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Show ADMIRAL JELLICOE'S COMPLETE REPORT ON GREATEST SEA FIGHT He Estimates the German Losses at Three Battleships, Three Battle Cruisers, Five Light Cruisers, Six Destroyers and a Submarine; Lauds Foes; Fully Indorses Beatty's Action. LONDON, July 6. The following dispatch was received from Admiral Ad-miral Sir John Jellicoe, report- j ing the action in the North sea 1 on the 31st day of May. i Admiral Jellicoe, in an inclosurc accompanying ac-companying his report, estimates the German losses at two battleships of the dreadnought type, one of the Deutsch-land Deutsch-land type, which was seen to sink; the battle cruiser Lutszow, admitted by the Germans; one battle cruiser of the dreadnought typo, one battle cruiser, seen to be so severely damaged that its return was extremely doubtful; five light cruisers seen to sink, one of them possibly a battleship; six destroyers, seen to sink; three destroyers so dam-, aged that it was doubtful if they would be able to reach port, and a submarine sunk. The report was dated "Iron Duke, June 24": The German high sea fleet was brought to action on the 31st of May to the westward west-ward of Jutland bank. Ships of the grand fleet, in pursuance with the general policy pol-icy of periodical sweeps through t he North sea, had left their bases on the previous day in accordance with my instructions. in-structions. Early in the afternoon of the 31st of May the first and second battle cruiser squadrons, th first, second and third light cruiser squadrons and destroyers from the first, ninth, tenth and thirteenth flotillas, supported by the fifth battle squadron, in accordance with my direc-. tions, were scouting southward. Early irr the afternoon of the 31st of May the first and second battle cruiser squadron, the first, second and third Hsht cruiser squadrons and destroyers from the first, ninth, tenth and thirteenth flotillas, flotil-las, supported by the fifth battle squadron, squad-ron, were, in accordance with my directions, direc-tions, Bcoutlng to the southward of the battle jfieet, which was accompanied by the battle cruiser squadron, the first and second cruiser squadrons, the fourth light cruiser squadron, and the fourth, eleventh and twelfth flotillas. Gives Praise to Beatty. The junction of the battle fleet with the scouting forces after the enemy was i sighted was delayed owing to the south-j south-j erly course steered by our advance force I during the first hour after commencing ! action with the enemy battle cruisers. iThis was unavoidable, as had our battle j cruisers not followed the enemy south -; ward the main fleets would never have ! been conjoined. The battle cruiser fleet, gallantly led by Admiral Sir David Beatty, supported by ships of the fifth battle squadron under Rear Admiral Hugh Evan Thomas, fought the action under, at times, disadvantageous dis-advantageous conditions, especially in regard to light. In a manner in keeping with the best traditions of the service. Galatea Reports Enemy.' The following extracts from the report of Admiral Beatty give the course of events before the battle fleet came upon the scene first: At 2:20 p. m. reports were received ! from the Galatea, Indicating the pres- ADMIRAL JELLICOE. i - H V' " I ( I' ' 7 V I , $ ence of enemy ' vessels. The direction of the advance was immediately, altered to a S. S. B. course for Horn reef, so as to place my force between the enemy and his base. The first and third light cruiser squadrons changed direction and without awaiting await-ing orders spread to the east, thereby forming a screen In advance of tho battle cruiser squadron and the Fifth battle squadron by the time we had hauled up to the course of approach. Aeroplane Sent as Scout. They engased the enemy cruisers at long range. In the meantime the .Second light cruiser squadron had come In at full speed and was able to take 'station ahead of the battle cruisers by the time we had turned to the E. S. E. course on which we first engaged the enemy. In this respect the work of the light cruiser squadrons squad-rons was excellent and of great value. From a report from the Galatea at 2:25 p. m., it was evident that the enemy force was considerable and not merely an Isolated unit of light cruisers, so at 2:45 p. m. I ordered the Engage to send up a seaplane to scout N. N. E. This order was carried out very quirkly and at 3:08 p. m. the seaplane was well under way. Her flrRt reports re-ports of the enemy were received by the Engadlne about 3:30 p. m: Owing to the clouds, it was necessary to fly very low, and in order to Identify four enemy light cruisers It was necessary to fly at a height of 900 feet within 3000 yards. The cruisers fired on the seaplane with every possible giin. This in no way interfered with the clarity of the reports, which indicates that seaplanes in such circumstances are of distinct value. At 3:30 p. m. I speeded up to twenty-five knots and formed a line of battle, the Second battle .cruiser squadron forming astern the First battle bat-tle cruiser squadron, with destroyers of the Thirteenth and Xlnth flotillas taking station ahead. I turned to E, S. E., slightly converging on the enemy, en-emy, who was now in range of 23,000 yards, and formed the ships on a line of bearing to clear the smoke. Tha Fifth battle cruiser squadron, which had conformed to our movements, was now bearing N. N. W. at 10,000 yards. English in Good Position. The visibility at this time was" good. The sun .was behind us, the wind southeaster. Being between the enemy en-emy and his base, our situation was tactically and strategically good. At 3:4S p. m. the action commenced at a range of 18,500 yards, both forces opening fire simultaneously. Olur course was altered to the southward south-ward and subsequently to a mean direction south -southeast. The enemy en-emy steered a parallel course, distant dis-tant about 18.000 to 14.500 yards. At 4:08 p. ni. the fifth battle cruiser squadron had a range of 20,000 yards. The enemy's fire seemed to slacken. The destroyer Landrail, of the ninth flotilla, which was on our port beam trying to take station ahead, sighted , the periscope of a submarine on her port quarter. Though causing considerable con-siderable Inconvenience from smoke, the presence of the Lydyard and Landrail undoubtedly preserved the battle cruisers from a closer submarine sub-marine attack. Torpedo Attack Ordered. The Nottingham also reported a submarine on her starboard beam. Eight destroyers of the thirteenth flotilla, the Nestor, Nomad, NIcator, Ka rborough. Pelican, Petard, Obdurate Ob-durate and Narissa, with the Moor-' Moor-' som and Morris of the tenth flotilla and Turbulent and Termagent of the ninth flotilla, were ordered to attack the enemy with torpedoes when there was an opportunity. They moved out at 4:1S p. m.. simultaneously with a similar movement move-ment of enemy destroyers. The attack at-tack was carried out In a most gallant gal-lant manner and with great determination. determi-nation. Before arriving at a favorable position to fire torpedoes they Intercepted Inter-cepted an enemy force consisting of a light cruiser and fifteen destroyers. First Vessels Sunk. A fierce engagement ensued at close quarters, with the result that the enemy en-emy was forced to retire on their battle cruisers, having lost two destroyers de-stroyers sunk and their torpedo attack at-tack being frustrated. Our destroyers destroy-ers sustained no loss in this engagement, engage-ment, but their attack on the enemy Continued on Page Threo.) ADMIRAL JELLICOE GIVES FULL DETAILS OF SEA FIGHT PRAISES FOES AND INDORSES BEAUTS ACTS TRrill ing Chronicle of the! Greatest Modern Battle Is Contained in the ? Official Reports. j (Continued from Pape One.) battle cruisr-rH w.-us rendered less effective ef-fective ov.in to some destroyers dropping astern during tho fiht. Tiieir position, therefore, was unfavorable unfa-vorable for torpedo attack. Tiie Nestor. Nomad and Nicator, sallantly led by Commander the Hon. i. H. lilnfiham of tlie Nestor, pressed home the attack on the battle bat-tle cruisers and tired two torpedoes, bein subjected to a heavy rtre from the enemy's se.ondary armament. Tpder Terrific Fire. . The Nomad v.as badlv lilt and ap-paretitly ap-paretitly stopped between the lines. Subsequently the Nestor and Nicator altered their course to southeast and Iti a short lime the opposing battle f cruisers, having; turned sixteen points, found themselves in close raruse of a number of enemy battleships. battle-ships. Nothing daunted, though under un-der a terrific lire, tiie destroyers stood on and, their position being favorable for a torpedo attack, fired three torpedoes at the second ship in the enemy line at a rantre of 3000 yards. Hemic they could fire a jrferth torpedo the Nestor was badly hit and swung to .slarboard, the Nicator Nica-tor aiterlnp; her course inside her to avoid a collision, thereby being prevented pre-vented from bring her last torpedo. I lie Nicator escaped and subsequently rejoined t lie thirteenth flotilla. The Nestor remained stopped, but when hist seen was afloat. The Moorsom also carried out an attack on the enemy's battle fleet. 1 he Petard, Narlssa. Turbulent and lerma-'ent also pressed home an attack at-tack on the enemy battle cruisers. I. ring torpedoes after engagements with enemy destroyers. The Petard reports that all her torpedoes must have crossed the enemy's line, while (lie Narlssa states that one torpedo appeared to strike a rear ship. These attacks are indicative of the spirit pervading the navy and worthy of Its highest traditions. German Cruiser Afire. I-Yom 4:15 to 1:43 p. m., the con-met con-met uetween the opposing battle nosers was of a very lierce and resolute reso-lute character. The fifth battle squadron squad-ron encaged the enemy's rear ships but un.oi innately at verv long range Our hi e began to tell, the accuracy and rani hty of the enemy's decreasing decreas-ing noticeably At 4:15 o'clock one ship 01 the enemy was seen afire. The outline of t he ships of the enemy . was verv indistinct. At 4::tS p. m. ii. M. s sonthamp-l,Z sonthamp-l,Z ?P!;,r'1 ,,a """"I"" battle fleet y ahead. The destroyers were recalled JV 4:"- p' m' onemy'., battle W;,s sUi,,e'1 to the "thSast ' ' n 'Se alter(''1 oen points In succession to starboard and I proceeded pro-ceeded in northerly course to ead the;,, toward our Imttle fleet Tne enemy battle cruisers altered elr course shortly afterward and the action continued The Southampton, 'with the second Jicrht cruiser squadron, held on to the soi; t Invar rt to observe. They closed ;o within Kii.ii) yards of ihe enemy battle (l"et and came under a heavy, but ineffective, in-effective, hre. The Southampton's reports wre most valuable. Ti:e fifth bauie squadron was now closing on the opposite course engadine; en-gadine; the enemy haule cruisers with all its puns. The position of the enemy haule fleet waa co:ninuri-;;ited to them and I ordered th;m to alter their course sixteen points. Led by Roar Admiral Ivan Thomas In the Barham, ibis squadron supported us brilliantly and effectively. At 4:57 p. m. the fifth brittle squadron turned up astern, meantime under the fire of the leading ships of the enemy battle fleet. Tbe Fearless with destroyers of the first flotilla -joined the battle cruisers and when speed admitted took station ahead. The Champion with the thirteenth flotilla, took station on the fifth battle squadron. At 5 p. m., the first and third lipbt cruiser squadrons which had been following me on a southerly course, took station on my starboard bow. ' The second li.aht cruiser squadron took staticI on rny port quarter. Get Into Bad Position. The weather was now unfavorable. Our ships were silhouetted against the horizon to the westward, while the enemy for the most part was obscured ob-scured by mist, only showing up clearly at Intervals. These conditions condi-tions prevailed until we turned their van about (i p. m. Between 5 and 6 p. m., the action continued on a northerly course at a ranjre of about 14.000 yards. During this the enemy received very severe punishment. This was under my personal observation observa-tion and is corroborated by the Princess Royal and Tiger. Other enemy ships also showed signs of increasing in-creasing injury. At 5:05 p. m., the Onslow and Moresby, which had been detached to assist the Kngadine with the seaplane, sea-plane, rejoined the battle cruiser squadrons, taking station on the starboard star-board (engaged) bow of the Lion. At 5:10 p. m., the Moresby, being two points before the beam of the leading enemy ship, fired a torpedo at this ship. Eight minutes later she observed a hit with a torpedo on what she judpred to be the sixth ship in the line. The Moresby Iben passed between the lines to clear the range of smoke, rejoining the Champion. In corroboration the Fearless reports having seen an enemy heavy ship afire about 5:10, and shortly afterward after-ward a huge cloud of smoke and steam. At 5:35 p. m. bur N. N. E. estimated position of the battle fleet was N. 16 W., so we gradually hauled northeastward, northeast-ward, keeping in range of the enemy at l-i,00u yards. He was gradually hauling eastward, receiving severe punishment at the head of his line, probably acting on Information from his light cruisers, which sighted and engaged with the Third battle cruiser squadron. Possibly Zeppelins were present also. German Battleships Appear. At 5:50 p. m. (German battle cruisers were sighted on the port bow and at r:56 p. in. the leading battleships of the battle fleet, bearing north five miles. I thereupon altered my course to the east, proceeding with the utmost speed. Tliis brought the range of the enemy down to 12,000 yards. Only three , enemy battle cruisers were visible, being be-ing closely followed by battleships of the Koenig class. About 6:05 p. m. the Onslow, on the engaged bow of the Lion, sighted an enemy light cruiser at a distance of 6000 yards apparently endeavoring to attack with torpedoes. The Onslow at once closed and engaged, firing fifty-eight fifty-eight rounds at a range of from 4000 to .2000 yards and scoring a number of bits. The Onslow then closed on the enemy battle cruisers and orders were given that all the torpedoes be fired. At this moment she was struck amidships by a heavy shell, with the result that only one torpedo was fired. German Cruiser Torpedoed. Thinking all his torpedoes were gone, the commanding officer retired at slow speed. Informed he still had three torpedoes, he closed with the light cruiser previously engaged and torpedoed her. The enemy's battle fleet then was sighted and the remaining re-maining torpedoes fired must have crossed the enemy's track. Her damage dam-age then caused the Onslow to stop. At 7:15 p. m. the Defender, whose speed had been reduced to ten knots by a shell which had damaged her foremost boiler while d isengaged at the side of the battle cruisers, closed with the Onslow, taking her in tow. Shells fell all around them during this operation, which was successfully accomplished. ac-complished. During the heavy weather of the ensuing night the two parted twice, but were rescued. The two struggled strug-gled on together until 1 p. m. on the 1st of June, when the Onslow was transferred to tugs. Tn consideration consider-ation of the fact that the performance per-formance of these destroyers was gallant in . the extreme, I am recommending them for special recognition. The Onslow is possibly the destroyer referred to by the admiral ad-miral comma nd ing the Third light cruiser squadron, as follows: "I should like to bring to your notice no-tice the action of a destroyer, name unknown, which we passed close In a disabled condition soon after 6 p. m. She appnrnntly was able to struggle ahead again and made straight for the Derfflingcr to attack her." English Battleships Arrive. a Proceedings of the third battle cruiser squadron: On Information that the enemy en-emy was sighted and in battle with the British, the third battle cruiser squadron, with its accompanying cruiser and destroyer de-stroyer force, proceeded full speed on a southeast -by -south course to close with the battle cruiser fleet. Two hours elapsed before the arrival of the battle fleet on the scorn1, and the steaming qualities nf the older battleships were severely se-verely tested. Great credit Is due the engine-room department for the manner in which they alwnvs have responded to the call of the 'Whole fleet, maintaining a speed in excess of the trial speeds in so:re of the older vessels. The third battle cruiser squadron, commanded com-manded by Admiral Hood, which was in advance of the battle fleet, was ordered to reinforce T!ea tty. At .VSO p. rn. the squadron observed gunfire gun-fire and hf;ird the sound of guns to the soulhwestward. Admiral Hood sent the diesler to investigate and she engaged three or four enemy light cruisers about .";45 p. m. The engacfment lasted about twentv minutes, during which Captain Lawson handled hi vessel with great skill aga ins; heavy odds and, a! though he suffered corisMfrahiy in cnsualtie-s, hts fighting and steaming qualities were unimpaired un-impaired and uhnwt 6 :o." p. m. he re-Joined re-Joined tiie third battle cruiser squadron. The third bate cruiser squadron turned northeastward and at 6:10 p. m. sicbted our battle cruisers, tho squadron taking station ahea.1 of the Lion at 6:21 p. m.t i n n n-ord a nee with orders f rom Admiral Realty, who reports: T ordered them to take station ahead, which they carried out matmif-icontly. matmif-icontly. Admiral food brinciri: his squadron into action in a most inspiring in-spiring manner and worthy of his great naval ancestors. Helps Hard-pressed Ships At fi-"5 p. nv. I altered my course to eaM-sotitheast to support the third ba'tle cruiser squadron, who was only sr-iiO yards from the enemy s lending sin p. They were pnurln; a hot fire into her mid caused her to turn westward to south. The vls-.h-lity was very indifferent, pot m.vc iVan four rriVs. a-,d !hp (mm -ii siii;s trmporanlv were lost sight of. It in tiuvresiins to note that after 6 p. m., although the visibility visi-bility was reduced, it undoubtedly was more favorable to us than to the enemy. At Intervals their ships showed up clearly, enabling us to punish them very severely and establish estab-lish definite superiority. From the reports of other ships and my own observation It is clear that the enemy suffered considerable damage to battle bat-tle cruisers and battleships. Before leaving us, the fifth battle squadron was also engaging tattle-ships. tattle-ships. Tiie report of Admiral Evan Thomas shows that excellent results .were obtained and it may be safely said his magnificent squadron wrought great execution. From the report of Admiral T. D. TV. Napier, the third light cruiser squadron, which had maintained station sta-tion on our starboard bow well ahead of the enemy, at 6:25 p. m., attacked with torpedoes. The Falmouth and the Yarmouth fired torpedoes at the leading enemy battle cruiser and it is believed a torpedo hit. A hea-y underwater explosion was observed. The third light cruiser squadron then gal la nth- attacked the heavy ships with gunfire with impunity, to themselves, them-selves, demonstrating that the fighting fight-ing efficiency of the enemy was seriously ser-iously impaired. Admiral Napier deserves de-serves great credit for his determined and effective attack. The Indomitable reports that about this time one of the Derfflinger class fell otit of the enemy's line. Meanwhile, at 5:30 p. m., the report of guns hecame audible to me, JelMcoe, and at 5:55 p. m. flashes were visible ahead and around to the starboard beam, although al-though in the mist no ships could be distinguished and the position of the enemy's battle fleet could not be determined. deter-mined. Sink a Light Cruiser. Shortly after 5:55 p. m. some cruisers ahead were seen to be in action and reports re-ports allow that the Defense and Warrior War-rior of the first squadron engaged an enemy light cruiser at this time which subsequently was observed, to sink. At 6 p. m. the Canterbury, which was in company with the third battle cruiser squadron, had engaged enemy light cruisers cruis-ers which were firing heavily on the destroyers de-stroyers Shark, Acaste and Christopher. As a result of this engagement the Shark was sunk. At 6 p. m. vessels afterward seen to be our battle cruisers were sighted by the Marlborough bearing before the starboard star-board beam of the battle fleet. At the same time the admiral commanding the battle cruiser fleet reported to me the position of the enemy battle fleet. At this period, when the battle fleet was meeting the battle cruisers and the fifth battle squadron, great care was necessary nec-essary to insure that our ships should not be mistaken for the enemy. English Lose Battle Cruisers. I formed a battle line on Beatty's report re-port and during the deployment the fleets became engaged. Admiral Beatty meanwhile had formed the battle cruisers ahead of the battle fleet. The divisions of the battle fleet were led bj- the commander-in-chief. Vice Admiral Ad-miral Sir Cecil Burney, Sir Thomas Jer-ram, Jer-ram, Sir Doveton Sturdee and Rear Admirals Ad-mirals Alexander L. Duff, Arthur Cleve-son Cleve-son and Ernest F. A. Gaunt. At 6:15 p. m. the Defense and Warrior War-rior were observed passing down between the British and German battle fleets under un-der very heavy fire. The Defense disappeared; disap-peared; the Warrior passed to the rear disabled. It is probable that Admiral Arbuthnot, during the engagement with the enemy's light cruisers and in his desire de-sire to complete their destruction, was unaware of the approach of the enemy's heavy ships owing to the mist until he found himself in close proximity with the main fleet, and before he could withdraw his ships they were caught under heavy fire and disabled. It is not known when the Black Prince of the same squadron was sunk, but a wireless was received from her between 8 and 9 p. m. The first battle squadron became engaged en-gaged in firing and deployment, the admiral ad-miral opening fire at 6:17 p. m. on a battleship of the Kaiser class. Other ships of the battle squadrons which previously pre-viously were firing on the battle cruiser squadron opened fire at 6:20 p. m. on battleships of the Koenig class, Warspite Is Extricated. At 6:06 p. m. the admiral commanding the first battle- squadron, then in company com-pany with the battle cruisers, sighted the starboard wing division of the battle fleet on the port bow of the Barham and the first intention of Admiral Evan Thomas was to form ahead of the remainder re-mainder of the battle fleet, but realizing the direction, of t he deployment, he was compelled to form astern a maneuver which was well executed by the squadron under a heavy fire from the enemy battle fleet. An accident to the Warspite s steering gear caused the helm to be jammed, temporarily tem-porarily taking the ship 1n the direction of the enemy's line, during which she waa hit several times. Clever handling enabled en-abled Captain. Phlllpots to extricate his ship from the somewhat awkward position. posi-tion. Owing principally to the mist, but partly to the smoke, it was possible to see only a few ships at a time In the enemy's battle line. Finally toward the van only some four or five ships were ever visible at once. More could be seen from the rear squadron, but never more than eight to twelve. The action between the battle fleets lasted intermittently from 6:17 to 8:20 p. m., at ranges from 9000 to 12,000 yards during which the British fleet made alterations al-terations In course from southeast by east to west in an endeavor to close. The enemy constantly turned away and opened range under cover of destroyer attacks and smoke screens, as the effect of the British fire was felt and the alterations al-terations in course had the effect of bringing the British fleet, which commenced com-menced the action In a position of advantage ad-vantage on the bow of the enemy, to a quarterly bearing from the enemy battl line, but at the same time placed us between be-tween the enemy and his base. Pass Wreck of Invincible. At 6:55 p. m., the Tron Duke passed the wreck of the Invincible with Badger standing by. During the somewhat brief periods that ships of the high sea fleet were visihle through the mist a heavy and effective fire was kept up by the battleships and battle cruisers of the grand fleet, which caused me much satisfaction, sat-isfaction, and enemy vessels were seen to be constantly hit. Some were observed to haul otit of the line and at least one to sink. The enemy's return Mre at this period was ineffective and the damage caused to our ships was insignificant. Reports of the battle cruisers in the van third extract from Admiral Beatty's report. At 7:C6 p. m. I received a signal to course the fleet south. Subsequently Subse-quently signals were received up to S:46 p. m., showing the course of the battle fleet was southeast. Between 7 and 7:12 p. m.. we hauied around gradually to southwest by south to tegiin touch with the enemy and by 7:14 p. m. again siehted them at a range of about 15.000 yards. The ships siehted at this time were two bat t leships and two bat:ie cruisers, apparently of the Koenig clasa. There was no doubt of a more continued line to the northward. Says Germans Fled. The visibilltv havinc improved considerably con-siderably as the sun descended below tiie clouds, we re-encaged at 7:17 p. m.. and speeded to twenty-two knot s. At 7:32 p.m.. my course was sou t h west at a speed of eighteen knots, the leading enemy battleship bearinc northwest by west. Again after a short V.n-.e the ene:nv showed s i en s of punishment, one s ! p be 1 1 1 e afire while another apreare to drop right astern. The destmvers at tlie head tlie eremv's line cmi".l volumes of gray smoke, covering their capital s!-ips us with a pall. i;ndr cover of wbi-'h they turned awav and at 7 : J5 m. we los-: s'M of t'le-u. At 7 5ii p. m. 1 oT-uerv.i t e first ana third Iib'iit cruiser s-i';adrons io sweep westward and locate the head of the enemy's line and at S:20 p. m. we altered our course west in support. We soon located two battle cruisers and battleships and were heavily engaged en-gaged at a range of about 10.000 yards. The leading ship, hit repeatedly repeated-ly by the Lion, turned away eight points, emitting very high flames with a heavy list to port. The Princess Prin-cess Royal set afire a three funneled battleship. The New Zealand and Indomitable report that a third ship which both engaged hauled out of line heeling over afire. A mist which came down enveloped thern and the Falmouth reported they were last seen at S:3S p. m., steaming westward. west-ward. At S:40 p. m., all our battle cruisers felt a heavy shock as if struck by a mine, torpedo or sunken wreckage. As an examination of the bottom reveals no sign of such an occurrence oc-currence It is assumed it indicated the blowing up of a great vessel. I continued on a southwesterly course with the light cruisers spread until 9:42 p. m. Nothing further being be-ing sighted I assumed the enemy was to the northwestward and that we had established ourselves between him and his base. In view of the gathering darkness and our strategical strateg-ical position, which was such as to make it appear certain we should locate the enemy at daylight under most favorable circumstances, I did not consider desirable or proper to close with the enemy's battle fleet during the dark hours. I therefore concluded I should be carrying out your wishes by turning the course of the fleet and reporting to you, as I did. Details of battle fleet's action: As anticipated, the German fleet appeared to rely very much on torpedo attacks, whicn were favored by low visibility, and the fact that we had arrived in a position posi-tion of following or chasing their fleet. Marlborough Hit; Fights on. A targe number of torpedoes apparently apparent-ly were fired, but only one took effect (on the Marlborough). Even then this ship was able to remain in line and continue in action. The enemy's efforts to keep out of effective gun range were aided by the weather, which was ideal for the purpose. Two separate destroyer attacks were made by the enemy. The firgt battle squadron, under Vice Admiral Burney, came into action at 6:17 p. m. with the enemy's third battle squadron at a range of about 11,000 yards and administered severe punishment to the battleships and to battle cruisers and light cruisers which also were engaged. The fire of the Marlborough was particularly par-ticularly rapid and effective. She commenced com-menced at 6:17 p. m. by firing seven shells at a ship of the Kaiser class, then engaged cruisers and again the battleships, battle-ships, and at C:45 she was hit by a torpedo, tor-pedo, taking up considerable list to starboard, star-board, but reopened fire at 7:03 p. m. at a cruiser, and at 7:12 p. m. fired fourteen four-teen rapid salvos at a ship of the Koenig class, hitting her frequently until she turned out of line. The manner in which this effective fire was kept up in spite of disadvantages due to the injury caused by a torpedo was most creditable to the ship and was a very fine example to the squadron. The range decreased during the course of the action to 9000 yards. Mist Handicaps Fire. The first battle squadron received more of the enemy's return fire than the remainder re-mainder of the battle fleet, with the exception ex-ception of the fifth battle squadron. The Colossus was hit, but not seriously damaged. dam-aged. Other ships straddled with fair frequency. In the fourth battle squadron, squad-ron, in which squadron my flagship, the Iron Duke, was placed Admiral Sturdee leading one of the divisions the enemy engaged was a squadron consisting of the Koenig and Kaiser classes, some battle cruisers, as well as light cruisers. Mist rendered range taking a difficult matter, but the fire of our squadron was effective. ef-fective. The Iron Duke, having previously fired at a light cruiser between the lines, opened fire at 6:30 p. m. on a battleship battle-ship of the Koenig class at a range of 1000 yards. The latter very quickly straddled and hitting commenced at the second salvo and only ceased when the target ship turned away. The rapidity with which hitting was established was most creditable to the excellent gunnery organization of the flagship. The fire of the other ships of the squadron was principally at the enemy battle cruisers and cruisers as they appeared out of the mist. Hits were observed to take effect on several ships. Cruisers Help Greatly. Ships of the second battle squadron, under Admiral Sir Thomas Jerram, were in action with vessels of the Kaiser and Koenig classes between 6:30 and 7:30 p. m., and fired also at an enemy battle cruiser, which dropped back, apparently damaged. During the action between the battle fleets a second cruiser squadron, ably commanded by Admiral Herbert L. Heath, with the addition of the Duke of Edinburgh of the first cruiser squadron, occupied a position at the van and acted as a connecting link between the battle fleet and the battle cruiser fleet. This squadron, although It carried out useful use-ful work, did not have an opportunity to come into action. The attached cruisers Boadlcea, Blanche and Bellona carried out their duties as repeating ships with rapidity and accuracy under difficult conditions. The fourth light cruiser squadron occupied oc-cupied a position in the van until ordered to attack the enemy destroyers at 7:20 p. m.. and ngain at 8:18 p. m., when they supported the eleventh flotilla, which had moved out to attack. On each occasion the fourth 'light cruiser squadron was very well handled by Commodore Le Meseuier, his captains giving him excellent ex-cellent support, and their object was attained, at-tained, although with some loss. In the second attack, when the ships came under un-der a heavy fire from the enemy battle fleet at between 6500 and 8000 yards. The Calliope was hit several times, but did not sustain serious damage, although she had several casualties. TJght cruisers attacked at-tacked the enemy's battleships with torpedoes tor-pedoes at this time and an explosion on board a ship of the Kaiser class was seen at 8:40 p. m. Four Destroyers Sunk. During these attacks four of the enemy destroyers were sunk by gunfire of battleships, battle-ships, light cruisers and destroyers. After the arrival of the British battle fleet the enemy's tactics were of a nature generally to avoid further action, in which they were favored by the conditions of visibility. At 9 p. m. the enemy was entirely en-tirely out of sight, and the threat of destroyer de-stroyer attacks during the rapidly approaching ap-proaching darkness made It necessary nec-essary for me to dispose the fleet for the night with a view for Its safety against suh attack, whiie providing pro-viding for a renewal of action at daylight. I accordingly maneuvered to remain between be-tween the enemy and his base, placing our flotillas in a position in which they would afford protection to the fleet from a destroyer attack and at the same time be favorably sit ua ted for attacking the enemy's heavy ships. Flotillas Attack. During the night the British heavy ships were not attacked. but the Fourth. Eleventh and Twelfth flotillas delivered a series of very gallant and surressf ul attacks against the enemy, rauslng him heavy loss. It was during these attacks that severe losses in the Foirth flotilla occurred, including the Tippr.iry. with ihe eailant leader of the flotilla. Captain Wintoun. He had brought the flotilla to a high pitch of perfection, and. although he suffered severely from the fir of the enemy, a heavy toil of the enemy's vessels ves-sels was taken and many gallant actions were performed by the flotilla. Two torpedoes were seen to take efTe-M on the enemy vessels as a result of attacks at-tacks by the Fo'jr h fl"t Ilia . one being from the Spitfire and the orher from either the Ardent, the Ambuscade or the Gar-land. Gar-land. Tiie at t ark rarrlM out by the Twelfth flotilla v.-ah admirahlv eemted. The squ.idron anaked. wh!rl r-.,psist M of si on. prised vk1p of the Kaiser class, wap taken by surprise. A U;g& cumber ol torpedoes were fired, including Eome at the second and third ships in the line. , Those fired at the third ship took effect and she was observed to blow up. The second attack, made twenty minutes later , by the Maenadon, five vessels still re- 1 mainhig. resulted in the fourth ship in the line being also hit. The destroyers were under heavy fire from light cruisers on reaching the rear line, but the On- , slaught was the only vessel which received re-ceived any material injuries. j In the Onslaught Sublieutenant Harry ! Jamis, assisted by Midshipman Reginald : G. A mot, the only executive officers not : disabled, brought the ship successfully out ! of action and reached the nome port. j During an attack carried out by the Eleventh flotilla, the Castor leading, the ; flotilla engaged and sank an enemy tor- ! pedo-boat destroyer at point blank range, i Admiral Beatty reports: The Thirteenth flotilla took station astern the battle fleet for the night. At 12:30 a. m., on the 1st of June, a large vessel crossed to the rear of the flotilla at high speed. She passed close to the Petard and Turbulent, switched on a searchlight and opened J a heavy fjre, which disabled the , Turbulent j At 8:30 a. m. the Champion was en- ': gaged for a few minutes with enemy destroyers. The Moresby reports that four ships of the Deutschland class were sighted at 2:35 a. m., at which she fired a torpedo. Two minutes later an explosion was felt by the Moresby and Obdurate. The Fearless and the First flotilla were very usefully employed as a eub-marine eub-marine screen during the earlier part of the 81st of May. At 6:10 p. m., when joining the battle fleet, the j Fearless was unable to follow the bat- ! lie cruisers without fouling the battleships. battle-ships. Therefore, she took station at the rear of the line. She sighted during the night a battleship of the Kaiser class steaming fast and entirely en-tirely alone. She was not able to engage en-gage it, but believes she was attacked by destroyers farther astern. A heavy explosion was observed to the east not long after. High Praise for Destroyers There were many gallant deeds performed per-formed by the destroyer flotillas. They ; surpassed the very highest expectations I had formed for them. Apart from the proceedings of the flotillas, the second light cruiser squadron, in the rear of the battle fleet, was in close action for about fifteen minutes at 10:20 p. m. with a squadron comprising an enemy cruiser and four light cruisers, during which period the Southampton and Dublin suffered suf-fered rather heavy casualties, although their steaming and fighting qualities were not impaired. The return fire of the squadron appeared very effective. At daylight on the 1st of June, the battle bat-tle fleet, then being southward and westward west-ward of Horn reef, turned northward in search of enemy vessels and for the purpose pur-pose of collecting its own cruisers and torpedo-boat destrovers. At 2:30 a. in. Vice Admiral Sir Cecil Burney transferred his flag from the Marlborough to the Revenge, as the former for-mer ship had some difficulty In keeping up to the speed of the squadron. The Marlborough was detached by my direction direc-tion to her base, successfully driving off an enemy submarine attack while en route. The visibility early on the 1st of June (three to four miles) was less than on the 31st of May, and, the destroyers being be-ing out of visual touch, did not rejoin until 9 a. m. Waits for Enemy. The British remained In proximity to the battlefield and near the line of approach ap-proach to the German ports until 11 a, m. on the 1st of June, in spite of the disadvantages of long distances from the fleet bases and the danger incurred In waters adjacent to enemy coasts from submarines and torpedo crafts. The enemy, however, made no sign, and I was reluctantly compelled to the conclusion that the high sea fleet had returned to port. Events proved this assumption as-sumption correct. Our position must have been known to the enemy, as at 4 a. m. the fleet engaged a Zeppelin for about five minutes, during which time she had ample opportunity to note the position and course of the British fleet. The waters from the latitude of Horn reef to the scene of the action were thoroughly searched, some survivors from the destroyers Ardent, Fortune and Tip-perary Tip-perary were picked up, and the Sparrow Hawk, which had been In collision and was no longer seaworthy, was sunk, after the crew had been taken off. A large amount of wreckage was seen, but no enemy ships, and at 1:15 p. m., it being evident that the German fleet had succeeded in returning to port, a course was shaped for our bases, which were reached without further incident. On the 2nd of June a cruiser squadron was detached to search for the Warrior, which had been abandoned while in tow of the P'ngadine on the way to her base, owing to bad weather sotting in and the vessel becoming unseaworthy, but no trace of her was discovered and further subsequent search by the light cruiser squadron having failed to locate her it is evident she foundered. Admiral Beatty reports in regard to tle Engadine: The work of the Engadine appears to have been most praiseworthy throughout and of great value, lieutenant Commander Robertson deserves great credit for tlie skillful skill-ful and seamanlike manner in which he handled the ship. He actually towed the Warrior seventy-five miles between 8:40 p. m. on the 31st of May and 7:15 a. m. on the 1st of ' June, and was instrumental In saving sav-ing the lives of her ship's company. The fleet fueled and replenished ammunition am-munition and at 9:30 p. m. on the 2nd of June reported ready for further action. The conditions of low visibility under which the day action took place, and the approach of darkness, enhance the difficulties diffi-culties of giving an accurate report of the damage inflicted or the names of the ships sunk by our forces. But. after most careful examination of the evidence of all officers who testified to seeing enemy vessels actually sink, and personal Interviews with a large number of these officers, I am of the opinion the list shown fn the inclosure gives the minimum mini-mum In regard to numbers, though It is possibly not entirely accurate In regard to particular class of the vessel, esfie-cially esfie-cially those sunk during night attacks. In addition to vessels sunk. It is unquestionable un-questionable that many ships were very seriously damaged by gun fire and torpedo tor-pedo attacks. I deepjy regret to report the loss of the Queen Mary, Indefatigable, Indomitable, Indomi-table, Defense, Black Prince. Warrior, Tipperary, Ardent. Fortune, Shark. Spar-rowhawk, Spar-rowhawk, Nestor, Nomad and Turbulent, and still more regret the resultant heavv loss of life. The death of such gallant and distinguished officers as Rear Admiral Ad-miral Sir Robert Arbuthnot, Rear Admiral Ad-miral the Hon. Horace Wood. Captain Charles Owerby, Captain Cecil Prowse, Captain Arthur Cay, Captain Thomoa Bon ham. Cap t. Tin Charles Win tour. Captain Cap-tain Stanley Ellis and those who per-iFhed per-iFhed wiili them, is a serious loss to the navy and country. Other men were equally as gallant and their death Is mourned by the comrades of the grand fleet. They fdl doing their duty nobly To the dath they would have been the first to desire. |
