As Scheer approached from the west with his main party, he crossed paths with 5th Squadron pursuing Hipper. Scheer split his squadron in two and surrounded the four enemy buildings. Malaya, in the lead, opened fire on the Pommern and turned it into a blaze. The Valiant, the Barham and the Warspite, commanded by Evan-Thomas, understood that the situation was critical and fired at will. Several shots hit the Grosser Kurfurst and the Markgraf; the Pommern sank. The British ships fought valiantly, but when they finally emerged from the fighting on the other side, 45 minutes later, they had suffered critical damage, their artillery pieces were no longer firing, their decks were covered with dead and wounded. . Apparently, Scheer had chosen to wait before delivering the killing blow. He was not yet aware of the presence of the Grand Fleet in the west, he was ready to set the scene for the greatest naval battle in history. Suddenly, the warning sirens sounded again.
As Hipper sped east, he noticed smoke and sent the Derfflinger to report. The ship signaled an approaching fleet. Hipper headed north again and again saw smoke. This time it was Scheer, and as Hipper prepared his formation, the Grand Fleet came into sight to the north. It was then that the day began to fade. Hood's three cruisers emerged from the cloudy southwest and found themselves in the path of the German formation, silhouetted against the setting sun. Derfflinger and Konig reduced HMS, the main ship of Hood's fleet, to a smoking wreck. As her crew rushed to the lifeboats, the Invincible exploded and sank. Inflexible and Indomitable retreated west towards the Grand Fleet.
Jellicoe saw the Invincible explode from the deck of the Iron Duke, and apparently mistaken it for a German vessel due to the smoke and fading light. Accordingly, he ordered fire to be opened on the two approaching ships. Unfortunately, those ships were Inflexible and Indomitable. Both buildings suffered extensive damage before Jellicoe realized his mistake. But it was too late, the two buildings were caught in the crossfire. In a desperate attempt to escape, they chose to flee south. The Inflexible was in flames.
As with Hood's unfortunate cruisers, the setting sun made it easier to aim the German fleet, perfectly highlighting enemy targets. Well-coordinated German volleys were devastating, and HMS Warrior was soon surrounded by a sea of flaming fuel.