n to the water front, where, far out at sea, they could make out
faintly the hull of but one vessel, but the red flashes from the booming
guns showed that other ships were present. The crowds on the shore
watched two British destroyers and two submarines, which had been lying
in the harbor, put out after the German force. The latter by that time
had started off, dropping in its wake a number of floating mines. This
strategy resulted in the loss of the submarine _D-5_, which hit one of
the mines and sank immediately. The German cruiser _Yorck_ was claimed
by the British to have hit a mine also, with the result that she sank
and carried down with her some 300 of her crew. This was denied later by
the German admiralty, and like all such controversies must remain a
secret with the officials of both Governments.

Judged by material effects, this raid was a failure. But in view of the
fact that the Germans had shown that a squadron could actually elude the
large number of British warships patrolling the North Sea, and was
actually able to strike at the British coast, it was a moral victory for
Germany.

"We must see clearly that in order to fight with success we must fight
ruthlessly, in the proper meaning of the word." These were the words of
Count Reventlow, when he heard the news of the defeat of the German
squadron commanded by Von Spee off the Falkland Islands. As a result,
and in revenge for this defeat, the German admiralty planned a second
raid on the coast towns of England. The towns chosen for attack this
time were Hartlepool, Scarborough, and Whitby. The first of these was a
city of 100,000 persons, and its principal business was shipbuilding.
Scarborough was nothing more than a seaside resort, to which each summer
and at Christmas were attracted thousands of Englishmen who sought to
spend their vacations near the water. Whitby, though it had some
attractions for holiday crowds, such as a quaint cathedral, was at most
nothing more than a home port for a number of fishing boats.

It was brazenly claimed later by the Germans that these three towns,
according to definitions in international law, were fortified ports, and
consequently open to attack by hostile forces. In reply the British
claimed that there was nothing in any of the three which could bring
them into that category. This controversy is still another which the war
developed. There is, however, the fact that the information which the
German Government ha