The Battle of Jutland, Naval warfare - Militaria - Morskie

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//-->THE BATTLE OFJUTLANDTHE BATTLE OFJUTLANDGEOFFREY BENNETTPen & SwordMARITIMEFirst published in Great Britain in 1964 by B. T. Batsford Ltd.Second impression published in 1972 by David Charles Ltd.Published in 2006 and reprinted in this format in 2015 byPEN & SWORD MARITIMEAn imprint ofPen & Sword Books Ltd47 Church StreetBarnsley, South YorkshireS70 2ASCopyright © Geoffrey Bennett, 1964, 1972, 2006, 2015ISBN 978-1-78159-633-3The right of Geoffrey Bennett to be identified as Author of this work has beenasserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced ortransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanicalincluding photocopying, recording or by any information storage andretrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.Printed and bound in EnglandBy CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YYPen & Sword Books Ltd incorporates the Imprints of Aviation, Atlas,Family History, Fiction, Maritime, Military, Discovery, Politics, History,Archaeology, Select, Wharncliffe Local History, Wharncliffe True Crime,Military Classics, Wharncliffe Transport, Leo Cooper, The Praetorian Press,Remember When, Seaforth Publishing and Frontline Publishing.For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contactPEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, EnglandE-mail: enquiries@pen-and-sword.co.ukWebsite: www.pen-and-sword.co.ukPREFACE TO THEFIRSTEDITIONSince a reviewer of a previous book of mine, Coronel and the Falklands, observed ‘it is doubtful ifanother book on the subject is justified’, a word to disarm the same criticism of The Battle of Jutland– to the Germans, Skagerrak – will not come amiss. Although not decisive, as were Nelson’s battles,the only major naval action of the First World War has a unique claim to attention. In 1805, 27 Britishships-of-the-line with a maximum burden of 2,250 tons annihilated 33 ships from France and Spain inthe last fleet action fought in open water before sail gave way to steam. A century later Togo, with 4battleships as large as 16,000 tons and 8 armoured cruisers, destroyed the same number of Russianvessels in the principal naval engagement in the 100 years before the completion of the Dreadnought.In contrast, no fewer than 64 capital ships, one displacing 28,500 tons, met in combat at Jutland on31st May 1916. In short, this was the biggest battle at sea since Henry VIII armed his ships with ‘greatguns’. It was also the last before nations could no longer afford battleships in such numbers, beforeaircraft deprived them of their paramount power, and before guided missiles and nuclear weaponstransformed the pattern of maritime warfare. In 1864 It was clear that the world would never again seea fleet such as that of which the Victory remains a lasting memorial. Today it is certain that none willsee again the massive dreadnoughts with which Jellicoe and Beatty fought Scheer and Hipper nearly50 years ago.There is, however, a more important justification for this book. The present writer is the first, withthe distinguished exception of the late Sir Julian Corbett (Naval Operations, Vol. III – more than fortyyears ago), to produce an acount of the battle with the advantage of access to the papers of the lateVice-Admiral J. E. T. Harper. These relate to the suppression of the original Harper Record preparedin 1919, as well as to the equally suppressed secretNaval Staff Appreciation of Jutland(1923), acheckered story sketched in Appendix III – though it should not be inferred that 1 have accepted all thestrictures on the conduct of the battle which the latter contains.My first chapter summarizes the circumstances in which Germany elected to challenge British seapower in August 1914; my second covers operations in the North Sea up to 31st May 1916. Both areneeded for a proper understanding of Jutland, and my account is enriched by the personalrecollections of those who fought under Jellicoe and Scheer, of which one must have pride of placehere:The Jutland battle was a great thing to have been in; it was very different from what I expected. We inthe Collingwood saw a good deal more than some of the other ships and we fired more than they did.We were not hit at all, which was very lucky, though we were straddled several times. One shelldropped over the forecastle, missing us by inches. I was In the fore turret, second-in-command. Duringsome part of it I was sitting on top when they straddled us. I didn’t remain up very long after that! Wehad no breakdowns of any sort. Everything worked very well: as for the men, they were quitemarvellous, just as cheery as usual and worked like demons. The worst part of it was the nightafterwards. we ceased firing at 9 p.m. and went to night defence until 2 a.m. when we closed up in theturrets again. We were sick at not seeing the enemy again that morning.This account by the future King George VI, then Sub-Lieutenant Prince Albert, recalls the words ofthe Spanish Admiral Langara at Gibralta in 1780 when he found the embryo King William IV servingas a midshipman in the Prince George in which he was present at the Battle of Cape St Vincent: ‘Welldoes Great Britain merit the Empire of the Sea when the humblest stations in her navy are supported [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

The Battle of Jutland, Naval warfare - Militaria - Morskie

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