Battle off Texel facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle off Texel
Part of the First World War
A sketch of the battle by one of the participants.
Date 17 October 1914 Location 50 nautical miles (58 mi; 93 km) off Texel, the Netherlands, North Sea 53°17′21″N 3°28′27″E / 53.28917°N 3.47417°E / 53.28917; 3.47417 Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Cecil Fox	Georg Thiele  †
Strength
1 light cruiser 4 destroyers	4 torpedo boats
Casualties and losses
5 wounded 3 destroyers lightly damaged	218 killed 31 captured 4 torpedo boats sunk

The Battle off Texel was a naval battle that happened near the Dutch island of Texel during the First World War. On 17 October 1914, a British group of ships was on a normal patrol. This group included one fast, medium-sized warship called a light cruiser and four smaller, speedy ships called destroyers.

They met a German group of four torpedo boats. These German boats were on their way to lay mines near the British coast. The British ships attacked the German force. The German boats were not as strong and tried to escape. But they were caught and all four German boats were sunk.

This battle stopped the Germans from placing mines in busy shipping areas, like the entrance to the River Thames. The British had very few people hurt and their ships were only slightly damaged. This event made the German navy change how they used their torpedo boats in the North Sea. They realized their smaller boats were not strong enough against bigger British ships.

Why the Battle Happened

After an earlier naval fight called the Battle of Heligoland Bight, Germany's main navy, the German High Seas Fleet, was told to avoid big fights. This was to prevent losing many ships and hurting morale. Because of this, the Royal Navy (Britain's navy) mostly controlled the North Sea. They patrolled the area regularly.

On 16 October 1914, Britain got news that German light ships were active. So, a British group was sent to check it out. This group included the new light cruiser HMS Undaunted, led by Captain Cecil Fox. It also had four destroyers: HMS Lennox, Lance, Loyal, and Legion.

On 17 October, while sailing north, they saw a group of German torpedo boats. These were the remaining ships of the 7th Half Flotilla, led by Korvettenkapitän Georg Thiele. The German ships were sailing in a line and did not seem to notice the British ships at first. The British thought the Germans might have mistaken them for friendly ships. The German group was actually on a mission to lay mines near the south coast of Britain, including the mouth of the Thames. But the British found them before they could reach their target.

A Großes Torpedoboot 1898 class torpedo boat, similar to those at Texel.

The British ships were much stronger than the German torpedo boats. HMS Undaunted was a fast light cruiser with powerful guns. It had two large 6-inch guns and seven 4-inch guns. It also had eight torpedo tubes. Undaunted could travel at about 28.5 kn (32.8 mph; 52.8 km/h).

The four British destroyers were also well-armed. Each had four torpedo tubes and three 4-inch guns. They were a bit faster than the cruiser, reaching about 29 kn (33 mph; 54 km/h).

The German ships were older and not as strong. They were from the 1898 class and were built in 1904. They were almost as fast as the British ships, at about 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph). But each German ship only had three small 50 mm guns. These guns had a shorter range and were less powerful than the British guns. The biggest danger from the German boats was their five torpedoes.

The Battle Begins

When the German ships realized the nearby vessels were British, they quickly spread out. Undaunted, which was closest, immediately started firing at the nearest German torpedo boat. This German ship tried to avoid the shots by changing direction. But it lost speed, and the British ships quickly caught up.

To protect Undaunted from torpedo attacks and to sink the German ships fast, Captain Fox split his squadron. Lance and HMS Lennox chased German ships S115 and S119. Meanwhile, Legion and Loyal went after S117 and S118.

Island of Texel

Fire from Legion, Loyal, and Undaunted badly damaged S118. Its command area was blown off, and the ship sank at 3:17 PM. Lance and Lennox attacked S115, damaging its steering. This made the German ship go in circles. Lennoxs shots were so effective that S115s command area was also destroyed. But the German torpedo boat did not give up.

German boats under fire off Texel

The two middle German boats, S117 and the leader S119, tried to hit Undaunted with torpedoes. But Undaunted moved skillfully and avoided them. When Legion and Loyal finished sinking S118, they came to help Undaunted. They attacked S117 and S119.

Legion attacked S117, which fired its last three torpedoes and kept shooting its guns. Legion heavily damaged S117, breaking its steering. This made S117 circle before it sank at 3:30 PM. At the same time, Lance and Lennox had damaged S115 so much that only one destroyer was needed for it.

Lance then joined Loyal in attacking S119 with powerful shells. S119 managed to fire a torpedo at Lance, hitting the destroyer in the middle. But the torpedo did not explode. S119 was sunk at 3:35 PM by gunfire from Lance and Loyal. The German commander went down with his ship.

S115 stayed afloat despite constant attacks from Lennox. Lennox sent a small team to board the ship. They found it was a wreck with only one German sailor left, who happily surrendered. Thirty other German sailors were later saved from the sea by the British ships. The battle ended at 4:30 PM, when Undaunted finished off the abandoned wreck of S115.

What Happened After

People Hurt

Even though they were outnumbered, no German ship surrendered. The four ships of the German Seventh Half Flotilla were all sunk. More than 200 German sailors were killed, including their commanding officer. Thirty-one German sailors were rescued and taken as prisoners. One captured officer died later from his injuries. Two more German sailors were later saved by a neutral ship.

The British had very few injuries. Only four British sailors were wounded. Three of their destroyers had light damage. Legion was hit once and one sailor was wounded by machine-gun fire. Loyal was hit twice and had three or four sailors wounded. Lance had only minor machine-gun damage. The other British ships were not hurt at all.

Ships Involved

Royal Navy

3rd Destroyer Flotilla (a part of it), led by Captain Cecil H. Fox

• HMS Undaunted, a light cruiser and the leader of the group.

1st division, 3rd Destroyer Flotilla

• HMS Lance, a destroyer; Commander Wion de M. Egerton, who led this division.
• HMS Lennox, a destroyer; Lieutenant-Commander Clement. R. Dane, commander.
• HMS Legion, a destroyer; Lieutenant-Commander Claud F. Allsup, commander.
• HMS Loyal, a destroyer; Lieutenant-Commander Burges Watson, commander.

German Navy

7th Torpedoboat Half-flotilla, led by Korvettenkapitän Georg Thiele  † (killed in action)

• SMS S119, torpedo boat, the main ship; Oberleutnant zur See Wilhelm Windel  †, commander.
• SMS S118, torpedo boat; Kapitänleutnant Erich Beckert  †, commander.
• SMS S117, torpedo boat; Kapitänleutnant Georg Sohnke  †, commander.
• SMS S115, torpedo boat; Kapitänleutnant Hans Mushacke  †, commander.