The position of the Fleet was as follows:--Beatty, with four battle-cruisers, and astern of him the four fast battleships of the Fifth Battle Squadron, was now turning sharply eastwards to pass across the head of the German Fleet and prevent it from edging E. and getting away in that direction. This movement of his would have enabled him to “cross the T” of the enemy’s line--_i.e._, to pass at right angles across it, raking the ships as he passed, which is regarded as the most advantageous position that can be obtained in battle--if the enemy had not turned. N. of Admiral Beatty’s ships was the British Battle Fleet, with three battle-cruisers under Hood on one wing, and three or four armoured cruisers under Arbuthnot on the other. On a line generally parallel to Beatty’s was the whole force of German battle-cruisers (3) and battleships (22), slightly astern of him, so that the German ships at the southern end of the line were out of the battle--too distant to fire. The head of the enemy line was some 12,000 yards from him, and about 22,000 yards from the British Battle Fleet.
Beatty’s eastward turn compelled the enemy to turn, and enabled the British Battle Fleet, if it desired, to move in behind the High Sea Fleet and cut it off from its bases. To reinforce Beatty in these critical moments, Hood steamed in fast with his three battle-cruisers, and swung magnificently into position at the head of Beatty’s line. There he received a terrific fire from the enemy, 8,000 yards away, and a few minutes later the _Invincible_, his flagship, was struck by the combined salvoes of the German Fleet and she sank. Three battle-cruisers were gone, and of their combined crews of 2,500 men a mere handful were saved. Beatty at 6.35, about the time when the _Invincible_ sank, turned S.E. A little earlier, Rear-Admiral Arbuthnot, with three weak armoured cruisers, struck the German Battle Fleet, which was apparently almost hidden in smoke. His intervention prevented a dangerous German torpedo attack on the British battle-cruisers, but in rendering this last service he perished.
The _Black Prince_ was very badly hit. The _Warrior_ was disabled, and in extreme danger. Probably the German ships were attacking these vessels with concentrated salvoes--battleships of the super-Dreadnought class firing at pre-Dreadnought armoured cruisers. The German shooting must have begun to deteriorate, as the _Warspite_ was quickly got under control, and with but slight damage rejoined the Fifth Battle Squadron, which was now taking station astern of Admiral Jellicoe’s Fleet.