LAND AND .WATER 
August 14, 1915. 
Hark it could lu'jve fetc!ied the English coast by 
davliLht ardly using more than three-quarter 
no ver I started lor hon.e at 8.30 it would 
■aiTnine hours of daylight before it. At w^ - 
five knots 225 miles could be covered. Ths would 
bring them within fifty or sixty miles of tlie mine- 
fields and it is probable that at some greater dis- 
tance' from Heligoland than this a rendezvous for 
submarines and'' destroyers had been armngech 
These raids were doubtless i)lanned on the theoiy 
that the First Cruiser Squadron woucl be based 
on some point ,so far North tbat no difference in 
speed between the British and German ships 
wVuld enable the former to overtake them before 
the minefields, or at least the waiting submarines 
and destrovers were met. And it may well have 
been hopeS'that an exasperated English Admiral, 
if he came up with them then, would not willingly 
Kive up the hope of an engagement. It may have 
i^^emed a verv feasible operation to draw lum 
either on to' the mines themselves or witlun 
rancre of the submarines. It is. it seems to me, 
not "difficult to reconstruct the German plan tor 
both the Yarmouth and the Whitby raids. 
It is more difficult, however, to explain the 
events of Januarv 28. The precise point where 
Sir David Beattv encountered Admiral Hipper s 
fleet has not been authoritatively made known, 
but it seems to have been on the north-eastern 
edge of the Dogger Bank. They were encountered 
at seven o'clock in the morning. Von Hipper s 
presence at this point cannot, then, explain his 
k^int' out on an expedition analogous to the_ 
former two. And I have some difficulty in under- 
standing exactly why he took this risk. It is, of 
course, possible the Germans had had reports to 
the effect that the North Sea was generally clear. 
It may have been so reported on several occasions, 
and it is possible that aircraft had verified this 
fact, when the weather permittefl of their em- 
ployment for this purpose. The Germans, who 
are fond of jumping to conclusions on very in- 
sufficient premises, may have exaggerated the 
effect of their submarine campaign on British 
dispositions. We know, for instance, that the 
alarm undoubtedly felt by the public in Septem- 
ber and October was very greatly exaggerated in 
the German Press. At any rate, immediately 
after the battle of the Falkland Islands a good 
deal of rodomontade appeared about the British 
being driven from the North Sea, and the German 
seamen may have felt bound to a.ct as if this 
rodomontade were true. Or a much simpler ex- 
planation may suffice. Von Hipper may liave 
come out to look for the British ships and draw 
them into prepared positions and to engage them 
on the German terms. 
Whatever the explanation of the Germans 
being where they were, it was only by mere 
chance that they escaped annihilation. Had Sir 
David Beatty — as it might well have happened — 
been to the east of them when they were sighted, 
not a single German ship would ever have got 
home. It was unlucky, too, that his squadron 
was temporarily deprived of the services of the 
Queen Mary. A fourth ship of the speed of Lion, 
Tiger, and Princess Royal, and armed like them 
with 13.5 guns, might have made the whole differ- 
ence in the conditions in which the fight took 
place. Once more, then, the Germans had quite 
exceptional luck upon their side. 
The moment Von Hipper's scouting cruisers 
Sul>bUment to Land iND Water. Auzuit 14. 1915. 
found themselves in contact with Commodore 
Goodenouairs squadron the German battle 
cru'se"s turned and made straight for ho^e at 
top speed. They had a fo^^^^^^^f i",V,?J^,e^^^^^^ 
Bntish squadron, and Admiral Beatty setUed 
down at once to a stern chase at top speed. The 
chase began in earnest at 7.30 the Germans, four- 
teen mills ahead, steering S.E., the British sh p3 
on a course parallel to them, the German ships 
bearing about twenty degrees on the port bow. 
I« an Wxv and twenty minutes the range had been 
closed from 28,000 yards to 20,000. Admiral 
Beatty disposed of his fleet in a line of bearing, 
so that all guns should bear, and the flagship 
began to open fire with single shots t-o test the 
range. In ten minutes her first hit was made on 
the Dleucher, which was the last in the German 
line. Tiqer then opened on the Dleucher, and 
Lion .shifted to No. 3, of which the range 
was 18,000 yards. At a quarter-past nine the 
enemv opened fire. Soon after nine Princess 
Royal got within range of Bleucker and the 
leading ship, that is, two in advance of the one 
Lion had shifted to at 9.14, was now only 17,500 
yards away. At twenty-five minutes to ten, the 
Dleucher,' having dropped somewhat astern, the 
New Zealand got within range of her. Princess 
Royal then passed the Dleuclier on to New Zea- 
land and shifted to the Lion's second target. No. 
3, and hit her severely. So early as a quarter to 
ten the Dleucher showed signs of heavy punish- 
ment, and the first and third ships of the enemy 
were both on fire. Lion was engaging the first 
ship. Princess Royal the third, Neiv Zealand the 
Dleucher, while Tiger alternated between the same 
target as the Lion and No. 4. For some reason 
not explained the second ship in the German line 
does not appear to have been engaged at 
all. Just before this the Germans attempted 
a diversion by sending the destroyers to 
attack. Meteor, Captain Mead, with a 
division of the British destroyers, was then sent 
ahead to drive off the enemy, and this apparently 
was done with success. Shortly afterwards the 
enemy destroyers got between the battle-cruisers 
and the British squadron and raised huge 
volumes of smoke so as to foul the range. Under 
cover of this the enemy changed course to the 
northward. The battle-cruisers then formed a 
new line of bearing. N.N.W., and were ordered 
to proceed at their utmost speed. A second 
attempt of the enemy's destroyers to attack the 
British squadron was foiled by the fire of Lion 
and Tiger. 
The chase continued on these lines more or 
less for the next hour, by which time the Dleucher 
had dropped very much astern and had hauled 
away to the North. She was listing heavily, on 
fire, and seemed to be defeated. Sir David Beatty 
thereupon ordered Indomitable to finish her off, 
and one infers from this, the first mention of 
Indomitable, that she had been unable to keep 
pace with New Zealand, Princess Royal, Tiger, 
and Lion, and therefore would not be able to 
assist in the pursuit of the enemy battle-cruisers. 
The range by this time must have been very 
much reduced. If between 7.30 and 9.30 a gain of 
10,000 yards, or 5,000 yards an hour, had been 
made, between 9.30 and 10.45 a further gain of 
6,250 yards should have been possible, even if we 
suppose neither side to have lost speed, and it is 
more likely that the Germans lost spoed, as two 
36* 
