Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-18
CHAPTER VIII.
The Battle.


The fleets drew nearer. vaguely revealed
20 each other 10y electric sealchlights.
That morning. ms early as O'Clock, the
French Russian and German national an
thems had been played ON board the feet
OF the allies at Brest, and The colors salut-
ed Immediately afterward the ships steam
cd out Of the harbor. The land troops were
already mlssed ou board the transports.
To prevent their movements being watch
ed and reported they had proceeded at a
high speed. never very far from the French
coast Jil they reached the longitude of Fe-
camp, then. striking directly uorthward for
Beaehy Head. lad sl1ckeued speed about >
o'clock forty miles from the coast; then
as the .wlliglt gathered they had detected
their course TO about west by north MAX
Ing iu q leisurgly way FOR the nelghborhood
OF Shoreham. When they first became
aware of the approach OF the British fleet
they were moving almost directly westward
cas- the British were moving directly east
ward
The formation OF the enemy was IN quad
ripple line abreast. In the front were four
teen first-class bsuIeships at twelve cables
iatcDal: I'm the eecond, cruisers of the
three classes, iu the third, guuboats torpe-
do boats and composite gun vessels In the
fourth, the array OF liners and troop ships
bearing the land forces.
The British rear admiral had rightly sur
missed what would be the action OF the
French cuutrc amiral. his primary thought
was FOR the troop ships out from the flag
snip went "a trumpet call. repeated far over
the ocean i'm a long line Of sonorous and
hrazen-lunged Iteration. Down the files of
ships Il went braying a voice that died
and instantly rose in vibrant outCry again,
commanding all troopers and liners TO 20
pacing backward twelve miles 20 eastward.
and there maintain hollow square until
further notice.
Through the wide region Of black smoke
which poured forth now over the channel
from tho entire allied fleet. focked the cap
taius of ships 20 ca hurried conference with
Centre Amiral des \lsmcs de NOuihier on
the Amiral BaudiU.
His recommendation was that the allied
batueships should form iu two double lines
ConvergiUg inward toward the British ships
just as the British ships tas could be al
ready ~ugmisel) We're diveTEiug outward
toward the allies. He said: we have four
teen bJttlCSLiuS-tI ] take II, eight" On
reality the British baLteships only num-
bored seven. for the Majestic was gomez Il
propose, then, that the four battleships of
our present line now farthest 90 starbOaTd
viii form the outer conyerging line Of star
board attack, and the next four the inner
COnvergiug line, parallel 10 the outer; thus
toward The coast two st0rboard lines OF
eight allied batLpShips viii have between
their broAdsides "a line OF four British bat
tleships-Jud the contest 1 think, should be
short.
In the same way with our port battle
ships. the three farthest 10 port will form
The outer Couyergiug line, the next three
the tuuer-thus two port lines of six allied
hattleships viii have between their broad
sides a line Of four British battleships
eight 10 four. and six to four. The contest
should not be long, messleurs. I even sug-
Eest as point Of tactics, that, in view OF
our preponderanCe. we should make our
victory instantaneous by placing a very
short interval between the cOmbatan'
ships say, a klometer at the most
for of course the shorter the con.
fiict the less our damage point OF
Unreasonable Importance TO US, considering
the role we have to ill I'm conveying more
invading land forces In the near future.
need not point out. too, that an enemy rs
ship. hemmed in between two hostile ships,
Will be the more hampered IN ramnling, the
closer the quarters. But we have little time
for talki cruisers, gunboats and composite