The new _Arethusa_ was now about to prove herself worthy of her ancient renown.
Behind the destroyers, and a little to the south-west of them, was the Seventh Cruiser Squadron. To the north-east of the destroyers lay the First Light Cruiser Squadron, and Sir David Beatty's Battle Cruiser Squadron, consisting of the _Lion_, _Queen Mary_, _New Zealand_, and _Invincible_.
The submarines near Heligoland were the decoy ducks. They were probably first sighted by a German seaplane, and shortly afterwards a number of German destroyers, two cruisers, and some submarines came out from behind the island to attack them. When our submarines saw them they and their attendant destroyers fled westward, and the German destroyers followed them, and thus were drawn away from the island into the open sea. Soon, however, they sighted the British flotillas bearing down on them from the north-east. Then they turned tail and tried to make for home; but our destroyers and the two cruisers altered their course to port, so as to cut them off. For about half an hour the _Arethusa_ and the destroyers were engaged with the German destroyers; but at 7.57 a.m. two enemy cruisers, one with four funnels and the other with two, appeared, and the nearest of them, the one with two funnels, was engaged. She was the _Ariadne_, and the other was probably the _Strassburg_. Both of them attacked the _Arethusa_, and for about a quarter of an hour she received the heavy fire of both ships. Then the _Strassburg_ turned her attention to the _Fearless_, and left the _Ariadne_ to cope with the _Arethusa_.
During the action the _Arethusa_ was hit many times, and was much damaged. All her guns were out of action except one 6-inch gun, with which she replied to the enemy's fire. About 8.15 one of her shells wrecked the forebridge of the _Ariadne_, whereupon she turned tail and made for Heligoland. Meanwhile the _Fearless_ had driven off the _Strassburg_, and the destroyers had sunk the German commodore's destroyer, and had damaged some of the others. With that humanity which has always distinguished British seamen, the destroyers lowered their boats and attempted to save the lives of the German sailors struggling in the water. While engaged in this work of mercy a German cruiser fired on them, and two of the boats could not be picked up. Later on, when these open boats were twenty-five miles from the nearest land, and that land the enemy's fortress, with nothing but fog and foes around them, they were wondrously saved. "Suddenly," writes an officer, "a swirl alongside, and up, if you please, pops His Britannic Majesty's submarine E4, opens his conning tower, takes them all on board, shuts up again, dives, and brings them home 250 miles! Is that not magnificent? No novel would dare to face the critics with an episode like that in it, except, perhaps, Jules Verne; and all true."