Jutland

• Jutland, 1916
• Battle of Jutland, 1916- how it became a crisis for both sides
• First Phase: Beatty’s Attack
• • The British received intelligence that the German High Seas Fleet was putting to sea. On May 31, 1916 Jellicoe and Beatty set out into the North Sea to meet them
• • Beatty’s squadron was made up of faster ships so he came across the German fleet before Jellicoe
• • Beatty opened fire on Hipper’s battlecruises and sailed towards them
• • In running battle, Hipper successfully drew the British south into the path of main German High Seas Fleet
• Crisis developing: By the time Beatty sighted the larger force and turned back he had lost two of his six ships and the German High Seas Fleet was in pursuit of his battlecruisers
• Second Phase: Main Battle and German Retreat
• • As Beatty retreated north he drew the Germans north into the path of the main British fleet under the command of Jellicoe who successfully crossed the enemy’s T
• • The German fleet took a battering from the British bombardment and turned back south under heavy fire
• • Hipper’s ships made a smoke screen to hide their exit and to bring up torpedo boats
• • The German torpedo boats fired at the British fleet. Jellicoe, anxious to avoid heavy losses to torpedoes among his most powerful and expensive ships turned away to avoid them.
• • As night set in both sides were involved in further chaotic fighting in the darknesss
• Crisis developing: The British lost more ships (14 ships and over 6,000 lives) than the Germans (9 ships and over 2,500 casualties) and this was seen as crisis at the time. But the German fleet was never again put to sea and challenge the British Navy’s blockade