Jutland is a small peninsula off the coast of Denmark. This was the scene of one of the greatest clash of surface ships, primarily the battleship in the History of naval warfare. This battle is part of the curriculum of the Defense Services Staff College at Wellington. In terms of sheer size of the armada involved the battle of Jutland is perhaps the biggest engagement of battleships in the History of warfare. There have been bigger battles in the Pacific (Midway, Santacruz, Hawaii) between the American and Japanese fleets, but they involved aircraft carriers and the primary role was of the torpedo carrying fighter/ bombers.
The Clash of the Titans
The battle of Jutland took place between the Grand Imperial fleet of the Royal Navy and the German Fleet from 31 May to 01 Jun 1916. As is well known the First World War took place from 1914-18. In 1916 the Germans were chaffing at a blockade imposed by the Royal Navy. This was so as the Royal Navy had complete control over the North Sea and all German ports had access only through the North Sea. This blockade was crippling Germany. Kaiser Wilhelm II the German emperor held a war conference and it was thought that the best method was to face the Royal Navy and inflict crippling damage to it, so as their strangle hold over the North Sea could be broken and Germany could access the North Atlantic and reach their colonies in Africa. At that time Germany had colonies in SW Africa. The importance of ending the British Naval dominance in the North Sea thus cannot be underestimated.
After due deliberations the Kaiser selected Admiral Reinhart Scheer as the commander of the German Fleet. The command of the decisive dreadnought cruiser squadron was handed over to Vice Admiral Franz Hipper. The British war fleet was commanded by Admiral Sir John Jellicoe while the dread naught squadron of Battle cruisers was commanded by Vice Admiral David Beatty.
Opposing Forces
The opposing fleets were expecting a naval clash as the war inFrance was stalled on the ground as the French under Marshal Petain had halted the Germans at Verdun. The Kaiser was of the view that a destruction of the Royal Navy in the North Sea will have a decisive effect on the war. He was right and accordingly the two German admirals began to formulate a plan to engage the British fleet. It was decided to avoid a head on clash as the Royal navy had superiority in battle ships and battle cruisers. In fact if numbers have any meaning the Royal Navy had 28 battleships compared to the German fleet that could muster only 16. Even in the field of battle cruisers the royal navy had 9 of them to 5 of the German fleet. The overall superiority of the British fleet was in the ratio of 2:1. All in all more than 150 ships of all hue and sizes took part in this massive naval battle.
The battle
The Germans had a number of Zeppelin air ships and these they planned to use for reconnaissance. But heavy winds aborted this plan. The Germans however put to sea their submarines to attack the warships of the British fleet. The plan was to engage the British fleet destroyers who would be tied up in combating the German U Boats, leaving the main fleet to attack the British fleet. However the submarines had Fuel to remain at sea only till 2 Jun, as such the fateful decision to engage battle from 31 May was taken. Admiral Scheer was confident that the superior training of the German naval crew would be decisive and the battle would go in the favor of Germany.
Breaking of the German Code
However one of the German naval Ships had been captured by the Russians, after it ran aground in Russian territorial waters. The Russian broke the German code and transmitted it to Royal Navy. So when the Germans transmitted their order to start the battle to their fleet, the British having the code could read all German communications. Thus the plan of the German fleet was in some ways known to the Royal Navy. The German plan was to use their cruiser squadron to act as a decoy and lure the main British fleet to a collision course and Admiral sheer counting on surprise and efficiency of the German fleet was thinking he could annihilate the imperial naval armada.
The battle was fought in two phases. In the first phase the fleet of Admiral Hipper was chased by the British fleet and in the second phase the German fleet under Scheer faced the British fleet. The battle lasted all night and heavy gun fire from the battleships was the hallmark of this battle. It is without doubt the greatest naval battle between surface ships in the history of naval warfare.
Strategic Results of the Battle
The British battleships had heavier guns and less armor while the German battleships had heavier armor and slightly lighter guns. Thus the longer range of the British guns prevailed and the German battle ships were hit 27 times. The Germans however fought with accuracy, once the British ships closed in nearer to the German fleet. The unerring aim of the German gunners caused the loss of 3 British battleships with heavy loss of resultant life. In real terms the British losses were double of the Germans. But in the strategic sense the Germans could not annihilate the British fleet and after this battle the German navy never ventured out for any more battles with the British fleet. Kaiser Wilhelm II claimed victory in battle and so did the British. But in England there was a sense of disappointment as the public expected another decisive victory as at Trafalgar in 1805, when the naval fleet of Napoleon was decisively defeated by Lord Nelson the one-eyed admiral.
Conclusion
Now in hindsight one can evaluate this battle dispassionately. Historians and students of Military History do not give much credit to the British admirals, who had the basic principle of warfare i.e.concentration of force in their favor. Yet they failed to annihilate the German fleet. The Germans were outgunned, but they did not concede a decisive victory to the British. But the end of the battle saw the British dominance over the North Sea increase. It was a bitter pill for the Kaiser who wished the German fleet to be more powerful than the Royal navy. This failure to contain the Royal Navy was one of the causes of the German defeat in this war.
Jutland is a small peninsula off the coast of Denmark. This was the scene of one of the greatest clash of surface ships, primarily the battleship in the History of naval warfare. This battle is part of the curriculum of the Defense Services Staff College at Wellington. In terms of sheer size of the armada involved the battle of Jutland is perhaps the biggest franczyza engagement of battleships in the History of warfare. There have been bigger battles in the Pacific (Midway, Santacruz, Hawaii) between the American and Japanese fleets, but they involved aircraft carriers and the primary role was of the torpedo carrying fighter/ bombers.
The Clash of the Titans
The battle of Jutland took place between the Grand Imperial fleet of the Royal Navy and the German Fleet from 31 May to 01 Jun 1916. As is well known the First World War took place from 1914-18. In 1916 the Germans were chaffing at a blockade imposed by the Royal Navy. This was so as the Royal Navy had complete control over the North Sea and all German ports had access only through the North Sea. This blockade was crippling Germany. Kaiser Wilhelm II the German emperor held a war conference and it was thought that the best method was to face the Royal Navy and inflict crippling damage to it, so as their strangle hold over the North Sea could be broken and Germany could access the North Atlantic and reach their colonies in Africa. At that time Germany had colonies in SW Africa. The importance of ending the British Naval dominance in the North Sea thus cannot be underestimated.
After due deliberations the Kaiser selected Admiral Reinhart Scheer as the commander of the German Fleet. The command of the decisive dreadnought cruiser squadron was handed over to Vice Admiral Franz Hipper. The British war fleet was commanded by Admiral Sir John Jellicoe while the dread naught squadron of Battle cruisers was commanded by Vice Admiral David Beatty.
Opposing Forces
The opposing fleets were expecting a naval clash as the war inFrance was stalled on the ground as the French under Marshal Petain had halted the Germans at Verdun. The Kaiser was of the view that a destruction of the Royal Navy in the North Sea will have a decisive effect on the war. He was right and accordingly the two German admirals began to formulate a plan to engage the British fleet. It was decided to avoid a head on clash as the Royal navy had superiority in battle ships and battle cruisers. In fact if numbers have any meaning the Royal Navy had 28 battleships compared to the German fleet that could muster only 16. Even in the field of battle cruisers the royal navy had 9 of them to 5 of the German fleet. The overall superiority of the British fleet was in the ratio of 2:1. All in all more than 150 ships of all hue and sizes took part in this massive naval battle.
The battle
The Germans had a number of Zeppelin air ships and these they planned to use for reconnaissance. But heavy winds aborted this plan. The Germans however put to sea their submarines to attack the warships of the British fleet. The plan was to engage the British fleet destroyers who would be tied up in combating the German U Boats, leaving the main fleet to attack the British fleet. However the submarines had Fuel to remain at sea only till 2 Jun, as such the fateful decision to engage battle from 31 May was taken. Admiral Scheer was confident that the superior training of the German naval crew would be decisive and the battle would go in the favor of Germany.
Breaking of the German Code
However one of the German naval Ships had been captured by the Russians, after it ran aground in Russian territorial waters. The Russian broke the German code and transmitted it to Royal Navy. So when the Germans transmitted their order to start the battle to their fleet, the British having the code could read all German communications. Thus the plan of the German fleet was in some ways known to the Royal Navy. The German plan was to use their cruiser squadron to act as a decoy and lure the main British fleet to a collision course and Admiral sheer counting on surprise and efficiency of the German fleet was thinking he could annihilate the imperial naval armada.
The battle was fought in two phases. In the first phase the fleet of Admiral Hipper was chased by the British fleet and in the second phase the German fleet under Scheer faced the British fleet. The battle lasted all night and heavy gun fire from the battleships was the hallmark of this battle. It is without doubt the greatest naval battle between surface ships in the history of naval warfare.
Strategic Results of the Battle
The British battleships had heavier guns and less armor while the German battleships had heavier armor and slightly lighter guns. Thus the longer range of the British guns prevailed and the German battle ships were hit 27 times. The Germans however fought with accuracy, once the British ships closed in nearer to the German fleet. The unerring aim of the German gunners caused the loss of 3 British battleships with heavy loss of resultant life. In real terms the British losses were double of the Germans. But in the strategic sense the Germans could not annihilate the British fleet and after this battle the German navy never ventured out for any more battles with the British fleet. Kaiser Wilhelm II claimed victory in battle and so did the British. But in England there was a sense of disappointment as the public expected another decisive victory as at Trafalgar in 1805, when the naval fleet of Napoleon was decisively defeated by Lord Nelson the one-eyed admiral.
Conclusion
Now in hindsight one can evaluate this battle dispassionately. Historians and students of Military History do not give much credit to the British admirals, who had the basic principle of warfare i.e.concentration of force in their favor. Yet they failed to annihilate the German fleet. The Germans were outgunned, but they did not concede a decisive victory to the British. But the end of the battle saw the British dominance over the North Sea increase. It was a bitter pill for the Kaiser who wished the German fleet to be more powerful than the Royal navy. This failure to contain the Royal Navy was one of the causes of the German defeat in this war.