The night was a bright
moonlight and for such vessels to be moving in line on such a night
without destroyers shows gross carelessness. Out of a crew of 800 men
only 201 were saved, and the rescue of this part of the crew was due to
the seamanship of Captain Pillar of the trawler Providence, who managed
to take most of those rescued on board his vessel.
On January 24th the German battle cruiser squadron under Rear-Admiral
Hipper set sail from Wilhelmshaven. What his object was is not known. He
had enlarged the mine field north of Helgoland and north of the mine
field had stationed a submarine flotilla. It is likely that he was
planning to induce the British fleet to follow him into the mine field,
or within reach of his submarines. That same morning the British battle
cruiser squadron under Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty put to sea.
According to the official report of the English Admiral he was in
command of the following vessels; battle cruisers, the Lion, Princess
Royal, the Tiger, the New Zealand, and the Indomitable; light cruisers,
the Southampton, the Nottingham, the Birmingham, the Lowestoft, the
Arethusa, the Aurora and the Undaunted, with destroyer flotillas under
Commodore Tyrwhitt. The German Admiral had with him the Seydlitz, the
Moltke, the Derfflinger, the Blucher, six light cruisers and a destroyer
flotilla.
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