 Hipper turned south to flee, but was limited to 23 knots (43 km / h; 26 mph), which was the maximum speed of the older armored cruiser Blücher. The pursuing British battlecruisers were steaming at 27 knots (50 km / h; 31 mph), and quickly caught up to the German ships. At 09: 52, the battlecruiser Lion opened fire on Blücher from a range of approximately 20,000 yards (18,300 m); shortly thereafter, Queen Mary and Tiger began firing as well. At 10: 09, the British guns made their first hit on Blücher. Two minutes later, the German ships began returning fire, primarily concentrating on Lion, from a range of 18,000 yards (15,460 m). At 10: 28, Lion was struck on the waterline, which tore a hole in the side of the ship and flooded a coal bunker. At 10: 30, New Zealand, the fourth ship in Beatty's line, came within range of Blücher and opened fire. By 10: 35, the range had closed to 17,500 yards (16,000 m), at which point the entire German line was within the effective range of the British ships. Beatty ordered his battlecruisers to engage their German counterparts. Confusion aboard Tiger led the captain to believe he was to fire on Seydlitz, which left Moltke able to fire without distraction. During this period of the battle, Derfflinger was hit once, but the shell did only minor damage. Two armor plates in the hull were forced inward and some of the protective coal bunkers were flooded.
