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Show REPORT MADE OF NAVAJJAHLE Ministry of Marine Describes Engagements Between French and Germans Off Flanders. ENEMY OPENS FIGHT Retire at High Speed Toward Base Commander and Navigator Killed. PARIS, May 26. The ministry of marine has issued the following statement state-ment in regard to the naval engagement engage-ment between French and German destroyers de-stroyers off the coast of Flanders, on J May 20: "According to a fuller report of tho engagement on May 20, off Flanders bank, the enemy, superior in force to the French flotilla, opened fire first but, seeing the French torpedo boats bearing down upon him with the intention in-tention of boarding, ho retired at high speed toward his base. The gun firing fir-ing lasted"'for about a quarter of an hour. Lieut. Bijot, commanding the Bouclier, and the navigating officer, were killed. Ensign Peyronnet, although al-though weunded in six places, one wound being serious, took over command com-mand during the end of the action and brought the ship back to Dunkirk. "One of our ships succeeded in avoiding a torpedo, fired against her, by skillful handling. Attempts madp by the enemy to throw our ships into confusion by false signals failed to work The French flotilla suffered only slight damage and dominated the adversary, who gave up the object with which he set out." An official statement issued by the French admiralty on May 20 stated that -a- fctilla of-Germaii. riestroycrs had been driven back to itsoase by a patrol of four French torpedo boats. The German official statement declared declar-ed that the French craft were repeatedly repeat-edly hit and that the German ships were uninjured. 00 |