispatched to that place in the early part of the war. Other outlying bases were gradually established in Belgium. The naval motors, acting in conjunction with the Belgians, made things very warm for the prowling Uhlans,and eventually a regularly organized combined expedition of motors and aeroplanes was directed against Cologne and Düsseldorf, with the object of destroying the Zeppelin sheds at these places and, haply, any Zeppelins that might be taking their repose within.
It fell to Flight-Lieutenant Collet of the Royal Marine Artillery to score the first "bull's-eye". This officer had attracted some attention by the way he had handled a heavy German-built biplane which the Admiralty had bought from a Leipzig firm in 1913. In the hands of the German pilot who came over with her the new machine appeared but a slow and lumbering affair, but flown by Collet she became endued with a new life, and was made to perform all sorts of startling manœuvres. "To see him descend for a thousand feet or so," says an eye-witness, "in a closely wound spiral, with the machine standing vertically on one wing-tip, was an education in the handling of big aeroplanes."
Accompanied by other aviators, Lieutenant Collet set out from their base on 22nd September, and made for Düsseldorf, about 100 miles distant from Antwerp. Here, flying very low, he dropped four bombs on the Zeppelin shed which was the special object of attack. What damage was done was not ascertained. The attacking machine was only struck by a single bullet, which did no damage, and Collet and his companions regained their base without difficulty.
About a fortnight later another raid was made against the same sheds and also against those at Cologne.
The aviators on this occasion were Squadron-Commander Spencer-Grey and Flight-Lieutenants Marix and Sippe, all belonging to the Royal Navy. The last-named had trouble with his engine shortly after starting and had to drop out, but the remaining two rushed along through the growing light—the start had been made at the first streak of dawn—Grey making for Cologne and Marix for Düsseldorf. There was a good deal of fog, which, while it served them to acertain extent by concealing their approach, at the same time made it no easy job to steer a correct course. Travelling at 80 miles an hour Grey reached Cologne, but had no luck. Owing to the fog he was unable to locate the Zeppelin shed of which he was in search, and would not drop a bomb without a definite and legitimate objective, for fear of harming women and children. He, however, was able to do some damage to the railway station.
As for Marix, he found his way to the shed already struck by Collet. Rising to a great height, he made a spiral dive at the tremendous speed of 140 miles an hour. He had been seen some time before, and was greeted with a tremendous fusillade from machine-guns, anti-aeroplane guns, and rifles. His machine was struck several times, but he descended to within 500 feet of the shed to which a Zeppelin had been recently removed from that damaged by Collet, let go his bombs, and shot upwards again with marvellous velocity. As he went he saw that at least one of his projectiles had scored a success, for a volcano of flame was spouting 500 feet into the air. There was one Zeppelin the less. His "mount" had been hit no less than twenty times and two of his control-wires cut, but by the exercise of great judgment and skill he contrived to travel for 10 miles on his way back and to get across the frontier, where he was met by a Belgian car and taken safely to Antwerp.
A correspondent of theGlobewho was at Düsseldorf at the time gives the following account of what an eyewitness saw of Flight-Lieutenant Marix's exploit and its effect. "A friend of mine saw an aeroplane one day near Düsseldorf. He followed its movements with great anxiety, and saw that it dropped when it was close by the Zeppelin shed. He had an idea that something was wrong, but about 200 metres from the ground the machine turned again and disappeared. Almost at the same moment he heard two explosions, and a few moments after saw big flames of a light colour, giving himthe impression that the whole shed was on fire. My friend went down to the place as quickly as he could, but at a distance of a few hundred metres the people who had already run to the spot were kept away by a ring of soldiers. A few minutes later a rumour spread through the crowd that two more enemy aeroplanes were reported from Cologne, and immediately all the soldiers were ordered near the shed to be ready for firing at the new-comers. My friend followed the soldiers, and came quite near the place where he had seen the flames. He saw that the contents of the shed had been entirely burnt out, and only the walls of the building were erect. In the shed was the carcass of a Zeppelin, burned and broken to pieces. It was one big heap of aluminium."
The next exploit of the Naval Air Service was the attack on the Zeppelin sheds at Friedrichshafen, on the Lake of Constance. There are three or four big sheds here close together, with workshops and all appliances for building and fitting out these monster air-ships. The newspapers had for some time previously been publishing paragraphs giving accounts of Zeppelin experiments at this place. Some may have been more or less correct, while others bore the stamp of the usual "bogey-bogey" stories set about by the Germans with the somewhat childish idea of frightening us. Anyway the naval airmen made up their minds to go and see for themselves. Of course their departure from the usual scene of their activities in the north was made "without beat of drum", and, as Friedrichshafen was something like 150 miles from the French frontier, their visit was entirely unexpected.
The raiders were Squadron-Commander Briggs, Flight-Commander Babbington, and Flight-Lieutenant Sippe, all of the Royal Navy. They are supposed to have started from the neighbourhood of Belfort, that very strongly fortified town on the eastern frontier of France. They were mounted on similar machines—Avro biplanes. Heading almost due east, they struck the Rhine in the vicinity of Basle—where itturns almost at a right angle from east to north—flew upstream as far as Schaffhausen with its picturesque falls, and then struck across country to Ludwigshafen, at the western extremity of Lake Constance, or the Boden See as the Germans term it. Thence they steered directly down the lake at their objective, the cluster of hangars and workshops on the lakeside, just east of the town of Friedrichshafen. Their advent was both seen and heard, and the whirr of their propellers was at once answered by the stutter of Maxims, the banging of guns, and the popping of musketry. But it is not easy to disable an aeroplane unless you are successful in damaging it in a vital part; so, regardless of this very warm reception, the naval airmen swooped down one after the other from the high altitudes at which they were travelling, and, passing over their target at a height of about 1200 feet, discharged their cargoes of bombs.
Commander Briggs was the first to arrive and drop his bombs, but his petrol tank being pierced by a bullet the petrol ran out and he was brought to the ground, where he was made prisoner and taken off to hospital, having received some injuries from his fall. Babbington and Sippe, following in his tracks, bombarded first the hangars and afterwards the Zeppelin factory, and, circling round, flew off down the Rhine and arrived safely at their starting-point, though their machines had suffered some minor damages. Both were decorated on their return with the Cross of the Legion of Honour, which was pinned on their breasts by General Thevenet, the Governor of Belfort. All three, too, appeared as recipients of the Distinguished Service Order in the New Year's Honours List. And they had well earned their distinctions. Putting on one side the risks inseparable from such an enterprise, they had flown right into the enemy's country for a very considerable distance, over a mountainous district and in quite unfavourable weather conditions, and had created a tremendous moral effect in the enemy nations. They had probably done a considerableamount of material damage to the hangars and workshops, possibly to one or more Zeppelins as well, but no certain details as to the extent have yet become available.
The Germans had been taught to expect great things from their well-organized and numerous fleets of air-ships and aeroplanes. They were to bombard London, defeat our fleets, and terrorize the whole of our "right little, tight little island" with these monster gas-bags. And, lo and behold! before anything of the kind had happened, here were these pestilent English flying-men attacking them in their own country. Not blindly dropping bombs just anywhere in haste to get rid of them, frighten civilians, and get away as fast as possible, but deliberately attacking—and hitting—selected targets. German opinion was profoundly moved. No wonder that their airmen felt that it "was up to them" to show their fellow-countrymen whattheycould do. But what a poor show it was! On 5th December one gallant airman got within sight of Dover, but turned round and made off again. On the 24th this one, or another, actually flew over the town and dropped a bomb into a cabbage-patch. He was in too much of a hurry to select a more important target, much less hit it. The British reply, if such an unimportant exploit could be deemed worthy of receiving a reply, was prompt and effective. The very next day—Christmas Day—the Naval Air Wing, working in conjunction with its own branch of the service, carried out an extremely well-organized attack upon Cuxhaven, the strongly-fortified port at the mouth of the Elbe which protects the approaches to Hamburg. The following officers participated in this exploit: Flight-Commanders Oliver, Hewlett, and Ross, R.N., and Kilner, R.M.L.I., Flight-Lieutenants Miley and Edmonds, R.N., and Flight Sub-Lieutenant Blackburn, R.N.
The aeroplanes were all of an identical type—Shorts—just as those used against Friedrichshafen were "Avros" and against Düsseldorf "Sopwiths". They were carried onthree very fast Channel steamers that had been "taken up" by the Admiralty, each of which was commanded by a naval officer belonging to the air service. It is interesting to note that the navigating officer of one of these vessels was Mr. Erskine Childers, a lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, the author of that fascinating novelThe Riddle of the Sands, which deals most minutely with the navigation of the German coastal waters between the Elbe and the Zuyder Zee. The little expedition was convoyed by theUndauntedand the "saucy"Arethusa—a pair of new light cruisers which have proved themselves a most effective type of war-vessel—and a cordon of submarines and destroyers. Everything had been worked out in detail.