El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-10-15

" HE tOEgy 1lrsL OF d 4Ae' -@-'' ~
the greatest battle on the sea
L the world has ever known It
was on this day that two mighty
fleets OF steel met IN the waters off
Jutland: two fIeets-One the bulwark
OF democracy and the other the az
eressive weapon Of that most detest-
able OF monarchies-Prussia- The
world shuddered on the fateful even
ing Of that dreary day when the
ether vibrated messages OF victory
victory to the Germans-and the i'm
periaI German navy was speeding on
back to its base for a much-needed
remuneration, for it had been hurt
This day, the first day OF June. is
auspicIous in British naval history as
the date on which. .125 years ago. an
English fleet under lord Howe. COM
prising % ships OF the line. defeated
the equal French fleet under Villaret.
$50 miles off Ouessant In the years
to come the celebration Of the day
viii be saddened by the memorial 10
the gallant ships which went down
Two Great Fleets Meet
On this modern first Of June the
entire fleets Of Britain met the en-
tire German navy. with the Brltls /.
numerically stronger in ratio OF
two TO one. Navigating conditions
Z however. were all in favor OF the en-
envy. due 20 what some experts have
I declared to be sheer luck The Ger
man claim is that superior strategy
won them the day
II had long been the strategy OF
both admiralties TO patrol the length
Of the North sea I'm force. Both
claimed. as their object. the Turin
. out Of the opposing fleet for de-
cisive fight on open water. Though
both fleets welcomed the opportunity
90 try their steel certain II Is thar
this battle in particular came about
oy mere chance and was not planned
beforehand TO any greater extent
[ than the usual preparations lor
eventualities on all the units during
the dangerous patrol work.
Germans Seek the Fight.
Without having any certain knOWl-
edge OF the presence Of the German
high seas fleet. the British fleet
cruised far north between Scotland
and Norway. The German navy 90
I wind Of this fact. and its recOnnOi-
tring cruisers rushed northWard um-
coast OF Norway Flce-admlral HIP
per. in command OF the German
cruisers, Immediately engaged the
English. who were far superior IN
number Admiral Scheer. command
INK the high seas fleet hurried with
an pOssible speed to the scene, de-
I termined TO make the most OF TINS
chance meeting with admiral SIT
I David Beatty.
The fog bank that shrouded the en-
trance to Skagerrak was TO play an
important role Hidden by this FOG,
the English main fleets reached the
scene. and at go pm. were east OF
I the German fleets and unobserved BY
tue fighting German cruisers De
spite this advantageous position ac-
miral JelliCOe. commanding the Eng
Z iish high seas fleet was unable %
Z Judge. from the Eunfire Of the Ger
man ships, their formation and num-
Der. and so lost valuab bic time. IN
stead of at once attacking the Ger
man fleet unconscious Of It's peril
Not until $50 did his battleships sue
coed in opening fire on the German
high seas fleet
Germans show Courage.
When the lire Of British battle
ships became dimly visible on the
horizon. seven and one-half miles dis
I tant. the German admiral at once
realized the seriousness Of the situa-
ton. with admirable courage the
German torpedo fleets threw them
selves upon the heavy English line,
which received them with a deadly
fire OF all calibers- Il was almost
impossible to make out the water
T
slipped back into the fog bank, and
the German gunners had only the
flashes OF the British guns rs guides
The battle between the two main
fleets lasted over an hour. and the
/ precision OF the German fire was tell
ing traEicslly. The German line was
like a sinuous snake. at all times un-
der the most complete control OF the
flagship Indeed the strategy OF the
enemy in this fight has been written
into naval history as a valuable and
useful lesson in modern sea fighting
with all the various engines OF 2
modern fleet
British Had to Quit.
The British ships could not keep In
contact under the repeated German
cnslau-hts. and were compelled 70
cease firing. Even before uiEhtfall
they had lost touch with the enemy
and disappeared in the fog. During
the night the German fleet proceeded
at moderate speed toward Horn Riff.
In the damp darkness the long line
OF German ships was repeatedly at
tackled by the British cruisers and
FT, PASO