Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-11-04
III GERMAN SHIPS
Sent TO BOTTOM
!. BY BRITISH PATROL
Auxiliary Cruiser, Armed
With Six-Inch Guns,
Among Victims.
NAVAL SUCCESS SENDS
THRILL THROUGH ENGLAND
Thirty of Teuton Crews Killed
Outright and Sixty-Four
Men Rescued.
ENCOUNTER OFF THE CATTEGAT
ENCOUNTER OFF THE CATTEGAT
Enemy Raiding Fleet Believed to
Have Been Headed for Dash
on Allied Shipping.

LONDON. November 3.-Eleven Ger
man ships. perhaps twelve. ono Of them
an auxiliary cruiser. armed with six
inch guns. were gent to the bottom OF
the Cattcgat. the large North Sea arm
between Sweden and Denmark, by "a
ing the last forty-elght hours. Ten
Of tho sunkcn vessels were patrol craft.
The Teuton raiding feet WAS headed.
Il, ia believed. for An exploit like the
recent one near the Shetland Isles.
when nine scandinavian ships and two
British destroyers were sunk. They
may have been the same raiders who
got away that time.
Sixtyfour prisoners were rescued by
the British torpedo craft. OF the crew
OF the Teuton auxiliary cruiser. the
Marie $1,000 tons), thirty were killed
outright by the British shell fire. Cap
tain Lauterbach. her commander. and
six of his men were picked up by a
Danish vessel ana taken to Copenta-
gen. All are more or less seriously
wounded.
Official encouragement OF the British
naval success sen, . thrill through all
Britain It could not have come at Il
more opportune moment. A great part
of the british press. including some
of the governments stanchcst sup
pnrters. had just begun a concerted IT,
radc against the admiralty Oh account
OF the recent German -aiding success.
GEDnEs WAS TARGET
OF VIOLENT CRITICISM
Sir Eric Geddcs was the target OF
violent; critic lem Tor; HIS eSplsnatiu,i in
Commons. and particularly for the ikd-
niItalty report. which was Character
ixsd By one paper rs hobscure and very
unmilitary." n now shake-up. in the
Admiralty seemed Imminent. On top
of it all came Kerensky's plnintive
query. Where Is the great British
flect?" 1t had left n painful impress
wide conviction that. tho veiled re-
proach was utterly unjustifed
Overnight. the gloomy thoughts and
speeches have been wiped out. The
British come-baci; was clean-cut and
thorough. Ship for ship was the re-
ply. The Germans had sunk eleven
90 did the British. The Germans mad
Ventured out to within British home
Skaser-Rak into close proximity Of
the German mine fields. The Germans
had failed to rescue any survivors, and
this had elicitcd the "unm!lltary" cen
sure oftthe British Admiralty concern
ins TIE chivalry of the sea. The Brit
ish rescued siNty-four CT The Germans
- The question rs to whether a twelfth
ship was sunk by tho British Is raised
by repor; from, Copenhagen that a
commerce raider named Crocodile vas
seen going down in flames by two
Danish vessels She was of 1000 tons,
and her crew numbered 100. She was
disguised. There IS some doubt whe,h
or she may have been included in the
British official account rs one of the
patrol craft. .
Reports vary regarding the time Of
the engagement between the Marie and
her British assaiiants. One version
is she went down in flames after "A
ten-~inute combat. The Danish re-
tpeaks of two-and- n -half-hour
GsaEement.