The High Seas Fleet recoiled slightly after this brief encounter, but even the rival forces continued to converge and now Goode nough's light cruisers once more came into the forefront of the scene. He had been keeping in touch with the "Marlborough's" division, but owing to the under-water injuries of the flagship, the latter was lagging nearly three miles astern of its proper station. The "Castor's" engagement had put the "Southampton" and her consorts on the alert, and they were well prepared when, about 10.3o, they suddenly found themselves abreast the 4th Scouting Group. A fierce contest ensued. The "Southampton" was the most vigorously assaulted. Her upper deck became a shambles and she was blazing like a haystack from cordite fires, but in the midst of this holocaust she fired a torpedo which sunk the "Frauenlob" with all hands. At the end of a quarter of an hour the enemy had had enough and drew off into the darkness. The German light cruisers had already reported the presence of enemy light forces and the order stationing the British de stroyer flotillas astern had been intercepted and translated to Scheer by a shore wireless station. From these reports he prob ably realised that the British Battle Fleet had drawn ahead. In any case he was determined to force his way to the eastward. At 10.3o he turned back to S.E.1E. heading direct for Horn Reefs Light Vessel.
The British Destroyers in Action.—The rest of the story of that night is one of sudden encounters with an enemy fighting desperately to get home while British destroyers gallantly threw themselves in his path whenever opportunity served. The Ger man fleet was frequently in a state of much confusion, the "Elbing" was rammed by the "Posen" and later had to be sunk to prevent capture. The "Rostock" was torpedoed by the 4th Flotilla and also had to be sunk. On the British side the de stroyers suffered severely. About 11.30 the "Tipperary" was so badly damaged by gunfire that she sank the next morning. The "Spitfire" met the great battleship "Nassau" nearly end on, tore twenty feet from the latter's plating and carried it off on her forecastle. She was badly damaged but had done good execution with her small gun armament, putting out the big ship's search lights and causing a number of casualties.
The shock of this conflict again caused the German fleet to waver and the leading battleships turned away nearly eight points to the westward, but Scheer was adamant in his deter mination to break through at all costs while darkness gave hope of escape. He forced his van back, and by 11.34 the "West falen" was again leading the line to the south-eastward. In an other encounter a few moments later the "Broke's" steering gear was disabled and she and the "Contest" rammed the "Spar rowhawk," and the latter had to be sunk the next day. Between midnight and 12.30 A.M. the "Fortune" and "Ardent" were sunk and the "Porpoise" disabled by gunfire, and the "Turbulent" was rammed and sunk with all hands. The armoured cruiser "Black Prince," which had got separated from the fleet, was making her way to the southward when she fell in with the Ger man battle fleet. Under the glare of their search lights she was
sunk by overwhelming fire at point-blank range. Again and again the British light craft attacked, but from now onwards the enemy held his course; and the tragedy of that night was that no ac curate information of the German battle fleet was vouchsafed to Admiral Jellicoe.
Admiralty Messages.—Two reports, based on intercepted wireless messages, were sent to Jellicoe by the Admiralty. One, despatched at 9.58, received in the "Iron Duke" about 10.23, but not deciphered and read until 11, gave an obviously wrong position of the rear ships of the enemy battle fleet at 9 P.M. A second message, dispatched at 10.41, received at 11.05, and read about 11.30, stated that the German battle fleet had been ordered home at 9.14, battle cruisers in rear, course S.S.E.iE., 16 knots. This latter was a summary of several intercepted signals but most unfortunately it omitted the fact that Scheer, at 9.06, had made an urgent call for airship reconnaissance off Horn Reefs at daylight, clearly indicating his intended line of retreat. The second Admiralty message referred to the enemy's movements at 9.14, but at 11.38 Goodenough's report was received saying: "Have engaged enemy cruisers at m15 bearing W.S.W.," and about the same time the "Birmingham" also reported from astern: "Battle cruisers probably hostile in sight northeast course south" (I 1.30). These reports came from ships which had actually sighted the enemy long after the time referred to in the Ad miralty messages. They indicated that he had not yet turned home. The "Birmingham," unfortunately, sighted the German heavy ships at a moment when they had turned away from our torpedo attacks, his report therefore was misleading, but other ships might have saved the situation.
At 11.35 the "Valiant," last ship but one of the 5th Battle Squadron, noted what appeared to be "two German cruisers with at least two funnels and a crane amidships, apparently steering to the eastward at a high speed." These details make it certain that the ships were battleships and should have been recognized as such. The "Malaya," the last ship of the squad ron, had a clearer view and noted at 11.40 "enemy big ships, three points abaft the starboard beam, steering the same way as ours." By the flash of an explosion the leading ship was seen to have "two masts, two funnels and a conspicuous crane (ap parently "Westfalen" class)." It was obvious that the enemy's main fleet had closed in from the westward and was edging its way across the wake of the 5th Battle Squadron, yet for some inconceivable reason the captains of these two ships neglected to report what they had seen. Had they done so it would have greatly increased the chances of an overwhelming victory next day. The courage and self-sacrifices of the British destroyers did not provide the one thing lacking, i.e., information. Before the curtain of darkness had lifted, Scheer had hacked his way through the light forces and passed to the eastward.