Concerning this stage of the action Admiral Jellicoe in his report quotes Vice Admiral Beatty as follows: In view of the gathering darkness and the fact that our strategical position was such as to make it appear certain that we should locate the enemy at daylight under most favorable circumstances, I did not consider it desirable or proper to close the enemy battle fleet during the dark hours. Here the British Admiral and his second in command were in accord, but the responsibility for the resultant movement of the British fleet must rest with Admiral Jellicoe as chief in command. By his order the British fleet steamed through the dark hours at moderate speed on southerly courses some ninety miles from the battlefield. Although the British fleet was thus placed in the general direction of Heligoland, this meant that Admiral Jellicoe had relinquished all touch with the German fleet, and this left the German fleet practically free to proceed to its bases, which was done without any interference, bringing in their damaged ships. The Germans even attempted to tow the wreck of the Lützow into port, but she sank on the way in. This move to the southward by the British fleet ended the battle of Jutland. In the night there were isolated clashes of small fry, the adventures of lame ducks, &c., but there was nothing that affected the tactical results, and nothing that was in any sense a part of a battle of fleets. None of these encounters even indicated the location of the German fleet. DEPARTURE OF GERMAN FLEET At the early coming of light in these latitudes (about 3 A. M., June 1) the British fleet was to the southward and westward of the Horn Reef, about ninety miles from the battlefield. The British fleet then retraced its course to the battlefield. This return of the British fleet, by the same lane it followed in the night, did not give much opportunity to regain touch with the German fleet. Admiral Jellicoe reports that he remained in the vicinity of the battlefield until 11 A. M. when he was "reluctantly compelled to the conclusion that the High Seas Fleet had returned into port." Soon afterward the British fleet proceeded to its bases. In the early accounts of the battle there were fanciful tales of pursuit of the German ships through the night, and even after Admiral Jellicoe's report, the British public did not at first realize the situation at the end of the action. But, after a time, when this was better understood, there arose one of the greatest naval controversies that have ever agitated Great Britain, centred around the alleged "defensive" naval policy for maintaining the supremacy of Great Britain on the seas--the pros and cons as to closing the Germans while there was light, and keeping in touch through the dark hours. With that discussion this article has nothing to do, but the tactical situation at the end of the battle should be stated.