 Shortly after 19 : 00 , the German cruiser Wiesbaden had become disabled by a shell from the British battlecruiser Invincible ; Rear Admiral Paul <unk> in König attempted to position his four ships to cover the stricken cruiser . Simultaneously , the British III and IV Light Cruiser Squadrons began a torpedo attack on the German line ; while advancing to torpedo range , they smothered Wiesbaden with fire from their main guns . The obsolescent armored cruisers of the 1st Cruiser Squadron also joined in the melee . Markgraf and her sisters fired heavily on the British cruisers , but even sustained fire from the battleships ' main guns failed to drive them off . Markgraf fired both her 30 @.@ 5 cm and 15 cm guns at the armored cruiser Defence . Under a hail of fire from the German battleships , Defence exploded and sank ; credit is normally given to the battlecruiser Lützow , though Markgraf 's gunners also claimed credit for the sinking . 
