The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-06-14
none COMP ARE With
NORTH SEA BATTLE
ENCHANTING OF FORCES SUD-
DENLY TURNED OCEAN INTO
AN AWFUL INFERNO,

Probably the exact losses sustain
ed by both sides in the epoch-making
naval battle of the last week will
not be known with anything like pre-
cision until the end Of the war has
removed the need for suppressing dis
asters that cannot be hidden. The
heavy British losses mentioned in the
first German report were practically
admitted by the English admiralty
with the exception of the battleships
Warspite and Marlborough, which the
British stated had reached port. The
former was damaged by shell fire, the
latter had been torpedoed, but both
reached home waters. Later, how
ever, the British admiralty declared
that the German losses was false
that the German account of their own
losses was false, both relatively and
absolutely, and that the German loss
es had been in reality heavier than
the British.
The earlier reports established the
certainty of the following losses:
British-Three battle cruisers of
$4,000 total tonnage, armored
cruisers aggregating 41,000 tons, and
8 destroyers totaling 9,400 tons, or a
grand total of 114,100 tons. Only a
few hundred of the 5000 men com
prising the crews of the five largest
of IA ships were saved. Besides the
Warspite and Marlborough the Ger
mans claimed to have sunk British
submarine.
German-Two battleships of 3D.
500 tons, light cruisers totaling
1885 tons and destroyers aggre-
eating 5000 tons, or a grand total
of 51,115 tons. In addition to this
total the British admiralty claimed
that the Germans had lost 2 battle
cruisers of 26,8OO tons each, light
cruiser of 1920 tons, 8 additional
destroyers and submarine. Thus
the British claim that the Germans
have lost altogether 10 ships of 49,,
115 tons.
Fierce Determination.
Both sides displayed splendid gal
lantry and fierce determination in
the big battle, which is said to be
the greatest in history in respect of
the forces engaged. 1t was an APP
pallingly sudden and terrific loosen
ing of tremendous forces that in a
moment changed the peaceful ocean
into an awful inferno. at was like
40 thunderstorms rolled into one, j"
said one of the British sailors.
1t was as if all the ammunition in
Great Britain and Germany had been
let off in one-half hour, said veteran
of the historic engagement.
Eight capital ships went down like
tin cans filed with water. Smaller
craft exploded and went up like
pinches of snuff, and destroyers were
wiped out like so many flies.
A sea fight is more deadly than the
fiercest battle on land. There is small
hope for man on a warship that has
received its death blow. Merchant
ships reported the seas thick with
dead bodies. One English seaport,
Portsmouth, is a town of mourning.
Five of the lost ships claimed it as
their home town and 5000 of its citi-
zens now sleep in watery graves.
The Great Battle.
The battle opened at 3:15 p. M, on
Wednesday, May 31st, when the Eng
lish battle cruiser squadron and some
armored cruisers and light cruisers
supported by four fast battleships en-
countered the German high seas fleet
off the entrance to the Baltic, $50
miles west of the Danish coast and
125 miles southwest of the lower
point of Norway Skirmishing de-
stroyers opened the engagement
which rapidly resolved itself into a
fight between the battle cruisers. Ad-
miral Beatty, the British commander
sent his four battleships southwark
between the German cruisers and the
Danish coast in an endeavor to trap
the enemy and cut him off from his
southern base. The English battle
ships ran into the German main fleet,
which had been held in reserve, and
were forced to fight defensive bat
tic pending the arrival of Admiral
Jellicoe and the rest of the British
navy. When Jellicoe's ships arrived
toward dusk the then outnumbered
Germans withdrew.
Far into the night the din and
clamor continued with undated fury,
the whole area of the sea being slash
ed with sudden jets of fame from
the guns and illumined by blazing
warships.
CALHOUN COUNTY TO
HAVE HANGING THIS MONTH