Standing Guard in the North Sea.—Al though the encounters in remote seas were the most strilcing thing the belligerent navies were doing in the first months of the war, the work of most importance was keeping the German High Seas Fleet blocked up in German har bors. For this purpose the British fleet kept constant station. It had to be ready for sud den attacks, sweep up German mines continu ally and lay mines of its own, and be always on the lookout for submarine attacks. All this was hard work, and few people realized its ex tent and labors.
Most people in the Entente countries ex pected a great battle for supremacy, and it is probable that many Germans entertained the same expectation. In fact, it was part of the policy of each side to entice the fleet into bat tle, either in small encounters or in large en gagments, the Germans by raids or by setting traps in which they might throw a superior force against some prt of their opponents' fleet. In general the Entente Allies were con tent to play a waiting game, but at times they tried to draw their enemy out of his mine-pro tected harbors by sending forward weak squad rons in the hope that they might precipitate a fight and maintain it until the main British fleet came up. Several isolated achievements marked the first work of this war, the inajor ity being favorable to the Germans. On 3 Sep tember a German mine destroyed a gunboat, the Speedy, in the North Sea. On the 5th the light cruiser Pathfinder was torpedoed by a German submarine off the Scottish Coast, an exploit for which the Germans paid on the 13th when their light cruiser, the Hela, was de stroyed by a British submarine in the North Sea. On the 22d three British cruisers were patroling the Dutch Coast when one of them, the Aboukir, was torpedoed and began to sink Her companions, thinking she had strudc a mine, came up to save the crew. First one, the Hogue, and then the other, the Cressy, was tor pedoed, with the result that all were lost with 680 out of a total of 1,459 officers and men. However, none of these affairs had important influence on the progress of the war.
Few large-scale naval actions were fought during the war, but one occurred on 28 August in the Bight of Heligoland, and it is typical of the battles in which each side sought the advan tage of numbers, with the result that the Ger mans drew off when it seemed that they would be brought into a general engagement with the British High Seas Fleet. The battle was plaimed by the British authorities to get an opportunity to overwhelm the Germans. Having recon noitred the waters around Heligoland they sent out on the 27th a submarine flotilla to serve as scouts. Next day they sent forward two de
stroyer flotillas, followed by a battle cruiser squadron, a craiser squadron, a light cruiser squadron, and all to rendezvous before Heligo land in the morning of the 28th. The subma rines with two small destroyers itt attendance arrived in front of Heligoland early on the 28th and revealed themselves. Behind them, but out of sight were the other squadrons. The German ships, according to their custom, were behind the island, but seeing the submarines they came out, thinking to make an easy cap ture. Then followed a sharp battle between two of the British cruisers that quiddy arrived and two German cruisers and some destroyers. It developed into a duel between the opposing cruisers, in which the Germans got the worst of the encounter. Meanwhile the heavier Brit ish ships were out of sight% and the Germans sent out two additional cruisers, recalling one of the first in the fig,ht because of her severe damages. This led the British to call for het% and about noon Admiral David Beatty arrived with a squadron of five battle cruisers. He foimd two British light cruisers, the Arethusa and the Fearkss, heavily engaged with two Ger man light cruisers, the MOULT and the Kehl. About the same ume two other British light cruisers, the Falmouth and the Nottingham, arrived and joined in the battle. Beatty might well have suspected the Germans of a ruse by which, if he stood to fight, he might have suddenly found himself confronted by the superior German fleet But pctting aside any such doubts he went boldly into the battle, where his 13.5-inch guns soon settled the fate of the Mains, the Koh. and the ilriadne. This done he steamed away for home ports, accompanied by the remainder of the expedition. The net result was the destruction of three Gerinan light crtdsers, the serious damaging of an other and the destruction of one destroyer and the serious damage of seven others. The British set the stage for the battle of Heligo land and fought it according to their plan. Their lighter craft were sent forward to engage the enemy in the hope that he would be drawn out in such numbers that the superior British ships could cut them off. The Germans did not send out their heavy ships and lost those they sent. They were at a disadvantage in the engaganent; and even their opponents bore witness to the courage and skill with which they fought their ships, staying by them to the last and going down when they sank. N9 British ship was sunk, and but one, the Arethusa, was bully damaged.