At around 06:00 on 22 September, the three cruisers "Aboukir", "Cressy" and "Hogue" were steaming, alone, at in line ahead. The 7th Cruiser Squadron flagship, their sister ship "Euryalus", as well as their light cruiser and destroyer screen, had been forced temporarily to return to base, leaving the three obsolete cruisers on their own. They were spotted by the German submarine , commanded by Lt. Otto Weddigen. They were not zigzagging but all of the ships had lookouts posted to search for periscopes and one gun on each side of each ship was manned.