Jutland

“A compelling, dramatic account of the Royal Navy's last great sea battle.” —Robert K. Massie, Pulitzer Prize–winning and New York Times–bestselling author of Dreadnought More than a century later, historians still argue about this controversial and misunderstood World War I naval battle off the coast of Denmark. It was the twentieth century’s first engagement of dreadnoughts—and while it left Britain in control of the North Sea, both sides claimed victory and decades of disputes followed, revolving around senior commanders Admiral Sir John Jellicoe and Vice Admiral Sir David Beatty. This book not only retells the story of the battle from both a British and German perspective based on the latest research, but also helps clarify the context of Germany’s inevitable naval clash and the aftermath after the smoke had cleared.

During the first two years of World War I, Germany struggled to overcome a crippling British blockade of its mercantile shipping lanes. With only sixteen dreadnought-class battleships compared to the renowned British Royal Navy's twenty-eight, the German High Seas Fleet stood little chance of winning a direct fight. The Germans staged raids in the North Sea and bombarded English coasts in an attempt to lure small British squadrons into open water where they could be destroyed by submarines and surface boats. After months of skirmishes, conflict erupted on May 31, 1916, in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark, in what would become the most formidable battle in the history of the Royal Navy. In Jutland, international scholars reassess the strategies and tactics employed by the combatants as well as the political and military consequences of their actions. Most previous English-language military analysis has focused on British admiral Sir John Jellicoe, who was widely criticized for excessive caution and for allowing German vice admiral Reinhard Scheer to escape; but the contributors to this volume engage the German perspective, evaluating Scheer's decisions and his skill in preserving his fleet and escaping Britain's superior force. Together, the contributors lucidly demonstrate how both sides suffered from leadership that failed to move beyond outdated strategies of limited war between navies and to embrace the total war approach that came to dominate the twentieth century. The contributors also examine the role of memory, comparing the way the battle has been portrayed in England and Germany. An authoritative collection of scholarship, Jutland serves as an essential reappraisal of this seminal event in twentieth-century naval history.

The legendary hidden report on the Royal Navy’s failures at the WWI Battle of Jutland is revealed for the first time in this transcribed edition. Jutland, the largest naval battle of the First World War, was the most controversial engagement in the Royal Navy’s history. Falling well short of the total victory expected by the public, it sparked fierce debate among senior naval officers, many of whom had been directly involved in the battle. The first attempt to produce an objective record was delayed and heavily censored. That report was followed by a no-holds-barred critique of the fleet’s performance intended for training purposes at the Naval Staff College. This became the now-infamous Naval Staff Appreciation, which was deemed too damaging to be published. All proof copies were ordered destroyed. Despite the orders, however, a few copies survived. Now this long-suppressed work is finally revealed in this edition featuring expert modern commentary and explanatory notes.

The Battle of Jutland was the greatest naval engagement of the First World War, if not any war. Admiral Scheer had adopted a policy of launching attacks against the British coast. What he did not know was that the British had broken his naval codes and that they knew of his plans. Consequently, when Scheer threw his entire fleet in a mission to attack the British mainland in May 1916, he could not know that the Royal Navy at Scapa Flow were underway.This is a fresh account of this greatest naval engagement, it offers fascinating insight into the events preceding the action, the tactics during the battle and the political and military fall-out. The book draws on released official records and personal accounts.Jellicoe failed to ensnare Scheer and the bulk of the German fleet which escaped battered, but intact. The Germans knew however that despite their great fleet, it was the Royal Navy that controlled the North Sea.

The Battle of Jutland was the largest naval battle and the only full-scale clash of battleships in the First World War. For years the myriad factors contributing to the loss of many of the ships remained a mystery, subject only to speculation and theory. In this book, marine archaeologist and historian Dr Innes McCartney reveals for the first time what became of the warships that vanished on the night of 31st May 1916, examining the circumstances behind the loss of each ship and reconciling what was known in 1916 to what the archaeology is revealing today. The knowledge of what was present was transformed in 2015 by a ground-breaking survey using the modern technology of multi-beam. This greatly assisted in unravelling the details behind several Jutland enigmas, not least the devastating explosions which claimed five major British warships, the details of the wrecks of the 13 destroyers lost in the battle and the German warships scuttled during the night phase. This is the first book to identify the locations of many of the wrecks, and – scandalously – how more than half of these sites have been illegally plundered for salvage, despite their status as war graves. An essential and revelatory read for anyone interested in naval history and marine archaeology.

Sun Tzu approximately 2500 years ago said, “War is a matter of vital importance to the State....It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied.” This statement has been proven valid since man began fighting and is as vital today as it was in the primordial days of warfare. At the Air Command and Staff College, we have taken heed of this warning and actively encourage our national military leaders, present and future, to study and to internalize the lessons of past wars. We do not believe this study has to be dry and boring as many history lessons seem to be. We believe that history can be entertaining and interesting as well as educational. Thomas Hardy said in 1906, “War makes rattling good reading . . .,”and this is the aim of our monograph series—to provide entertaining, interesting, and educational studies of history. In this study, three of our faculty members have combined to present a study of naval warfare. The focus is on two great naval battles—the Battle of Trafalgar and the Battle of Jutland. Many descriptions and accounts of these battles have been produced in the past, but the approach used in this study is unique. The battles are analyzed using the US Air Force’s list of the principles of war. The authors conclude that adherence to the principles of war played a significant part in both battles, and on a larger scale, conclude that protection of sea lines of communications is as vital in today’s economic structure as it was in Nelson’s and Jellicoe’s eras. We hope you find this study interesting, informative, and thought-provoking.-Brigadier-General R. A. Ingram.