War at Sea
As an island the only way the country could be invaded was by sea and so to protect itself Britain needed the best navy by far in the world, especially as it had a rather small army, to act as deterrence. Britain used something known as Dual Standard, which meant that Britain’s navy had to always be at least twice the size of the next two biggest, in the world, combined together. There were many important roles that the navy had in the war. The main initial role of the navy was to control ocean areas and maintain free passage for merchant ships carrying cargos of vital war materials and supplies to the Western and other fighting fronts. It was also vital for the transportation of troops and munitions to the front. The navy was used to keep the Channel Ports such as Calais open and easily accessible. This control was mainly achieved through deterrence and the only real navy battle occurred between the two sides (Britain and Germany) at the Battle of Jutland.
The battle of Jutland began on 31st May 1916 between the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet. The battle began in the early afternoon when rival light cruisers on patrol spot each other and open fire. The actual fight starts at 4PM when Admiral Beatty’s battle cruisers open fire on Admiral von Hippers battlecruiers. Beatty attempts to sail south to cut Hipper off from his base in Germany. Hipper undertakes a withdrawal to the southeast hoping to lure Beatty into a trap, force Beatty to face the main fleet, which Beatty will be crushed. During this chase Beatty is at a disadvantage as the sun brightens his ships while his enemy’s ships are hidden in the haze and mist. Beatty did not even reach the High Seas Fleet and he already took severe damage. The Indefairigable is struck by salvoes from the Von der Tann and explodes. 25 minutes later the Derfflinger lands a salvo on the Queen Marry, which is ripped apart by an internal explosion leaving only 9 survivors out of a crew of 1200. Beattsy flagship the Lion also took severe damage and his battlecruiers were getting closer to the High Seas Fleet. Beatty ordered the fleet to head north to escape the German fleet and rendezvous with the Grand fleet. Ships commanded by Rear Admiral Hood cover his withdrawal. Also Admiral Jellicoe sent 3 battlecrusiers to aid Beatty. At 5:35PM these ships open fire on Admiral Hippers ships which results in the Lutzow being badly damaged and hitting 2 light cruisers the Wiesbaden and Pillau. Jellicoe who made his battle plans on poor intelligence from his warships attempts a manoeuvre that will place his battle ships at a clear advantage, it will cut off the Germans form their bases allowing the Grand Fleet to destroy them. The High Seas Fleet now faces a line of British warships some 9 miles long but it continues to fight. One of the first ships to be destroyed is Admiral Hood’s flagship the Invincible that is blow apart by the Derflinger and Lutzow at a range of 10,500 yards. Admiral Sheer, commander of the German fleet decides to turn away from the British and escape but Jellicoe is quick to respond and tries to cut off the Germans again. To try and gain time Admiral Sheer orders his light units mainly torpedo boats and destroyers and Admiral Hipper’s battlecruiers to attack despite the odds and he realised he was up against the entire Grand Fleet. The High Seas Fleet contained 16 Battleships, 6 Pre-dreadnaught Battlehips, 5 Battle Cruisers, 11 Cruisers and 61 destroyer sand torpedo boats. The Grand Fleet consisted 28 Battleships, 9 Battle Cruisers, 34 Cruisers and 71 destroyer sand torpedo boats of Admiral Sheer attempts his escape but the Pommern, a torpedo sinks a battleships. 2 light cruisers the Frauenlob and Rostock are also sunk and the Elbing is sliced in half by a superior ship, Posen a battleship. The battle cruiser Lutzow has to be abandoned and sunk by a torpedo to prevent it falling into British hands. Jellicoe did not want the battle to go in to the night, as he knew the British searchlights and star shells were inferior to the Germans. In the end the British lost 6,097 sailors, 510 wounded and 177 prisoners. They also lost 3 battle cruisers, 8 Destroyer and Torpedo boats. The Germans lost 1 battle cruiser, 1 Pre-Dreadnaught Battleship, 4 cruisers, and 5 Destroyers and Torpedo boats. They also lost 2,551 sailors and 507 wounded.
