Battlecruisers turn a small-ship fight into a rout

After British fire ceased against the disabled Mainz, Cöln and Strassburg approached from the north and Fearless moved with three destroyers to meet them. The arrival of British battlecruisers then transformed a close small-ship action into an overwhelmingly unequal encounter. Cöln and Ariadne were sunk later in the battle as the Harwich Force withdrew under that heavy support. Fearless finished the operation by towing a crippled destroyer, reinforcing the scout cruiser's value as a protector and support ship rather than merely another gun platform.