The initial action was fought primarily by the British and German battlecruiser formations in the afternoon, but by 18:00, the Grand Fleet approached the scene. Fifteen minutes later, Jellicoe gave the order to turn and deploy the fleet for action. The transition from their cruising formation caused congestion with the rear divisions, forcing "Revenge" and many of the other ships to reduce speed to to avoid colliding with each other. The German fleet quickly came into range and many British ships began to engage them starting at 18:17. The British ships initially had poor visibility and "Revenge" waited several minutes before opening fire at 18:22; her target during this period is unclear, and she may have engaged the crippled cruiser , the German battle line, or both. She fired intermittently for seventeen minutes and made no hits in the haze.