Beatty had ordered his ships to engage in a line, one British ship engaging with one German and his flagship doubling on the German flagship . However, due to another mistake with signalling by flag, and possibly because "Queen Mary" and "Tiger" were unable to see the German lead ship because of smoke, the second German ship, "Derfflinger", was left un-engaged and free to fire without disruption. drew fire from two of Beatty's battlecruisers, but still fired with great accuracy during this time, hitting "Tiger" 9 times in the first 12 minutes. The Germans drew first blood. Aided by superior visibility, Hipper's five battlecruisers quickly registered hits on three of the six British battlecruisers. Seven minutes passed before the British managed to score their first hit.