Teaching Materials
What was Jutland?
- Jutland was the largest naval battle in history.
- Fought over 12 hours – from May 31st to June 1st 1916.
- 249 ships in the battle – 150 British and 99 German.
- From over 100,000 sailors at sea, 1 in 10 died or were wounded – 5,672 British; 2,115 German including 3 Admirals.
- Death was sudden and on a huge scale (Queen Mary 1,266, Indefatigable 1,017, Invincible 1,026, Defence 903, Black Prince 857, Wiesbaden 589, Fraulenlob 320, Pommern 839).
- Tonnage sunk was small compared to one year later when, in Apil 1917, the allies lost nearly a million tons by sinkings or damage.
Why was it so controversial?
- Claimed by both nations as a victory. The British wanted another Trafalgar. The Germans to end British maritime domination.
- A decisive and pivotal turning point of naval doctrine, strategy and technology.
- The first battle fought against the unseen – either because of weather, the darkness, the Zeppelin or the new threat of the submarine
- Failure to annihilate the German Fleet unleashed unrestricted submarine warfare. This was a new war for which Britain was unprepared and while it nearly brought Britain to collapse in mid 1917, it was America’s entry into the war on April 6th that eventually helped defeat Germany.
- The German fleet’s continued threat diverted the critical resources needed to support Convoy countermeasures: Destroyers.
- At Jutland the dreadnought was redefined, the torpedo and mine threat unrealized, gunnery, munitions, ship design, intelligence and battlefield communications re-thought.
Powerpoint Presentations
It's not just about old men
