VALPARAISO BATTLE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 197, 28 January 1915, Page 5

VALPARAISO BATTLE.

Vlfll) DESCRIPTION OF FIGHT. GERMANS' SUPERIOR GUN POWER. London December 11. A good personal story of the disaster to Rear-Admiral Cradock's squadron on November 1, has now come to hand from an officer of the cruiser Glasgow (which escaped). It appears that the Good Hope, the Monmouth, the Glasgow and the Otranto rendezvoused off the Brazilian coast and steamed south to the ''cold Tierra del Fuego, making down swoops upon wild and unsurveyed bays and places whither we had heard the enemy had gone to coal, etc., but failed to find them there, although we heard their secret and friendly wireless stations taking in code. The land round there is covered with ice and snow, and the many huge glaciers one sees are wonderful to behold.

"Well, after passing and repassing Cape Horn, sometimes twice in one day, we were glad to get orders to proceed north on the Pacific coast, and to warmer weather. By this time wo found that the two armored enemy's cruisers, Gneisenau and Scharnhorst were probably coming over from the Pacific Islands to join up with the cruisers Leipzig, Dresden and Nurnberg, as they had escaped the China and Australian squadrons. We ir ade a rendezvous further north for our colliers, and went into Coronel. We left Coronel for the second occasion about nine o'clock on November 1, and at about 4 p.m. sighted the enemy in full force: We put on speed and approached them until we made out four cruisers in line ahead, the two big armored cruisers leading. They, immediately gave chase,, so we 'hopped it' in the direction of out own ships. We advised the flagship by wireless, but the enemy continually usf.d their wireless in order to jam our signals. We first picked up the Monmouth and Otranto. ARRIVAL OF THE GOOD HOPE. "In an hour or so, the Good Hope, Admiral Cradock's ship, came up, and we wheeled into line behind her, and again approached the enemy; coming round to the south when about seven miles off. The sun, by this time, was getting low on our starboard beam; the enemy were to tlx; east of us, all proceeding south, they having the advantage both in guns and light; we being silhouetted against the horizon. Their strategical speed being equal to ours it was impossible to improve the lights before dark. I did not think he would engage until the next day. However, we were gradually closing. About-6.40 p.m. or so the foremost armored cruiser opened fire with her Bin guns, and shells shrieked over and short of us, some falling about 500 yards short, giving the impression of excellent shooting. Soon after the Otranto began to haul out of line and fall away to the' south-west, she not being fitted to fight men-of-war. We appeared to close a point or two, and at 7 p.m. opened fire. The enemy replied in rapid salvoes, making good and aedly shooting, mostly directed against our flag, and the Monmouth, our next ahead. There was not much doubt as to the result. f?helh continued to straddle us, some bursting overhead, throwing pieces of broken shell in all directions. About ten minutes after this the poor Monmouth sheered off the line to the westward, a hundred yards or so, when I saw her being hit heavily. She appeared to heel a bit and shake, her foremost turret (the Cin gun shield) in flames. She fell back again into line, and out again to ( the eastward, still firing her 6in intermittently. ' ' 1 THE FIGHT AND THE EXPLOSION. "Shortly after the Good Hope was seen to be on fire, also about the fore turret, and seemed to steer Or fall away to the eastward or towards the enemy. During this time we kept up a continual fire from the two Bin and port battery 4in guns in the direction of the foremost light cruisers of the enemy's line, but owing to the big sea, our rolling, and the gathering darkness, it was impossible to spot the fall of our shells. We could only fire at the flash of their guns, and when our heavy rolling allowed our gun-layers to see the flashes at alh About 7.30 p.m. I was stahding near the after 6in hand up when I felt a shell strike up below deck. It seemed to pass out through the other side, but didn't, and I awaited the explosion, expecting to see the deck planks lifted up, but nothing visibly occurred at the moment. "The Good Hope fell more awl more out of line to the eastward, burning brighly forward, when suddenly an explosion occurred about her after funnel, blowing up debris and flames and sparks some 200 ft. high or so, quite distinctly to be heard from our deck. Some of our" men thought it was the enemy's flagship, so near had she drifted towards them. Our speed during the action must have varied from seven or eight to 17 knbts or so, and whemthe Monmouth dropped back in her distress, we. had to cease in order not to meet the doses meant for lier. The enemy now dropped slowly back, and the armored cruisers directed their fire at ns. We continued alone to reply when possible. Everybody was remarkably cool, as if at practice. Another shell struck our No. 2 funnel, showing large holes around the casing. A MIRACULOUS ESCAPE. "I cannot understand the miracle ctf our deliverance; none will ever. We were struck at the waterline by in all five shells out of the 600 directed at us, but strangely not in vulnerable places, our coal saving us on three occasions—as we are not armored and should not be in battle line against armored cruisers. We had only two guns that would pierce their armor—the Good Hope's only two 9.2'5, one of which was out of action ten minutes after the start. A shell entered the captain's pantry and continued on, bursting in a passage, the fragments going through the steel wall of the captain's cabin,, wrecking it completely. Again no fire' resulted. "The Monmputh, no longer firing, steamed off to the north-west, and we stood by her signalling. She replied, 'I want to get stern to sea as I am making badly forward.' We followed close by. Shortly after I was on the flying bridge, when I spotted the enemy approaching in line abreast, the ship to the right or southward morsing with an oil lamp to the others. They were then about 6000 yards or more in the rain, mist and darkness. I told the captain, who gave me orders to bring them astern, and put on full speed. We drew out of range. The Monmouth was silent and hidden by our smoke. About half an hour afterwards we saw flashes of gun-fire and the play of a searchlight, which lasted a few seconds, then dieappeared. We went in a west northwesterly direction, coming gradually round to south, steering for Magellan Straits, in order to warn our old battleship, tlio Canopus,, who was coming up from the southward, to turn and run, She was near 200 miles away also, and we were some hours getting through to her, because of the continual jamming by the enemy's wireless. It would have been a useless and nedeless sacrifice of our own ship and the 370 lives to have remained and engaged the enemy's ships again alone; some 1600 lives had already gone in the Good Hope and Monmouth. Luckily, our engines and boilers were intact, and we 'vere able to push through the heavy seas at 24 knots, and got away to give an account of the action, and warn the Canopus, who, although no doubt she would have fought bravely, could hardly fight five ships successfully. We all thanked God for our miraculous escape aftet a very severe action against great odds."