As soon as he was around he increased to full speed to get ahead of the Germans and take up a tactical position in advance of their line. He was able to do this owing to the superior speed of the British battle cruisers.
[Illustration: Photographs]
Copyright Harris & Ewing.
ADMIRAL WILLIAM S. SIMS; Commander-in-Chief of the United States Navy
in European waters.
ADMIRAL SIR DAVID BEATTY; Commander-in-Chief of the British Grand
Fleet.
[Illustration: Photographs]
FIELD-MARSHAL EARL KITCHENER; British Secretary for War, who built up
the British army at the beginning of the war.
FIELD-MARSHAL SIR JOHN D. FRENCH; Commander-in-chief of the British
force in France and Belgium from the beginning of the war to December,
1915.
Just before the turning point was reached, the Indefatigable sank, and the Queen Mary and the Invincible also were lost at the turning point, where, of course, the High Seas Fleet concentrated their fire.
A little earlier, as the German battle cruisers were turning the Queen
Elizabeths had in similar manner concentrated their fire on the turning
point and destroyed a new German battle cruiser, believed to be the
Hindenburg.
Beatty had now got around and headed away with the loss of three ships, racing parallel to the German battle cruisers. The Queen Elizabeths followed behind engaging the main High Seas Fleet.
Third Phase, 5 P.M. The Queen Elizabeths now turned short to port 16 points in order to follow Beatty. The Warspite jammed her steering gear, failed to get around, and drew the fire of six of the enemy, who closed in upon her.
The Germans claimed her as a loss, since on paper she ought to have been lost, but, as a matter of act, though repeatedly straddled by shell fire with the water boiling up all around her, she was not seriously hit, and was able to sink one of her opponents. Her captain recovered control of the vessel, brought her around, and followed her consorts.
In the meantime the Barham, Valiant and Malaya turned short so as to avoid the danger spot where the Queen Mary and the Invincible had been lost, and for an hour, until Jellicoe arrived, fought a delaying action against the High Seas Fleet.
The Warspite joined them at about 5.15 o'clock, and all four ships were so successfully maneuvered in order to upset the spotting corrections of their opponents that no hits of a seriously disabling character were suffered. They had the speed over their opponents by fully four knots, and were able to draw away from part of the long line of German battleships, which almost filled up the horizon.