GRAND AND TERRIBLE.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15669, 6 June 1916, Page 7

GRAND AND TERRIBLE.

DREADNOUGHTS IN ACTION, TERRIFIC GUN-FIRE. A VIVID DESCRIPTION. (Received June oth, 9.20 p.m.) LONDON, June 5. "The Scotsman" publishes tho narrative of an oye-witnes:-. in which it is said:— "We fought what ill its way was a great fight, alchongh it was not a 'sailors' battle.' Both the grand and the terrible were ;>ieso:;t in an almost overwhelming degree. As a spcetr.cl'.' it was maynificonl and awful—how awful it was impo-siblo to say until tho fever of action surging through every nerve and fibre of the body had subsided, and until the guns were silencod and our great ship?, some battered and others uh.-xluiel;." untouched, ploughed their way homo. A THRILLING MESSAGE. "I will never forget the thrill which passed through tho ships of the Grand Fleet when the inspiring message came from the Baltle-cnri.sor Squadron: 'I am engaged with heavy forces of tho enemy.' Tho cffcet was clectrical. Eagerness, suppressed excitement, and absolute confidence could be read as the men wont about thoir duties with a vigour borne of a r.ow hope. The great ships swung into battle order as, doing ail the speed we knew, we raced fo;- enemy waters, the men at their stations, r;rirn and silent, and the guns pointing menacingly ahead. GOING INTO ACTION. "As wo drew near tho scene of action and the sound uf the guns ceaselessly drifting down to us the- keenness of the men was almost unbearably intense. It was a blessed relief when our guns gave tongue. The ships went into action as if in manonivres. From every yardarm tho W hito Ensign Hew. We passed a long line of German ships some miles away, and fired broadside after broadside. The air was heavy with masses of smoke, black, yollow, and green, hiding sometimes friend and sometimes foe. The enemy ships were firing very fast, but their shooting was decidcdly erratic. Repeatedly salvoes of shells fell far short of the mark, followed by others which screamed past high in the' air. STUNNING AND STUPENDOUS. "I watched the Iron Duke swing through tho seas, letting off broadside after broadside, wicked tongues of flume leaping through tho clouds of smoke due to the battle. It was stunning and stupendous as hundreds of the heaviest guns in tho world gave tongue simultaneously. Groat masses of water rose, like waterspouts, mast-high. Now and then an enemy shell found its mark. APPALLING SIGHTS. "One of the many sad sights was that of a destroyer half a mile away badly hit, which sent a message, 'I am in a sinking condition,' but there was none to help. "It was impossiblo to see what was happening to the enemy. Occasionally the wind lifted the smoke-cloud. At one timo I saw two vessels red with fire. A fellow-officer remarked. 'These beggars are done for, anyhow.' Wo ' knew our own losses with sonic exactness; but even these wero uncertain, At ono time it was thought that tho Lion'was lost, as she failed to answer a call. It transpired that her wireless had been elestroyed. THE DESTROYERS ATTACK. "With dusk camo tho mosquito crafts, and the opportunity both sides used to the full. Ono of our destroyers dashed for tho enemy ships and loosed her torpedoes with deadly effect. A German battleship was sunk by a destro.ver, which raced to safety. The commander and his officers wero on the bridge indulging in congratu- ! lations when a shell hit tho bridge J with dreadful effect. "It was curious to note the effect on the sea, calm at the beginning. The water soon looked as if a gale was raging, so great- was tho turmoil caused by the ploughing of the leviathan ships. 'ITie water also seemed stiff with the fish killed by the bursting of shells, thousands floating list- I l.essly everywhere." I

STORIES OF ' EYE-WITNESSES. " STUPENDOUSLY AWFUL." LONDON. June 4. In a further interview, the skipper of the trawler John Brown states that while fishing off tho Banks at 2 o'clock on Wednesday afternoon, his position being latitude oCJdeg. North and longitude 6ideg. East, ho saw to tho south-eastward a huge German fleet steaming in line, ahead, west-north-west. There were at loast fifty ships of all descriptions., including Dreadnoughts. An hour later he saw the British Fleet coming from the north-east. He altered his course to get eastward of the Germans. The first shot was fired at 4.10 p.m. and a cannonade began at 4.30. Great columns of smoke arose from two ships, probably Germans, who were now due east of the trawler. The British Fleet, though greatly outnumbered, altered its course, evidently trying to cut off the Germans from Heligoland. The Germans then came westward, apparently because they saw a fast British vessel dash out of the line, and feared that British reinforcements wero coming. These arrived in sight at 7 o'clock, and the Germans began to withdraw towards Heligoland. The action was general from 7 o'clock to 11 o'clock, when a star shell was fired. The British swept past southward at 2 o'clock in the morning. The trawler saw more British destroyers and submarines tearing southeast at 6 o'clock on Thursday morning, evidently to reinforce the others. AMSTERDAM, June 4. The captain of the Elbing refused to bo interviewed, ard merelv remarked that the battle had been the most terrible he had ever dreamed ofThe skipper of the vessel which rescued the Germans, declared that it>

ths an unforgctable and stupendously iv.-ful sight, like an carihquako at sea. Hoth sides fought- with, tho utmost gallantry. Shit)> sank under the terrible fire, tho heroic crews waving flaps ns thrv were sinking, and singing thoir National Anthems. Eleven men rescued from the Fraucnlob, who have arrived at the Hook or Holland, f.tate that the Frauenlob was engaged from 7 o'clock to 10.30 o'clock. After that she was engaged with great violence until midnight, and was torpedoed in her engineroom an hour later. Nineteen of tho prow reached a raft, but the remainder wore clrowned. Nine died on the raft.