Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-06-03
NAVAL VICTORY
EvENS THE SCORp
Germans and British Have Es.a
Won Two Major Engagement
Losers in Earlier Battles
Nearly Annihilated

NHH Germans Victory In the Skas..
i rak evens their score with the R,.,,..
In major naval engagements. There a.
been number of minor affairs. In vshs.s
one or more vessels were lost. 49,
these the nearest approach to what co,',,
! called a battle" was the pursuis I.
.sman squadron by Beatty's feat
J' 'lry, 1915, resulting in the sIns,.s
OF he Bluecher. But this was harm,
be ctle. The Germans, outnumbered x
outranged, wisely fed. There have n.
been the long list of torpedo attacks n.
sent warships to the bottom and x.
bounding and cornering Of indlvisn.,
ships doomed to destruction.
But there is a sharp line to be drsv.
between the destruction of indlvid,.,
ships, however long the lists may hs ~
the naval engagement-the battle. n.
the battle has a moral effect that Il ~.
all over the world. Tho actual loass.
whether In minor or major engaRernash
are trlfling in comparison. England i
example, has built since the war hae..
more than enough ships to offset lbo.,
she has lost.
Score of Victories Evened
The distinctive feature about modssu
naval battles has been that to the vlctors
belonged the spoils with a vengeancs
Defeat usually means virtual annihIh
ton; and victory, coming off unscathea
1t was thus In the first three battles--oB
Heligoland, August 90, 1914, when II,
British surprised and sank five warshlpr
off Coronel, Chill, November /, 1914, when
a British squadron was destroyed, and "a
the Falkland Islands, December 8, 1914
when the victorious German squadroS
was in turn destroyed by stronger "a.
The battle Of Skagerrak on wednesdsv
in which Germany evened the score, was
the first major engagement in IS month";
Vice Admiral Count Won Spec admin
istered the first defeat British squadron
had suffered In 100 years--the first sincs
Perry's victory on Lake Erie. Sir Chris
topher Cradock had been sent TO the
Pacific with squadron which the BritlsA
Admiralty should have known was greatly
inferior to Won Specs. He could no.
CSSdpct Lol Noh EopOO til0 bpSbQ Oh
him; there was nothing to do but look Tor
the enemy and do as much damage to
him as possible. The fleets came in sight
of each other at sunset during heavy
gale and high seas. The British turned
south in a maneuver to force Won Spec
out from the land and so come between
the British and the setting sun. But Won
Spec was too wary to fall into the trap
BY o'clock the squadrons were stearning
abreast of each other with eight miles Of
wild water dividing them. Then Won
Spec began to close. So tremendous was
the sea that was breaking over the con,
ming towers that the British ships were
almost hidden from the German gun
crews on the main deck. The German
ships opened fire at six and a quarteF
miles. Soon the Good Hope CradoclSJ
flagship, was on fire and the MonmouA
her guns useless, was also in flana
BY this time the sun had gone down and
the moon was shining. The roof of the
fore turret of the Good Hope was blown
off and in the faint moonlight the German
officers were reading their range finders
by the light of the fires on the British
ships Cradock tried to close with hiz
foe. His ship, hit 35 times and unable to
fire, might at least be driven headlons
at his foe-there was a chance in NH
lion he might damage him, and death wa
certain anyhow. He closed to within.
three miles. Then the Good Hope weni
down in a great mass of flames, carrying
the gallant Cradock with her TO the bot
bridge, the victorious Won Spec did MOI
know that he, too, was fated to go dow
with his ship, his bones to lie beneath ths
southern seas.
The Monmouth, on fire and down w
the bows, tried to ram the nearest hostis
ship. Firing pointblank, the Germans
sank the vessel.
The British Get Revenge
The Glasgow got away. The Germans
thought she was fatally damaged, but sns
survived to be in at the death whea
Admiral Sturdee came to the southern
seas to avenge Cradock. Won Spec, beni
on SELLING the Falkland Islands, blundefea
into a fatal trap in the belief that D
had cornered the Canopus, which Wa
cruising alone along the coast. He or
dered his ships to close in to cut on ths
escape of the British ship. but presensU
the rest of Sturdee's squadron cans
steaming around both sides of the isiana
and 1t was Won Spec and not the Britiaa
who was caught. The Germans, beatins
east and then southeast, were pursnsa
by their swifter foe and one by one. n
the afternoon and evening. were suns
The British concentrated their fire on ths
scharnhorst, Won Specs flagship. When
II became evident that she was doomss
her crew assembled on the forward dec
They would not surrender, and after -
hours fighting sank beneath the waYez
The Gneisenau had to be battered inW
helpless wreck and foundered. Iha
Leipzig fought till the ammunition "
cut off by the water flooding the masA'
zines. The deck was a shambles, Tns
is men who were left staggered about
among dead and dying men. Just befofs
the ship sank they all jumped overboaIa
All were rescued.
That was the last German squadron q
the high seas.
AMBITION
If vo,. would rise ahova the fhronR