There was not a second to lose;
for the fleets were covering more miles in an hour than armies do in a
whole day. But if he formed line on the starboard wing, the nearer to
the Germans, he would have had to wait some time till Beatty's battle
cruisers had drawn clear. During this dangerous pause, while his own
fire would have to be blanketed by Beatty, the German battle line would
have had a double British target to make hits on, and the German light
craft would have had the best chance of catching him with their
torpedoes while he was in the act of forming line. Moreover, the
German line might have concentrated on the starboard wing before the
port had taken station, and might have overlapped the whole line
afterwards. Jellicoe therefore decided to form on the port wing,
giving his own line the chances of the overlap, and then fit in astern
of Beatty. But, being ready by the time Beatty's battle cruisers were
drawing ahead, he fitted in his own line between these and the four
fast _Queen Elizabeths_ that formed the rear of Beatty's line.
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