Coronel and Falkland by Pitt Barrie

Author:Pitt, Barrie [Pitt, Barrie]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, mobi
Publisher: Sharpe Books
Published: 2018-07-24T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

THERE was once a young man of Cape Horn, who wished he had never been born, and had he been present in Port Stanley at about half-past eight on that Tuesday morning, 8 December 1914, he would — according to Lieutenant-Commander Verner — have merely been one among many. At this time it appeared to officers and men of Admiral Sturdee’s command that they were in a most awkward situation.

Both Invincible and Inflexible still had colliers alongside from which they had each managed to whip aboard but four hundred tons of coal (about one seventh of their capacity) and although Carnarvon, Glasgow and Bristol had managed to take aboard their quota, the last two were right inside the inner harbour (where, moreover, Bristol had her fires drawn for boiler repairs) and Carnarvon in the outer harbour still had her decks stacked with coal, which in an immediate action could cause more casualties among her own crew than enemy ammunition. Cornwall, Kent and Macedonia had not even begun coaling, and the first-named had an engine opened up at six hours’ notice.

The squadron was thus hardly in a position to repel a determined attack from an enemy of proved fighting ability and courage — and should that enemy press home the attack to the very mouth of the harbour, then the position of the British ships inside would be precarious indeed.

Even when it was realized that the main body of the enemy was twenty miles away and his nearest force still eight miles distant, there was good reason for alarm, for only Glasgow, Kent and Macedonia were not right in the middle of some vital operation and of these only Glasgow could be counted fit and ready for an extended sea action. Even she would need two hours to develop full steam pressure.

The look-out on Sapper Hill had first seen the smoke and then the masts of the approaching Gneisenau at 7.35 a.m. By 7.45 a.m., Canopus had received the message ‘A four-funnel and a two-funnel’ man-of-war in sight steering northwards’ by telephone from the post, and as Canopus was screened from the flagship by low hills, Glasgow was used as repeating ship. The battle-cruisers being both fully engaged in coaling, Captain Luce of Glasgow ordered a gun fired at 7.56 a.m. to draw attention to the signal ‘Enemy in sight’ flying from his halliards, and a few moments before eight o’clock, the flag lieutenant aboard Invincible burst in upon Admiral Sturdee as he was shaving, to tell him the momentous news.

According to one unconfirmed report, Admiral Sturdee replied with the traditional, ‘Then send the men to breakfast’. Whether he did or not, there is reason to believe that little food was consumed aboard the ships of his command during the ensuing hour. Disbelief that the enemy would come so obligingly to meet them, thus saving them all a long and probably wearisome search, was followed first by astonishment at the apparent good luck which was attending the squadron, and then almost immediately by a startled consideration of whether the good luck was, in fact, on their side.

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