The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1916-06-08
herman FLEET
DESTROYS IS
4 BRITISH SHIPS
KaiSer'S War Vessels Escape
With Small Loss.
THOUSANDS OF LIVES LOST
Teutons Send Down Six Cruisers and
Five Destroyers Off JutIand-SeV-
eral Reported Missing on Both
Sides--zeppeIins Shell
Britons.


London, June 3.-The high seas
fleets of Germany and Great Britain
have met. For the first time since
THE war began they clashed off the
coast of Denmark Wednesday. The
battle that ensued was the greatest
naval engagement in the history OF
the world.
For "a hours the North sea shook
with the thunder of the battle. When
the German admiral gave the signal
10 withdraw 16 units of the magnifi.
cent feet which for years has ruled
the wrves for Britannia had been
sent with most of their crews to the
bottom of the North sea.
German Losses insignificant.
The German loss was so small as
to be, ont, of all proportion to the
magnitude Of the victory. Three first.
class warships and a number of tor.
pedo boats, the total of which has
not been ascertained, we're destroyed
BY the British feet. .
The loss of life on both sides win
not be definitely ascertained for days,
but the, number will mount into the
tens of thousands. Some of the Brit
ish ships lost their crews to the last
man, while on one only two were
taved out of total of 900.
III Admits Loss Of Eight Ships.
The British admiralty officially an
/. bounced that the total number of
British destroyers lost in the naval
y engagement was eight
Among the British warships lost
were the battle cruisers Queen Mary,
Indefatigable and Invincible, and the
cruisers Defence and Black Prince.
Th" ldestroyers Tipperary, Turbulent,
Fol ne, Sparrowhawk and Ardent
alst IRE lost, while six more destroy
ers unaccounted for. These are
the British losses as given out in
ar, official statement by the British
admiralty. Berlin, however, reports
the dreadnaught Warspite, 275O0 tons,
a sister ship of the famous Queen
Elizabeth. was also sunk, and that
the battleship Marlborough was dis.
abled. The London admiralty admits
that the armOred cruiser Warrior was
disabled.
Admiralty Reports Conflicting.
The German losses were the Pom
mern, a battIeship Of the pre-dread-
naught type, and the light cruisers
Frauenlob and Wiesbaden, in addition
to several torpedo beats. London
gives the German losses as one battle
cruiser, one battleship, two light
cruisers and a large number of de-
stroyers. Berlin in it's official report
made no mention Of the loss of a bat
tic cruiser, while the British admiral
ty does not confirm the German claim
that the dreadnaught Warspite was
sunk.
The first reports of the battle came
from Berlin. After holding the de-
tails for a day, the admiralty issued
an official report. but as the extent of
the British defeat became more ap-
parent a rigid censorship was imposed. |
zeppeIins Aid Warshlps. |
In spectacular features the battle |
was unprecedented. Practically every
type OF fighting craft of the sea and |
air was in action Zeppelins, aero |
planes, submarines and naval vessels +
Of every, class and caliber were en-
gagged in the titanic struggle. ,,,
kaiser's Fleet in Search of Battle.
Out of the fog that enveloped the
Jutland banks, off the western coast
of Denmark, and between the Skager
Rack and Horns Reef the German
fleet steamed slowly southwark in the
dawn of Wednesday. 1t was the first
time in the war that the kaiser's high
seas feet had left it's base in the Kiel
canal in such force, prepared for bat
tie.
British cruisers day after day have
patrolled the entrance to the German
hiding place, and for nearly two years
the cry of all England has been,
When will the German fleet come out
Of its hole?"
It came out of it's hole Wednesday
morning, and found the British feet
r. A number of the Zeppelins accom-.
panying the German fleet were sent
out to reconnoiter In a few hours
they flashed the word to the waiting
German admiral that the British pride,
her navy, lay quiescent off the Jut-
land bank. Fay
., British Are Surprised. /,
The German ships lost no time in
getting under way, and it was not yet
noon when the most advanced torpedo
boat destroyer in the line of battle
sighted the British feet on the hori-
ION. The British were taken by sur.
prisa and before they could fire a shot
hail of shells was dropping from the
sky.
While submarines ran the gauntlet
If the British destroyers and launched
heir torpedoes at the great British