CHAPTER XV
THE FIRST GUN
Skagerak, in which the greatest naval battle of history was about to befought, is an arm of the North Sea between Norway and Denmark. Thescene of the battle was laid off Jutland and Horn Reef, on the southernextremity of Denmark.
From the reef of Heligoland, the main German base in the North Sea, toJutland, is about one hundred miles as the crow flies. Therefore, itbecame evident that the German high sea fleet must have left theprotection of that supposedly impregnable fortress some time before.
That the advance of the German fleet had been well planned wasindicated by the very fact that it could successfully elude the Britishcruisers patrolling the entrance to the mine fields that guardedHeligoland itself. Could a British fleet of any size have got betweenthe German high sea fleet and Heligoland the menace of the German fleetwould have ended for all time.
At the moment, however, the British warships were scattered over theNorth Sea in such a manner as to preclude such an attempt; and the bestAdmiral Beatty and Admiral Jellicoe could hope for was to come up withthe German fleet and give battle, preventing, if possible, the escapeof any units of the fleet to other parts of the sea and to drive allthat the British could not sink back to Heligoland.
The German dash of one hundred miles across the North Sea was a boldventure and one that the British had not believed the Germans wouldattempt at that time. British vigilance had been lax or the Germanfleet could never have gone so far from its base without discovery; andthis laxity proved costly for the British; and might even have provenmore costly still.
Above the German fleet came a fleet of aircraft, augmented to a greatdegree by three powerful Zeppelin balloons. Lying low upon the wateralso was a fleet of German submarines.
As the German fleet approached Jutland on the night of May 31, it wasshrouded in darkness. The night was very black and a heavy fog hungover the sea. The night could not have been better for the attempt,which would, in all probability have succeeded, had it not been for thefact that the British had been forewarned.
Forewarned is forearmed; and this fact alone prevented the Germans fromcarrying out their designs. It is history that the approach of theGerman fleet had been reported to the commander of the British cruiser_Glasgow_ by an aviator, who had sailed across the dark sea in ahydroplane. Whether the Germans knew that there were but three Britishvessels in the Skagerak cannot be told, but certainly they believedthey were in sufficient strength to force a passage, particularly by asurprise attack, which they believed the present venture would be.
Therefore, it must have been a great disappointment to the Germanadmiral when a single big gun boomed in the distance.
This was the voice of the British battleship _Queen Mary,_ which,taking directions from the _Glasgow's_ aviator, had fired the openingshot, telling the Germans that their approach had been discovered andthat the passage of the Skagerak would be contested.
Immediately the German fleet slowed down; for the German admiral had nomeans of knowing the strength of the British fleet at that point.Hurried orders flashed back and forth. A few moments later threeaeroplanes, which had been hanging low above the German fleet, dashedforward.
They had been ordered forth to ascertain the strength of the British.
In almost less time than it takes to tell it they were directly abovethe British fleet, which, so far, consisted only of five ships of war--besides the _Glasgow,_ an armored cruiser, the _Albert_ and _Victoria_,torpedo boats, being the _Queen Mary_ and _Indefatigable_.
As the Germans approached in the air, a hydroplane ascended from eachof the British ships and British aviators gave chase to the enemy. One,which had come too close, was brought down; but the other two returnedsafely to the shelter of the German fleet, where the British dare notfollow them because of the presence of a superior force of the enemy.
But the German aviators had learned what they had been sent to learn.They had discovered the strength of the British. Again sharp orderswere flashed from the German flagship.
The fleet came on faster.
Captain Raleigh, because of his seniority, had taken command of thesmall British squadron. He had drawn his ships up in a semicircle,heads pointed to the foe. As his aviators signalled that the Germanswere again advancing, Captain Raleigh gave the command that had beenlong eagerly awaited by the men--a command which the commander of the_Queen Mary_ had delayed giving until the last moment because hedesired to give his men all the rest he could.
"Clear for action!" he thundered.
Jack glanced at his watch and as he did so eight bells struck.
"Midnight!"
The exclamation was wrung from Frank.
"And no aid for at least three hours," said Jack, quietly.
As the lad spoke the fog suddenly lifted and gave to the British a viewof the advancing German fleet.
"Forward turret guns!" cried Captain Raleigh, "Fire at will!"
A terrible salvo burst from the 16-inch guns in the forward turret.
At almost the same moment the leading German ships opened fire.
The first few salvos from each side did no damage, for the range hadnot been gauged accurately.
It became apparent now that the German admiral had no intention ofrisking all his first line ships in this encounter. Apparently he haddecided that his smaller vessels were fully capable of coping with thesmall number of the enemy that was contesting his advance.
From the shelter of the larger ships advanced the battle cruisers. Nota battleship nor a dreadnaught came forward. But the smaller shipsdashed on swiftly and presently their guns found the range.
A shell burst aboard the _Glasgow's_ bridge, carrying away nearly theentire superstructure. The captain and his first officer were killed,and many men were injured as huge splinters flew in all directions.Under the command of the second officer, the _Glasgow_ fought back.
A shell from her forward turret burst aboard the closest German vesseland there was a terrific explosion, followed by a series of blasts notso loud. Came fearful cries from aboard the enemy.
And then the whole sky was lighted up for miles around as the Germanship sprang into a brilliant sheet of flame. For perhaps two minutes itlighted up the heavens; then there was another violent explosion andthe German cruiser disappeared beneath the water with a hiss like thatof a thousand serpents.
A cheer rose on the air--a loud British cheer.
"One gone," said Frank, quietly.
"Yes, but only one gone," replied Jack.
"Yes, but it's two o'clock now," said Frank, hopefully.
"About time to begin our retreat then," said Jack.
And the order for retreat came a few moments later.
The five British ships--for all were still able to navigate in spite ofthe damage that had been inflicted--came about in a broad circle andheaded westward.
Then it was the Germans' time to cheer and they did so with a will. Itwas not often that a British battleship had fled before a German shipor ships and the Germans, since the war opened, had little chance tocheer such a procedure. But now that they had such a chance, theycheered their best Apparently, they had lost sight of the fact that theBritish were retiring before superior numbers, and that, even in spiteof that and the fact that they now were retreating, they still had thebest of the encounter so far.
For one German cruiser lay at the bottom of the sea.
The British retreat was slow; and, for some unaccountable reason, theGermans did not press forward as swiftly as they might have done.Whether they feared a trap, or whether the German admiral haddetermined to await the coming of day before disposing of the enemy,was not apparent. But that he had some plan in mind, every Britonrealized.
"The longer he holds off the better," said Frank.
"Right," agreed Jack. "Of course, we probably could run away from themif they pressed us too hard, but we wouldn't; and for that reason heshould be able to dispose of us if he came ahead swiftly."
"Wonder why som
e of these Zeppelins and airships haven't come intoaction?" said Frank.
"I don't know. Perhaps the Germans are afraid of losing one of them.They probably have other uses for them, for, should they break throughhere, it is likely they have their plans laid. What time have you?"
"Three thirty," said Frank, after a glance at his watch. "An hour,almost, till daylight. Do you suppose the others will arrive on time?"
"I hope so. It would be better, of course, if they arrived while it isyet dark, for then they might come up unseen. But with their arrival westill will be outnumbered; and, realizing that, the Germans, when theday breaks, will press the attack harder."
"I guess we will manage to hold them till the main fleet arrives in themorning," said Frank, hopefully.
"We will have to hold them," declared Jack.
At this moment the lads' attention was directed to the cruiser_Glasgow_. Already badly damaged, a second German shell had now burstamidships with a loud explosion.
"And that settles the _Glasgow_," said Jack, sadly.
He was right. Gamely the _Glasgow_ fought back, but it was apparent toall, in spite of the darkness, that she was settling lower and lower inthe water.
"And we can't rescue the men," said Frank. "Remember the admiraltyorders. No ship in action is to go to the aid of another. It would besuicide."
"So it would," said Jack. "Poor fellows."
Slowly the _Glasgow_ settled; and for a moment the fire of all theother vessels--Germans as well as British--lulled a bit. All eyes werebent on the sinking ship.
A wireless message was flashed from the _Glasgow_ to Captain Raleigh ofthe _Queen Mary_.
"Goodbye," it said. "Hold them!"
After that there was no further word from the doomed cruiser.
The searchlights of both fleets played full upon the _Glasgow_ as shesettled lower in the water. She staggered, seemed to make an effort tohold herself afloat, and then sank suddenly.
The duel of big guns broke out afresh.