Thus the British Navy had made a speedy end of the raiders in the Bristol Channel, and, owing to the vigorous initiative of the Devonport commander and the Rear-Admiral in charge of the torpedo flotilla, had practically wiped out a German squadron. Only the Deutschland had got away to sea, but the Portsmouth armoured cruisers had been instructed to proceed in search of her, co-operating with the cruisers of the Channel Fleet.
The Channel Cruiser Squadron during the afternoon of Sunday had been ordered to deflect its movement and steer for Queenstown, so as to get across the line of retreat of the German ships. Constant communication with it was maintained by the great long-distance naval wireless station at Devonport, one of the three such stations for which funds had been obtained with the utmost difficulty by the Admiralty from a reluctant Treasury. Its value at the present juncture was immense.
As night came down, Rear-Admiral Hunter, in command of the Channel Cruiser Squadron, was informed that a large German liner had escaped from the Bristol Channel. His most advanced ship was now in touch with Queenstown, and about sixty miles from the place. The rest of his force was spaced at intervals of ten miles between each ship, covering eighty miles of sea.
The two protected cruisers of the Devonport Reserve Squadron, Andromache and Sirius, ships of 11,000 tons and about nineteen knots sea speed, had taken station to the north of the Scillies, with one of the battleships of the Devonport Reserve supporting them. The other battleship was posted between the Scillies and the Longships. Off Land’s End a powerful naval force was fast assembling, as ships and torpedo vessels came up one by one from Devonport as soon as they had mobilised.
Ten more destroyers arrived at four on Sunday afternoon, and were at once extended north; at 8 p.m. the two fast Portsmouth armoured cruisers Southampton and Lincoln arrived, and steamed northwards to prolong the cordon formed by the ships to the north of the Scillies, and a few minutes later a third ship of the “County” class, hastily mobilised, the Cardigan, arrived, and placed herself under Rear-Admiral Armitage, commanding the Devonport Reserve. She was stationed just to the south of the Scillies.
All the evening, wireless signals had been coming in from the Channel Cruiser Squadron, as it moved northwards far out at sea beyond the advanced guard about Land’s End. At 8.50 p.m. a signal from it announced that a large liner was in sight moving south-west, and that Admiral Hunter’s ships were in full chase of her. The British cruiser Andromache, off the Scillies, and the three ships of the “County” class off Land’s End, were at once directed upon the point where Admiral Hunter’s signals had reported the enemy. Thirteen British vessels thus were converging upon her, twelve of them good for twenty-three knots or more.
The captain of the Deutschland, after dashing through the British cordon off Lundy Island, stood for several hours westwards at twenty knots, intending at dusk to turn and pass wide of the Scillies, and hoping to escape the British under cover of darkness. He was under no illusions as to the danger which threatened him. From every quarter British wireless signals were coming in—from the west, south, and north—while to the east of him was the cul-de-sac of the Bristol Channel. All lights were screened on board his gigantic liner.
About 8 p.m. his lookouts reported a large ship rapidly moving north, ten miles away. He slightly altered course, hoping that he had escaped observation, and stood more to the south. Two minutes later the lookouts reported another very large ship with four funnels passing right across the line of his advance.
The strange ship, which was the British armoured cruiser Iphigenia, fired a gun and discharged two rockets in quick succession. Another half-minute and the beam of a searchlight from her rose skywards, signalling to her sister ships that here at last was the prey. Five other searchlight beams travelled swiftly over the water towards the Deutschland and caught the liner in their glare. Forthwith from south and north came the flashing of searchlights and the heavy boom of guns, and the whole nine cruisers of the Channel Squadron over their front of eighty miles began to move in upon the German vessel.
Her only chance was to make a dash through one of the wide gaps that parted each pair of British cruisers, and this was not a very hopeful course. The German captain had already recognised the British ships from their build, and knew that the two nearest were good for 23½ knots, and that they each carried four 12-inch and eight 9·2-inch guns. He steered between the Iphigenia and Intrepid, fearful if he turned back that he would be cut off by the British cruisers behind him in the Bristol Channel.