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Encyclopedia > Battle of Jutland

Battle of Jutland
Part of World War I

The Battle of Jutland, 1916
Date 31 May 19161 June 1916
Location North Sea, near Denmark
Result Indecisive
Belligerents
Kaiserliche Marine Jack
Commanders
Sir John Jellicoe
Sir David Beatty
Reinhard Scheer
Franz von Hipper
Strength
28 battleships
9 battlecruisers
8 armoured cruisers
26 light cruisers
78 destroyers
1 minelayer
1 seaplane carrier
16 battleships
5 battlecruisers
6 pre-dreadnoughts
11 light cruisers
61 torpedo-boats
Casualties and losses
6,094 killed
510 wounded
177 captured

3 battlecruisers
3 armoured cruisers
8 destroyers (115,025 tons sunk) Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1242x961, 163 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Battle of Jutland ... is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... Image File history File links Naval_Ensign_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Grand Fleet during WWI Grand Fleet ships in formation During World War I, the British Home Fleet was renamed the Grand Fleet. ... This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... German battlecruiser Derfflinger scuttled at Scapa Flow. ... The Kaiserliche Marine or Imperial Navy was the German Navy created by the formation of the German Empire and existed between 1871 and 1919; it grew out of the Prussian Navy and the Norddeutsche Bundesmarine. ... Admiral of the Fleet Lord Jellicoe Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe (December 5, 1859–November 20, 1935) was a British Royal Navy admiral. ... David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty (17 January 1871- 11 March 1936), was an admiral in the Royal Navy. ... Reinhard Scheer Reinhard Scheer (September 30, 1863 – November 26, 1928) was a Vice-admiral in the German navy. ... Franz von Hipper Franz Ritter von Hipper (September 13, 1863 in Weilheim - May 25, 1932 in Hamburg-Othmarschen) was a German admiral. ... For other uses, see Battleship (disambiguation). ... [[Image:HMS Hood and HMS Barham. ... Schematic section of a typical armoured cruiser with an armoured upper and middle deck and side belt (red), lateral protective coal bunkers (grey) and a double-bottom of watertight compartments. ... A light cruiser is a warship that is not so large and powerful as a regular (or heavy) cruiser, but still larger than ships like destroyers. ... USS McFaul underway in the Atlantic Ocean. ... A minelayer is a naval ship used for deploying sea mines. ... A seaplane tender (or seaplane carrier) is a ship which provides the facililites necessary for operating seaplanes. ... For other uses, see Battleship (disambiguation). ... [[Image:HMS Hood and HMS Barham. ... USS Massachusetts, a pre-dreadnought battleship launched in 1893 The term pre-dreadnought refers to the kind of battleship built in the closing years of the 19th Century and the first years of the 20th century, and which was made obsolete by the launching of HMS Dreadnought in 1906. ... A light cruiser is a warship that is not so large and powerful as a regular (or heavy) cruiser, but still larger than ships like destroyers. ... A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to launch torpedoes at larger surface ships. ...

2,551 killed
507 wounded

1 battlecruiser
1 pre-dreadnought
4 light cruisers
5 torpedo-boats
(61,180 tons sunk)

The German Fleet's raid was aimed at the coast of Northern England. By sailing early, the British "stole a march" on their opponents, meeting the Germans far from their slower submarine forces converging on British ports
The German Fleet's raid was aimed at the coast of Northern England. By sailing early, the British "stole a march" on their opponents, meeting the Germans far from their slower submarine forces converging on British ports

The Battle of Jutland (German: Skagerrakschlacht (Battle of the Skagerrak); Danish: Søslaget ved Jylland / Søslaget om Skagerrak) was the largest naval battle of World War I and the only full-scale clash of battleships in that war. It is also, by certain criteria, the largest naval battle in history. It was fought on 31 May1 June 1916, in the North Sea near Jutland, the northward-pointing peninsular mainland of Denmark. The combatants were the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet commanded by Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer and the Royal Navy’s British Grand Fleet commanded by Admiral Sir John Jellicoe. The intention of the German fleet was to lure out, trap and destroy a portion of the Grand Fleet, as the Germans were insufficient in number to engage the entire British fleet at one time. This formed part of their larger strategy of breaking the British naval blockade of the North Sea and allowing German mercantile shipping to operate again. The Royal Navy, on the other hand, was pursuing a strategy seeking to engage and destroy the High Seas Fleet or else keep the German force bottled up and away from British own shipping lanes. Combatants Britain German Empire Commanders David Beatty Reginald Tyrwhitt Leberecht Maass Strength 5 battlecruisers 8 light cruisers 33 destroyers 3 submarines 6 light cruisers 19 torpedo boats 12 minesweepers Casualties 35 killed 55 wounded 712 killed 149 wounded 336 captured 3 light cruisers 1 torpedo boat The First Battle of... The Battle of Dogger Bank was a naval battle fought near the Dogger Bank in the North Sea that took place on 24 January 1915, during the First World War, between squadrons of the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet. ... The Second Battle of Heligoland Bight was a naval battle of World War I. On 17 November 1917, German minesweepers clearing a path through the British minefield in the Heligoland Bight of the North Sea near the coast of Germany was intercepted by two Royal Navy cruisers Calypso and Caledon... Zeebrugge (French: Zeebruges) is a harbour-town at the coast of Belgium, a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. ... Combatants British Empire German Empire Commanders Hubert Lynes Strength see British order of battle below Shore defences Casualties Unknown[1] Unknown, negligible The First Ostend Raid (part of Operation ZO) was the first of two attacks by the Royal Navy on the German-held port of Ostend during the late... Combatants Britain German Empire Commanders Roger Keyes Strength HMS Vindictive, four monitors, eight destroyers and five motor launches with aerial support Shore defences Casualties Launch ML254 sunk, 18 dead, 29 wounded [1] Light The Second Ostend Raid (officially known as Operation VS) was the latter of two failed attempts by... Download high resolution version (1802x2589, 189 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Berwick-upon-Tweed Categories: GFDL images | GBdot ... Download high resolution version (1802x2589, 189 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Berwick-upon-Tweed Categories: GFDL images | GBdot ... The Skagerrak strait runs between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat strait, which leads to the Baltic Sea. ... The French battleship Orient burns, 1 August 1798, during the Battle of the Nile A naval battle is a battle fought using ships or other waterborne vessels. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Battleship (disambiguation). ... The title of largest naval battle in history depends on criteria that may include the number of people and ships involved, the total tonnage of vessels, the size of the battlefield, and the duration of the action. ... is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... Jutland Peninsula Jutland (Danish: Jylland; German: Jütland; Frisian Jutlân; Low German Jötlann) is the western, continental part of Denmark as well as one of the three historical Lands of Denmark, dividing the North Sea from the Kattegat and the Baltic Sea. ... The Kaiserliche Marine or Imperial Navy was the German Navy created by the formation of the German Empire and existed between 1871 and 1919; it grew out of the Prussian Navy and the Norddeutsche Bundesmarine. ... German battlecruiser Derfflinger scuttled at Scapa Flow. ... Reinhard Scheer Reinhard Scheer (September 30, 1863 – November 26, 1928) was a Vice-admiral in the German navy. ... This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ... Grand Fleet during WWI Grand Fleet ships in formation During World War I, the British Home Fleet was renamed the Grand Fleet. ... Admiral of the Fleet Lord Jellicoe Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe (December 5, 1859–November 20, 1935) was a British Royal Navy admiral. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... Sea lines of communication (abbreviated as SLOC) is a term describing the primary maritime trade routes between ports. ...


The Germans' plan was to use Vice-Admiral Franz Hipper’s fast scouting group of five modern battlecruisers to lure Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty’s battlecruiser squadrons through a submarine picket line and into the path of the main German fleet and so destroy them. But the British had learned from signal intercepts that a major fleet operation was likely, and on 30 May Jellicoe sailed with the Grand Fleet to rendezvous with Beatty, passing the intended positions of the German submarine pickets before the submarines had reached those positions. Franz von Hipper Franz Ritter von Hipper (September 13, 1863 in Weilheim - May 25, 1932 in Hamburg-Othmarschen) was a German admiral. ... David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty (17 January 1871- 11 March 1936), was an admiral in the Royal Navy. ... [[Image:HMS Hood and HMS Barham. ... A rare occurance of a 5-country multinational fleet, during Operation Enduring Freedom in the Oman Sea. ... is the 150th day of the year (151st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...


On the afternoon of 31 May, Beatty encountered Hipper's battlecruiser force long before the Germans had expected, negating any submarine influence, but in a running battle Hipper successfully drew the British vanguard into the path of the High Seas Fleet. By the time Beatty turned towards the British main fleet he had lost two battlecruisers along with his numerical advantage over Hipper. However the German fleet in pursuit of Beatty was drawn towards the main British fleet. From 18:30 hrs, when the sun was lowering on the western horizon backlighting the British forces, until nightfall at about 20:30 the two huge fleets — totaling 250 ships between them — were heavily engaged. is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...


Fourteen British and eleven German ships were sunk with great loss of life. After sunset, and throughout the night, Jellicoe manœuvered to cut the Germans off from their base in hopes of continuing the battle in the morning, but under cover of darkness Scheer crossed the wake of the British fleet and returned to port.


Both sides claimed victory. The British had lost more ships and many more sailors, and the British press criticised the Grand Fleet's actions, but Scheer’s plan of destroying Beatty’s squadrons had also failed. The Germans continued to pose a threat that required the British to keep their battleships concentrated in the North Sea, but they never again contested control of the high seas. Instead, the German Navy turned its efforts and resources to unrestricted submarine warfare. Unrestricted submarine warfare is a kind of naval warfare in which submarines sink merchant ships without warning. ...

Contents

Background

German planning

The German High Seas Fleet had sixteen dreadnought battleships and were falling behind the British in battleship production. Since the British Grand Fleet had twenty-eight, there was little chance of defeating the British in a head-to-head clash of battleships. Therefore, the German strategy was to divide and conquer: by staging raids into the North Sea and bombarding the English coast, they hoped to lure out small British squadrons and pickets which could then be attacked and destroyed by superior forces or submarines. The German naval strategy, according to Scheer, was: German battlecruiser Derfflinger scuttled at Scapa Flow. ... For other uses, see Battleship (disambiguation). ... Naval strategy is the planning and conduct of warfare at sea, the naval equivalent of military strategy on land. ...

to damage the English Fleet by offensive raids against the naval forces engaged in watching and blockading the German Bight, as well as by mine-laying on the British coast and submarine attack, whenever possible. After an equality of strength had been realised as a result of these operations, and all our forces had been made ready and concentrated, an attempt was to be made with our fleet to seek battle under circumstances unfavourable to the enemy. False-colour satellite view of the Heligoland Bight; Heligoland and Düne are the two small islands in the top top-left quarter The Heligoland Bight (also known as Helgoland Bight) is the southern part of the German Bight, itself a bay of the North Sea, located at the mouth... Polish wz. ... For other uses, see Submarine (disambiguation). ...

The plan for May 1916 was to station a large number of U-boats off the British naval bases and lure Beatty's battlecruiser squadrons out by sending a fast battlecruiser force under Hipper to raid the British coast at Sunderland. If all went well, after the British sortied in response to the raiding attack force, the British squadrons would be weakened by the picketing submarine ambush, and the Royal Navy's centuries-long tradition of aggressive action could be used to draw the pursuing but weakened units after Hipper's cruisers, towards the German main force under Scheer. It was hoped that Scheer would be able to effectively ambush a section of the British fleet and destroy it. U-boat is also a nickname for some diesel locomotives built by GE; see List of GE locomotives October 1939. ... For other uses, see Sunderland (disambiguation). ... This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ...


It was further hoped that, once a submarine had attacked successfully, fast escorts such as destroyers would be tied down conducting anti-submarine operations. The German plan thus had several strings to its bow, and had the Germans caught the British in the positions where they expected them to be, they would have stood a chance of inflicting losses which would have helped to redress the material balance between the fleets. USS Lassen, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range attackers (originally torpedo boats, later submarines and aircraft). ...


Unfortunately for the German plan, the British had been given a copy of the main German code book from the light cruiser SMS Magdeburg, boarded by Russian naval officers after the ship ran aground in Russian territorial waters. Therefore intercepted German naval radio communications could usually be quickly deciphered; hence the British Admiralty was usually aware of German deployments and levels of activity, giving it an insight into, and forewarning of, German plans. Seiner Majestät Schiff Magdeburg was a light cruiser (Kleiner Kreuzer) of the Kaiserliche Marine (German Imperial Navy). ... Flag of the Lord High Admiral The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. ...


British response

The British intercepted and decrypted a German signal on 28 May ordering all ships to be ready for sea on the 30th. Further signals were intercepted and although they were not decrypted it was clear that a major operation was likely. Map of the movements before and during the battle of Jutland, 30 May to 1 June 1916 Created by User:Gdr based on [1], [2] from The Fighting at Jutland, edited by H. W. Fawcett and G. W. W. Hooper, circa 1921; map generated using the Generic Mapping Tools File... is the 148th day of the year (149th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The throat of the Skagerrak, the strategic gateway to the Baltic and North Atlantic, waters off Jutland and Norway
The throat of the Skagerrak, the strategic gateway to the Baltic and North Atlantic, waters off Jutland and Norway

Not knowing the Germans' objective, Jellicoe and his staff decided to position the fleet to head off any attempt by the Germans to enter the North Atlantic, or the Baltic through the Skagerrak, by taking up a position off Norway where they could possibly cut off any German raid into the shipping lanes of the Atlantic, or prevent the Germans from heading into the Baltic. A position further west was unnecessary as that area of the North Sea could be patrolled by air using blimps and scouting aircraft. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Skagerrak strait runs between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat strait, which leads to the Baltic Sea. ... Jutland Peninsula Jutland (Danish: Jylland; German: Jütland; Frisian Jutlân; Low German Jötlann) is the western, continental part of Denmark as well as one of the three historical Lands of Denmark, dividing the North Sea from the Kattegat and the Baltic Sea. ... For other uses, see Atlantic (disambiguation) The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of its surface. ... For other uses, see Baltic (disambiguation). ... The Skagerrak strait runs between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat strait, which leads to the Baltic Sea. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ...


Consequently, Admiral Jellicoe led the Grand Fleet of twenty-four battleships and three battlecruisers eastwards out of Scapa Flow before Hipper's raiding force left the Jade Estuary on 30 May and the German High Seas Fleet could follow. Beatty's faster force of six battlecruisers and four battleships left the Firth of Forth on the next day, and Jellicoe's intention was to rendezvous 90 miles (145 kilometers) west of the mouth of Skagerrak off the coast of Jutland and wait for the Germans or for their intentions to become clear. The planned position gave him the widest range of responses to likely German intentions. For other uses, see Battleship (disambiguation). ... [[Image:HMS Hood and HMS Barham. ... It has been suggested that Gutter Sound be merged into this article or section. ... Jadebusen, formerly Jade or Jahde, is a bay on the North Sea coast of Germany. ... is the 150th day of the year (151st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Firth of Forth from Calton Hill The Forth Bridges cross the Firth Satellite photo of the Firth and the surrounding area Map of the Firth Firth of Forth (Scottish Gaelic: Linne Foirthe) is the estuary or firth of Scotlands River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea... “Miles” redirects here. ... “km” redirects here. ... The Skagerrak strait runs between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat strait, which leads to the Baltic Sea. ... Jutland Peninsula Jutland (Danish: Jylland; German: Jütland; Frisian Jutlân; Low German Jötlann) is the western, continental part of Denmark as well as one of the three historical Lands of Denmark, dividing the North Sea from the Kattegat and the Baltic Sea. ...


The Admirals

See the respective article of each admiral:

David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty (17 January 1871- 11 March 1936), was an admiral in the Royal Navy. ... This is an image of a German admiral. ... Franz von Hipper Franz Ritter von Hipper (September 13, 1863 in Weilheim - May 25, 1932 in Hamburg-Othmarschen) was a German admiral. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 353 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (800 × 1357 pixel, file size: 206 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) John Jellicoe - Project Gutenberg eText 16363 The Project Gutenberg EBook of The New York Times Current History of the European War, Vol 1, Issue 4, January... Admiral of the Fleet Lord Jellicoe Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe (December 5, 1859- November 20, 1935) was a British Royal Navy admiral. ... Image File history File links Question_book-3. ...

Orders of battle

Jellicoe's battle force had a strength of twenty-eight battleships, nine battlecruisers, and other warships, while Scheer had sixteen battleships and five battlecruisers with six pre-dreadnoughts. The British also had a slight superiority in lighter vessels. Because the German navy had a preference for protection over firepower in its ship design German ships had thicker and/or more extensive armour, but carried fewer guns, or guns of smaller calibre, than their British counterparts. No German ship participating in the battle was equipped with guns larger than 12-inch (305 mm) while most British capital ships had 13.5-inch (343 mm) or 15-inch (381 mm) guns. Combined with their larger number this gave the British fleet a total weight of broadside of 332,400 lb (151 tonnes), compared with 134,000 lb (61 tonnes) for the High Seas Fleet. This is the complete order of battle for the Battle of Jutland in 1916. ... For other uses, see Armour (disambiguation). ... The capital ships of a navy are its important warships; the ones with the heaviest firepower and armor. ...


The German ships had better internal subdivision as they were only designed for short cruises in the North Sea and their crews lived in barracks ashore when in harbour; therefore they did not need to be as habitable as the British vessels, and had fewer doors and other weak points in their bulkheads. German armour-piercing shells were far more effective than the British shells; and, which turned out to be a factor of vital importance, the British cordite propellant (lyddite) tended to explode when British ships were hit by incoming shellfire rather than 'burn' as did the German propellant. Moreover the British magazines were not adequately protected, since the Royal Navy emphasised speed on ammunition handling over safety procedures, hence enhancing the rate of fire, but leaving the ships vulnerable to flash damage. On the other hand the British fire control systems, based on Dreyer tables and mechanical computers, were well in advance of the German ones, as demonstrated by the proportion of main calibre hits under manœuvre. The Royal Navy used centralised fire control systems on their capital ships, while Germans controlled the fire on turrets individually. Armour piercing shell of the APBC 1 Light weight ballistic cap 2 Steel alloy piercing shell 3 Desensitized bursting charge (TNT, Trinitrophenol, RDX...) 4 Fuse (set with delay to explode inside the target) 5 Bourrelet (front) and driving band (rear) An armour piercing shell is a type of ammunition designed... Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in the United Kingdom from the late 19th Century to replace gunpowder as a military propellant for large weapons, such as tank guns, artillery and naval guns. ... A propellant is a material that is used to move an object by applying a motive force. ... Picric acid is the common term for the chemical compound 2,4,6-trinitrophenol; the material is a yellow crystalline solid. ... Magazine is the name for a item or place within which ammunition is stored. ... Sir Frederic Charles Dreyer KCB, GBE (8 January 1878–11 December 1956) was an officer of the Royal Navy who developed a fire control system for British warships. ... A fire-control system is a computer, often mechanical, which is designed to assist a weapon system in hitting its target. ...


Naval tactics in 1916

The principle of concentration of force was fundamental to the fleet tactics of this period (as indeed of earlier periods). Tactical doctrine called for a fleet approaching battle to be in a compact formation of parallel columns, allowing relatively easy manœuvring, and giving shortened sight lines within the formation which facilitated passing of the signals necessary for command and control. Force concentration is the practice of concentrating military power on a target to cause disproportionate losses for the enemy. ...


It was a fundamental advantage of such a formation that a fleet formed in several short columns could change its heading faster than could one formed in a single long column. Since command signals in this era were limited to visible means — made with flags or shuttered searchlights between ships — the flagship was usually placed at the head of the centre column so that its signals might be more easily seen by the many ships of the formation. For other uses, see Flag (disambiguation). ... Edisons classical searchlight cart. ...


Poor visibility sometimes meant that a ship might only be able to recognise the signals of its nearest neighbour or neighbours in the fleet. In these circumstances it was necessary for signals to be repeated by each vessel for an admiral's orders to be communicated to the whole formation. This problem was aggravated by the fact that the coal-fired ships of the era generated a great deal of funnel smoke, which was often the main factor interfering with visibility.


Thus it might take a long time for a signal from the flagship to be relayed to the entire formation. It was usually necessary for a signal to be confirmed by each ship before it could be relayed to other ships, and an order for a fleet movement would have to be received and acknowledged by every ship before it could be executed. In a large single-column formation a signal could take ten minutes or more to be passed from one end of the line to the other, whereas in a formation of parallel columns, visibility across the diagonals was often better (and always shorter) than in a single long column, and the diagonals gave signal "redundancy", increasing the probability that a message would been quickly seen and correctly interpreted.

The British Grand Fleet steaming in parallel columns at the outbreak of war in 1914
The British Grand Fleet steaming in parallel columns at the outbreak of war in 1914

However, before battle was joined the heavy units of the fleet would, if possible, deploy into a single column. In order to form the battle-line in the correct orientation relative to the enemy the commanding admiral needed to know the enemy fleet's distance, bearing, heading and speed. It was the task of the scouting forces, consisting primarily of battlecruisers and cruisers, to find the enemy and to report this information in sufficient time, and, if possible, to deny the enemy's scouting forces the opportunity of obtaining the equivalent information. Grand Fleet during WWI Grand Fleet ships in formation During World War I, the British Home Fleet was renamed the Grand Fleet. ... [[Image:HMS Hood and HMS Barham. ... USS Port Royal (CG-73), a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser (really an uprated guided missile destroyer), launched in 1992. ...


Ideally the battle-line would cross the intended path of the enemy column so that the maximum number of guns could be brought to bear, while the enemy could only fire with the forward guns of the leading ships. The Japanese admiral Togo had achieved this against the Russian Fleet in 1905 at the Battle of Tsushima. Jellicoe was to achieve this twice in one hour against the High Seas Fleet at Jutland, but on both occasions Scheer was able to turn away and disengage, thereby avoiding the destruction of his fleet. This article is about the video game. ... Combatants Empire of Japan Russian Empire Commanders Heihachiro Togo Zinovi Rozhdestvenski # Nikolai Nebogatov Strength 4 battleships 27 cruisers destroyers and auxiliary vessels 8 battleships 3 coastal battleships 8 cruisers Casualties 117 dead 583 injured 3 torpedo boats sunk 4,380 dead 5,917 captured 21 ships sunk 7 captured 6...


Battlecruiser action

(1) 15:30 hrs, Abrupt manœuvre separates the British fleet. (2) 15:45 hrs, First Shots fired by Hipper's squadron.(3) 16:00 hrs-16:05 hrs, Indefatigable explodes, leaving two survivors. (4) 16:25 hrs, Queen Mary disintegrates, nine survive. (5) 16:45 hrs, Beatty's Battlecruisers escape the action.(6) 16:55 hrs, Evan-Thomas' Battleships run the gauntlet
(1) 15:30 hrs, Abrupt manœuvre separates the British fleet.
(2) 15:45 hrs, First Shots fired by Hipper's squadron.
(3) 16:00 hrs-16:05 hrs, Indefatigable explodes, leaving two survivors.
(4) 16:25 hrs, Queen Mary disintegrates, nine survive.
(5) 16:45 hrs, Beatty's Battlecruisers escape the action.
(6) 16:55 hrs, Evan-Thomas' Battleships run the gauntlet

Map of the battlecruiser action in the battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916 Created by User:Gdr, based on [1]. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Map of the battlecruiser action in the battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916 Created by User:Gdr, based on [1]. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Prelude to big guns

The German U-boats were completely ineffective; they did not sink a single ship and provided no useful information as scouts. Jellicoe's ships proceeded to his rendezvous undamaged but misled by Admiralty intelligence that the Germans were nine hours later than they actually were. U-boat is also a nickname for some diesel locomotives built by GE; see List of GE locomotives October 1939. ... Mixed reconnaissance patrol of the Polish Home Army and the Soviet Red Army during Operation Tempest, 1944 Reconnaissance is the military term for the active gathering of information about an enemy, or other conditions, by physical observation. ... Flag of the Lord High Admiral The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. ... Intelligence (abbreviated or ) is the process and the result of gathering information and analyzing it to answer questions or obtain advance warnings needed to plan for the future. ...


At 14:20 on 31 May, despite heavy haze and scuds of fog giving poor visibility, scouts from Beatty's force reported enemy ships to the south-east; the British light units, investigating a neutral Danish steamer (N. J. Fjord) which was sailing between the two fleets, had also found German scouts engaged in the same mission. Beatty moved eastwards to cut the German ships off from their base. 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. is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Steamboat (disambiguation). ... HMS Galatea was an Arethusa-class light cruiser launched on May 14, 1914 at Beardmore shipyard. ... Starting around the time that steam cruisers became popular in the 1870s, the Royal Navy tended to organise such ships into groups called Cruiser Squadrons. ... USS McFaul underway in the Atlantic Ocean. ... The SMS Elbing was a German Pillau class light cruiser present at the Battle of Jutland from May 31 to June 1 of 1916. ...


At 15:30, Beatty's forces sighted Hipper's cruisers moving south-east (position 1 on map). Hipper promptly turned away to lead Beatty towards Scheer. Beatty, some three miles (5 km) from Rear-Admiral Sir Hugh Evan-Thomas's column (5th Battle Squadron), turned towards the enemy and signalled by flag for the 5th Battle Squadron to follow. Sir Hugh Evan-Thomas (1852–1928) was an admiral of the Royal Navy. ... Created in 1915, the 5th Battle Squadron was a part of the Royal Navys Grand Fleet in World War I and was comprised of the five fast battleships of the Queen Elizabeth class. ...


The Run to the South

Given the distance and visibility, the 5th Battle Squadron could not read the flag signals; and as Beatty made no effort to communicate via searchlight or radio telegraph, Evan-Thomas continued on his original course for several minutes. Beatty's conduct during the next quarter of an hour has received a great deal of criticism, as his ships out-ranged and outnumbered the German squadron, yet he held his fire. At 15:45, after having the German ships within range for over ten minutes, and with the opposing forces roughly parallel at 15,000 nautical-yards (14 km (9 mi)), Hipper opened fire, followed by Beatty (position 2). Thus began the opening phase of the battlecruiser action, known as the "Run to the South". During the first minutes of the ensuing battle, all the British ships fired well over their German opponents, before finally getting the range. Edisons classical searchlight cart. ... Telegraphy (from the Greek words tele = far away and grapho = write) is the long distance transmission of written messages without physical transport of letters, originally over wire. ... “km” redirects here. ... “Miles” redirects here. ...


Beatty had ordered his ships to engage in a line, one British ship engaging with one German and his flagship Lion doubling on the German flagship Lützow. However, due to another mistake on the part of the British, Derfflinger was left unengaged and free to fire without disruption, while Moltke drew fire from two of Beatty's battlecruisers. The Germans drew first blood. Hipper's five battlecruisers quickly registered hits on three of the six British battlecruisers. Nearly ten minutes passed before the British managed to score their first hit. It has been estimated that during the next phase the German battlecruisers made thirty-five hits, compared with eleven achieved by the British, . This article is about the lead ship, store, or product of a group. ... HMS Lion was a battlecruiser of the Royal Navy launched in 1910, the lead ship of her class. ... SMS Lützow was a German Kaiserliche Marine battlecruiser under Capt. ... SMS Derfflinger was a German Kaiserliche Marine battlecruiser in World War I named after prussian Field Marshal Georg Reichsfreiherr von Derfflinger. ... SMS Moltke was a Moltke-class battlecruiser of the Kaiserliche Marine (German Navy). ...

Beatty's flagship Lion burning after being hit by a salvo from Lützow
Beatty's flagship Lion burning after being hit by a salvo from Lützow

HMS Lion (1910) This image was scanned from a public domain text by the Great War Primary Documents Archive and is made available by them for any purpose provided that they are credited and a link is given to the Photos of the Great War page; see the conditions of... HMS Lion (1910) This image was scanned from a public domain text by the Great War Primary Documents Archive and is made available by them for any purpose provided that they are credited and a link is given to the Photos of the Great War page; see the conditions of... David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty (17 January 1871- 11 March 1936), was an admiral in the Royal Navy. ...

Sudden death

The first near-kill of the battle occurred when a 12-inch (305 mm) salvo from Lützow wrecked "Q" turret of Beatty's flagship Lion. Dozens of crewmen were instantly killed, but far larger destruction was averted when the mortally wounded turret commander, Major Francis Harvey of the Royal Marines, promptly ordered the magazine doors shut and the magazine flooded, thereby preventing the fickle propellant from setting off a massive magazine explosion. Lion was saved. Indefatigable was not so lucky; at 16:00, just fifteen minutes into the slugging match, she was smashed aft by three 11-inch (280 mm) shells from Von der Tann, causing damage sufficient to knock her out of line and drop her speed significantly. Soon after, despite the near-maximum range, Von der Tann put another 11-inch (280 mm) salvo on one of her 12-inch (305 mm) turrets. The plunging shells easily pierced the thin upper armour and Indefatigable was ripped apart by a magazine explosion, sinking immediately with her crew of 1,019 officers and men, leaving only two survivors (position 3). SMS Lützow was a German Kaiserliche Marine battlecruiser under Capt. ... This article is about the lead ship, store, or product of a group. ... Photo submitted by Luigi Sartorel Francis John William Harvey (1873–31 May 1916) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ... The Royal Marines (RM) are the marines and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service [2]. They are also the United Kingdoms amphibious force and specialists in mountain and Arctic warfare. ... For other ships with the same name, see HMS Indefatigable. ... SMS Von der Tann was the first battlecruiser built for the German Kaiserliche Marine as well as Germanys first turbine powered major warship. ...


That tipped the odds to Hipper's benefit, for a brief while as Admiral Evan-Thomas, essentially chasing from oblique (astern) finally manœuvered his squadron of four fast "super-dreadnoughts" into long range. He commanded a squadron of the Queen Elizabeth class armed with 15-inch (381 mm) guns. With occasional 15-inch (381 mm) shells landing on his ships at long ranges, Hipper was in a tight spot and unable to respond at all against Evan-Thomas's squadron with his smaller shorter-ranged guns, but had his hands full with Beatty's units. He also knew his baiting mission was close to completion and his force was rapidly closing with Scheer's main body and had little choice as there was little speed difference between the sides engaged. At 16:25 the battlecruiser action intensified again when Queen Mary was hit by what may have been a combined salvo from Derfflinger and Seydlitz, and she disintegrated in a magazine explosion with all but nine of her 1,275 man crew lost. The Queen Elizabeth class battleships were five super-dreadnoughts of the Royal Navy, named in honour of Elizabeth I of England. ... HMS Queen Mary was a Royal Navy Lion-class battlecruiser, armed with eight 13. ... SMS Seydlitz was a 25,000 ton battlecruiser of the Imperial German Navy, built at Hamburg, Germany, and commissioned in May 1913. ...


Two points to port

Shortly after, a salvo struck on or around Princess Royal, which was obscured by spray and smoke. A signalman promptly leapt onto the bridge of Lion and announced "Princess Royal's blown up, Sir." Beatty famously turned to his flag captain, saying "Chatfield, there seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today. Turn two-points to port", i.e. two points nearer the enemy (position 4). However, the signalman's report was incorrect, as Princess Royal survived the battle. In the Royal Navy a Captain of the fleet could be appointed to assist an admiral when the admiral had ten or more ships to command. ...


At about 16:30, Southampton of Beatty's 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron led by Commodore William Goodenough sighted the main body of Scheer's High Seas Fleet, dodging numerous heavy-calibre salvos to report in detail the German strength: sixteen dreadnoughts with six older battleships. Simultaneously a destroyer action raged in the space between the opposing battlecruiser forces, as British destroyers fought with their German counterparts and managed to put a torpedo into Seydlitz. The destroyer Nestor, under the command of Captain Bingham, sank two German torpedo boats, V 27 and V 29, before she and another destroyer, Nomad, were immobilised by hits. Nestor and Nomad were later sunk by Scheer's dreadnoughts. HMS Southampton was one of the third batch of Town class light cruisers [sister ships were HMS Dublin and Chatham. ... A light cruiser is a warship that is not so large and powerful as a regular (or heavy) cruiser, but still larger than ships like destroyers. ... Sir William Edmund Goodenough (1867-1945) was a British admiral of World War I. He commanded the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron from 1913-16, participating in the battles of Heligoland Bight in August 1914, Dogger Bank in January 1915, and Jutland in May-June 1916. ... A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to launch torpedoes at larger surface ships. ...


The Run to the North

Beatty headed north to draw the Germans towards Jellicoe and managed to break contact with the Germans at about 16:45 (position 5). Beatty's movement towards Jellicoe is called the "Run to the North". Because Beatty once again failed to signal his intentions adequately, the super-dreadnoughts of the 5th Battle Squadron found themselves lagging behind the battlecruisers and heading directly into the main body of the High Seas Fleet. Created in 1915, the 5th Battle Squadron was a part of the Royal Navys Grand Fleet in World War I and was comprised of Queen Elizabeth class battleships. ... German battlecruiser Derfflinger scuttled at Scapa Flow. ...


Their difficulty was compounded by Beatty, who gave the order to Evan-Thomas to "turn in succession" rather than "turn together". There is poorly-referenced speculation that the exact wording of the order originated with Lieutenant-Commander Ralph Seymour, Beatty's flag lieutenant, rather than Beatty himself. This should have resulted in all four ships turning, in succession to transit through the same patch of sea, which gave the High Seas Fleet repeated opportunity with ample time to find the proper range. Consequently, the trailing ships experienced a period wherein they had to fend off the lead German dreadnoughts and Hipper's battlecruisers on their own. Fortunately, the dreadnoughts were far better suited to take this sort of pounding than the battlecruisers, and none were lost, as in the event, one captain turned early mitigating the adverse results. Nonetheless, Malaya sustained heavy casualties in the process, likely lessened by the initiative of her Captain in turning early. At the same time, the 15-inch (381 mm) fire of the four British ships remained effective, causing severe damage to the German battlecruisers (position 6). Lieutenant Commander (Lieutenant-Commander in the Royal Navy) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies superior to a Lieutenant and subordinate to a Commander. ... An aide-de-camp (French for camp assistant) is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state. ... HMS Malaya was a Queen Elizabeth class battleship of the Royal Navy built by Armstrong Whitworth and launched in March 1915. ...


Still fighting blind

Jellicoe was now aware that full fleet engagement was nearing, but had insufficient information on the position and course of the Germans. Rear-Admiral Horace Hood's 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron was ordered to speed ahead to assist Beatty, while Rear-Admiral Arbuthnot's 1st Cruiser Squadron patrolled the van of the main body for eventual deployment of Jellicoe's dreadnought columns. Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank that originated from the days of Naval Sailing Squadrons and can trace its origins to the Royal Navy. ... Rear Admiral The Honourable Horace Lambert Alexander Hood (1870 – 31 May 1916) was a young and respected admiral in World War I. He was the great-great-grandson of Admiral Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood. ... Admiral Sir Robert Keith Arbuthnot 4th Bt, KCB, MVO Rear Admiral Sir Robert Keith Arbuthnot, 4th Baronet, KCB, MVO (23 March 1864 – 31 May 1916) was a British Royal Navy officer during World War I. Born in Alderminster to Major Sir William Arbuthnot, 3rd Baronet and Alice Margaret Tompson, he... Starting around the time that steam cruisers became popular in the 1870s, the Royal Navy tended to organise such ships into groups called Cruiser Squadrons. ...


Around 17:30 the armoured cruiser Black Prince of Arbuthnot's squadron, bearing southeast, came within view of Beatty's leading 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron, establishing the first visual link between the converging bodies of the Grand Fleet. Simultaneously the signals cruiser Chester, steaming behind Hood's battlecruisers, was intercepted by the van of the German scouting forces under Rear-Admiral Bodicker. The HMS Black Prince was an armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy (RN) during the First World War. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...


Heavily outnumbered by Bodicker's four light cruisers, Chester was pounded before being relieved by Hood's heavy units which swung back westward for that purpose. Hood's flagship Invincible disabled the light cruiser Wiesbaden as Bodicker's other ships fled toward Hipper and Scheer, in the mistaken belief that Hood was leading a larger force of British capital ships from the north and east. Another destroyer action ensued as German torpedo boats attempted to blunt the arrival of this new formation. The fifth Invincible of the Royal Navy was a battlecruiser, the lead ship of her class of three, and the first battlecruiser to be built by any country in the world. ... SMS Wiesbaden was the second and last Frankfurt-Class light cruiser of the German Imperial Navy in World War I. The keel was laid in 1913 at A.G. Vulcan in Stettin. ... A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to launch torpedoes at larger surface ships. ...


The fleet action

In the meantime Beatty and Evan-Thomas had resumed their engagement with Hipper's battlecruisers, this time with the visual conditions to their advantage. With several of his ships damaged, Hipper turned back towards Scheer at around 18.00, just as Beatty's flagship Lion was finally sighted from Jellicoe's flagship Iron Duke. Jellicoe promptly demanded the latest position of the German forces from Beatty, who failed to respond to the question for almost ten minutes. Main fleet action at the battle of Jutland, 17:30–21:00 31 May 1916 The British were in six columns led by (from NE to SW at ❶) King George V, Orion, Iron Duke, Benbow, Colossus and Marlborough. ... HMS Iron Duke was a battleship of the Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class, named in honour of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. ...


Jellicoe, having overestimated the enemy forces, was in a worrying position, needing to know the location of the German fleet in order to judge when and how to deploy his battleships from their cruising formation (in six columns of four ships each) into a single battle-line. The deployment could be on either the westernmost or the easternmost column, and had to be carried out before the Germans arrived; but early deployment could mean losing any chance of a decisive encounter. Deploying to the west would bring his fleet closer to Scheer, gaining valuable time as dusk approached, but the Germans might arrive before the manœuvre was complete. Deploying to the east would take the force away from Scheer, but Jellicoe's ships might be able to cross the "T" and would have the advantage of silhouetting Scheer's forces against the setting sun to the west. Deployment would take twenty irreplaceable minutes, and the fleets were closing at speed. Jellicoe ordered deployment to the east at 18:10. In the illustration, the blue ships are crossing the T of the red ships. ...


Meanwhile Hipper had rejoined Scheer, and the combined High Seas Fleet was heading north, directly toward Jellicoe. Scheer had no indication that Jellicoe was at sea, let alone that he was bearing down from the northwest, and was distracted by the intervention of Hood's ships to his north and east. Beatty's four surviving battlecruisers were now crossing the van of the British dreadnoughts to join Hood's three battlecruisers; in doing so, Beatty nearly rammed Rear-Admiral Arbuthnot's flagship Defence. Admiral Sir Robert Keith Arbuthnot 4th Bt, KCB, MVO Rear Admiral Sir Robert Keith Arbuthnot, 4th Baronet, KCB, MVO (23 March 1864 – 31 May 1916) was a British Royal Navy officer during World War I. Born in Alderminster to Major Sir William Arbuthnot, 3rd Baronet and Alice Margaret Tompson, he... HMS Defence was a Minotaur-class armored cruiser of the Royal Navy, launched in 1907. ...


Arbuthnot's obsolete armoured cruisers had no real place in the coming clash between modern dreadnoughts, but he was attracted by the drifting hull of the crippled Wiesbaden. With Warrior, Defence closed in for the kill, only to blunder right into the gunsights of Hipper's and Scheer's oncoming capital ships. Defence was destroyed in a spectacular explosion viewed by most of the deploying Grand Fleet, sinking with all hands (903 officers and men). Warrior was hit badly but spared destruction by the mishap to the nearby superdreadnought Warspite. Warspite had been steaming near 25 knots (46 km/h) to keep pace with the 5th Battle Squadron as it tailed Beatty's battlecruisers in the run north, creating enough strain to jam her rudder. Drifting in a wide circle, she appeared as a juicy target to the German dreadnoughts and took thirteen hits, inadvertently drawing fire from the hapless Warrior. This unintentional maneouvre by Warspite was known as "Windy Corner". Despite surviving the onslaught, Warspite was soon ordered back to port by Evan-Thomas. Schematic section of a typical armoured cruiser with an armoured upper and middle deck and side belt (red), lateral protective coal bunkers (grey) and a double-bottom of watertight compartments. ... HMS Warrior, the name ship of her class of 4 armored cruisers of the Royal Navy, was built several years before the outbreak of the First World War. ... HMS Warspite was a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship of the British Royal Navy. ...


As Defence sank, Hipper moved within range of Hood's 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron. Invincible inflicted two below-waterline hits on Lützow that would ultimately doom Hipper's flagship, but at about 18:30 abruptly appeared as a clear target before Lützow and Derfflinger. A series of 12-inch (305 mm) shells struck Invincible, which blew up and split in two, killing all but six of her crew of 1,032 officers and men, including Rear-Admiral Hood. SMS Lützow was a German Kaiserliche Marine battlecruiser under Capt. ...


By 18:30 the main fleet action was joined for the first time, with Jellicoe effectively "crossing Scheer's T". Jellicoe's flagship Iron Duke quickly scored a series of hits on the lead German dreadnought, König, but in this brief exchange, which lasted only minutes, as few as ten of the Grand Fleet's twenty-four dreadnoughts actually opened fire. The Germans were hampered by poor visibility in addition to being in an unfavourable tactical position. Realizing he was heading into a trap, Scheer ordered his fleet to turn and flee at 18:33. Under a pall of smoke and mist Scheer's forces succeeded in disengaging. SMS König was the first of four König class battleships which served with the German Imperial Navy during World War I. Built at the Wilhelmshaven Dockyard, she was launched on the 1 March 1913 and officially completed on the 10 August 1914. ...


Conscious of the risks to his capital ships posed by torpedoes, Jellicoe did not chase directly but headed south, determined to keep the High Seas Fleet west of him. Scheer knew that it was not yet dark enough to escape and that his fleet would suffer terribly in a stern chase, so at 18:55 he doubled back to the east. In his memoirs he wrote, "the manœuvre would be bound to surprise the enemy, to upset his plans for the rest of the day, and if the blow fell heavily it would facilitate the breaking loose at night." But the turn to the east took his ships towards Jellicoe's.


Commodore Goodenough's 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron dodged the fire of German battleships for a second time to re-establish contact with the High Seas Fleet shortly after 19:00. By 19:15, Jellicoe had crossed the "T" yet again ❺. This time his arc of fire was tighter and deadlier, causing severe damage to the Germans, particularly Rear-Admiral Behncke's leading 3rd Battle Squadron. At 19:17, for the second time in less than an hour, Scheer turned to the west, ordering a major torpedo attack by his destroyers and a "death ride" by Scouting Group I's four remaining battlecruisers — Lützow being out of action and abandoned by Hipper — to deter a British chase. In this portion of the engagement the Germans sustained thirty-seven heavy hits while inflicting only two, Derfflinger alone receiving fourteen. Nonetheless Scheer slipped away as sunset (at 20:24) approached. The last major exchange between capital ships in this battle took place as the surviving British battlecruisers caught up with their German counterparts, which were briefly relieved by Rear-Admiral Mauve's obsolete pre-dreadnoughts ❻. As King George V and Westfalen exchanged a few final shots, neither side could have imagined that the only encounter between British and German dreadnoughts in the entire war was already concluded. The first HMS King George V was a King George V-class of 1911 dreadnought, with a displacement of 23,400 tonnes and an armament of ten 13. ... SMS Westfalen, a Nassau-class battleship, was launched in 1908 at AG Weser in Bremen. ...


Night action and German withdrawal

At 21:00, Jellicoe, conscious of the Grand Fleet's deficiencies in night-fighting, decided to try to avoid a major engagement until early dawn.[1]He placed a screen of cruisers and destroyers five miles behind his battle fleet to patrol the rear as he headed south to guard Scheer's expected escape route.[2] In reality Scheer opted to cross Jellicoe's wake and escape via Horns Reef. Luckily for Scheer, most of the light forces in Jellicoe's rearguard failed to report their encounters with the German battleships during the night;[3] the very few radio reports that were sent to the British flagship were never received, possibly because the Germans were jamming British frequencies.[4] Jellicoe and his commanders were unable to understand that the furious gunfire and explosions to the north (seen and heard for hours by all the British battleships) indicated that the German heavy ships were breaking through the screen astern of the British fleet.[5] Remarkably, the most powerful British ships of all (the 15-inch-gunned 5th Battle Squadron) directly observed German battleships crossing astern of them in action with British light forces, at ranges of only about 6,000 yards, and gunners on the HMS Malaya made ready to fire, but her captain declined, deferring to the authority of rear admiral Evan-Thomas—and neither commander reported the sightings to Jellicoe.[6] Horns Reef is a shallow area in the eastern North Sea, about 15 km / 10 miles off the west coast of Denmark, near the town of Blavand. ... HMS Malaya was a Queen Elizabeth class battleship of the Royal Navy built by Armstrong Whitworth and launched in March 1915. ...


While the nature of Scheer's escape, and Jellicoe's inaction, indicate the overall German superiority in night-fighting, the results of the night action were no more clear-cut than were those of the battle as a whole. Southampton, Commodore Goodenough's flagship which had scouted so proficiently, was heavily damaged in a surprise encounter with a German light cruiser squadron at point-blank range, but managed to torpedo the Frauenlob which went down at 22:23 with all hands (320 officers and men).[7] Then early on 1 June, the battleship Thüringen sank the Black Prince of the ill-fated 1st Cruiser Squadron, which blew up with all hands (857 officers and men) as her squadron leader Defence had done hours earlier.[8] SMS Frauenlob bell of Frauenlob SMS Frauenlob was a Gazelle-class light cruiser in the German Imperial Navy. ... is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... SMS Thüringen was a Helgoland class Dreadnought battleship of the Kaiserliche Marine. ... Several ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Defence: Defence, launched in 1763, fought in many battles in the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. ...


From 23:20 to approximately 02:15, several British destroyer flotillas launched torpedo attacks on the German battlefleet in a series of violent and chaotic engagements at extremely short range (often under 1,000 yards).[9] At the cost of five destroyers sunk and some others damaged, they managed to sink the predreadnought Pommern, which blew up and sank with all hands (844 officers and men), and to torpedo the light cruiser Rostock, which sank several hours later.[10] In the chaos, the German battleship Nassau rammed the British destroyer Spitfire, and blew