By nine o'clock the _Lion_ was within 11½ miles of the _Bluecher_. She fired a shot which fell short, but when the squadrons were ten miles apart she got her first blow home. Do you realize what this means? At ten miles the _Bluecher_ appeared no bigger than a pin point, and she was moving at the rate of thirty miles an hour across the sea. You will agree that the British gunnery must have been superb for hits to be made under these conditions.
Soon the _Lion_ overhauled the slow _Bluecher_, and in passing gave her a broadside which caused frightful damage. The _Lion's_ quarry, however, was further ahead; and as she began to engage the _Derfflinger_, the _Tiger_ began to hit out at the _Bluecher_. She also passed by, and the _Princess Royal_, the _New Zealand_, and the _Indomitable_ in turn turned their guns on the rearmost ship of the German line, while the leading British ships were engaging the foremost ships of the enemy. At half-past nine the situation was as shown in the diagram on the next page.
As early as a quarter to ten the _Bluecher_ began to show signs of the heavy punishment inflicted on her. It was now evident that she was doomed. She had been abandoned by her speedier consorts, and her end was only a matter of time. By eleven o'clock the _Seydlitz_ and the _Derfflinger_ were on fire; the _Bluecher_ had fallen behind, and was being mercilessly pounded by the _Indomitable_.
Meanwhile, the German destroyers had attempted an attack, but had been driven off by the British destroyers. Shortly afterwards the German destroyers got between the _Lion_ and the _Tiger_ and the leading enemy ships, and began to raise huge volumes of smoke, so as to screen the targets from the British gunners. Under cover of this smoke the Germans changed course, and made a half-turn to the north. Again the enemy destroyers attacked at close quarters, hoping to torpedo the _Lion_ and the _Tiger_. They were, however, driven off by the 4-inch guns of our battle cruisers.
[Illustration: The Sinking of the German Dreadnought "Bluecher," during the Battle of the Dogger Bank, fought on January 24, 1915.]
And now while the chase continues, we must return to the _Bluecher_, which had made a gallant fight, but was nearing her end. Ship after ship had turned its guns upon her with terrible effect: her upper works had been smashed to atoms, and practically every gun which she possessed had been put out of action. Shot and shell had rained upon her, and she was burning furiously.