The Story of the Great War (Vol. 1-8). Various Authors
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the Invincible and Inflexible were silent with their guns, though there was bustle enough aboard them while their coaling was being hurried.
By ten o'clock these two larger ships were ready with steam up and decks cleared, and they came out from behind the hill. Von Spee saw that discretion was the better part of valor and gave orders for his ships to make off at full speed. For a time the two squadrons kept parallel to each other at a distance of twelve miles, with the British squadron—the Invincible and Inflexible leading—north of the German ships. The Baden and Santa Isabel, two transports that had been part of the German squadron, were unable to keep up with the others and headed south, pursued by the Bristol and Macedonia. The two British battle cruisers were faster than any other ships in either squadron, and while pulling up on the German ships were in danger of pulling away from their own ships. To avoid the latter, Admiral Sturdee kept down their speed and was content with taking a little longer to get within gun range of Von Spee's ships. By two o'clock the distance between them was about 16,000 yards; the Invincible and Inflexible had now left the rest of the British squadron far behind and took issue with the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau respectively. The remaining British ships, with the exception of the Carnarvon, gave attention to the three lighter German cruisers and the Eitel Friedrich, which had broken from the first formation and were now pointing southeast.
Von Spee ordered the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau to turn broadside to the enemy. Shells were falling upon the German ships with fair accuracy, but their return fire could do little damage to the British ships, because the range was a little too great for the German 8.2-inch guns. Those of the Inflexible and Invincible were of the 12-inch type.
All four ships were belching forth heavy black smoke that hung low over the water after it left the funnels. A moderate breeze carried it northward, and Von Spee moved his ships this way and that till his smoke blew straight against the guns of the British ships, making it almost impossible for the British gunners to take aim and note effect. But the superior speed of the two British battle cruisers stood them in good stead, and their commanders brought them up south of the enemy—on their other side. It was now the German gunners who found the smoke in their faces, and the advantage was with the British.
By three o'clock in the afternoon fire had broken out on the Scharnhorst and Von Spee replied to Sturdee's inquiry that he would not quit fighting, though some of his guns were out of action and those which still replied to the Britisher did now only at intervals. There was evidently something wrong with the machinery that brought shells and ammunition to her guns from out of her hold, the fire probably interfering with it. A 12-inch shell cut right through her third funnel and carried it completely off the ship. She turned so that she could bring her starboard guns into action, and they did so feebly. The fire on board her grew worse and worse, and it could be seen blood-red through holes made by the shells from the Invincible whenever her hull showed through the dense clouds of escaping steam that enveloped her. Just at four o'clock she began to list to port, thus having her starboard guns put out of action, for they pointed toward the sky, and the shells which came from them described parabolas, dropping into the water at safe distance from the English ship. More and more she listed, till her port beam ends were in the cold waters of the South Atlantic, and while in that position she sank some fifteen minutes later.
Meanwhile the duel between the Gneisenau and Inflexible had been going on. A 12-inch shell from one of the British cruisers struck one of the after gun turrets of the Gneisenau and swept it overboard. The German ship used the sinking Scharnhorst as a screen and tried to take on both British ships. Still she was able to plant some effective shells against the Invincible as a final reply. By half-past five she was listing heavily to starboard and her engines had stopped. The British ship, thinking she was surely done for, ceased firing at her and watched her for ten minutes, while a single gun on board of her fired at intervals. The three ships Carnarvon, Inflexible, and Invincible now closed in on her and punished her till the flag at her stern was hauled down. But the ensign at her peak continued to fly. Just at six o'clock, with this color still in position, she suddenly heeled to starboard, while the men of her crew made hastily up her slanting decks and then climbed over on to the exposed part of her upturned port side. Many of these unfortunate men had time to jump into the sea, but others were caught when she suddenly disappeared beneath the surface.
There remained the task of picking up her survivors, but they were not numerous, for the shock of the cold water killed a large number. Having picked up those whom they could, the three British ships signaled the news of their victories to the distant cruisers which were fighting it out with the Dresden, Leipzig, Nürnberg, and Eitel Friedrich.
These lighter German cruisers had left the line of battle and had turned southward at just about the time that the action between the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and Inflexible and Invincible began. They started off with the Dresden at the foremost point of a triangle and with the other two at the two remaining points. The Glasgow, Cornwall, and Kent went after them, while the Carnarvon, because her speed was not high enough to accompany them, remained with the battle cruisers. The Glasgow drew up with the German ships first, and at three o'clock began to fire on the Leipzig at a distance of 12,000 yards. As in the other action of that afternoon, the British ship took advantage of the fact that her guns had longer range, and she drew back from the German ships so that their guns could not reach her, though her own shells began to fall upon their decks. It was her object to keep them busy until she could be joined by her accompanying ships.
Plan—Vice Admiral Sir Doveton Surdee's Action off the Falkland Islands. Dec 8, 1914.
The Cornwall by four o'clock was also near enough to the Leipzig to open fire on her, and three hours later the German cruiser was having a time of it with a large fire in her hold. British faith in heavy armament with long range had again been vindicated. There was something of human interest in this duel between the Glasgow and the Leipzig. In their previous meeting, off Coronel, the German ship had had all the better of it and now the men of the British ship were out for revenge. Consequently the Glasgow signaled to the other British ships: "Stand off—I can manage this myself!" By eight o'clock in the evening the Glasgow had her in bad condition, and the Carnarvon came up to assist in raking her till there was nothing left but a mass of wreckage on her decks. But her flag was still flying and the British ships kept circling around her, thinking she still wished to fight, but not coming near enough to permit the use of her torpedo tubes. Miserable was the plight of the Leipzig's crew, for the two hundred men who were still alive were unable to get to her flag on account of the fire aboard her, and they had to remain inactive while the Carnarvon and Glasgow poured round after round into their ship. Only twelve remained alive at nine o'clock, when she began to list to port. Slowly more and more of the under-water part of her hull showed above the sea, and she continued to heel until her keel was right side up. In this position she sank, a large bubble marking the spot.
When the Nürnberg left the line of German ships at one o'clock, it was the British cruiser Kent that went after her, a vessel more heavily armed than the German ship, yet about a knot slower. But by hard work on the part of the engineers and stokers of the Kent she was able, by five o'clock, to get within firing distance of the Nürnberg. By a strange trick of fate the Kent was sister ship to the Monmouth which had fallen victim to one of the Nürnberg's torpedoes in the battle off Coronel. Here, too, was a duel with human interest in it. In their desire for revenge, the men of the Kent made fuel of even her furniture in order to speed up her engines. Her 6-inch guns now began to strike the German ship, and soon a fire broke out aboard her. She could have ended the German vessel by keeping a fire upon her while remaining too distant to be within range of the Nürnberg's 4-inch guns, but dusk was gathering and an evening mist was settling down upon the water. Consequently the Kent drew nearer to her adversary. The firing of the Nürnberg was then effective and more than twenty of her shells took good effect on the British ship. It was only