The great war in England in 1897 . ved by the British ships fromthe land was of but little avail, for a Eussian torpedo boatsent forth its messenger of death at the third-class cruiserCanada, blowing her up, while the engines of both the Activeand Bonaventure were so seriously damaged as to be practicallyuseless. Eapid signalling by the semaphore at SpanishBattery had placed the defenders on the alert, and althoughthe British were suffering so heavily on account of theirminority, still the enemy were everywhere feeling the effectof the hot and unexpected reception. Terror on the Tyne 113 Befor
The great war in England in 1897 . ved by the British ships fromthe land was of but little avail, for a Eussian torpedo boatsent forth its messenger of death at the third-class cruiserCanada, blowing her up, while the engines of both the Activeand Bonaventure were so seriously damaged as to be practicallyuseless. Eapid signalling by the semaphore at SpanishBattery had placed the defenders on the alert, and althoughthe British were suffering so heavily on account of theirminority, still the enemy were everywhere feeling the effectof the hot and unexpected reception. Terror on the Tyne 113 Before liiilf ;ai hour luul ]>iissed two Eussian gunboats hadbeen torpedoed, and the French cruiser UEstainrj, havingcaught fire, was burning furiously, many of her crew perishingat their guns. The Lazare Carnot and the Mass&aa, heedless of the firefrom the shore, steamed at half speed across the estuary untilthey were opposite the Tynemouth Battery, when they suddenlyopened fire, being quickly joined by six French and Paissiaii. irAP OF THE TYNE DISTKICT. cruisers. In the meantime the contact mines were beingblown up by piquet boats, who, although suffering heavilyfrom the fire from the shore, nevertheless continued their was then seen how utterly inadequate were the defences ofthe Tyne, and what negligence had been displayed on the partof the War Office in not providing at Tynemouth adequatemeans of warding oH or successfully coping with an attack. From behind the tall grey lighthouse a few guns werethundering, but in face of the overwhelming force at sea itwas but a sorry attempt. One shot from the battery severelydamaged the superstructure of the Lazare Carnot, another cut 114 The Great War in England in 1897 through the funnel of the Neptune, carrying it away, and athird entering the magazine of one of the small cruisers causedit to explode with serious loss of life. Yet the devastatingeffect of the enemys shells on the obsolete defences of Tyne-mouth was appalling.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookidgreatwarinen, bookyear1895
