ned on her beam-ends at 4.17
and sank with every man an board. At 6 o'clock, after a fight of
extraordinary persistence, the _Gneisenau_ opened her sea-cocks and
went down. All her 8-inch ammunition had been expended, and 600 of
her 850 men were disabled or killed. Some 200 were saved.

Against ships with 12-inch guns and four times their weight of
broadside the _Gneisenau_ and _Scharnhorst_ made a creditable
record of over 20 hits. The British, however, suffered no casualties
or material injury. While Admiral Sturdee's tactics are thus justified,
the prolongation of the battle left him no time to join in the light
cruiser chase, and even opened the possibility, in the rain squalls
of the late afternoon, that one of the armored cruisers might get
away. In spite of a calm sea and excellent visibility during most
of the action, the gunnery of the battle cruisers appears to have
been less accurate at long range than in the later engagement off
the Dogger Bank.

[Illustration: BATTLE OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS, DEC. 8, 1914

From _Official British Naval History_, Vol. I.

_British Squadron_
_Name Type Guns Speed_
Invincible Battle Cruiser 8--12", 16--4" 26.5
Inflexible Battle Cruiser 8--12", 16--4" 26.5
Carnarvon Armored Cruiser 4--7.5", 6--6" 23.0
Cornwall Armored Cruiser 14--6" 23.5
Kent Armored Cruiser 14--6" 23.0
Bristol Scout Cruiser 2--6", 10--4" 26.5
Glasgow Scout Cruiser 2--6", 10--4" 26.5
Canopus Coast Defense 4--12", 12--6" 16.5

_German Squadron_
Scharnhorst Armored Cruiser 8--8.2", 6--6" 23.5
Gneisenau Armored Cruiser 8--8.2", 6--6" 23.5
Leipzig Protected Cruiser 10--4" 23.0
Nuernberg Scout Cruiser 10--4" 24.0
Dresden Scout Cruiser 10--4" 24.0]

Following similar tactics, the _Glasgow_ and _Cornwall_ overtook
and finally silenced the _Leipzig_ at 7 p.m., four hours after
the _Glasgow_ had first opened fire. Defiant to the last, like
the _Monmouth_ at Coronel, and with her ammunition gone, she sank
at 9.25, carrying down all but 18 of her officers and crew. The
_Kent_, stoking all her woodwork to increase steam, attained at
5 o'clock a position 12,000 yards from the _Nuernberg_, when the
latter opened fire. At this late hour a long range action was out
of t