At 5:50 P.M. "Cease fire!" was made.
At 6 P.M. the Gneisenau heeled over very suddenly, showing the men
gathered on her decks and then walking on her side as she lay for a
minute on her beam ends before sinking.
The prisoners of war from the Gneisenau report that by the time the
ammunition was expended some 600 men had been killed and wounded. The
surviving officers and men were all ordered on deck and told to provide
themselves with hammocks and any articles that could support them in the
water.
When the ship capsized and sank there were probably some 200 unwounded
survivors in the water, but, owing to the shock of the cold water, many
were drowned within sight of the boats and ship.
Every effort was made to save life as quickly as possible, both by boats
and from the ships; lifebuoys were thrown and ropes lowered, but only a
portion could be rescued. The Invincible alone rescued 108 men,
fourteen of whom were found to be dead after being brought on board.
These men were buried at sea the following day with full military
honors.
(C)--ACTION WITH THE LIGHT CRUISERS.
At about 1 P.M., when the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau turned to port to
engage the Invincible and Inflexible, the enemy's light cruisers turned
to starboard to escape; the Dresden was leading and the Nuernberg and
Leipzig followed on each quarter.
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