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"There has been a fierce debate amongst military historians as to when the Second Battle of Crecy Forest ended and the Second Battle of the Somme began. The consensus that has emerged in recent years is that Second Crecy Forest ended with the destruction of the British 2^nd Infantry Division on May 14 and Second Somme began the very next day."

------Ingenohl's Glory, Augustine Wolf

------Phoenix Park Dublin 0915 hrs

Another rifle company from the 1^st Dublin Battalion arrived in Phoenix Park as reinforcements just before Maj. Rommel awoke and tried to convince himself that he was already half recovered from his wound. To demonstrate his hypothesis he orchestrated an attack using the new arrivals and the Daimler armored car to link up with his forces inside Kilmainham Gaol. The first attempt failed due in part to the defenders becoming well enough acquainted with the armored car by now to realize its limitations. Greatly annoyed Rommel quickly planned a second attack that involved a liberal use of the improvised bombs Ziethen's pioneers had fashioned. Some of the Irishmen using these bombs blew themselves up along with a few comrades, but enough had sufficient success to eject the Royal Irish Riflemen from their positions.

Rommel had begun to worry about ammunition. Roughly 800 of his men were armed with the Mannlicher rifles that Childers had landed at Howth. There were reports from all of the Dublin battalions that they had either exhausted their ammunition for these weapons or were down to their last few rounds. At the opposite end of the spectrum they had an ample supply of captured .303 rounds for the Lee-Enfields. Somewhere in between was the ammunition situation for the Moisin-Nagant rifles had brought to Dublin.

Rommel made his way to Kilmainham Gaol taking care not to give British snipers a shot. After dark he intended to deposit the prisoners captured at Phoenix Park inside the gaol. He ran into the Countess Markievicz and Pound. "How is Mr. Yeats?" asked Rommel.

"He is doing just fine, Major. We do not have a rifle for everyone so we decided it was best to arm him only with a pistol. His real weapon is his verse, of course," answered the Countess, "You will be happy to know that he has already composed a poem in your honor. He would be more than happy to recite it for you. He really does appreciate all that you have done for us."

"I would like very much to hear it but it will have to wait until later. Right now I want to interview some of those men from Monaghan again. I think Herr O'Duffy was on to something."

------Waterford harbor 1005 hrs

The motor launch of the Friedrich der Grosse had just deposited Sir Roger Casement at the mouth of the Suir River where it headed to Waterford harbor. Casement had preferred to have come ashore at either Cork or Kinsale but Adm. von Ingenohl had decided it would be at Waterford. Casement sensed that von Ingenohl despised him and was glad that he wasn't given a life preserver and told to swim to land. As the launch had approached the quay Sir Roger's emotions were jumbled. He was glad that Operation Unicorn seemed to be doing much better. In the planning for Operation Unicorn numbers like 75,000 and 80,000 had been tossed around willy-nilly by both Plunkett and Devoy as the likely size of the Irish rebellion. Casement in his heart had thought those numbers to be overly optimistic. When only a small fraction of that materialized in the first week of the rebellion Tirpitz had repeatedly railed at Sir Roger for deceiving him. This had changed since Dublin exploded but nevertheless Casement was glad to be away from Tirpitz. He was also glad to leave Friedrich der Grosse and the painfully obvious hostility of von Ingenohl.

He who sows the wind reaps the whirlwind kept reverberating in Sir Roger's mind. What have I done? he kept asking himself. When he arrived at the docks he notified the Irish Volunteers guarding it who he was. They ran off and fetched their leader, one of those young Irish Brigade majors. While they did so Casement noticed some men in strange uniforms milling about on the docks. Sir Roger strongly suspected that they were part of the Austro-Hungarian division.

"Sir Roger Casement, I am Major Heinz Wendel, the commander of the Waterford Battalion," said the Irish Brigade major as he extended his hand, "It is an honor to finally meet you. I have heard that without you this operation would have never happened. Welcome back to Ireland!"

Casement took Wendel's hand and shook it vigorously. There were tears in Sir Roger's eyes. They were tears of joy. They were tears of sadness.

------Madrid 1030 hrs

Leon Trotsky had begun his first speech of the day an hour earlier. Not far from where he spoke a crowd gathered to hear another speaker prompted from what they read in leaflets that had been handed out since dawn. The speaker was Maj. Gen. Miguel Primo de Rivera. Some other officers had been making political speeches lately---as long as the opinion expressed was not unpatriotic Spain tolerated political expression by its officer corps more than most European counties. However Primo de Rivera would be the first general to speak publicly about de Valera and the "Irish situation".

"Citizens of our great kingdom, if I might have your attention, please. Our great country has recently been blessed by the presence of a remarkable man. His name is senor Eamon de Valera, an Irishman but with some Spanish ancestry. He has been an eloquent advocate for the plight of the Irish people, who have suffered for centuries under the yoke of the British heretics. Now we learn to our great sadness that he been placed under arrest. The government has been ominously silent about why he has been arrested and what they intend to do with him. We must demand a full disclosure of what they have done and what they plan to do with him in the future. Is this brave man from Ireland being persecuted simply for telling the truth? Most of you are acquainted with abomination of justice which the British perpetrated on James Connolly. Are their provocateurs behind the arrest of de Valera? "

------Sligo city 1130 hrs

The 1^st and 3^rd battalions of the North Ireland Regiment continued to fight off attacks by the 1/7^th battalion Highland Light Infantry. The Highlanders did manage to take the telephone exchange though at a sizable cost in casualties. They failed in their two attempts to take their most important objective, the railroad station. Meanwhile the North Ireland Regiment continued to attack R.I.C. stations into northern half of the county. These yielded mixed results. Sometimes the constables were easily overwhelmed. Sometimes they abandoned the stations in motor vehicles. But sometimes they held out stubbornly. When that happened Maj. Schirmer had instructed his company commandants to be content to cordon out the pockets of resistance. The German experience in Ireland was that on those less than frequent occasions when the R.I.C. did resist fiercely they would sometimes abruptly surrender later once they realized that they were trapped and had lost hope that a British relief force would arrive soon.

------Phoenix Park (Dublin) 1145 hrs

Gen. Egerton had become increasingly dissatisfied with the situation inside Phoenix Park, so he decided to reinforce BGen. Lowe with the 1/7^th Battalion Royal Scots. The determined Scottish counterattacks slowly pushed the Irish rebels back in the western portion of the park but suffered heavy losses and were unable to reach the Magazine Fort.

In the rest of Dublin fighting continued at the South Dublin Union and to the south of Trinity College where the Lowland Division struggled to establish a secure line of communication to its artillery, which intermittently shelled the G.P.O. The number of dead and dying bodies littering the streets steadily rose. Hungry dogs would sometimes try to eat the corpses. Most of the noncombatant population had abandoned the city.

------HQ British Ireland Command Curragh (Kildare) 1150 hrs

Gen. Hamilton had spent much of the morning discussing how to best deploy the 11^th (Northern) Division with his chief of staff, Gen. Braithwaite. Sir Ian now had Gen. Wilson, the commander of the VI Army Corps on the telephone. "About a half hour from now, Gen. Wilson, the transport vessels carrying much of the 11^th Division will begin arriving at Belfast and will promptly start off loading. Gen. Braithwaite and myself had fully expected the Lowland Division to have completely eliminated the Dublin Rebellion by now but to our profound disappointment that is not the case despite our many repeated exhortations to Gen. Egerton. Dublin is crucial to our line of communication esp. with the rebels now controlling many important communication centers in Connaught. While there is some small signs of progress at Dublin Gen. Egerton does not foresee an end to the fighting there before dark and warns that he expects at least portions of the enemy to still be fighting tomorrow morning. So my decision is that except for one battalion we are sending to counterattack the rebels in County Leitrim, the 11^th Infantry Division will be moved by rail from Belfast to Drogheda from which it will march south to Dublin. If there is any stubborn embers remaining in Dublin tomorrow morning the additional strength of the 11^th Division will ensure that they are speedily extinguished.

"I cannot fathom why the Papist vermin have been able to frustrate as for as long as they have, sir," answered Wilson over the telephone.

"There are several factors at work. For one it now seems we apparently underestimated the sheer size of the enemy in Dublin. I believe our estimate of the rebel strength early Monday was accurate but we did not take into consideration a large number of late arrivals. Furthermore we also badly underestimated just how mind numbing difficult it is to fight inside a crowded urban setting."

"Bah! Most of that was because we were unnecessarily squeamish about using artillery inside the city."

"Only partially true, general. For one thing, we are finding shrapnel shells not as decisive as expected in this tactical situation. The only high explosive shells we had at Dublin were only a few howitzers rounds. And there were other problems in Dublin such as the sudden appearance out of nowhere of a German led rebel battalion all the way from Kerry."

"Yes, yes. That mysterious spook battalion that miraculously pops up whenever one of our generals desperately needs a convenient excuse for failure, sir."

"Tone down the sarcasm, general," ordered Hamilton with some annoyance, "though admittedly I too have some doubts about all these remarkable stories I have been hearing about this Major Rommel. But instead of trying to justify our lack of progress at Dublin, I am more inclined to hear how West Riding Division's attack into Clare is progressing."

"The redeployment is progressing according to schedule, sir. The 109^th Brigade will be making a thorough reconnaissance of the Clare border this afternoon and establish the attack position before nightfall. After dark the West Riding Division will fall into position alongside them. .The main attack will begin an hour before dawn tomorrow. I expect to reach the first objective, the Ennis-Tulla-Scariff line in five hours and take the German 10cm guns west of the Shannon before noon. We should be inside Limerick in the late afternoon. If the Naval Division is as worn down as I've been repeatedly told the end should come quickly."

"Excellent! With enemy resistance eliminated in both Dublin and Limerick and rest of the 11^th Infantry Division arriving tomorrow, we shall then be able to concentrate five divisions against the Germans in Cork by Tuesday."

"Hmm. Do we have any reliable intelligence about the size of the German second wave, sir? Do we know if any of it has any of it landed so far?"

Hamilton's sigh was audible over the telephone, "Yes and no. There is some intelligence that some German infantry landed at Kinsale. I hesitate to call this intelligence reliable though."

"Might I ask why, sir?"

"Well, for one thing it is claimed that it wasn't just Germans coming ashore at Kinsale but also some Austrian troops as well. While that is certainly not impossible I find it rather unlikely."

------SMS Moltke SSE of Youghal (Cork) 1230 hrs

After cruising off the coast of Cork during the morning, 1^st Scouting Group had returned to Kinsale before noon where it rendezvoused with the 5^th TB Flotilla which had finished coaling there. Hipper then ordered the 4^th TB Flotilla into Kinsale to coal. He then proceeded south to once again become the linchpin of the High Seas Fleet's scouting force. Meanwhile off Cork and Kinsale the Nautilus laid protective mine fields augmenting the thin fields Kolberg had laid during the night.

------Listowel (Kerry) 1250 hrs

Hans Schultz had been a Bavarian oberfeldwebel when he was selected to become part of the Irish Brigade with a temporary rank of captain. He was 41 years old and bit pudgy unlike most of the lean and mean types in the Irish Brigade. Schultz was a devout Roman Catholic and spoke good English which helped him get into the Irish Brigade as his service record was not as exceptional as most of the other members. He had been told that he would be commanding companies of Irish Volunteers. Initially he did command a company of the 2^nd Kerry Battalion and had participated in the Battle of Rathmore as part of Hell's Brigade. There were not enough majors in the Irish Brigade to command every I.R.A. battalion and so when the small 5^th Kerry Battalion was formed Capt. Schultz was chosen to lead it.

Schultz arrived at Listowel in a motor car to assume command. He was expecting to meet a Lt. McAndrews I.R.A., who had previously commanded the unit. Instead he was greeted by a woman in a uniform. Schultz knew very well that there were some Irish women who wanted to fight in their war of independence. The German officers were not very comfortable with this but gravitated towards something of a compromise trying to limit these bizarre females to performing support roles---medical, supply, communications and the guarding of prisoners. Schultz had seen several of these women in the support company at Tralee and had slowly come to accept this policy.

The woman approached and saluted crisply. "Capt Schultz. I am SSgt. Bridget Donahue."

That name is vaguely familiar Schultz told himself while returning the salute Oh, yes, I recall some brief mention of her by Commandant Stack. She assisted McAndrews while he was recovering from his wounds. "I am pleased to meet you, Sgt. McAndrews. You are something of an assistant to Lt. McAndrews, yes? Do you know where he is right now?"

"Yes, captain, he is with most of the battalion which is now marching towards Abbeyfeale in accord with the telegram we received three hours ago. Am I correct that you were notified of these orders before you left Tralee?"

"Uh, yes. I was told. I had assumed the battalion would wait until I arrived before departing."

"We were not explicitly told to do so, sir. We thought it best to get moving as soon as possible. We left a single platoon behind here to wait for you and sent the rest marching on their way. Now that you are here my plan---uh, I mean Lt. Andrews plan--- is to split the platoon. Half will remain here to tend to the wound, guard our prisoners and maintain order. The other half will escort you to Lt. McAndrews and the rest of the battalion."

"Hmm. I see nothing wrong with this plan. Good initiative on Lt. McAndrews' part. I take it that you are going to be one of those remaining here, yes?"

"Oh no, sir, on the contrary I am going to be leading the half platoon that will escort you."

Capt. Schultz was momentarily taken aback by Mother Superior's tone of voice which while properly respectful---in fact considerably more so than most male I.R.A. soldiers he had encountered---subtly implied that this matter was her decision to make. Part of him briefly wanted to overrule her and insist that she remain behind at Listowel. A Prussian would almost certainly do that he told himself but we Bavarians are a more flexible lot. This strange woman evidently knows a great deal of what is going on. That is why she wasn't sent to the support company.

"I see. Well then, how soon before the half platoon can move out, Sgt?"

"Ten minutes at most, captain."

"Excellent! As we are catching up with the rest of the battalion you can give me a preliminary briefing so I will be prepared when I finally meet up with Lt. McAndrews."

------HQ British Second Army 1405 hrs

Sir John French decided to pay Gen. Plumer a visit. "Things have been rather quiet this morning," French told Plumer, "As I suspected the Huns must have worn themselves out and need to recover their spent strength. They have hurt us but we inflicted a heavy price on them in return. I feel that this augurs well for your next attack."

Plumer shook his head slightly, "It was indeed quiet at dawn, sir, but in the last 4 hours the German artillery have begun a relentless shelling of IV Army Corps from multiple directions. The intensity of this bombardment is too much for our own guns to suppress. It is now clear than the German Sixth Army has shifted at least a major portion of their heavy artillery to the east. As we have discussed in the past the jagged salient that IV Corps currently occupies leaves them dangerously exposed to enfilading shell fire."

There had previously been a trace of warmth on the Field Marshal's face. It now disappeared. "We have discussed this before, Gen. Plumer. Must I remind you that this issue is a big reason why Gen. Smith-Dorrien no longer commands Second Army."

"I am well aware of that Field Marshal, but with all due respect I feel it is my duty as an officer compels me to once again propose moving IV Army Corps to a less exposed position."

"As I recall from our previous conversations on this topic, moving to a less exposed position means surrendering roughly 5 square miles to the Germans. Gen. Foch visited me last night. He made it abundantly clear to me that prime minister Clemenceau is most unhappy with the amount of what he likes to call 'sacred French soil' we have relinquished in the last month. He went out of his way to remind me that we promised Gen. Joffre to make no further withdrawals in exchange for the 2 French infantry divisions which are now assisting us."

"It is a mere 5 sq. miles of Picardy farmland with no strategic importance, sir! I can pare the withdrawal down to a little less than 4 sq. miles if that would make the politics any easier."

"There is to be no withdrawal by IV Army Corps! It is bad enough that we may be moving First Army behind the Somme in the next week."

"Yes, I could see where that withdrawal would make a great deal of sense."

"I did not ask for your opinion on that topic, Gen. Plumer. Gen. Haig is studying that option in detail and will be forwarding me his recommendation in the next few days."

"Uh, I have the utmost confidence that Gen. Haig will quickly reach the most logical conclusion, sir."

"What he decides will depend in large part on the success of your next attack, general. If you can completely clear the line of communication to First Army I see no compelling reason for them to withdraw behind the Somme."

"I will try my very best to do that, sir. That is one reason I wanted to pull back IV Army Corps as it would shorten my front releasing additional battalions for use in the attack."

"I have heard that argument before and do not want to hear it again. Is that clear, general?"

"Very clear, sir. When can I expect more supplies and hopefully some replacement troops?"

"As you are well aware the Admiralty froze all departing ships in port when they learned that the German battle fleet was heading this way. And from what I've been told it is not just the Channel and the mouth of the Thames, but all of England, Wales and the west coast of Scotland as well. And from what I've learned from the Admiralty this condition will remain in effect for at least 2 more days, maybe longer. I was instructed not to share that tidbit with either the French or the Belgians. Foch asked me about it and I said I didn't know. However the Admiralty is making one exception. A convoy carrying supplies and some replacement troops will depart Newhaven less than 2 hours from now. They will be escorted to LeHavre by most of Dover Patrol plus Harwich Force. The supplies and reinforcements will be reaching you tomorrow morning. I know you think more highly of night attacks than Haig. Do you think a late afternoon attack today followed by a night attack is feasible?"

Plumer sighed inaudibly, "With all due respect, Field Marshal, I cannot give a proper answer to that question without more information. For instance, just when in the morning and how much ammunition will be delivered? Weather needs to be factored in as well as the latest intelligence about enemy dispositions."

French waved his right hand dismissively, "Yes, yes. My staff will provide you with the pertinent information. If you do not find tomorrow morning to be feasible that is your decision but then I must insist on an attack late tomorrow. Is that clear?"

"Yes, perfectly clear, sir."

------Jebwabne (East Prussia) 1345 hrs

The attack of the Russian Twelfth Army continued to make slow progress against the outnumbered German defenders. The attackers only had a line of strong points to overcome and then they would be in open territory. As they made their attack Brigade Grossman began arriving at the scene after a hard march from Allenstein. These were part of the Woernitz Division, a temporary division which was the reserve for Army Detachment Stoltz. These were surprisingly good soldiers for members of a temporary division and they distinguished themselves in throwing back the first wave of Russian assaults on the strong points.

As this was going on another element of the Woernitz Division, the 2^nd Guard Landwehr Foot Artillery Battalion positioned itself with remarkable speed and was in place to help defeat the second wave of Russian attacks. After that news reached his HQ, Gen. von Plehve reluctantly accepted that he would not achieve a complete rupture of the German entrenchments this day, esp. as some of his batteries had completely exhausted their ammunition and his warplanes were reporting that the Germans were already hard at work digging new trenches to the north. The cavalry division he had standing by in close reserve to exploit a complete German collapse was told to dismount. Unable to expand the depth of their advance the Russians tried to expand its breadth and fighting continued in spasms on the flanks until dusk.

------north of Blarney (Cork) 1425 hrs

The attack of the British 29^th Brigade soon became too much for the 2^nd Chevauleger Regiment to stop. One squadron tried to harass the enemy flanks while the rest fell back towards Blarney. There they were joined by the 3^rd Battalion 4^th Foot Guard and the West Limerick Battalion. There was a single battery of 15cm howitzers supporting thee units but they were very low on shells.

Two British battalions rapidly marched down the main road. The 15cm howitzers spent their last shells on the lead battalion, then they began withdrawing to the relative safety of Cork. Additional ammunition was one of the invaluable supplies aboard the troopships. Their bombardment was too brief to devastate the British battalion but it did cause some casualties and forced it to disperse leaving the road. After that it became an infantry battle. At the beginning of the war the Prussian Guards had been too eager to seize the initiative and had suffered needlessly on several occasions. They had learned that lesson and were content to hold their position this afternoon. They had not been used as intensely as the 6^th Bavarian Infantry Division since coming to Ireland at the Kaiser's insistence and so they still possessed an effective strength of just under 700 men. The battalions of the British 29^th Brigade had been steadily worn down during the protracted siege of Limerick. They had become tougher in the process but they were still not as hardened as the Prussian Guards who stopped the attack with the help of Chevaulegers and the Irish Volunteers. As the British attack petered out additional reinforcements arrived for the Germans in the form of 2 rifle companies belonging to the 1^st Cork City Battalion.

Another battalion of the 29^th Brigade further the east did succeed in putting some pressure on the left flank of the 6^th Bavarian Division which further discouraged Gen. von Gyssling from attempting to advance further against the Welsh Division during the afternoon.

------Navan (Meath) 1435 hrs

Despite the increased enemy strength inside Phoenix Park Rommel had scraped together enough motor vehicles to carry 180 men. Taking the armored car with them to lead the way he drove up Navan Road to the town of Navan in County Meath. There was a fairly large company of Irish Volunteers at Navan. In what was the usual pattern the R.I.C. had arrested the company commandant and confiscated most of the company's firearms soon after the Germans had landed. Since then there had been confusion as to who was charge of the company. There was also an influx of some disaffected Redmondites. A new commandant had been chosen a few days before Dublin had erupted but was also arrested by the R.I.C. leaving the company leaderless again. Since the rising started in Dublin a fifth of the company had on their own initiative made their way to Dublin in dribs and drabs.

Rommel personally led his force of Irish Volunteers in the attack on Navan. He quickly captured the town incl. the local R.I.C. station. There was another small contingent of constables that were holding out in two buildings but they were pinned down. Most of the rest of the local Irish Volunteers company were now being assembled. The town was being scavenged for petrol and food. Rommel had brought 50 Moisin-Nagant and 10 Lee-Enfield rifles plus 20 shotguns with him to arm the locals. He now faced a difficult decision. Before becoming part of Operation Unicorn, Rommel had only commanded small units. Since landing in Ireland he found himself commanding ever larger formations. Now here in Dublin he was commanding a good sized brigade and often there was too much action for Rommel to handle personally.

This raid on Navan was only a preliminary step in Rommel's plan but the next phase would take him even further from Dublin and there was much going on in Dublin that he thought required his personal attention. Most of the men that Rommel had brought to Navan were from the 5^th Dublin Battalion, though some were those who had fought with O'Duffy in Monaghan. Rommel reluctantly decided he would trust Tom Ashe, the commandant of that battalion, to carry out the next phase of the operation.

"Commandant Ashe, I have decided that I must return to Dublin. I plan to leave in the next half hour," Rommel told him, "You know what this mission is about, but I want to go over with you in detail what I want you to do after sunset."

------SMS Pillau Celtic Sea heading south 1438 hrs

The Pillau's captain and the commander of 4^th Scouting Group gazed anxiously through their binoculars. A minute earlier his lookouts reported first one and two ships approaching from the southwest. "They are definitely British cruisers, admiral," remarked the skipper.

The commodore lowered his binoculars and scratched his chin as he confessed with a deep sigh, "Alas, my aging eyes are not as strong as they once were. We need to determine if they are armored or light cruisers. But either way they are trouble. I will want all of my cruisers to raise steam for flank speed immediately."

"Jawohl, kommodore."

------HMS Duke of Edinburgh heading NNE 1439 hrs

Admiral Bayly had deployed the 5 cruiser squadrons under his command in a broad arc about 40 nm ahead of the battle squadrons. The 1^st Cruiser Squadron was on the far right of the scouting formation. The commander of the 1^st Cruiser Squadron, Rear Admiral Archibald Moore had split the squadron in half. The port group consisted of Devonshire and Donegal. The starboard group consisted of Black Prince and the Duke of Edinburgh, his flagship. "Order Devonshire and Donegal by searchlight and wireless to turn 15 degrees to starboard and increase their speed to 21 knots," Adm. Moore decided, "After that we shall notify Adm. Bayly of our discovery."

------SMS Moltke heading south 1449 hrs

Adm. von Hipper and his chief of staff, Capt. Raeder had received and decrypted the wireless report from Pillau. "We should not intercept these British cruisers directly, admiral but should instead try to circle around and try to cut off their line of retreat, admiral" Raeder suggested.

The admiral puffed on his cigar and considered the suggestion. It did not take long for him to decide, "Yes, I heartily concur with that suggestion."

------HMS Iron Duke heading north 1454 hrs

"It has begun," Adm. Bayly admitted to Adm. Madden, his chief of staff, "If we really do feel it is best to avoid a fleet action at this time then we should strongly consider turning around right now, eh?"

Madden was unsure how to respond to this. For much of the morning Adm. Bayly had demonstrated a deep ambivalence about the wisdom of engaging the German battle fleet. A series of wireless transmissions from the Admiralty merely suggested that Adm. Bayly seek an opportunity for a tactical advantage while reiterating that the admiral had freedom of action and should demonstrate "prudent judgment". Madden reflected how very different this was from Utsire where there was still a considerable amount of Nelsonic confidence and boldness floating in the air. "It now appears that we are less likely to sneak up on the Huns and take them by surprise, sir."

"Ah, so are you saying that we should turn away and head for Devonport because our chance for victory has vanished?"

"Uh, not at all, sir. That was one merely aspect of our plan. I think we can still make this work. For instance, there remains the possibility that most of the German screen is coaling."

"That is true but I do worry that the German battle cruisers will chew up our scouting forces. I still cannot believe the Admiralty dispatched Inflexible to North America."

"So then should we turn back, sir?"

"No. I did not come all this way to now run away with my tail between my legs. Signal the battle squadrons to turn 30˚ to starboard. Also send a wireless message to the other 4 cruiser squadrons telling them to turn 30˚ to starboard and to increase their speed to 21 knots."

------SMS Friedrich der Grosse heading SSW ½ S 1457 hrs

"These armored cruisers are almost certainly part of the scouting force for the Grand Fleet," Grossadmiral von Ingenohl told Vizeadmiral Richard Eckermann, his chief of staff.

"First Scouting Group should be able to handle them easily, admiral" answered Eckermann, "We should be able to dominate their scouting forces with 1^st Scouting Group which in turn should grant us an important tactical advantage at the start of the main fleet engagement."

The man many were calling the German Nelson waved his hand dismissively, "That is very speculative at best. What is not speculative is the weakness of my screen. We only brought 5 flotillas with us to Ireland. Two are coaling leaving us with only three present for this possible engagement. Our flotillas proved useful in the early phase of Dogger Bank and critical during the decisive phase of Utsire. Not only do we now lack that potent sword but we do not have enough screen to protect ourselves from a determined enemy torpedo attack."

------L.10 Killarney (Kerry) 1459 hrs

Having been provided insufficient advance notice the Zeppelin shed at Killarney was not fully ready when the L.10 had arrived and had trouble servicing the airship. Adm. von Ingenohl had wanted it out scouting in the Celtic Sea more than 2 hours earlier but only now was it able to get airborne. It continued to cause many of the local citizens to stare up at it in amazement.

------HMS Duke of Edinburgh heading 20˚ 1506 hrs

The 1^st Cruiser Squadron was chasing the German light cruisers. Devonshire and Donegal had just arrived and were following 2500 yards behind. Lookouts had begun reporting a mass of smoke to the east a few minutes ago. Now they could see at least 2 new ships SSE. Admiral Moore had a hunch as to who they were and did not wait for identification. "Flags! Hoist signals for a simultaneous 12 point turn to port."

------SMS Moltke steaming southwest 1512 hrs

Adm. von Hipper had countered 1^st Cruiser Squadron's evasive turn by ordering a 2 point turn to starboard and an increase of speed to 25 knots. Moltke's 28cm guns now commenced firing on Black Prince at a range of 18,100 yards. There was some mist and haze building up and the two more distant British armored cruisers were very difficult to observe effectively. Derfflinger opened fire on the Duke of Edinburgh a minute later. The 9.2" guns on the armored cruisers lacked the range to respond. Adm. von Ingenohl had repeatedly stressed the importance of not wasting ammunition while they were so far from Germany. While von Hipper had detected some defeatism underlying this advice he also saw some wisdom to it. He therefore ordered Von der Tann to temporarily hold its fire.

------HMS Iron Duke 1515 hrs

Informed by wireless of 1^st Cruiser Squadron's predicament, Adm. Bayly immediately ordered the Grand Fleet to turn another 35˚ to starboard and increase its speed to 17 knots. "I am worried that the battle cruisers could do grave harm to our armored cruisers before we can rescue them," Bayly admitted to Madden, "For that reason I want the 4^th Destroyer Flotilla to increase its speed to 28 knots, intercept the German battle cruisers and make a torpedo attack. This should cause the battle cruisers to turn away long before our presence will. Not only will this help 1^st Cruiser Squadron but nearly as important it will delay and maybe even prevent the Germans discovering our presence, position and course. I will leave it to you to work out the optimum course for the 4^th Destroyer Flotilla."

"Yes, Admiral, I shall see to immediately. Hopefully with a determined attack we can put a fish or two into the Hun battle cruisers."

Bayly wagged a finger while shaking his head slightly, "While that would indeed be most lovely, I want to make it perfectly clear that I do not wanting them pursuing the German battle cruisers if they do indeed turn away. This is true even if the battle cruiser do not have any destroyers with them."

------HMS Black Prince heading SW 1517 hrs

Moltke scored its first hit on the Black Prince which was already having serious trouble sustaining 21 knots. The 28cm SAP shell struck the cruiser's 6" belt well above the waterline. It failed to penetrate but drove in the armor plates sharply which allowed some seawater to leak in.

-----HMS Duke of Edinburgh heading SW 1520 hrs

Derfflinger scored its first hit on the Duke of Edinburgh. The 28cm SAP shell exploded amidst the after concentration of 3 pounder guns disabling 5 of the weapons and causing 19 casualties.

------SMS Moltke heading SW 1536 hrs

Adm. von Hipper ordered a change in the fire distribution of 1^st Scouting Group as his lookouts and gunners were now getting a better view of Donegal. Moltke shifted her guns to Donegal which was now within range. Von der Tann took up the shelling of the Black Prince which had fallen behind the Duke of Edinburgh.

------HMS Duke of Edinburgh heading SW 1537 hrs

A 30.5cm APC shell from Derfflinger knocked out the aft 9.2" port wing turret of the Duke of Edinburgh.

------HMS Donegal heading SW 1539 hrs

Moltke scored its first hit on the Donegal, which passed through the aft smokestack without exploding.

------HMS Duke of Edinburgh heading SW 1541 hrs

A 30.5cm APC shell from Derfflinger penetrated the cruiser's 6" belt armor at the waterline and exploded in the port engine room. Her speed soon fell off eventually falling below 16 knots which caused her to fall behind Black Prince again. Her 9.2"guns were now within range of the enemy and firing back though two of the guns had been knocked out of action.

------HMS Devonshire heading SW 1547 hrs

Devonshire's 7.5" guns started to shell Moltke which in response shifted her guns to targeting Devonshire having only scored 3 hits on Donegal.

------SMS Moltke heading SW 1552 hrs

"Admiral! British torpedo boats are approaching at high speed from the southwest," came the reports from the lookouts. Adm. von Hipper lifted his binoculars, "Hmm, I think I see one maybe two small cruisers with them acting as flagships."

"We should order 4^th Scouting Group and the 5^th Torpedoboat Flotilla to engage them immediately, admiral," said Raeder.

Adm. von Hipper took another glance through his binoculars then lowered them. He took out a cigar and lit it. "Hmm. Let us not be so dogged in our pursuit of the British armored cruisers that we badly weaken our own screen and risk getting one of our ships torpedoed. More important than finishing off these cruisers is finding the enemy battleships. Therefore we shall turn away in a few minutes after we are close enough to rake the enemy flotilla with our secondary batteries. I also want this ship's main battery to switch to the largest cruiser in the new formation which is very probably the flotilla flagship."

------HMS Sparrowhawk 1557 hrs

A 15cm shell from Derfflinger exploded in the forward boiler room of the destroyer, Sparrowhawk. The flooding it caused soon extinguished the most of the boiler fires, but was not enough to sink her. Losing steam she very awkwardly fired both her torpedo tubes at the German battle cruisers then withdrew from the flotilla.

------HMS Caroline 1559 hrs

A 28cm SAP shell from Moltke burst amidships wrecking one of Caroline's 4" guns and killing the gun crew. It also started a small fire that was quickly extinguished.

------HMS Mastiff 1600 hrs

Seconds after firing one torpedo at the German battlecruisers, the mainmast of the destroyer Manstiff was hit by a pair of 15cm shells from Moltke. One of these exploded squarely in the bridge where it killed or mortally wounded everyone incl. the captain and started a modest fire. It also jammed the rudder for a few minutes. Eventually control of steering was regained but only from the after steering compartment. The other shell wrecked the wireless station and also started a medium sized fire.

Meanwhile the flotilla leader Faulknor and 2 of the 3 divisions of the 4^th Destroyer Flotilla each fired a single torpedo with the exception of Sparrowhawk which had fired both of its tubes on account of its heavy damage. The destroyers were also laying down a smoke screen to protect the badly battered 1^st Cruiser Squadron. Derfflinger's had hit the Duke of Edinburgh 17 times with 30.5cm shells as well as scoring some 15cm shells in the last few minutes. She was down by the stern and listing badly to port rendering her guns ineffective. It also had several fires. The Black Prince had been hit 19 time by 28 cm shells. She was also listing to port as well but not as severely as Duke of Edinburgh. Her fires though were very bad and were interfering with her ability to fight back.

------SMS Moltke heading NNW1626 hrs

The 1^st Scouting Group had circled back after the 4^th Destroyer Flotilla had called off their attack using the smoke screen laid by the British destroyers in order to help 1^st Cruiser Squadron to mask their own maneuver. Despite some gradual deterioration in the visibility in the last half hour the lookouts had first spotted a large mass of smoke. They could now see the 2^nd division of the 5^th Battle Squadron on the far right of the Grand Fleet's cruising formation. A wireless message was quickly sent to Adm. von Ingenohl. Meanwhile von Hipper and Raeder watched the enemy battleships through his binoculars. "They look to be predreadnoughts, admiral," commented Raeder.

"Yes, and if my memory serves me well, I believe can outrange the British predreadnoughts. Flags! Signal an 8 point turn to starboard in succession. Once the turn is completed slow to 22 knots and commence firing."

------HMS Agamemnon course 335˚ 1628 hrs

The 2^nd Division of the 5^th Battle Squadron consisted of the flagship, Agamemnon followed by Irresistible, London and Formidable. The rear admiral aboard Agamemnon now gave the order for his battle division to commence firing on the German battle cruisers.

------HMS Iron Duke course 335˚ 1630 hrs

Adm. Bayly had been informed of 1^st Scouting Group's attack on his right flank. "Forming line to starboard would be downright foolish in this situation. The German battle cruisers are already in position crossing our 'T' when we come out of the maneuver. I know there are only 3 of them but if we then turn our line parallel to them it will take too long for our dreadnoughts to come into play. In the meantime they have demonstrated that they can outrange our predreadnoughts."

"Forming line to port is the better option, sir," replied Madden, "We would be moving away from the battle cruisers."

"Not much better. They could still badly harass our rear. No, our best option is to send the 4^th Destroyer Flotilla back to drive them off again. While that is going on we need to find the High Seas Fleet. If they are close by as I suspect we shall need to make some extremely important decisions quickly."

------HMS Moltke heading ENE1631 hrs

Raeder watched with some alarm as British shells exploded off the battle cruiser's port bow. "Admiral clearly we are within range of the British guns," he informed Adm. von Hipper excitedly.

"Yes I can see that. However the salvoes directed at Derrflinger and Von der Tann fell considerably short and the enemy has given up firing at them. The lead vessel appears to be a Lord Nelson class and its guns have a longer barrel than the others."

The frown remained on Raeder's face, "We could try to open the range a little more, admiral."

"No. The visibility is barely adequate at this range. We shall fight as long as we can from this range. I do not expect we will be allowed to do this for long."

------HMS London course 65˚ 1633 hrs

A 28cm SAP shell from Von der Tann struck the deck amidships and penetrated the deck armor exploding almost immediately. Shell fragments damaged the port engines, but without causing any flooding. Her speed soon dropped and eventually she struggled to make 15 knots.

------SMS Moltke 1634 hrs

Agamemnon's 12" guns scored their first hit on Moltke which detonated inside her superstructure, destroying an 8.8cm gun and causing 4 casualties. This hit caused Moltke to shift its 28cm guns from Irresistible to Agamemnon, so it would cease having the advantage of not being fired on.

------SMS Friedrich der Grosse heading 180˚ 1635 hrs

"It looks like we stand a good chance to catch the Grand Fleet in cruising formation again, admiral," Adm. Eckerman told Adm. von Ingenohl.

"Perhaps. At least it is worth a try but we should not count on it. What is more probable is that it now appears that we will enjoy a significant advantage in visibility. That is what justifies our engaging the enemy battle line. Flag officer! Hoist signals for a 1 point turn to starboard in succession and an increase in speed to 18 knots."

------HMS Formidable course 65˚ 1636 hrs

A 30.5cm SAP shell fired by Derfflinger penetrated the roof of the battleship's forward 12" turret. The shell exploded inside wrecking the turret.

------SMS Moltke 1639 hrs

Lookouts had begun reporting a flotilla of British destroyers off the port bow approaching rapidly. "So this is the British response---or at least its initial phase. Apparently we did not hurt the British flotillas enough before. We should correct that mistake, yes?" declared von Hipper to his staff, "But first we must take care not to get ourselves torpedoed. Flags! Signal a simultaneous 16 point turn to starboard."

------HMS Duke of Edinburgh heading 220˚ 1642 hrs

"Admiral, the flooding of the machinery spaces continues to worsen. Based on what my engineers have told me I now believe that there is a very serious risk that this ship will capsize in the next hour. I respectfully suggest you transfer your flag as soon as possible, sir."

This came as no surprise to Adm. Moore. Despite slowing to 11 knots the list of Duke of Edinburgh had steadily worsened. "Agreed. Signal Devonshire to come about and prepare to receive me."

------SMS Yorck heading 180˚ 1643 hrs

The 3^rd Scouting Group consisting of the armored cruisers Yorck and Prinz Heinrich were deployed 11,000 yards ahead of the High Seas Fleet currently cruising at 18 knots the same as the battleships. Their lookouts now reported 2 vessels to the west. These vessels were identified as enemy cruisers heading either north or NNE at high speed. On account of the decrease in visibility the range was reported as somewhere around 16,000 yards. The aggressive commander of 3^rd Scouting Group, Kontreadmiral von Rebeur-Paschwitz promptly relayed that information to von Ingenohl but before waiting for a reply ordered a 10 point turn to starboard in sequence with his cruisers to commence firing as soon as they came out of their turn. Finally he ordered speed increased to 20 knots even though he knew Prinz Heinrich would have trouble sustaining it.

------HMS Caroline heading 1644 hrs

A 30.5 cm SAP shell from Derfflinger exploded inside the middle funnel uptake. It extinguished the fires of 5 of the cruiser's 8 boilers. This soon slowed the warship to 23 knots. Meanwhile splinters from a near miss in the same half salvo riddled its bow. The 4^th Destroyer Flotilla had only fired 6 more torpedoes in its latest attack before realizing that the German battle cruisers were turning away. After this the fighting intensified. The 4^th Scouting Group engaged one of the divisions of the 4^th Destroyer Flotilla then the half flotillas of the 5^th Torpedoboat Flotilla each took on a division.

------HMS Galatea heading 25˚ 1646 hrs

While 1^st Scouting Group was busy chasing 1^st Cruiser Squadron the other scouting elements of the Grand Fleet remained unhindered except for the steady decrease in visibility. The commander of the 1^st Light Cruiser Squadron, Commodore Edwin Alexander-Sinclair had split his squadron in half with one half consisting of his flagship Galatea accompanied by Inconstant and to the NNW the other half was Cordelia and Royalist. Both halves were currently steaming at 26 knots.

"Ships to the east!" came the report of the lookouts.

"How many? What type? What course?" asked the commodore as he raised his binoculars to look for himself. Before his question was answered the commodore saw orange flashes.

"Commodore! The enemy have opened fire! Look there."

Alexander-Sinclair turned to where the enemy vessels were. Could they be the German battle fleet? The more he looked the more he doubted that. For one thing he could only discern only 2 vessels. "This is not the enemy battle fleet," the commodore told his staff, "But it could be a sign that they are nearby. We must press on until we find them. The fate of the Empire is on our shoulders!"

------SMS König heading 180˚ 1648 hrs

The commander of the 3^rd Battle Squadron, Vizeadmiral Reinhard Scheer stared at the approaching British cruisers. "Our gunners should now have a good enough view of the enemy. They may commence fire," he ordered.

------HMS Galatea heading 25˚ 1649 hrs

There were more orange flashes. They came more to the north than the gun flashes of the German cruisers. By the light of the flashes it soon became apparent there was at least a squadron of dreadnoughts to their east. "Notify Adm. Bayly by wireless immediately!" ordered Alexander-Sinclair, "Flag officer! Signal a simultaneous 8 point turn to---"

As the commodore was speaking he was rudely interrupted a 21cm SAP shell from Yorck exploding inside Galatea's mainmast. A sizable splinter from this shell penetrated the bridge where it ricocheted off the walls. Mercifully no one on the bridge was hurt though most were startled. "As I was saying signal a simultaneous 8 point turn to starboard and an increase to 28 knots," said Alexander-Sinclair after a deep breath.

------HMS Faulknor 1650 hrs

A 28cm HE shell from Moltke struck the flotilla leader 3' above the waterline slightly abaft the mainmast. It knocked out the electrical power and started a large fire. It also allowed seawater to seep into the forward fire room.

-------HMS Inconstant 1651 hrs

A 30.5cm SAP shell smashed into the stern of the cruiser Inconstant, exiting the hull below the waterline without exploding. It did not disrupt the steering gear but soon flooded the magazine of the aft 6" gun.

------HMS Cordelia 1653 hrs

The other half of the 1^st Light Cruiser Squadron could now see the German 1^st Battle Squadron. The bridge crew of Cordelia and Royalist soon began to see bright orange flashes as well.

------HMS Iron Duke course 335˚ 1655 hrs

"Ah-ha! Adm. von Ingenohl is obviously trying to catch us in cruising formation, just as he caught Adm. Jellicoe and yourself at Utsire," Adm. Bayly told Adm. Madden.

"Aye, but this time we have ample warning, sir. We could even try to cross their 'T' if we form line to starboard and then turn to port immediately after forming line."

Bayly shook his head vigorously, "That would put 5^th Battle Squadron in the van. We would not be firmly in place across their bows but racing against faster warships to try to cross them. The Germans can easily counter by turning a few points to port and then we'd have a very short range battle between their van, which will almost certainly be their best dreadnoughts, and the predreadnoughts of 5^th Battle Squadron. Their battle cruisers would soon come into play to bring additional firepower against our van. The damage to London's engines adds to our list of problems. The alternative of simply forming line to starboard and engaging line in parallel lines is actually better but the Germans would enjoy superior visibility for a long time."

Madden scratched his chin, "We could form line to port and engage them on a reciprocal course, sir."

"Yes, that does indeed look to be our best option. We pass by them bringing our most powerful warships into action first and then curl around the rear of their line. That would permit us to concentrate firepower on their rear while moving into the superior visibility that lies to the east. Furthermore we would cut them off from their base in Cork. As an additional bonus we would be moving away from their battle cruisers thereby postponing their participation in the main action."

------SMS Friedrich der Grosse heading 180˚ 1657 hrs

Adm. von Ingenohl had ordered Third Squadron to stop firing on the British light cruisers which he regarded as a marginally effective use of ammunition. As he issued those orders he finally learned of 3^rd Scouting Group's course change which did not please him. "Unbelievable! Adm. von Rebeur-Paschwitz is off chasing cruisers which have a 7 knot speed advantage! I need him in our van to warn us of potential danger! Signal that impetuous fool immediately to reverse course and resume his proper position ahead of line."

"Jawohl, admiral."

"And it has been at least 15 minutes since we have heard anything from Hipper. I need to know if the British are still in cruising formation."

------HMS Chatham 7 nm southwest of Old Head of Kinsale 1658 hrs

Adm. Bayly had ordered the 2^nd Light Cruiser Squadron to proceed ahead of the rest of his scouting force to the Cork coast. Despite the limited visibility Rear Adm. Trevelyan Napier, the squadron commander could clearly see the light house on the Old Head of Kinsale. What he did not see was any vessels, esp. the large German troopships they were hoping to find. "Signal a 40˚ turn to starboard in succession," ordered Napier.