Missouri Valley Times

Terrible Damage Said to Have Been Inflicted By Heavy Gun Fire of British Battleship Fleet.

MOST SPECTACULAR OF WAR

Survivors Tell of Awful Havoc Aboard the Kaiser's Fleeing Cruisers—Three English Warships Crippled.

London, Jan. 28.—That the German fleet which last Sunday made a disastrous attempt to raid the British coast sought to lure the British pursuers along a path lined with submarines is the belief generally expressed here. That the British fleet escaped without serious loss is little short of miraculous.

The British fleet however, did not come out of the battle unscathed. The Lion, Admiral Beatty's flagship, which led the pursuit had to be towed back to port by the Indomitable, her forward compartments having been flooded when a German shell penetrated her armor below the water line. The destroyer Meteor was towed back by the Liberty, both under strong escort. The Tiger also suffered some damage. The Princess Royal was practically unscathed. One officer and 13 men were killed and three officers and 26 men wounded.

Cheers Greet Flagship.

The British fleet has returned to home waters. The Lion was the last to arrive. She was greeted with vociferous cheers by the crews of the anchored warships which had preceded her into port. It was a spontaneous tribute to Vice Admiral Beatty and his flagship. It is said the damage to the ships can be quickly repaired.

From the standpoint of the spectacular Sunday's battle is in many regards the most thrilling of any since the war began. There can be little doubt that the surviving ships of the German fleet suffered terrible damage at the hands of British gunners, according to German blue jackets picked up from the wreckage of the lost armored cruiser Bluecher.

Story of a Bluejacket.

The Scotsman publishes today the narrative of a German bluejacket, a survivor of the German armored cruiser Bluecher, who once lived in the United States.

The bluejacket said the German fleet was advancing at full speed to attack the English coast when the British warships were sighted. Thereupon the Germans turned and made for port. The Bluecher, which was comparatively slow, made desperate efforts to keep up her maximum speed, but the British overhauled her and opened fire at a range of about 10 miles.

"We were under fire from first to last," the bluejacket continued. "The British centered their fire on us. This was awful. Our guns were put out of action. Our decks were swept and our gun crews wiped out.

"One terrible shell burst in the heart of the ship, where many men were killed. I saw five killed by one shell.

Finished by Torpedo.

"I do not know what finished the Bluecher, as she was full of holes, but I heard she struck a torpedo. If so, we can thank the torpedo for saving hundreds of lives from the murderous gun fire. When the ship was sinking, I jumped clear of her into the cold waters, which was full of dead and men with shattered limbs, who were crying for assistance. After being rescued by the British, we were warmed, fed and bedded."

The sailor is credited with saying that during the raid on Scarborough, men believed they were taking part in great naval action which was expected all over the North sea.

The Scotsman, which is published in Edinburgh, also prints other accounts of the battle as gathered from men engaged in it. They describe it as one of the greatest struggles in naval history and thrilling in every respect.

Grim 40-Mile Chase.

From the position of the German fleet when it was first encountered these men assumed that it is virtually certain its objective was Newcastle. The strength of the raiding squadrons was quickly ascertained and as the entire raiding force sheered off immediately after it was discovered, the chase was along one before the guns began their work.

For 40 miles the two fleets raced along over the shortest route for Helgoland before the guns did any real damage. Then the Lion, which was leading overhauled the slow Blucher and in passing gave her a broadside, using frightful damage. The Lion did not wait however, but continued in pursuit of the fleeing Derfflinger, Seydlitz and Moltke.

The Tiger, which came next also poured a broadside into the Bluecher as did also the Princess Royal; both of which were speeding on to join the chase of the others. It was evident at this time, according to the newspaper's informants that the Bluecher, abandoned by her swifter consorts, was a doomed ship.

The chase already had continued for two hours. The light German cruisers pluckily did their best to cover the fleeing battle cruisers until the task was hopeless, when they followed the example of the big cruisers and devoted their entire powers to getting away.

The bigger ships were now being steadily overhauled and pounded by the British cruisers. The Lion, which had overhauled and smashed a second cruiser in the German line, according to the men interviewed, saw that the fight was likely to be prolonged right up to the mine fields. The Tiger, Princess Royal and Indomitable, were now within range of the large vessels and the men in their interviews are credited with expressing the belief that they wrought terrible havoc on the German cruisers.

The fire of the Derfflinger and Seydlitz it is asserted grew weaker and weaker as the running fight proceeded.

"Within a half an hour's run of the mine area," said one of the men, "the Derfflinger was on fire. Masses of flames were sweeping her forward deck, her decks were strewn with wreckage of the shattered upper works, and when she reached the shelter of the mines she had no answer to give to the hail of projectiles which followed her home.

She must have suffered serious loss of life.

The third vessel in the line was believed to be the Seydlitz, but possibly was the Moltke. It suffered even worse. It came under the Lion's fire and besides received something from the fire of the Tiger, the Princess Royal and the Indomitable. She was in a terrible plight. One after another of her guns was smashed and put out of business, and there was great excitement among her crew. She was a silent ship, steaming desperately for shelter, with the whole of her after deck ablaze.

"Just at the close of the action the Arethusa fired a torpedo at the Bluecher, which took effect. Her crew leaped overboard as she suddenly heeled over. She sank steadily with a slight keel until her decks were awash and then with a sudden roar turned over and sank with her flag still flying. As her keel swung uppermost, scores of swimmers made for it, but that support soon was denied them, as the vessel went to the bottom.

Zeppelin Prevents Rescues.

"The British vessels now turned their attention to rescue work and large numbers of men were picked up. More might have been saved but for a new factor.

"From the direction of Helgoland came a huge Zeppelin and a number of aeroplanes, which began dropping bombs upon the destroyers, which were engaged in the work of rescue and which, therefore, had to abandon their task.

"Thereupon the aircraft followed the disabled ships homeward.

"A slight temporary derangement in the running gear on one of the British warships may have led the observers in the aircraft to the conclusion that great damage had been inflicted and given the Germans basis for their claim that destroyer had been destroyed.

"The vessels have come out of the fight bearing undoubted marks of the conflict, but in no case has the damage been other than slight."

Captain Erdmann, of the German armored cruiser Bluecher, which was sunk in the recent battle in the North sea, has been placed among the wounded, according to the Edinburgh correspondent of the Times. He is suffering from shock.

NORTH SEA BATTLE MOST SPECTACULAR YET FOUGHT

Harwich, (via London), Jan. 27.—A witness of the naval battle on Sunday in the North sea, who has returned here describes the sinking of the German armored cruiser Bluecher as a terrible sight.

The sea was covered with debris and men struggling for their lives.

When the British launched a boat to rescue the survivors a monoplane flew overhead and dropped bombs which prevented many of the drowning men from being taken out of the water.

One British destroyer was struck by a German shell, which pierced her boilers and put her out of action. She was towed to the east coast base for repairs.

Throughout the progress of the action, the British vessels were constantly attacked by German submarines, but British torpedo boat destroyers kept circling around and successfully warded off this danger.

All the men engaged described it as thrilling and the results from the British standpoint are reported to have been even better than announced by the admiralty. In addition to the destruction of the Bluecher, it is claimed that some German destroyers were sunk. It is believed that one of the two German cruisers damaged was the Derfflinger. One of them was in flames.

A German survivor admits that the objective of the German squadron was a port on the east coast of England.

Among the reports circulating here, but not confirmed is that a British destroyer sank a German submarine which was attempting to torpedo another of the destroyers.