 Around 02 : 45 , several British destroyers mounted a torpedo attack against the rear half of the German line . Markgraf initially held her fire as the identities of the destroyers were unknown . But gunners aboard Grosser Kurfürst correctly identified the vessels as hostile and opened fire while turning away to avoid torpedoes , which prompted Markgraf to follow suit . Heavy fire from the German battleships forced the British destroyers to withdraw . At 05 : 06 , Markgraf and several other battleships fired at what they thought was a submarine . 
