Jutland
The Unfinished Battle
Published 2016
Recounts the background to and the action at Jutland in May 1916, a naval battle which saw the largest dreadnought clash in history. Nick Jellicoe then looks at the century of controversy over ”who won.”
**Completely revised and updated.** More than one hundred years after the battle of Jutland, the first and largest engagement of Dreadnoughts in the twentieth century, historians are still fighting this controversial and misunderstood battle. What was in fact a strategic victory stands out starkly against the background of bitter public disappointment in the Royal Navy and decades of divisive acrimony and very public infighting between the camps supporting the two most senior commanders, Jellicoe and Beatty. This book not only re-tells the story of the battle from both a British and German perspective based on the latest research, but it also helps clarify the context of Germany s inevitable naval clash. It then traces the bitter dispute that ensued in the years after the smoke of war had cleared; right up to his death in 1935, Admiral Jellicoe was embroiled in what became known as the Jutland Controversy. Nick Jellicoe is uniquely placed to tell the story of Jutland. His naval connections are strong: his father, the second Earl served as First Lord of the Admiralty while his grandfather, Sir John Jellicoe commanded the Grand Fleet for the first two years on the war, from 1914 to 1916, and was famously described by Churchill as being the only man who could have lost the war in an afternoon.
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P210 INSET will check calculation. Think it should be closer to 30%. p307 3rd para. Reuter needs introduction. Will write up something. p312 end 1st para. “both sides paid for these misjudgements” should read “both sides paid heavily for these misjudgements.” (Take out “with the death of thousands…” p313 1st para. Better to read “could not easily be absorbed” (Add “easily”). p318 The use of the * is done twice (once at the top of the page and a second tie on the chart (Torpedo Hits at Jutland (*sunk) ). p319 End 1st para. Should better read “…but rather the effect of its threat or perceived potential”. p320 1st para. 2nd part better placed over the page on p.322 in 2nd para after “possible” and before “Signalling…”. Text to be moved reads “The Grand Fleet had not found a solution ….Why on earth should they?”. p338 Top of page. Should better read “pointing out the many inaccuracies and misleading…” (i.e. ADD “the many”)p 339 PAGE NOTE. Dr Innes McCartney…should read “I hoped that the maps might prove to be a significant find as the….” p341 1st para. Better to read “..of course, there was yet another Admiralty disclaimer!” p343 3rd para. Replace “let Beatty know that he had written about it” with ““let Beatty know what he had written in the Naval Review…”p 6: not a “howler,” but I must say it is odd that Tirpitz broke the Whitehead monopoly by giving the work to Schwarzkopf!
David and Goliath:
Some time around 23:00, the German van was approaching the rear of the Grand Fleet. Imagine two moving down from the top of the two sides of a large X, steadily converging on each other. This is what was happening. The German main battle fleet sailing down from left to right. At the top, at the rear, on the extreme east, was the 6th Division (of the 1st Battle Squadron) running roughly parallel with HMS Marlborough which was steaming at a reduced speed after the earlier torpedo damage.
Appendices
I have put in a note with reference to Walter Cowan’s report from Princess Royal. Also attached is the data for the coloured chart so that it can be replaced. Is there someone in your group who is god with these kind of charts otherwise I will try to find someone here?
MAP OVERALL – would suggest moving the position for “2” further to the right. MAP BC ACTION – Should read “four Queen Elizabeth class 15in-gunned…” MAP BC ACTION – Point 3. Suggest should read “…but their gunnery range and speed…” MAP BC ACTION – Indefatigable losses should be “1,017” NOT “1,015” (to coincide with the stone being laid for the Jutland memorial park). p136 INSET. Suggest adding “…his Battle Cruiser Battle Orders (BCBOs) were quietly changed….”