surrounded and their escape cut off, with the much faster British destroyers astern of them and the Armoured Cruiser Squadron ahead of them, the two German boats turned and ran ashore close under John o' Groats House, where their crews blew them up and surrendered.
The Firth was cleared, and the co-operating squadron joined hands with the main force. A fresh detachment of two cruisers was sent off to steam direct for Aberdeen, and attack the German cruiser off that place, in case she had not already retired. If she had gone, the two cruisers were to move direct on Lerwick. But the arrival, two hours later, of the two cruisers which had been sent to look after the German ship at Wick, with the news that she had hurriedly left about the time when the Bremen was sighted, no doubt alarmed by the Bremen's wireless signals, suggested that there was little chance of catching the enemy at Aberdeen.
The seven armoured cruisers and the ten big destroyers now steamed well out into the North Sea, going full speed to get upon the German line of retreat from Lerwick, before moving up along it on the Shetlands. For six hours they kept generally eastwards, and at 10 p.m. were extended over a front of about 100 miles, with six miles' interval between each cruiser and destroyer. Two of the very fastest turbine destroyers, which could do 30 knots at sea, formed the north-eastern extremity of the line, to the east of the Bressay Bank.
These skilful tactics were rewarded with a measure of success. The wireless signals of the Bremen had alarmed the German squadron at Lerwick, about 1 p.m. on Thursday. Its division of fast cruisers put to sea without a moment's delay. The older cruisers, Irene and Grief, however, were coaling, and were delayed two hours in getting to sea, while the two gun-boats Eber and Panther had not got steam up, and had to be left to co-operate with the garrison.
Two torpedo boats were also detached for the purpose of assisting the German land force, which had thrown up
