Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-06-06

'hc warspi'c, the Malaga and the
Valiant
Ey nil laws of nava! warfare it was
the function or this SQUADRON 10 aim
the first blow at tho enemy In order
to harass him. cut him off from his
base. or drive him into tho arms Of
the main battle ncc,.
Admiral Beatty coming up from the
east, found himself confronted by a
force. which In number OF ships
weight and guns. was immensely So
pcrior 20 his own
In seamanship and gunncry not un-
worthy Of the foe, but In collective
speed decidedly slower. he could have
shown him his heels
But he elected TO join battle with
Liem,
PROPOSITION OF FLEETS
TO ADvA NTAGE OF ENEMY
The disposition OF the two fleets; gave
tho enemy the advantage Of sunlight
and slight haze which hung over the
water.
They made full use Of it.
They opened FIRE on our leading ships,
and salvo from the German guns
almost the first they nrcd--struck the
queen Mary, and within six minutes
of the opening of the battle a thunder
Gus explosion tore the great ship
asunder and she passed out of sight
So sudden was her end that cxplana-
tions of the mos, sensational kind are
offered. There are stories Of bombs
from aircraft and. according 10 one
version. Il scaplanC, brought down by
her own Gun:irc. fell on her deck with
it's load Of bombs. cannot find any
real support for these statements
Wha; l am Io!d is that un;ll our
Eunners got 10 work the German
craftsmanship WAS remarkahiy arcu-
rate. and that one OF their first shots
found the magazine
Ten minutes later the Imdcfatiuahlc
suffered the same fate, the concentrated
fire hattering her to pieces.
The losses were the price paid for
The maneuver. which was executed by
ADMIRAL Beatty with extraordinary
Skill
When his squadron was coming east
ward IL nc, the German fleet. The lat
ter was on Il northwcsterly course, and
e determined attempt was made to
cnrclop the British ships by turning
10 the southward and wheeling around
TO the northwest. Admiral Beatty frus
10
int" a running fight on approximately
parallel lines. his purpose heinr 10
draw the enemy In the direction from,
which the British fleet should conn.
Soon the three invincihles arrived IN
Join i'll the fight, and later four fast
battleships were added TO the connie
inent Of our sorely tried cruisers
IN All The fight extended over NJ
least loo miles ana proceeded wi,hou,
leasing Tor three or four hours
Each force had its complement Of
light cruisers. dcstroyers and other
small craft, but they were but pawns
IN the game. The real struggle was
between the giants. II at first was a
contest OF zig guns, and as :. spectacle
il must have been inspiring but as
warfare IL was murdcrous. Firing as
they were at "a range at times under
ilvc miles. the hn:s, eunners In the
worlds finest fleets could hardly miss
their mark No armor could with
stand the heaviest projcctile a, such
range. and the huge ships. covering IN
their tremendous strength, pounded one
another To destruction as though they
were as nimsy as yachts
The small craft played their an
pointed part bravely, and were repro
ducing among themselves half Il hun
dred encounters alike in kind. but less
in scale. and the ton OF destroycrs
taken on either side is evidence also
that these vipcrs OF the sea did not
hesitate 70 attack the larger quarry.
ENGLISH NOT LONG
IN DRAINING BLOOD
DESPITE the h"ndicaps under which
they tonight N. British eunncrs wcr,
not lors III drawing blood \ big Ger.
man cruiser was hit. burst into names
and sank Within few minutes Within
AN hour ships Oh both sides were
ahiaze some OF them Tough; on until
'hey sank. some Of them fell gu, OF
line.
According 10 one account, tho In.
vincihle, lndomnituble and !nneylhI,
the slower slips of the ba,,!c cruise,
squadron, did not reach the scene ami
the faster ships had hcen f.n,in
against appalling odds for upwards q,
an hour To some extent they reducet
the balance against rs but the BATH,
was skill unequal aud attained a Ter.
ribic intensity
The Inv!ncible. flying the Tag Of "A
miral Hood, singled ga, the Hiucen
burg, and after a no, agh, j.. ,yh,c,
some Of our men claim The Hlnhanbur,
received mortal injury. the Iayincibl,
went down.
The coming of four fast ba,,lcsh,o
put the opposing forces for tho frs
time on basis approaching eq.aMt,
OF guns One Of the newcomers IN
Warspite. was attacked by nv. cap!,a
ships OF the German Nee,. and icf, ne
mark on three OF them, but she hcrscI
4 had to retire.