The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1916-06-08
HUGE NAVAL Battle
- british WARsHIPs LOST IN
FIGHT WITH GERMAN
FLEET.
NINE TEUToN CRAFT SUNK7
Thousands Of Lives Lost In Greatest
Naval Engagement In Hlstory-Zep-
pelIns Drop Bombs on 5rItons Dur
Ing Flsht-seVeral Vessels Missing.

London. June 5.-The high seas
fleets Of Germany and Great Britain
have met. For the first time since
the war began they clashed of 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.
According to the admiralty an
nouncements the British battle cruiser
feet met a German fleet. with the re-
suit that three British battle cruisers
were sunk, together with three cruis-
ers and eight destroyers.
The battle lasted through the after
noon and the following night.
The announcement adds that of
three German battle cruisers, either
the Derfflinger or Lutzow was blown
up, another was seen to have been dis
abled and a third to be seriously dam
aged.
One German light cruiser and six
German torpedo-boat destroyers we're
sunk and at least two more light cruis-
ers were disabled.
The news was flashed out in spe-
cial editions of the evening newspa-
pers and caused greater consterna-
tion in the West end of London
than had been witnessed on any pre-
vious occasion since the declaration Of
war.
The frankness of the admiralty
announcement concerning the seri-
Gus nature Of the British losses and
the apparently small losses of the
Germans in comparison led to the
assumption in most minds that the
British vessels must have been led
into a mine field.
Following quickly upon the ad-
miralty announcement came the Ger
man official version of the fight,
which, in general, confirms the Brit
ish account, but carries the claim
that the battleship Warspite also
was sunk and other British battle
ships damaged.
The German losses, according to
the German version of the battle,
were the small cruiser Wiesbaden,
sunk by gun fire, and the warship
Pommern by a torpedo while the
cruiser Frauenlob and a number of
torpedo boats are missing.
The British battle cruisers sent
down were the Queen Mary, Indefati-
gable and Invincible. The cruisers
sunk were the Denfense, Black Prince
and Warrior. Five destroyers-the
Tipperary, Turbulent, Fortune, Spar
rowhawk and Ardent-were lost.
The names of the six missing de-
stroyers have not been announced.
A dispatch from Rotterdam to the
Reuter- Telegram company reported
the tugboat Schelde entering the new
water way with dead and wounded
men from the naval battle. A steam
trawler also was reported on the way
to Ymuiden with Is rescued Germans,
including three officers.
The loss of life in the engagement,
which probably was the greatest sea
battle of the world war, if not the
most gigantic naval fight in history,
must have been extremely heavy.
The battle cruiser Indefatigable, for
instance, from which the German ad-
miralty reports only two men were
saved. probably had more than 800
men on board, and others of the ves-
sells sunk carried compliments of men
equally or nearly as large,
Previous to this battle Great Britain
had lost during the course of the war
10 battleships, II cruisers and various
smaller craft.
Germany had lost 1S cruisers, 10
auxiliary cruisers, chiefly converted
passenger liners, and numerous small
er vessels.