HMS Galatea was the first to sight the German fleet, though not necessarily the first to engage. Her guns had nothing like the range of the British battleships.
The first shots of the battle were fired when Galatea of the British 1st Light Cruiser Squadron mistook two German destroyers for cruisers and engaged them.
Galatea was subsequently hit at extreme range by her German counterpart, Elbing, of Rear Admiral Bodicker's Scouting Group II.