I. THE VICTORY OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS.A

 

 

By Richard Wilson, Litt.D.

A From “The First Year of the Great War.” By Richard Wilson, Litt.D. (W. & R. Chambers¹.)

THE affair off Coronel put the heads of the British navy upon their mettle², and within forty days it was followed by a counter-stroke, complete and effective. Silently and with steady determination, preparations were made to deal with the Scharnhorst and her companions; and the man who was entrusted³ with the work was Vice-Admiral Sir F. C. Doveton Sturdee.

 

To the east of the southern portion of South America lies the British group known as the Falkland Islands. Due east of the large island called East Falkland, Sturdee’s squadron came within sight of Von Spee’s cruisers, the British admiral having been helped in finding the “quarry” by the clever wireless⁴ signalling of a lady and her servants who lived on the islands, and who were afterwards presented with valuable6 gifts by the British Admiralty as some slight acknowledgment of their timely help.

After the battle off Coronel, the Glasgow, along with the battleship Canopus, had put into the harbour of Port Stanley, in East Falkland. The former vessel⁵ had been damaged, but she was quickly repaired; and when Admiral Sturdee arrived from home, she took her place in his squadron, her officers and men being eager to set things right with the Germans. It was reported that Von Spee’s squadron was going to make a raid on the Falklands; but when he came round Cape⁶ Horn he found awaiting him eight British ships of war, and, so far as we know, this was a complete surprise to him.

At about half-past nine in the morning the Gneisenau and the Nürnberg drew near to Port Stanley Harbour with their guns trained on the wireless station. Between them and the harbour was a long low stretch of land running eastward⁷, behind which lay the Canopus. The surprise of the Germans must have been great when they were met by a smart fire across this low-lying land at a range of about six miles! The two ships stopped, considered, and turned away, hoisting⁸ their colours, however, as they did so. About the same time the Invincible⁹ sighted other hostile ships between nine and ten miles distant; and in a short time the British squadron was moving from the harbour towards the enemy’s five ships, which could7 be plainly seen to the south-east. The day was fine, with a calm sea, a bright sun, a clear sky, and a light breeze from the north-west.

The British vessels¹⁰ at once began a chase in extended order, and the hearts of our men must have been deeply stirred by the admiral’s simple signal, “God save the King!” One of the signallers afterwards wrote: “It was taken up and flung far and wide through space by each of the fleet in turn, until it seemed as though it would never cease. I consider it a privilege to have been one of the few to bear the signal.” A little after noon Admiral Sturdee came within suitable range of the five enemy ships, and decided¹¹ to attack with the Invincible, the Inflexible¹², and the Glasgow. How the officers and crew of the last-named vessel had longed for this happy moment!

The signal was given, “Open fire and engage the enemy,” and the Inflexible began the battle, followed a few minutes later by the Invincible. This firing was at a range of about nine miles—no opportunities for boarding here, cutlass in teeth, and pistols in both hands!—but the British gunnery was so good that three of the German ships turned away. Then the Glasgow, with the Cornwall and the Kent, gave chase. We shall follow their work when we have considered that of the heavier craft.

The Invincible engaged the enemy’s flagship, the Scharnhorst, and the Inflexible the Gneisenau,8 the fight being a running one, and the range varying from about eight to nine miles. Before long the German flagship took fire, lost one of her funnels¹⁵, and slackened her firing. “The effect of our fire,” writes Admiral Sturdee, “became more and more apparent in consequence of smoke from fires, and also escaping steam. At times a shell would cause a large hole to appear in her side, through which could be seen a dull red glow of flame.” Yet the German kept grimly on with her work.

The Gneisenau now gamely faced the Invincible and the Inflexible, but about 5 o’clock she lost one funnel¹⁴ and was on fire in several places. She continued, however, to reply to the British gunners with a single gun, until, an hour later, she suddenly heeled over and sank. Here is an entry in the diary of one of her officers: “5.10, Hit, hit! 5.12, Hit! 5.14, Hit, hit, hit again! 5.20, After turret¹⁶ gone. 5.40, Hit, hit! On fire everywhere. 5.41, Hit, hit! Burning everywhere and sinking. 5.45, Hit! Men dying everywhere. 5.46, Hit, hit!”

After this the officers had something else to do than make entries in a diary. Boats had been lowered from the Invincible and the Inflexible, life-buoys and ropes were thrown into the water, and about 300 men were saved, “including their captain—a tall man with a black beard.”

Meanwhile the Glasgow and the Cornwall had fought and sunk the Leipzig. Like the other9 German ships, she took fire fore¹³ and aft, and as the shades of night were closing in she turned over on her port side and disappeared. The Cornwall began to lower boats when the Leipzig was settling down, but the British Captain leant over the rail of the bridge and said, “It’s no good; she’s going.”

While this was going on the Kent was dealing¹⁷ with the Nürnberg, after a desperate chase with only a small amount of fuel to rely upon. When the engineers had done their best and worked up the speed well above the rate which the Kent could do “officially,” they reported that their coal was almost used up. Then the captain suggested that the boats might prove useful in such a case! No sooner said than done! The boats were promptly¹⁸ broken up, the pieces smeared¹⁹ with oil, and packed by the stokers into the furnaces.

This use of the boats had suggested other means of providing fuel, and soon the men were hurrying to the furnaces with officers’ armchairs, chests, ladders, and anything which would burn. So the speed limit was much further exceeded, the Nürnberg was caught and sunk, but not before she had put up a stiff fight. Fire was stopped on the Kent when the German hauled down her colours, and every preparation was made to save life. As the ship sank the British sailors saw a group of men waving a German ensign fastened to a staff. Only five10 Germans were rescued alive from the doomed²⁰ ship.

Only one of the German ships, the fast cruiser Dresden, escaped from the battle, the clouds which overcast²¹ the sky in the evening assisting her in getting clear away. The darkness closed in, but near midnight Admiral Sturdee received a message from H.M.S. Bristol to the effect that during the action two enemy transports had been destroyed near the Falklands, their crews being removed before the ships were sunk. So ended a memorable²² day in British naval²³ history.

 

1 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

2 mettle   

n.勇气，精神

参考例句：

• When the seas are in turmoil,heroes are on their mettle.沧海横流，方显出英雄本色。
• Each and every one of these soldiers has proved his mettle.这些战士个个都是好样的。

3 entrusted   

v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He entrusted the task to his nephew. 他把这任务托付给了他的侄儿。
• She was entrusted with the direction of the project. 她受委托负责这项计划。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

5 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

6 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

7 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

8 hoisting   

起重，提升

参考例句：

• The hoisting capacity of that gin pole (girder pole, guy derrick) is sixty tons. 那个起重抱杆（格状抱杆、转盘抱杆）的起重能力为60吨。 来自口语例句
• We must use mechanical hoisting to load the goods. 我们必须用起重机来装载货物。

9 invincible   

adj.不可征服的，难以制服的

参考例句：

• This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。
• The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致，他们就是不可战胜的。

10 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 inflexible   

adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的

参考例句：

• Charles was a man of settled habits and inflexible routine.查尔斯是一个恪守习惯、生活规律不容打乱的人。
• The new plastic is completely inflexible.这种新塑料是完全不可弯曲的。

13 fore   

adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部

参考例句：

• Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。
• I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。

14 funnel   

n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集

参考例句：

• He poured the petrol into the car through a funnel.他用一个漏斗把汽油灌入汽车。
• I like the ship with a yellow funnel.我喜欢那条有黄烟囱的船。

15 funnels   

漏斗( funnel的名词复数 )； （轮船，火车等的）烟囱

参考例句：

• Conventional equipment such as mixing funnels, pumps, solids eductors and the like can be employed. 常用的设备，例如混合漏斗、泵、固体引射器等，都可使用。
• A jet of smoke sprang out of the funnels. 喷射的烟雾从烟囱里冒了出来。

16 turret   

n.塔楼，角塔

参考例句：

• This ancient turret has attracted many visitors.这座古老的塔楼吸引了很多游客。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔楼攀登上了要塞的城墙。

17 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

18 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

19 smeared   

弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上

参考例句：

• The children had smeared mud on the walls. 那几个孩子往墙上抹了泥巴。
• A few words were smeared. 有写字被涂模糊了。

20 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

21 overcast   

adj.阴天的，阴暗的，愁闷的；v.遮盖，（使）变暗，包边缝；n.覆盖，阴天

参考例句：

• The overcast and rainy weather found out his arthritis.阴雨天使他的关节炎发作了。
• The sky is overcast with dark clouds.乌云满天。

22 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

23 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。