Post by cv10 on Feb 25, 2018 20:18:07 GMT -6
To Commander-In-Chief North Sea
Sir,
During a routine heavy patrol of the North Sea on the night of the 13th, HMS Arethusa briefly made contact with an enemy at 23:14. This force was sailing due west towards the English coast. The commodore of the 5th Light Cruiser Squadron made the decision to investigate this contact further, and Arethusa and Cleopatra both proceeded to close in with the enemy contact. The two ships identified the Germans as being capital ships. Unfortunately, the enemy spotted them before any further information could be relayed, and a large force of German destroyers attacked both ships. In spite of giving good account of themselves, both ships were sunk in short order by a combination of gunfire and torpedoes.
The commodore of the 5th Light Cruisers immediately informed me of this, and I ordered that the 1st and 2nd Battlecruiser Squadrons, which were patrolling around Dogger Bank, to proceed North in order to locate and bring this enemy force to action. There was a lull in action until 9:06 when distress signals were received from Sunderland. The Army garrison there reported the coastal battery being under heavy fire from a German battlecruiser with a large screening force.
Upon receipt of this, the battlecruisers, along with the rest of my force that was at sea proceeded to a point several miles east of Sunderland. My belief was that Sunderland’s coastal defenses, which are heavier than most cities have due to the heavy guns of the railroad battery, could hold off the Germans until my force arrived. The plan was to try and trap the Germans in the gap between the two defensive minefields outside of Sunderland harbor, and pin them there between the Battlecruiser Fleet and Sunderland itself.
At 14:13, we arrived at our designated position just east of Sunderland, and were lucky enough to surprise the Germans, who were only then attempting to withdrawal. Initial sightings were limited to destroyers, but the German battlecruiser SMS Von Der Tann was spotted shortly thereafter. Due to the large number of German destroyers, I felt it prudent to have the battlecruiser stand off while the destroyers were sent in to have it out with the enemy destroyer force. While our screen and their screen dueled each other, the Von Der Tann was smashed by salvo after salvo of well-aimed gunnery, and by 15:43, was observed to be sinking.
The destroyer duel continued as the battlecruisers began to fire at the German light cruiser force. Our own light cruisers were able to mix in with the German destroyers, where their OF 4-Inch and 6-Inch guns devastated many a German destroyer. Unfortunately, HMS Phaeton and HMS Inconstant were both torpedoed, thought they managed to make port. However, all was not bad. In exchange for those two ships damaged and 3 of our destroyers sunk, we managed to sink 10 German destroyers and the light cruiser SMS Elbing, which was one of their most heavily armed light cruisers. After the last of the German forces were sunk or put to flight, the Battlecruiser Force returned to port, as I did not think it prudent to pursue torpedo-armed craft with capital ships in a night with poor visibility.
I would like to state my complete satisfaction with all of the ships under my command. In particular, the captains of HMS Phaeton and HMS Inconstant are to be commended for saving their ships despite heavy torpedo damage. Furthermore, the Japanese battlecruisers did particularly well in terms of accurate shooting, and it was primarily their shells that caused the SMS Von Der Tann to sink.
Respectfully,
Admiral Beatty
Sir,
During a routine heavy patrol of the North Sea on the night of the 13th, HMS Arethusa briefly made contact with an enemy at 23:14. This force was sailing due west towards the English coast. The commodore of the 5th Light Cruiser Squadron made the decision to investigate this contact further, and Arethusa and Cleopatra both proceeded to close in with the enemy contact. The two ships identified the Germans as being capital ships. Unfortunately, the enemy spotted them before any further information could be relayed, and a large force of German destroyers attacked both ships. In spite of giving good account of themselves, both ships were sunk in short order by a combination of gunfire and torpedoes.
The commodore of the 5th Light Cruisers immediately informed me of this, and I ordered that the 1st and 2nd Battlecruiser Squadrons, which were patrolling around Dogger Bank, to proceed North in order to locate and bring this enemy force to action. There was a lull in action until 9:06 when distress signals were received from Sunderland. The Army garrison there reported the coastal battery being under heavy fire from a German battlecruiser with a large screening force.
Upon receipt of this, the battlecruisers, along with the rest of my force that was at sea proceeded to a point several miles east of Sunderland. My belief was that Sunderland’s coastal defenses, which are heavier than most cities have due to the heavy guns of the railroad battery, could hold off the Germans until my force arrived. The plan was to try and trap the Germans in the gap between the two defensive minefields outside of Sunderland harbor, and pin them there between the Battlecruiser Fleet and Sunderland itself.
At 14:13, we arrived at our designated position just east of Sunderland, and were lucky enough to surprise the Germans, who were only then attempting to withdrawal. Initial sightings were limited to destroyers, but the German battlecruiser SMS Von Der Tann was spotted shortly thereafter. Due to the large number of German destroyers, I felt it prudent to have the battlecruiser stand off while the destroyers were sent in to have it out with the enemy destroyer force. While our screen and their screen dueled each other, the Von Der Tann was smashed by salvo after salvo of well-aimed gunnery, and by 15:43, was observed to be sinking.
The destroyer duel continued as the battlecruisers began to fire at the German light cruiser force. Our own light cruisers were able to mix in with the German destroyers, where their OF 4-Inch and 6-Inch guns devastated many a German destroyer. Unfortunately, HMS Phaeton and HMS Inconstant were both torpedoed, thought they managed to make port. However, all was not bad. In exchange for those two ships damaged and 3 of our destroyers sunk, we managed to sink 10 German destroyers and the light cruiser SMS Elbing, which was one of their most heavily armed light cruisers. After the last of the German forces were sunk or put to flight, the Battlecruiser Force returned to port, as I did not think it prudent to pursue torpedo-armed craft with capital ships in a night with poor visibility.
I would like to state my complete satisfaction with all of the ships under my command. In particular, the captains of HMS Phaeton and HMS Inconstant are to be commended for saving their ships despite heavy torpedo damage. Furthermore, the Japanese battlecruisers did particularly well in terms of accurate shooting, and it was primarily their shells that caused the SMS Von Der Tann to sink.
Respectfully,
Admiral Beatty