A GALLANT NAVAL ACTION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17039, 25 June 1917, Page 8

A GALLANT NAVAL ACTION

FIGHT THAT WILL LIVE IN HISTORY.

The latest mails bring- news of the gallant naval fight in the English Channel on tne night ot April 20. The story of the engagomunt, compiled from tne accounts ot tne olhcers and men, has been made public in an official report It is an exc.ting and graphic story of a boarding encounter with cutlasses and bayonets, recalling tne days when wooden warships came together and the men fought on too decks. n^n 0 ? ri on patrol duty in the English Channel off Dover on the night ol April 20 came upon a flotilla of six German destroyers, and then ensued an encounter which will live long in the mstory of naval engagements. German destroyers were torpedoed and rammed; every gun aboard tua combatants was working, sweeping tne I decks ana tearing gaps in tiio sides or the i opposing crait. There was the locking to-g-etner of a .British and a German destroyer and the men touglit furiously in a hand-to-hand battle. German seamen of a rammed destroyer cninDea auoara one ot tne wnisa boats, and a nudsn.pman fougnt tnem back ILZ automatl ° PutoL Tney were kided oi driven again into the sea by Britisa biuejackets, who came to the midshipman's aid Xho Bntisn destroyers were the Swift and the .Broke, tne latter bedng «,mmanaed by Commander JS. U. K. livans, o f ££ arctic lainc. • Tnoy were steaming on a westerly course, it was intensely olrk, but calm, /ihe Swift sighted the enem/at 600 yards, and too Germans instantly opened hre. lUero were six German destroyers according to Gorinan prisoners. Ine fcwift repned, and tried to ram too leading enemy desuroyer yi lo missed ramming, dW enot tnrougn the Geiiuan imo uitsoauied, and in fcunuiig neatly torpedoed anotuer 'boat in tue enemy Imo. Agam tne Swift dashed at the leader whicn again eluded her, and fled, with the IJritish snip in pursuit. In too meantime toe Broke had launcned a torpedo at the second boat in the line, which mt toe mark and then opened iire with every possible g'un. ino remaining Uei-man boats were stolving furiously lor full speed. Xho Broke's commander swung round to port and rammed the third boat fair and square abreast the aiter-iunnel. .Locked togetner thus, the two boats fought a despurate hand-to-hand conflict. Ine Broke swept the enemy decks at point-blank range witn every gun from main armament to pompom, maxim, nfle, and pistoL Two other German destroyers attacked, and poured a devastating firo on the Broke wnoso loremost gun crews were reduced from 18 to six men. Midshipman Donald Gyles, although wounded in the eye, kept all the foremost guns m action, he himself assisting tho depleted crews to load. Wiule he was thue employed, a number of frenzied Germans swarmed ud over the Broko's forecastle out of toe rammed de- | stroyer, and, finding themselves amid the I- blinding flashes of forecastle guna, swept aft in a shouting mob. The midshipman, amid '. the dead and wounded of his own gun crews, and halfblinded by -blood, met the onset singlehanded with an automatic pistol. He was grappled by a German, who tried to wrest the revolver away.. Cutlasses and bayonets were among tho British equipment, in anticipation of such an event, and toe Gorman was promptly bayoneted by Seaman Ingleson. Tho remainder of the invaders, except two, who feigned death, were driven over the side, the two (being taken prisoners.

Two minutes after ramming the Broke wrenched herself free from her adversary, and turned to ram the last of the three remaining boats. She failed in this object, but in swinging around succeeded in hitting thp boat's consort on the stem with a torpedo. Hotly engaged with their two fleeing destroyers, too Broke attempted to follow the Swift, but a shell struck toe Broko's boiler room, disabling her main engines.

The enemy then disappeared in the darkness. Tho Broke, altering her course, headed towards a destroyer, which a few minutes later was seen to be heavily afire and whose crew, on sighting tho British destroyer, sent up shouts for mercy. The Broke steered slowly towards the German regardless of the danger irom a possible explosion of the magazines, and tho German seamen redoubled their shouts of "Save! Save 1" and then unexpectedly opened fire.

The Broke, being out of control, was unable to manoeuvre to extricate herself, but silenced the treachery with four rounds; then to insure. her' own safety torpedoed the German amidships. Meanwhile the Swift continued her pursuit, but slight injuries which she received earlier in the / action prevented her from maintaining full epeed, so she abandoned the chase and sought fresh quarry. Sighting the outline of a stationary destroyer, from which shouts were heard, tho Swift approached warily, with her guns trained, to find that it was the destroyer which had already been rammed by tho Broke. The Germans were bellowing, "We surrender." Fearing treachery, the Swift waited, and presently tho destroyer heeled over and sank stern first, the crew jumping into the water.

As no other enemy was visible, and tho action, which had lasted approximately five minutes, appeared to be over, the Swift switched on her searchlights and lowered boats to rescue the swimmers. Those who remained of the crews of the Swift and the Broke, after exchanging details of the action, cheered each other until they were hotdrse. '