At 10.55 A.M. another German light cruiser was sighted by the Arethusa, and on being attacked by the Fearless and destroyers turned away; she reappeared at 11.5 and engaged the Arethusa and Fearless and was attacked by these ships and by destroyers and again turned away. Meanwhile Commodore Tyrwhitt had informed Sir David Beatty of the position, and that officer proceeded at full speed to his support. The light cruiser Mainz had been attacking the somewhat disabled Arethusa and the Fearless at about 11.30 A.M. and had suffered very severely in the action, being practically disabled. The arrival of the First Light Cruiser Squadron, under Commodore Goodenough, on the scene at about noon secured her destruction.
Between 12.37 P.M. and 1.45 P.M. the 1st Battle Cruiser Squadron and 1st Light Cruiser Squadron engaged two other German light cruisers, one of which was sunk; the second was last seen burning furiously and in a sinking condition.
Even thus early in the War the difference between the behaviour of British and German seamen was noticeable. On the British side, in addition to other assistance rendered to the survivors of the Mainz (which had been sunk), Commander Keyes, in the destroyer Firedrake, proceeded alongside and rescued 220 of her crew, many of them being wounded. A German light cruiser opened fire on the British destroyers engaged in picking up survivors from the German destroyer V187 when that vessel was sunk by our craft, thus making it necessary for the destroyers to leave behind the boats carrying out the rescue work. The British submarine E4 afterwards took our officers and men out of these boats and left some unwounded Germans to take the other boats, which contained German wounded, to Heligoland.
In the afternoon of August 28th the 10th Cruiser Squadron was directed to work in Area No. 6, leaving the armed merchant cruisers farther to the northward. The object was to give a better chance of intercepting enemy vessels or neutral ships carrying contraband of war by establishing two patrols on the probable exit or entrance courses, one of which would in all probability be crossed of necessity during daylight hours, even if the second were passed through at night.
August 29th.—This was a bright, fine day, with high visibility. The Dreadnought Battle Fleet remained at sea with three divisions of the 2nd Flotilla, cruising and carrying out battle tactics and other exercises.
The 1st Battle Cruiser Squadron arrived at Scapa to fuel at 7 P.M., in company with the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron, the Liverpool being detached to Rosyth to land the German prisoners captured in the Heligoland Bight on the 28th.
The 2nd Cruiser Squadron was cruising in Area No. 5, which the 3rd Cruiser Squadron left during the day for Cromarty to fuel.
The 6th Cruiser Squadron and 10th Cruiser Squadron were in Area No. 6; the mine-layers were in Area No. 3.
During the day the Oak arrived from Scapa with telegrams and despatches for me and returned with similar correspondence for the Admiralty. The Oak was usually employed on this duty while the Iron Duke was at sea during the earlier months of the War, my infrequent visits to a base rendering this essential.
Some risk from submarine attack was naturally involved during the time that the Iron Duke, or any other heavy ship, was stopped to communicate. The risk was recognised, and, as the number of enemy submarines increased, it became undesirable to incur it, and the practice of stopping ships at sea for any such purpose was abandoned; the longer time spent in harbour tended to reduce the necessity for the practice to some extent, but during the early part of the War this was the only means of conveying despatches to the Fleet when it was constantly at sea.