Part 9 (1/2)

Quickly, however, the Russian vessels replied. Flame flashed continuously from the turret of the _Navarin_ and the port guns of the _Opricnik_ and the _Najezdnik_, while the search-lights were at the same time shut off.

At first the fire was very ineffectual, but gradually as the vessels crept closer to each other the encounter became more and more desperate.

The Russian torpedo boats _Vzryv_, _Vindava_, and _Kotlinj_ were immediately active, and the _Narcissus_ had a very narrow escape, a Whitehead torpedo pa.s.sing right under her bows, while one British torpedo boat, which at the same moment was endeavouring to launch its deadly projectile at the _Navarin_, was sent to the bottom by a single shot from the _Najezdnik_.

The combat was desperate and terrible. That the British had been already successful in surprising and sinking a torpedo boat and six of the hostile transports was true; nevertheless the number of Russian s.h.i.+ps lying there was much greater than the British Admiral had antic.i.p.ated, and, to say the least, the four vessels now found themselves in a most critical position.

The _Navarin_ alone was one of the most powerful of the Tsar's battles.h.i.+ps, and, in addition to the seven cruisers and nine torpedo boats, comprised an overwhelming force.

Yet the English wars.h.i.+ps held their own, pouring forth an incessant fire. Each gun's crew knew they were face to face with death, but, inspired by the coolness of their officers, they worked on calmly and indefatigably. Many of their shots went home with frightful effect. One sh.e.l.l which burst over the magazine of the _Lieut. Iljin_ ripped up her deck and caused severe loss of life, while in the course of half an hour one of the heavy turret guns of the _Navarin_ had been disabled, and two more Russian torpedo boats sunk. Our torpedo boat destroyers operating on the Channel seaboard were performing excellent work, the _Havock_, _Shark_, _Hornet_, _Dart_, _Bruiser_, _Hasty_, _Teaser_, _Ja.n.u.s_, _Surly_, and _Porcupine_ all being manoeuvred with splendid success. Several, however, were lost while sweeping out the enemy's torpedo boat shelters, including the _Ardent_, _Charger_, _Boxer_, and _Rocket_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SINKING OF H.M.S. ”AURORA” BY A TORPEDO: ”THE CRUISER ROSE AS IF SHE HAD RIDDEN OVER A VOLCANO.”]

But the British vessels were now suffering terribly, hemmed in as they were by the enemy, with sh.e.l.ls falling upon them every moment, and their decks swept by the withering fire of machine guns. Suddenly, after a sh.e.l.l had burst in the stern of the _Aurora_, she ceased firing and swung round, almost colliding with the _Narcissus_. Her steam steering-gear had, alas! been broken by the shot, and for a few moments her officers lost control over her.

A Russian torpedo boat in shelter behind the _Navarin_, now seeing its chance, darted out and launched its projectile.

The officers of the _Aurora_, aware of their danger, seemed utterly powerless to avert it. It was a terrible moment. A few seconds later the torpedo struck, the cruiser rose as if she had ridden over a volcano, and then, as she gradually settled down, the dark sea rolled over as gallant a crew as ever sailed beneath the White Ensign.

Immediately afterwards the _Navarin_ exchanged rapid signals with a number of s.h.i.+ps which were approaching with all speed from the direction of Hastings, and the captains of the three remaining British vessels saw that they had fallen into a trap.

The _Narcissus_ had been drawn between two fires. Both her funnels had been shot away, two of her broadside guns were useless, and she had sustained damage to her engines; nevertheless, her captain, with the dogged perseverance of a British sailor, continued the desperate combat.

With the first flush of dawn the fog had lifted, but there was scarcely sufficient wind to spread out the British ensign, which still waved with lazy defiance.

On one side of her was the ponderous _Navarin_, from the turret of which sh.e.l.ls were projected with monotonous regularity, while on the other the British cruiser was attacked vigorously by the _Najezdnik_. The _Narcissus_, however, quickly showed the Russians what she could do against such overwhelming odds, for presently she sent a shot from one of her 20-ton guns right under the turret of the _Navarin_, causing a most disastrous explosion on board that vessel, while, at the same time, her 6-inch breechloaders pounded away at her second antagonist, and sank a torpedo boat manoeuvring near.

Both the _Galatea_ and the _Hannibal_ were in an equally serious predicament. The enemy's torpedo boats swarmed around them, while the cruisers _Opricnik_, _Admiral Korniloff_, _Rynda_, and several other vessels, kept up a hot, incessant fire, which was returned energetically by the British vessels.

The sight was magnificent, appalling! In the spreading dawn, the great s.h.i.+ps manoeuvring smartly, each strove to obtain points of vantage, and vied with each other in their awful work of destruction. The activity of the British torpedo boats, darting here and there, showed that those who manned them were utterly reckless of their lives. As they sped about, it was indeed marvellous how they escaped destruction, for the Russians had more than double the number of boats, and their speed was quite equal to our own.

Nevertheless the British boats followed up their successes by other brilliant deeds of daring, for one of them, with a sudden dash, took the _Rynda_ off her guard, and sent a torpedo at her with awful result, while a few moments later two terrific explosions sounded almost simultaneously above the thunder of the guns, and it was then seen that the unprotected cruiser _Asia_, and the last remaining transport the _Krasnaya Gorka_, were both sinking.

It was a ghastly spectacle.

Hoa.r.s.e despairing shrieks went up from hundreds of Russian sailors who fought and struggled for life in the dark rolling waters, and three British torpedo boats humanely rescued a great number of them. Many, however, sank immediately with their vessels, while some strong swimmers struck out for the distant sh.o.r.e. Yet, without exception, all these succ.u.mbed to exhaustion ere they could reach the land, and the long waves closed over them as they threw up their arms and sank into the deep.

During the first few minutes following this sudden disaster to the enemy the firing ceased, and the _Navarin_ ran up signals. This action attracted the attention of the officers of the British vessels to the approaching s.h.i.+ps, and to their amazement and dismay they discovered that they were a squadron of the enemy who had returned unexpectedly from the direction of Dover.

The British s.h.i.+ps, in their half-crippled condition, could not possibly withstand such an onslaught as they knew was about to be made upon them, for the enemy's reinforcements consisted of the steel barbette-s.h.i.+ps _Gangut_, _Alexander II._, and _Nicolai I._, of the Baltic Fleet, the great turret-s.h.i.+p _Petr Veliky_, the _Rurik_, a very powerful central-battery belted cruiser of over ten thousand tons, two new cruisers of the same type that had been recently completed, the _Enara_ and _Ischma_, with three other cruisers and a large flotilla of torpedo boats. Accompanying them were the French 10,000-ton armoured barbette-s.h.i.+p _Magenta_, the central-battery s.h.i.+p _Richelieu_, the armoured turret-s.h.i.+p _Tonnerre_, and the _Hoche_, one of the finest vessels of our Gallic neighbour's Navy, as well as the torpedo cruisers _Hirondelle_ and _Fleurus_, and a number of swift torpedo boats and ”catchers.”

The captains of the British vessels saw that in the face of such a force defeat was a foregone conclusion; therefore they could do nothing but retreat hastily towards Newhaven, in the hope of finding the division of the British Coastguard Squadron which had gone there for the same purpose as they had rounded Beachy Head, namely, to destroy the enemy's transports.

Without delay the three vessels swung round with all speed and were quickly headed down Channel, while the remaining attendant torpedo boats, noticing this sudden retreat, also darted away. This manoeuvre did not, of course, proceed unchecked, the enemy being determined they should not escape. Signals were immediately made by the _Alexander II._, the flags.h.i.+p, and the _Petr Veliky_ and _Enara_, being within range, blazed forth a storm of sh.e.l.l upon the fugitives. The shots, however, fell wide, and ricochetted over the water, sending up huge columns of spray; whereupon the _Narcissus_ and _Galatea_ replied steadily with their 6-inch guns, while the heavy guns of the _Hannibal_ were also quickly brought into play.

In a few minutes the _Magenta_ and _Tonnerre_ with the _Alger_, _Cecille_, and _Sfax_, started in pursuit, and an intensely exciting chase commenced. The engines of the British vessels were run at the highest possible pressure, but the French s.h.i.+ps proved several knots swifter. As they steamed at full speed around Beachy Head towards Seaford Bay the enemy gradually overhauled them. The brisk fire which was being kept up soon began to tell, for all three retreating s.h.i.+ps had lost many men, and the scenes of bloodshed on board were frightful.

Eagerly the officers swept the horizon with their gla.s.ses to discover signs of friendly aid, but none hove in sight. All three s.h.i.+ps were weak, their guns disabled, with whole guns' crews lying dead around, and many of the officers had fallen. In strength, in speed, in armaments--in fact, in everything--they were inferior to their opponents, and they saw it was a question of sheer force, not one of courage.

They would either be compelled to surrender to the Tricolor, or deliberately seek the grave. With such a force bearing down upon them, escape seemed absolutely impossible.