 At 19 : 32 , Rostock and several torpedo boats crossed through the German line and began to lay a smoke screen to cover the withdrawal of the German fleet . Some twenty minutes later , Michelsen detached several torpedo boats to assist the badly damaged battlecruiser Lützow . By the time the German fleet had assumed its night cruising formation , Rostock fell in with the light cruisers of the IV Scouting Group on the port side of the fleet . Shortly before midnight , Rostock and the IV Scouting Group came into contact with the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron . Shortly after midnight , the British 4th Destroyer Flotilla attacked the German line , where Rostock was positioned . She joined the cannonade directed against the destroyers as they pressed home their attack . The destroyers launched several torpedoes at the Germans , forcing Rostock and the other cruisers to turn away to avoid them ; this pointed the ships directly at the battleships in the I Battle Squadron . Rostock successfully passed through the formation , but the cruiser Elbing was rammed by one of the battleships and disabled . 
