The Glasgow was ordered back, and at 12.20 P.M. the Commander-in-Chief decided to attack the enemy with the battle-cruisers, whose speed was increased to 25 knots. The enemy were steaming in two divisions in quarter-line, first the Gneisenau and Nürnberg on the left of the line, then the Scharnhorst (flag), Dresden, and Leipzig; the latter being astern of the remainder of their ships, who were on the starboard bow of our squadron, became the first target. "Action" was sounded, and at once not a soul was to be seen about the decks, each man being busy at his appointed station. The Admiral hoisted the signal "Open fire" at 12.47, and eight minutes later the Inflexible fired at the Leipzig the first round of the action; the Invincible followed almost immediately afterwards. Both ships were now going their full speed, nearly 27 knots, and firing slowly and deliberately at the great range of 16,000 yards (over nine land miles). The huge columns of water, over 150 feet high, thrown up by our 12-inch projectiles, which weigh 840 lb., sometimes completely blotted out the enemy target at this distance. Owing to the German ships being end-on, it was difficult to get the direction, but our shots were falling very close to them at times, and soon produced a drastic change in their movements.
Admiral von Spee is said to have now made this signal to his ships: "The armoured cruisers will engage the enemy as long as possible, the light cruisers are to use every endeavour to escape." Acting on this, at 1.20 P.M. the Dresden, the Nürnberg—which one of our battle-cruisers claimed to have hit—and the Leipzig turned away to the southward, the positions of the ships being roughly as shown in the plan ([p. 94]). The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau will be seen turning to port to engage the battle-cruisers, which altered simultaneously on to a parallel course, whilst the remainder of our squadron, except the Carnarvon, which presumably had orders to proceed with the Commander-in-Chief, turned and gave chase to the Dresden, Leipzig, and Nürnberg. The Carnarvon was, of course, unable to keep up with the big ships, and did not get into action until later; she was now 10 miles astern, and altered course to port to cut a corner and join the Flag.
ROUGH DIAGRAM OF ACTION OFF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS 8TH DECEMBER, 1914.
All this while the "County" cruisers were coming along with all possible speed. The Glasgow was stationed clear of the battle-cruisers, which were followed by the Kent, Cornwall, and Carnarvon. When the action commenced the crews of these ships had the most perfect view of a modern naval engagement fought at long range. As an officer in the Kent described it: "We were spectators in the front row of the stalls, as it were, so close that we could almost touch the actors on the stage, yet so far that no stray missile disturbed the comfort of our view. The best seats in the house at a performance of one of the few remaining spectacles which cannot be bought for money."
Imagine a calm, smooth sea, the sun shining and not a cloud in the sky, the ship steaming at something over 23 knots, and the men crowded on the turrets and in every available corner, tier upon tier, for all the world as if looking on at a cup tie at the Crystal Palace.... It was a wonderful sight. The big ships buried their sterns in the sea, throwing up the seething water in their wakes as they dashed onwards. The bright flashes of their guns showed up strikingly, followed successively by the dark brown puffs of cordite smoke; the seconds were counted until the reports were heard and huge columns of water thrown up by the splashes were seen. Many of the men had had friends in the Good Hope and Monmouth whose fate was fresh in their minds. "Give 'em one for the Monmouth!" and "Go on, boys, give 'em hell—let the blighters feel what it's like!" were shouted quite unconsciously, punctuated by loud cheers when a salvo pitched perilously close to the enemy ships. Of course, the majority realised our superiority, but those in authority must have felt a pride in such men who gave the impression they would face odds with intrepidity.
The battle now divided itself into two separate engagements, the battle-cruisers and the Carnarvon, which were engaging the two enemy armoured cruisers, and the Cornwall, Kent, and Glasgow, which gave chase to the light cruisers. Later, a third action developed when the Kent went after the Nürnberg. Each of these will be taken in turn and described separately.