 By this time , Beatty 's battlecruisers were in position to block Hipper 's chosen egress route , while other forces were en route to complete the encirclement . At 12 : 25 , the light cruisers of the II Scouting Group began to pass through the British forces searching for Hipper . One of the cruisers in the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron spotted Stralsund and signaled a report to Beatty . At 12 : 30 , Beatty turned his battlecruisers towards the German ships . Beatty presumed that the German cruisers were the advance screen for Hipper 's ships , but the battlecruisers were some 50 km ( 27 nmi ; 31 mi ) ahead . The 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron , which had been screening for Beatty 's ships , detached to pursue the German cruisers , but a misinterpreted signal from the British battlecruisers sent them back to their screening positions . This confusion allowed the German light cruisers to escape and alerted Hipper to the location of the British battlecruisers . The German battlecruisers wheeled to the northeast of the British forces and made good their escape . 
