A True Account of the Battle of Jutland, May 31, 1916Frothingham, Thomas Goddard
History
A True Account of the Battle of Jutland, May 31, 1916
Frothingham, Thomas Goddard
Jutland, Battle of, 1916; World War, 1914-1918 -- Naval operations
This lack of understanding of Scheer’s turn and return is plainly shown
by Admiral Jellicoe, who writes, concerning the situation after 7.00:
“Our alteration of course to the south had, meanwhile, brought the
enemy’s line into view once more.” The British Command did not realize
that his enemy had actually voluntarily come back into the former
position, and this was the real reason the German ships had reappeared.
At 7.05 the whole British battle line had been turned together three
more points to starboard. But at 7.10 the sudden attack of the German
torpedo flotillas was sighted, and shortly afterwards the British
fleet was turned away to port two points, and then two points more, to
avoid the run of the torpedoes. Admiral Jellicoe states that this move
enabled his battleships to avoid many torpedoes, and that the range
was opened by about 1,750 yards. The German Admiral claims that “the
action of the torpedo-boat flotillas had achieved its purpose.” (S)
After accomplishing this result of making his enemy turn away, Admiral
Scheer at 7.17 for a third time successfully executed the same
manœuvre of ships-right-about (in this third turn Scheer’s flagship,
_Friedrich der Grosse_, was cramped and made the turn to port), and
again his fleet was on a westerly course screened by dense smoke. This
swing-around again had the same effect of freeing the German fleet from
the gunfire of the British fleet. The British Command again did not
grasp the full import of the German move. He writes of the difficulty
of observation in the mist and smoke. Some of his subordinates reported
that the Germans had turned away at this time, but none realized that a
ships-right-about had been carried out. It was not until 7.41 that the
British battle fleet was altered by divisions three points to starboard
to close.
Shortly after (at 7.47), Vice Admiral Beatty made signal to Lord
Jellicoe: “Urgent. Submit that the van of battleships follow the
cruisers. We can then cut off the whole of the enemy’s battle fleet.”
Much has been made of this signal by ill-advised critics. In fact it
will be self-evident that, at the time Beatty’s signal was sent, the
German fleet was not in the assumed position, but had long before been
extricated from its dangerous contact by the third “swing-around” (S)
at 7.17, and the Germans ships were again safely proceeding on their
altered course.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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