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THE SINKING OF THE "MAINZ" IN THE HELIGOLAND BATTLES The photographs from which these pictures were made, were taken on board British warships that had a part in the battle

were soon found to come from six German destroyers, and orders were given to engage them as soon as possible. At 8.30 A.M. fire was opened by the Arethusa and some of the destroyers; at 8.45 A.M. the course was so altered as to bring the other destroyers into the fight. At the same time were sighted three German cruisers of the same class as what are known in the British Navy as "Town" cruisers, of which, at the outbreak of the war, there were fifteen in the British Navy, all light cruisers ranging from 4,800 to 5,400 tons. After these ships got into action the fight became general. In the German fire, tho often well directed, many shots fell short and exploded on striking the water. Before 9.45 A.M. the British ship, the Arethusa came in for severe handling, and at 10 o'clock had to haul away temporarily, as only her foremost 6-inch gun was capable of continuing the fire. The British wondered at the time why, at this juncture, German cruisers did not close in and complete her destruction. For some reason unexplained they did not follow up what had been an undoubted success for them. After 55 minutes of strenuous work, the British cruiser was able to steam into action again, and several German destroyers disappeared. The Arethusa continued to receive most of the fire. Altho shells damaged her feed-tank, and materially reduced her speed, she was able to continue the fight. It was now seen that two guns on one of the German cruisers were gone, also the mainmast, and that she was blazing amidships, but she continued to keep up a spirited fire from her foremast and after guns. So far the battle had been waged on the British side by light cruisers and destroyers. Out to seaward German submarines-the first use this was of submarines in a sea-battle-were attacking the squadron. The water being smooth, the submarines were detected, and Admiral Beatty, by maneuvering at high speed, had no difficulty in avoiding them. Meanwhile, all ears were strained to catch more distinctly certain ominous sounds of distant firing. Of this action Admiral Beatty said:

"At 12.15 Fearless and First Flotilla were sighted retiring west. At the same time the light-cruiser squadron was observed to be engaging an enemy ship ahead. They appeared to have her beaten. I then steered northeast to sound of firing ahead, and at 12.30 P.M.

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sighted Arethusa and Third Flotilla retiring to the westward engaging a cruiser of the Kolberg class on our port bow. I steered to cut her off from Heligoland, and at 12.37 opened fire. At 12.42 the enemy turned to the northeast, and we chased at 27 knots. At 12.56 P.M. sighted and engaged a two-funnelled cruiser ahead. Lion fired two salvos at her, which took effect, and she disappeared into the mist burning furiously and in a sinking condition."

It would appear that only the Lion among the big ships actually fired, the remainder arriving in time only to see the German cruiser, which was the Mainz, lying on her beam ends with only a propeller and her starboard quarter showing, while a heap of wreckage marked the spot where the Köln had gone down. A dim ruddy glare in the haze showed where a third cruiser was drifting away, her hull a blazing furnace. A naval lieutenant, who took part in the battle, said, in a letter describing this the first notable naval battle of the war:

I expected

"We were getting nearer and nearer Heligoland. every minute to find the forts on the island bombarding us. So the Arethusa presently drew off, after landing at least one good shell on the enemy. The enemy gave every bit as good as he got. We then reformed, but a strong destroyer belonging to the submarines got chased, and the Arethusa and Fearless went back to look after her; we presently heard a hot action astern. So the captain in command of the flotilla turned us around, and we went back to help, but they had driven the enemy off, and on our arrival told us to form up on the Arethusa.

"When we had partly formed and were very much bunched together, a fine target, suddenly out of the everywhere arrived five or six shells, not 150 yards away. We gazed whence they came, and again five or six stabs of fire pierced the mist, and we made out a four-funnelled cruiser of the Breslau class. Those five stabs were her guns going off. We waited fifteen seconds, and shots and the noise of guns arrived pretty well simultaneously, fifty yards away. Her next salvo went over us, and I personally ducked as they whirred overhead like a covey of fast partridges. You would suppose the captain had done this sort of thing all his life. He went full speed ahead at once at the first salvo, to string the bunch out and thus offer less target, and the commodore from the Arethusa made a signal to us to attack with torpedoes.

"So we swung round at right angles and charged full speed at the

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