The November Meeting 2011
“The First Battle of Britain – Jutland 1916” A talk by David Duff *
In 1906 Britain France and Russia signed the Triple Entente which formed the basis for continuing mutual support, even though it was never fully realised. This was of great concern to Germany who now had two huge allied armies on either side of its borders and was also deeply jealous of Britain who had a world wide Empire and the world’s most powerful navy. Germany also wanted to become a great power and, after colonizing parts of Africa, set about building up her navy. This was seen by the British, under the existing political circumstances, as a direct threat to the country and an arms race of massive proportions was begun.
Vast sums were spent by both nations on their navies particularly when Britain launched a new type of battleship – the Dreadnaught. At nearly 18,000 tons, 526 feet in length and with ten 12 inch guns and five torpedo tubes it was heavily armoured and had a top speed of 21.6 knots and posed a significant threat to the emerging ambitions of the German people.
This goliath also increased the rate of the pace at which even larger and more sophisticated battleships were built. The evolutionary arms race was launched so that by the outbreak of war in 1914 both nations were equipped with formidable navies.
Further preparations by both countries found Germany, which had a relatively short coastline in the North Sea and wanting better access for its ships, widening and deepening the Kiel Canal. At about the same time the British withdrew the Grand Fleet, for strategic reasons, to Scapa Flow. Here it could protect the central and northern areas of the North Sea by restricting the German High Seas Fleet access to the Atlantic where it would pose huge problems for British merchant shipping.
By 1916 there was an effective naval blockade of Germany. Attempts were then made to draw the smaller German navy into the North Sea for battle but these were resisted. However, on the German side, Admiral von Pohl was considered to be too passive and unimaginative and was replaced by a more aggressive Admiral Reinhardt von Scheer who set about taking on the Grand Fleet.
In April, German cruisers, in a series of pin prick raids, attacked the coastal towns of Lowestoft and Yarmouth as well as Scarborough and Whitby in the north. In order to further provoke the British, Admiral Scheer then ordered Admiral von Hipper to move his flotilla of cruisers along the Danish coast intending to attack merchantmen off the Norwegian coast. This would also ensure that the British would investigate the situation in order to protect their interests and when reacting in force could then be trapped by German battleships which followed behind the raiders. However, the British had listening stations and were aware of the German naval code and so could guide their fleets to battle. Both Jellicoe and Beatty prepared their courses and sailed to intercept the German fleets.
The British group from the southern port at Rosyth led by Admiral Beatty with 52 ships including 4 super-dreadnoughts, and the massive fleet from the north at Scapa Flow led by Admiral Jellicoe with 73 ships, of all battle types, set sail on 30 May to intercept the German Fleet. Even so, neither Jellicoe nor Scheer were fully aware of the position of ships under their control nor Jellicoe nor Beatty of their respective fleets due in part to faulty communication and of particular importance due to differences in style and temperament when interpreting the known intelligence.
Again, faulty intelligence further compounded the positioning and entry into the battle of the squadrons led by Beatty and Hipper. With plenty of room for error even when manoeuvring in a relatively small area of the North Sea, their positioning was sometimes compounded by adverse weather conditions. In some cases the protagonists and even some ships of the same fleet could not see each other until too late. The planned set piece battle then degenerated into a series of small skirmishes with two main engagements.
As a net result the British lost the battle cruiser Indefatigable with all but two of its crew, the Queen Mary exploded with the loss of 1250 crew and the Indomitable with 1033 crew also went down, some other ships were also sunk and damaged. The Germans lost the Lutzow while the Seydlitz and Derfflinger were badly damaged as were some others. Eventually, the German fleet, under cover of darkness successfully returned to port.
In total the British lost more ships than the Germans and over 6,000 sailors, while the Germans lost over 2,000 sailors. The British losses were evidently heavier but nevertheless its navy was able to recover and retain its superiority more quickly and was able to keep the German High Seas Fleet confined to port for the remainder of the conflict. As a result the British merchant fleet was free to sail unhindered from all but the menace of the U-Boats which posed a much lesser threat and could be contained.
The talk was very well received by members and the vote of thanks given by Paul Kershaw who also complimented the speaker on his excellent computer graphics which showed in simple detail the convoluted stages of a very complicated battle.
* David Duff offers a variety of talks on military history and Shakespeare and can
be contacted by e-mail: david@davpat.co.uk