Battle of Jutland
The only full-scale clash of battle fleets in the First World War was fought off Denmark on 31 May and 1 June 1916, and both sides claimed it. The German plan was to lure a portion of the Grand Fleet over a submarine trap and destroy it, restoring parity before risking a general action. What the Germans did not know was that British naval intelligence had recovered German codebooks and read the sailing orders, so the entire Grand Fleet was already at sea when they left port. The battlecruiser action came first and went badly for Britain. Indefatigable and Queen Mary blew up within half an hour, taking over 2,200 men, and Beatty is quoted as saying that there seemed to be something wrong with their bloody ships. The fault was ammunition handling: anti-flash doors left open to speed up loading, cordite stacked in the turrets. Beatty then drew the German fleet north onto Jellicoe, who deployed his battle line across their course twice, crossing the T. Scheer escaped both times by a simultaneous 180-degree turn practised for exactly this, covered by a destroyer torpedo attack that made Jellicoe turn away. The fleets lost contact in the dark, and the Germans crossed astern of the British line through the night with fighting that the British ships in contact did not report. Britain lost fourteen ships and over 6,000 men, Germany eleven and about 2,500. The German fleet did not seriously challenge the blockade again, and Germany turned to submarines.
- Year: 1916 CE
- Category: Military
