The British Navy in Battle

which, after referring to the self-internment of Koenigsberg in the Rufi

search, which covered an immense area, the British cruisers have been aided by French, Russian, and Japanese vess

lost after her action with the Jemchug, had arrived at Keeling, Cocos Island, a

p Sydney (Captain John C. T. Glossop, R.N.). A sharp action took place,

reported as very heavy. All possible assistance is being given the

3 the coast of Chile, the whole of the Pacific and I

e than the thing itself, for it is no exaggeration to say that at the end of the first week of November the spirits of the nation were at an exceedingly low ebb. There was a marked uneasiness as to the naval position. The successes of the Fleet had been achieved without fighting, and it looked as if, in the naval war, we were not only watching, almost abjectly, for the initiative of the enemy, but that we were unable to defeat that initiative when it was taken. The public therefore forgot that 98 per c

wanting circumstances that, superficially at least, looked as if the Admiralty's war plans and distribution of the Fleet were not adequate to their purpose. In at least one conspicuous instance, the resources of our enemy had been too great either for the means or the measures of our admirals. War had not been declared more than a day or two before the Goeben and Breslau made their way through the Mediterranean and escaped unengaged to the Dardanelles. The public knew that we had two powerful squadrons

d not say

great number of smaller craft. The second sweep seemed to show that the entire German155 Fleet had sought safety in port. Then the Carmania sank the Cap Trafalgar, and the Undaunted, with a small flotilla of destroyers, ran down and sank an equal flotilla of the enemy's. But these were not sufficient to

ger, one in mid-Channel, the other lying in the anchorage at Deal. And just when nervous people were wondering whether the mine and submarine had really driven the English Fleet off the sea, only to find that ports were not safe, there came the startling news that a German squadron had appeared off Yarmouth.... To many it looked as if this was the last straw. We had sacrificed four cruisers to patrol the neutral shipping in these waters, and when, almost too late, it was discovered that our methods mad

tuation, to overrate how cheering

hen certainly the Australian ship Sydney was the first to assert Great Britain's command over distant seas,

ry 1, but a good many other accounts had been published

reason to believe are required, is reproduced here. A second account, by another officer in the Sydney, has been sent to me so that it is possible to add some not uninteresting or unimportant details to Captai

S. Sydney,

h Novemb

A.M. sighted land ahead and almost immediately the smoke of a ship, which proved to be H.I.G.M.S. Emden coming out towards me at a great rate. At 9:40 A.M. fire was opened, she firing the first shot. I kept my distance as much as possible to obtain the advantage of my guns. Her fire was very accurate and rapid to begin with, but seemed to slacken very quickly, all casualties occurrin

p, which she did. I sent an armed boat and found her to be the S.S. Buresk, a captured British collier, with 18 Chinese crew, 1 English steward, 1 Norwegian cook, and a German Prize Crew of 3 Officers, 1 Warrant Officer and 12 men. The ship

signal books.' I then made in Morse 'Do you surrender?' and subsequently 'Have you received my signal?' to neither of which did I get an answer. The German officers on board gave me to understand th

AR

ney and Emd

5

own prize crew from Buresk, and 1 Officer, and stating I would return to their assistance next morning. This I had to do, as I was desirous to find out the condition of cables and Wireless Station

1 launch and 2 cutters had seized and provisioned a 70-ton schooner (the Ayesha), having 4 Maxims, with 2 belts to each. They left the previous night at six o'clock. The W

men and all wounded 'then as for such time as they remained in Sydney they would cause no interference with ship or fittings, and would be amenable to the ship's discipline.' I therefore set to work at once to transship them-a most difficult operation, and the ship bei

he rise and f

o land with stretchers to bring wounded round to embarking point. A German Officer, a Doctor, died ashore the previous day. The ship in the meantime ran over to Direction Island to

e Emden I can only approximately state the killed at 7 Officers and 108 men from Captain's statement. I had on board 11 Officers, 9 War

isingly small; in all about 10 hits seem to have been made

g hands and people under training it is all the more gratifying. The engines worked magnificently, and higher results than trials were obtained, and I

the honour

obedien

n C. T.

Capt

ays "her first shots fell well together for range, but very much spread out for line. They were all within twenty yards of the ship." Either the gun range-finders were marvels of accuracy, or else they had great luck in picking up th

sberg, whose guns both throughout the first and second day of that affair seem to have had the exact range of the monitors. This testimony to the accuracy of the enemy's fire must be read in connection with Captain Glossop's statement, that in all about ten hits

ch ranges a gun of so small a calibre as the 4.2 would have to be raised to a very high elevation. The projectiles, therefore, would fall very steeply tow

f larger pieces. Her cruisers therefore were armed with 4.2's when ours were being armed with 6-inch, and her battleships with 11-inch guns when ours were being fitted with 12-inch and 13.5's. In the case of battleships and battle-cruisers, the German constructors had their eye upon a further advantage in the adoption of lighter pieces. The weight saved could be put, and in fact was put, into a more thorough armoured protection. Von Müller, the captain of Emden, when he was congratulated, after the capture, on the gallant fight put up, was at first seemingly offended. "He s

as to bring the ballistics of his guns to an equality with ours, but to get Sydney within torpedo range. Sydney seems certainly to have fired a torpedo rather less than half-way through the action when the range was at its shortest. But as in the Heligoland affair, so here, the difficulties in get

he gun-layer (Atkins, 1st class Petty Officer) said, 'Shall I load, sir?'164 I was surprised, but deadly keen there should be no 'flap,' so said, 'No, don't load till you get the order.' Next he said, 'Emden's fired, sir.' So I said 'All right, load, but don't bring the gun to the ready.' I found out afterwards that t

ploded in the boys' mess deck, apart from ruining the poor little beggars' clothes, provid

d for the lost wardrobe by

in said, 'I don't really want them, but as they are keen I'll take them.' Now the action was only a week or two afterwards, but the two out of the three who were directly under my notice were perfectly splendid. One little slip of a boy did not turn

ion is reproduced by the kind permission o