Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1915-01-28
MOST SPECTACULAR OF WAR

Aboard the Kaiser's Fleeing
Cruisers-Three English
Warships Crippled.
London. Jan 2S.-That the German
Meet which last Sunday made disas-
trous attempt to raid the British coast
sought to lure the British pursuers
along n path lined with submarines is
the belief generally expressed here.
That the British fleet escaped without
serious loss is little short of miracu-
1ous.
The British fleet however, did not
come out of the battle unsca thed. The
Lion. Admiral Beatty's flagship. which
( led the pursuit had to be towed back
4 to port by the Jndomitable, her for
ward compartments haveing been
flooded when a German shell penetrat-
4 ed her armor below the water line The
DESTROYER Meteor was towed back by
the Liberty. both under strong es-
cort. The Tiger also suffered some
damage. The Princess Royal was prac-
ttcalIy ,lnscathed. One officer and 13
men were killed and three officers and
26 men wounded.
Cheers Greet Flagship.
n The British fleet las returned to
home waters. The Lion was the last
to arrive. She was greeted with vocif-
srous cheers by the crews of the an
chored warships which had preceded
her into port. 1t was spontaneous
tribute to Vice Admiral Beatty and his
Flagship. 1t is said the damage to the
ships can be quickly repaired.
From the standpoint OF the Spectacu-
lar Sundays battle is in many regards
tho most thrilling of any since the war
4 the surviving ships of the German fleet
suffered terrible damage at the hands
of British gunners. according to Ger
II man blue jackets picked up from the
wreckage of the lost armored cruiser
Bluecher.
Story Of BIuejacket.
The Scotsman publishes today the
sgrNivo;.ss OF the q erman tarnored
cruiser Bluecher who once lived in the
United States.
The bluejacket said the German fleet
was advancing at full speed to attack
the English coast when the British
warships, were sighted. Thereupon
i the Germans turned and made for port.
The Bluecher. which was comparative
4 1y slow, made desperate efforts to keep
up her maximum speed. but the British
sOverhauIed her and opened fire at a
ranee of about 10 miles.
l7 I've were under fire from first to
4 last" the bluejacket continued. THE
British centered their fire on us. This
was awful. Our guns were put out of
action. Our decks were swept and our
gun crews wiped out
zone terrible shell burst in the heart
killed / saw five killed bNnone shell.
Finished by Torpedo.
~ do not know what finished the
Bluecher, as she was ful1Fof holes, but
heard she struck a torpedo. If SO.
we can thank the torpedo for saving
hundreds of lives from the murderous
gun fire. When the ship was sinking.
I jumped clear of her into the cold wa
Y ters. which was full Of dead and men
Swith shattered Inns: who were crying
ASr assistance. After being rescued by
e British, we were warmed, fed and
~ thed'
enhe sailor is credited with saying
SY during the raid on Scarborough,
men believed they We're taking part
great navalaaction which was .eX-
ing all over the North sea.
e Scotsman, which is published in
lburgn, also prints other accounts
Tthe battle as gathered from men
fgaged in it. Theysdescribe it as one
~ the greatest struggles in naval his
tory and thrilling in every respect
Grim 4O-MiIe Chase.
From the position of the German
fleet when it was first encountered,
these men assumed that it is virtually
certain it's objective was Newcastle.
The strength of the raiding squadrons
was quickly ascertained and as Is the en-
tire raiding force sheered off imme-
diately after it was discovered, the
chase was along cne before the guns
began their work.
For 40 miles, the two fleets raced
Il along over the shortest route for Hell,
goIand before the guns did any real
damage Then the Lion. which was
leading overhauled the slow Blucher
ku1l in passing gave her broadside
tising frightful damage. The Lior
Hid not walt however, but continued in
pursuit of the fleeing Derflinger. Sey-
ditz and Moltka.
The Tiger. which came next also
boured broadside into the Bluechel
klAs did also the Princess Royal; both OF
I which were speeding on. ito JON the
+ chase of the others. 1t was evident az
this time, according to the newspaper $
1nformants that the I3luecheri :band
oncd by her swifter consorts. was q
doomed ship.
The chase already had continued foi
two hours The light German cruisers
Iluckily did their best to cover tho
fleeing battle cruisers until the tasF
was hopeless, when they followed the
81 example OF the. big cruisers and .deVoteC
their entire powers to getting away
The bigger ships were now being
, @ are RSpna9a icS ay as
oyerhauled and 4 smashed II SECOND
cruiser in the German line. accordinf
to the men interviewed. saw that the
fight was likely to be prolonged rlgh
ZIP to the mine fields. The Tiger. Prin
cess Royal and Indomitable were nov
within range of the large vessels ant
the men in their interviews are credit
+ ed with expressing the belief that they
wrought terrible havoc on the German
cruisers. ,ss 49, / ! .. .le.s3..4.
The fire of the Delflipgcis snd Seyd
litz it is asserted grew weaker ant
weaker as the running fight proceeded
within half an hours run of thu
mine area said che OF the E.en, "th'
Dcyflinger was ON fire Masses o
flames were sweeping her forward
deck, her decks were strewn will
wreckage OF the shattered upper works
ASand when she reached the shelter o
q the mines she had no answer to Civ,
to the hail Of projectiles which followed
her home.
NJ life