Undaunted entered service as leader of the Harwich Force's Third Destroyer Flotilla and fought at Heligoland Bight in August 1914. Two months later she joined the Battle of Texel. The British force paired one light cruiser with four destroyers against four older German torpedo boats. Those boats were heading toward the English coast to support a mining mission when the British found them first. Because Undaunted looked enough like a German light cruiser, she led the approach while her visibly British destroyers remained farther back. The deception delayed recognition until the cruiser was close enough to open the action on favorable terms.
Chapter · 40:01-43:57
Undaunted uses resemblance and surprise at Texel
Undaunted exploited the Arethusa class's resemblance to German light cruisers to screen four British destroyers and close undetected on a German torpedo-boat flotilla bound for a mining mission.