 Cöln steamed to aid her sister Mainz , which was under heavy fire from several British cruisers and battlecruisers . At around 13 : 25 , she came upon the damaged cruiser HMS Arethusa and several destroyers . Cöln engaged the British ships briefly , but was interrupted by the appearance of the British battlecruisers . At 13 : 37 , Cöln made a 16 @-@ point turn and returned fire at the battlecruisers ; the British ships turned to port to steam closer to Cöln , which in turn similarly altered course to escape . She was hit several times , however , including one hit that killed Maass . At 13 : 56 , another German cruiser arrived on the scene , which distracted the British ships and allowed Cöln to slip away to the north . About fifteen minutes later , she turned back south @-@ east to return to port . 
