The Brunswick news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1906-2016, 1914-11-05
GERMAN FIRST
NAVAL VICTORY
A COMPLETE ONE
DETAILS OF THE FIGHT PLAIN.
LY SHOW SUPERIORITY OF
kAISER'S SHIPS.
BRITISH SHIPS ARE DEFEATED
They Were Sunk or Scattered and
Casualty List is Said to Be Heavy.
Details of the Battle Have Been
Received.
Received.

VALPARAISO, Chile, Nov. 4.-Th,
victory of the German fleet undel
Admiral Won Spec, consisting of the
armdred cruisers Scharnhorst anC
Gnelsenau and the light cruisers
Nurnbers, Leipsic and Bremen. owe,
the British squadron made I'D of ths
cruisers Monmouth, Good Hope and
Glasgow and the transport Otranto
commanded by Rear Admiral era
dock, continues the sensation of the
hour here.
That the Germans were able tc
SINK or scatter the British squadron
with only minor damage to their own
shlps and casualty list of only two
wounded is a subject of Wonder.
The Monmouth is known to have
been lost with practically all of her
crew as a result of this first big naval
hight of the war; the Good Hope was
severely damaged and on fire when
she escaped under cover of darkness
and it is believed here that she went
to the bottom, while the Glasgow and
the Otranto took refuge in a Chilean
port.
The Scharnhorst, Gueisenau and
Nurmberg were still in the harbor
early today, coaling and provisioning
III preparation for steaming away
later. 1t is supposed they will re
lleVe the cruiserss Lejipsic and Bre
men, which have the Glasgow and
Ttranto bottled up in the port OF
Talcaht1ano, eight miles northwest of
conception.
1t would seem like madness for
these British ships to leave this ha.
ven Of refuge, and 1t is likely they
VIII be dismantled and interned un.
less a superior British and japanese
fleet should make its appearance and
go to their relief.
Admiral Won Spec, in his official
report of the battle, which took place
late Sunday afternoon off the Chilean
island of st. Maria, says the action
lasted only an hour, being discontin-
ued at nightfall, when the British
We're forced to give way.
The Good Hope" he says, "was
then so badly damaged that she was
unable to resist and could only make
her escape protected by the darkness
THE Monmouth, under identical
conditions, tried to escape, but was
followed by a small cruiser and was
sunk with few shots. Owing to the
hurricane that was blowing no boats
could be lowered, and consequently
there was a terrible l1ss of life"
The German admiral, in noting the
escape of the Glasgow and the Otran
to, says it was due to their speed
and the darkness.
Details of the fight picked up from
informal conversations with German
officers who came ashore from the
warships show that the Germans, ow
ing to the superior range of the guns
on the armored cruisers Scharnhorsi
and Gnelsenau, opened fire when six
miles away. AS the ships closed In
and the range came down to a dis
tance of four miles the British Ships
were able to reply, but%by that time
they were already seriously dam
aged.
The. Germans declare the British
fought heroicaHy, but that their ar
tillery was ineffective against the su
pefior weight of metal the Germans
were allie to pour from the more
modern guns of the armored cruisers
1t is stated, however, that the light
German cruisers pluckily closed in or
the British and took part in the bat
tie. One of them, it appears from the
official report, gave the Monmouth
her death blow as, crippled and in
flames, she tried to escape.