The Battle of the Skagerrak
THE bombardment of April 25 had not failed to make an impression in England. The expectation that the fleet was bound to succeed in warding off all German attacks on British shores had repeatedly been disappointed. On each occasion the English main fleet had arrived too late—in December, 1914; in January, 1915; and now again this year—so that, to the great annoyance of the English, the German " raiders" got away each time unpunished. Wherefore Mr. Balfour, the First Lord of the Admiralty, felt called upon to announce publicly that should the German ships again venture to show themselves off the British coast, measures had been taken to ensure their being severely punished. However, we were ready to take our chance.
The question was whether it would be advisable to include Squadron II in an advance which in all probability would involve us in a serious battle. Early in May I ordered the squadron temporarily into the Jade Basin that I might have an opportunity of discussing with the Squadron Commander the action to be observed in battle under the most varied conditions. Military reasons entered into the question as to whether the squadron should be taken out or left behind, as well as consideration for the honour and feeling of the crews, who would not hear of being reduced, themselves and their ships, to the second class. For battleships to have their activity limited absolutely to guarding the German Bight without any prospect of getting into touch with the enemy— to which they had been looking forward for a year and a half—would have caused bitter disappointment; on the other hand, however, was the responsibility of sending the ships into an unequal fight where the enemy would make use of his very best material. I cannot deny that in addition to the eloquent intercession of Rear Admiral Mauve, the Squadron Commander, my own former connection with Squadron II also induced me not to disappoint it by leaving it behind. And thus it happened that the squadron played its part on May 31, and in so helpful a manner that I never had cause to regret my decision.
The repairs on the Seydlitz, damaged on April 24, were not completed until the end of May, as the reconstruction of the mine-shattered torpedo tubes necessitated very heavy work. I had no intention, however, of doing without that battle-cruiser, although Vice-Admiral Hipper, Chief of the Reconnaissance Forces, had meanwhile hoisted his flag in the newly repaired battle-cruiser Lützow (Captain Harder, formerly on the Stralsund ). The vessels belonging to Squadron III were also having their condensers repaired, as on their last trip there had been seven cases of damaged machinery in that squadron. The advantage of having three engines, as had each of these ships, was proved by the fact that two engines alone were able to keep up steam almost at full speed; at the same time, very faulty construction in the position of the engines was apparent, which unfortunately could not be rectified owing to limited space' Thus it happened that when a condenser went wrong it was impossible to conduct the steam from the engine with which it was connected to one of the other two condensers, and thus keep the engine itself working. It was an uncomfortable feeling to know that this weakness existed in the strongest unit at the disposal of the Fleet, and how easily a bad accident might result in leakages in two different condensers and thus incapacitate one vessel in the group !
The object of the next undertaking was a bombardment of the fortifications and works of the harbour at Sunderland which, situated about the middle of the East coast of England, would be certain to call out a display of English fighting forces as promised by Mr. Balfour. The order issued on May 18 in this connection was as follows:
"The bombardment of Sunderland by our cruisers is intended to compel the enemy to send out forces against us. For the attack on the advancing enemy the High Sea Fleet forces to be south of the Dogger Bank, and the U-boats to be stationed for attack off the East coast of England. The enemy's ports of sortie will be closed by mines. The Naval Corps will support the undertaking with their U-boats. If time and circumstances permit, tradewar will be carried on during proceedings."
The squadrons of men-of-war had made over the command of prizes to the torpedo-boat flotillas, as torpedo-boats are the best adapted for the examination of vessels, but have not a crew large enough to enable them to bring the captured vessels into our ports. The First and Second Scouting Divisions were placed at the disposal of the Chief of Reconnaissance, and the Second Leader of the torpedo-boats with Flotillas II, VI, and IX. Scouting Division IV* and the remainder of the flotillas were with the Main Fleet. Sixteen of our U-boats were told off for the positions of attack, with six to eight of the Flanders boats. On May 15 they started to reconnoitre in the North Sea, and from May 23 to June 1 inclusive were to remain at the posts assigned to them, observe the movements of the English forces, and gain any information that might be of use to the Fleet in their advance; at the same time they were also to seize every opportunity to attack. Provision was also made for the largest possible number of our airships to assist the enterprise by reconnaissance from the air. The fact that the U-boats could only remain out for a certain period put a limit to the execution of the plan. If reconnaissance from the air proved impossible, it was arranged to make use of the U-boats, and so dispense with aerial reconnaissance.
As the weather each day continued to be unfavourable and the airship commander could only report that it was impossible to send up any airships, the plan was so far changed, though without altering other preparations, that it was decided to embark on a campaign against cruisers and merchantmen outside and in the Skagerrak, with the expectation that the news of the appearance of our cruisers in those waters would be made known to the enemy. With this object in view, they had been told to keep in sight of the coast of Norway, so that the enemy might be notified. In further describing the course of this undertaking, which led to the Battle of the Skagerrak, I shall keep strictly to the official report I sent in.
In judging the proceedings it must be borne in mind that at sea a leader adapts his action to the events taking place around him. It may possibly reveal errors which can only be accounted for later by reports from his own ships or valuable information from enemy statements. The art of leadership consists in securing an approximately correct picture from the impression of the moment, and then acting in accordance with it. The writer of history can then form a tactical inference where obvious mistakes were made, or where a better grasp of the situation would have led to a more advantageous decision. In this event a certain reticence should be observed in making definite assertions that a different movement would have been more successful, for armed efficiency plays the chief part in success and cannot be determined with mathematical precision. I have in mind one hit that did so much damage to our battle-cruiser Seydlitz on January 24, 1915, that one almost came to the conclusion that such ships could not stand many shots of such heavy calibre, and yet the following battle proved the contrary. At all events, a good hit can seal the fate of a ship, even one of the strongest. A naval battle may be open to criticism as to why it happened thus, but anyone who asserted that it might have happened otherwise would be in danger of losing his case.
The advance
On May 30, as the possibility of a long-distance aerial reconnaissance was still considered uncertain, I decided on an advance in the direction of the Skagerrak, as the vicinity of the Jutland coast offered a certain cover against surprise. An extensive aerial reconnaissance was an imperative necessity for an advance on Sunderland in the north-west, as it would lead into waters where we could not allow ourselves to be forced into giving battle. As, however, on the course now to be adopted, the distance from the enemy points of support was considerably greater, aerial reconnaissance was desirable, though not absolutely necessary. As already stated, our U-boats were in position, some of them in fact facing Scapa Flow, one boat off Moray Firth, a large number off the Firth of Forth, several off the Humber and the remainder, north of the Terschelling Bank, in order to be able to operate against enemy forces that might chance to come from a southwesterly direction. The combination of our total forces taking part was as follows:
A list of warships which on May 30 to June 1, 1916, took part in the Battle of the Skagerrak and the operations connected therewith:
Chief of the Fleet: Vice-Admiral Scheer in Friedrich der Grosse.Chief of Staff: Captain von Trotha (Adolf). Chief of the Operating Section: Captain von Levetzow. Admiralty Staff Officer: Captain Quaet-Faslem (Hans). Commander of "Friedrich der Grosse " : Captain Fuchs (Theodor).
Chief of Squadron: Vice-Admiral Ehrhard Schmidt, Ostfriesland. Admiralty Staff Officer: Captain Wegener (Wolfgang). Admiral: Rear-Admiral Engelhardt, Posen. Ostfriesland : Captain von Natzmer.Thüringen : Captain Küsel (Hans).Helgoland : Captain von Kameke.Oldenberg : Captain Höpfner.Posen : Captain Lange.Rheinland : Captain Rohardt.Nassau : Captain Klappenbach (Hans).Westfalen : Captain Redlich.
Chief of Squadron: Rear-Admiral Mauve, Deutschland. Admiralty Staff Officer: Captain Kahlert. Admiral: Rear-Admiral Baron von Dalwigk zu Lichtenfels, Hanover. Deutschland : Captain Meurer (Hugo).Pommern : Captain Bölken.Schlesien : Captain Behncke (Fr.).Schleswig-Holstein : Captain Barrentrapp.Hannover : Captain Heine (Wilh.).Hessen : Captain Bartels (Rudolf).
Chief of Squadron: Rear-Admiral Behncke, König. Admiralty Staff Officer: Captain Baron von Gagern. Admiral: Rear-Admiral Nordmann, Kaiser. König : Captain Brüninghaus.Grosser Kurfurst : Captain Goette (Ernst).Markgraf : Captain Seiferling.Kronprinz : Captain Feldt (Constanz).Kaiser : Captain Baron von Kayserling.Prinz Regent Luitpold : Captain Heuser (Karl).Kaiserin : Captain Sievers.Chief of the Reconnaissance Forces: Vice-Admiral Hipper, Lützow. Admiralty Staff Officer: Captain Raeder (Erick). SCOUTING DIVISION I Seydlitz : Captain von Egidy (Moritz).Moltke : Captain von Karps.Derfflinger : Captain Hartog.Lützow : Captain Harder.Von der Tann : Captain Zenker.Leader of Scouting Division II: Rear-Admiral Bodicker, Frankfurt. Admiralty Staff Officer: Commander Stapenhorst. SCOUTING DIVISION II Pillau : Captain Mommsen.Elbing : Captain Madlung.Frankfurt : Captain von Trotha (Thilo).Wiesbaden : Captain Reiss.Rostock : Captain Feldmann (Otto).Regensburg : Captain Neuberer.Leader of Scouting Division IV: Commodore von Reuter, Stettin. Admiralty Staff Officer: Captain Weber (Heinrich). SCOUTING DIVISION IV Stettin : Captain Rebensburg (Friedrich).München : Captain Böcker (Oskar).Frauenlob : Captain Hoffmann (Georg).Stuttgart : Captain Hagedorn.Hamburg : Captain von Gaudecker.
First Leader of the Torpedo-Boat Forces: Commodore Michelsen, Rostock. 'Admiralty Staff Officer: Captain Junkermann. Second Leader of the Torpedo-Boat Forces: Commodore Heinrich, Regensburg. Chief of Flotilla I: Commander Conrad Albrecht, "G 39." Chief of 1st Half-Flotilla: Commander Conrad Albrecht, "G 39." Chief of Flotilla II: Captain Schuur, "B 98." Chief of 3rd Half-Flotilla: Captain Boest, "G 101." Chief of 4th Half-Flotilla: Captain Dittamar (Adolf), "B 109.'' Chief of Flotilla III: Captain Hollmann, " S 53." Chief of 5th Half-Flotilla: Commander Gautier, "V 71" Chief of 6th Half-Flotilla: Commander Karlowa, "S 54." Chief of Flotilla V: Captain Heinecke, "G 11." Chief of 9th Half-Flotilla: Commander Hoefer, "V 2." Chief of loth Half-Flotilla: Commander Klein (Friedrich), "G 8." Chief of Flotilla VI: Captain Max Schultz, " G 41." Chief of 11th Half-Flotilla: Commander Rümann, "V 44." Chief of 12th Half-Flotilla: Commander Laks, "V 69." Chief of Flotilla VII: Captain von Koch, "S 24." Chief of 13th Half-Flotilla: Commander von Zitzewitz (Gerhard), "S 15'' Chief of 14th Half-Flotilla: Captain Cordes (Hermann), "S 19." Chief of Flotilla IX: Captain Goehle, "V 28." Chief of 17th Half-Flotilla: Commander Ehrhardt, "V 27." Chief of 18th Half-Flotilla: Captain Tillessen (Werner), "V 30."
Leader of the Submarines: Captain Bauer, Hamburg. Admiralty Staff Officer: Captain Lützow (Friedrich). "U24"—Commander: Lieut. Schneider (Rudolf). "U 32 "—Commander: Lieut. Baron Spiegel von und zu Peckelsheim. "U 63 "—Commander: Lieut. Schultze (Otto). "U 66 "—Commander: Lieut. von Bothmer. "U 70 " Commander: Lieut. Wünsche. "U 43 "—Commander: Lieut. Jürst. "U 44 "—Commander: Lieut. Wagenführ. "U 52 "—Commander: Lieut. Walther (Hans). "U 47 "—Commander: Lieut. Metzger. "U 45"—Commander: Lieut. Hillebrand (Leo). "U 22 "—Commander: Lieut. Hoppe. "U 19 "—Commander: Lieut. Weizbach (Raimund). "U B 22 " —Commander; Lieut. Putzier. "U B 21"—Commander: Lieut. Hashagen. "U 53 "—Commander: Lieut. Rose. "U 64 "—Commander: Lieut. Morath (Robert).
"L 11 "—Commander: Captain Schutze (Viktor). "L 17 "—Commander: Lieut. Ehrlich (Herbert). "L 14"—Commander: Lieut. Bocker "L 21 "—Commander: Lieut. Dietrich (Max). "L 23 "—Commander: Lieut. von Schubert. "L 16 "—Commander: Lieut. Sommerfeldt. "L 13 "—Commander: Lieut. Prölt. "L 9 "—Commander: Captain Stelling. "L 22 "—Commander: Lieut. Dietrich (Martin). "L 24 "—Commander: Lieut. Koch (Robert).
Vice-Admiral Hipper, Chief of the Reconnaissance Forces was ordered to leave the Jade Basin with his forces at 4 a.m., May 31, to advance towards the Skagerrak out of sight of Horns Reef, and the Danish coast, to show himself off the Norwegian coast before dark, to cruise in the Skagerrak during the night, and at noon the next day to join up with the Main Fleet. The ships under his command comprised the Scouting Division I and II. To the latter was attached the light cruiser Regensburg, flagship of the Second Leader of the torpedo-boats; under his command were the Flotillas II, VI, and IX. The Main Fleet, consisting of Squadrons I, II, and III, of Scouting Division IV, the First Leader of torpedo-boats, in the Rostock, and Torpedo-Boat Flotillas I, II, V, and VII, were to follow at 4.30 A.M. to cover the reconnaissance forces during the enterprise and take action on June 1. The sailing order of the battleships was as follows: Squadron III in van, Squadron I following, and Squadron II in the rear.
The König Albert was absent from Squadron III, having been incapacitated a few days previously through condenser trouble. Notwithstanding the loss of this important unit, I could not bring myself further to postpone the enterprise, and preferred to do without the ship. Squadron II was without the Preussen, which had been placed at the disposal of the Commander-in-Chief of the Baltic forces to act as guard-ship at the south egress from the Sound. Lothringen was deemed unfit for service. Scouting Division IV, and the Leader of Torpedo-Boats in the light cruiser Rostock, together with the Torpedo-Boat Flotillas I, II, V, and VII, were attached to the battleships.
To the west of the Amrum Bank a passage had been cleared through the enemy minefields which led the High Sea forces safely to the open sea. Visibility was good, with a light north-westerly wind, and there was no sea on. At 7.30 A.M. "U 32 " reported at about 70 miles east of the Firth of Forth, two battleships, two cruisers, and several torpedo-boats taking a south-easterly course. At 8.30 a second wireless was received stating that she had intercepted English wireless messages to the effect that two large battleships and groups of destroyers had run out from Scapa Flow. At 8.48 A.M. a third message came through from "U 66 " that about 60 nautical miles east of Kinnairel [sic.,? Kinnaird Head], eight enemy battleships, light cruisers, and torpedo-boats had been sighted on a north-easterly course.
These reports gave no enlightenment as to the enemy's purpose. But the varied forces of the separate divisions of the fleet, and their diverging courses did not seem to suggest either combined action or an advance on the German Bight or any connection with our enterprise, but showed a possibility that our hope of meeting with separate enemy divisions was likely to be fulfilled. We were, therefore, all the more determined to keep to our plan. Between 2 and 3 P.M. "L 9", 14, 16, 21 and 23 ascended for long-distance reconnaissance in the sector north to west of Heligoland. They took no part in the battle that so soon was to follow, neither did they see anything of their own Main Fleet, nor of the enemy, nor hear anything of the battle.
The first phase of the battle-cruiser engagement
At 4.28 P.M. the leading boat of the 4th Torpedo-Boat Half-Flotilla, "B 109," reported that Elbing, the west wing cruiser on the Chief of Reconnaissance's line, had been sent to examine a steamer about go nautical miles west of Bovbjerg, and had sighted some enemy forces. It was thanks to that steamer that the engagement took place; our course might have carried us past the English cruisers had the torpedo-boat not proceeded to the steamer and thus sighted the smoke from the enemy in the west.
As soon as the enemy, comprising eight light cruisers of the "Caroline" type, sighted our forces, he turned off to the north. Admiral Bodicker gave chase with his cruisers. At 5.20 P.M. the Chief of the Reconnaissance then sighted in a westerly direction two columns of large vessels taking an easterly course. These soon showed themselves to be six battle-cruisers, three of the "Lion" class, one "Tiger," and two "Indefatigables," besides numbers of lighter forces. The Chief of Reconnaissance called back Scouting Division II, which he had sent to give chase in the north, and prepared to attack. The enemy deployed to the south in fighting line. It was Vice-Admiral Beatty with the First and Second English Battle-Cruiser Squadrons, consisting of the Lion, Princess Royal, Queen Mary, Tiger, New Zealand, and Indefatigable. That the enemy deployed to the south was a very welcome fact for us, as it offered the possibility of inducing the enemy to fall back on his own main fleet. The Chief of Reconnaissance therefore followed the movement, manœuvred to get within effective firing range, and opened fire at 5.49 P.M., at a range of about 130 hm. [Edward Beatty gave a range of 18,500 yards].
The fighting proceeded on a south-easterly course. The Chief of Reconnaissance kept the enemy at effective distance. The batteries fixed their aim well; hits were observed on all the enemy ships. Already at 6.13 P.M., the battle-cruiser Indefatigable, the last in the line of the enemy cruisers, sank with a terrible explosion caused by the guns of the Von der Tann. Superiority in firing and tactical advantages of position were decidedly on our side up to 6.19 P.M., when a new unit of four or five ships of the " Queen Elizabeth " type, with a considerable surplus of speed, drew up from a north-westerly direction, and beginning at a range of 200 hm., joined the fighting. It was the Fifth English Battle Squadron{7}. This made the situation critical for our cruisers. The new enemy fired with extraordinary rapidity and accuracy' with the greater ease as regards the latter that he met with almost no opposition, as our battle-cruisers were fully engaged with Admiral Beatty's ships.
At 6.20 P.M. the fighting distance between the battle-cruisers on both sides was about 120 hm., while between our battle-cruisers and those with Queen Elizabeth the distance was something like Position at 5.49 P.M. 180 hm. At this stage Torpedo-Boat Flotilla IX was the only one of the flotillas under the Chief of Reconnaissance that was in a position to attack. The Second Leader of Torpedo-Boats, Commodore Heinrich, on board the Regensburg, and some few boats belonging to Torpedo, Flotilla II, were getting up steam with all speed in a diagonal line from the Chief of Reconnaissance's furthest point. The cruisers of Scouting Division 11, together with the remaining torpedo flotillas, were forced by the " Queen Elizabeths " to withdraw to the east to escape their fire and had, therefore, in spite of working their engines to the utmost, not been able to arrive in position at the head of the battle-cruisers.
In view of the situation, the Second Leader of the Torpedo Boats ordered Torpedo Flotilla IX (whose chief, Captain Goehle, had already decided on his own initiative to prepare to attack) to advance to the relief of the battle-cruisers.
At about 6.30 P.M. Torpedo Flotilla IX proceeded to attack, running through heavy enemy firing. Twelve torpedoes were fired on the enemy lines at distances ranging between 95—80 hm. It was impossible to push the attack closer on the enemy, as at the same time that Flotilla IX got to work, eighteen to twenty English destroyers, covered by light cruisers, appeared on the scene to counter-attack and beat off our torpedo-boats. The result was a torpedo-boat fight at close range (1,000—1,500 m.). The Regensburg, together with the boats of Torpedo-Boat Flotilla II that were with her, and the centrally situated guns on the battle-cruisers, then joined in the fight. After about ten minutes the enemy turned away. On our side "'V27" and "V29" were sunk, hit by shots from heavy calibre guns. The crews of both the boats were rescued in spite of enemy fire, by " V 26 " and " S 35." On the enemy side two, or perhaps three, destroyers were sunk, and two others so badly damaged that they could not get away, and fell later into the hands of our advancing Main Fleet. The enemy made no attempt to rescue the crews of these boats.
During the attack by the torpedo-boats, the English battlecruisers were effectively held in check by the Scouting Division I with heavy artillery, which at the same time manœuvred so successfully that none of the numerous enemy torpedoes observed by Torpedo-Boat Flotilla IX hit their objectives. Towards 6.30 P.M. a powerful explosion was observed on board the third enemy cruiser— the Queen Mary. When the smoke from the explosion cleared away the cruiser had disappeared. Whether the destruction was the result of artillery action or was caused by a torpedo from the battlecruisers or by a torpedo from Torpedo-Boat Flotilla IX can never be ascertained for certain, but most probably it was due to artillery action which caused an explosion of ammunition or oil on board the enemy vessel. It was not until night that I heard of the destruction of the two battle-cruisers.
The attack by Flotilla IX had at all events been successful in so far that for a time it checked the enemy's fire. Admiral Hipper took advantage of this to divert the cruisers to a north-westerly course and thus secure for himself the lead at the head of the cruisers in the new phase of the fight. Immediately following on the attack by the torpedo-boats, the German Main Fleet appeared on the scene of battle just in the nick of time to help the reconnaissance forces in their fight against considerably superior numbers.
The second phase of the fight: the pursuit
At 4.28 P.M.{8} about 50 nautical miles west of Lyngoig, on the Jutland coast, the first news of the sighting of enemy light forces was reported to the Main Fleet proceeding in the following order: Squadrons III, I, II, the flagship at the head of Squadron I, on a northerly course, speed 14 knots—distance between the vessels, 7 hm., distance between the squadrons, 35 hm., the torpedo-boats as U-boat escort for the squadrons, the light cruisers of Scouting Division IV allotted to the Main Fleet to protect their course.
At 5.35 the first report was sent that heavy forces had been sighted. The distance between the Chief of Reconnaissance and the Main Fleet was at that time about 50 nautical miles. On receipt of this message, the fighting line was opened (that is, the distance between the squadrons was reduced to 1,000 m., and between the vessels to 500 m.), and the order was given to clear the ships for action.
In the fighting line the Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet is not tied to any fixed position. When there is a question of leading several squadrons it is not advisable to take up a position at the head of the line, as it is not possible from there to watch the direction in which the fight develops, as that greatly depends on the movements of the enemy. Being bound to any such position might lead to the Commander-in-Chief finding himself at the rear instead of at the head of his assembled line. A position in the centre or at a third of the line (according to the number of units) is more advantageous. In the course of events the place of the eighth ship in the line for the flagship has been tested and approved of.
During the whole time that fighting was going on I had a clear look-out over the whole line and was able to signal with great rapidity in both directions. As the fighting line of the warships was more than 10 km. long, I should not have been able to overlook my entire line from the wing, especially under such heavy enemy firing.
The message received at 5.45 P.M.,from the Chief of Reconnaissance that he was engaged with six enemy battle-cruisers on a southeasterly course showed that he had succeeded in meeting the enemy, and as he fought was drawing him closer to our Main Fleet. The duty of the Main Fleet was now to hasten as quickly as possible to support the battle-cruisers, which were inferior as to material, and to endeavour to hinder the premature retreat of the enemy. At 6.5, therefore, I took a north-westerly course at a speed of 15 knots, and a quarter of an hour later altered it to a westerly course in order to place the enemy between two fires, as he, on his southerly course, would have to push through between our line and that of the battle-cruisers. While the Main Fleet was still altering course, a message came from Scouting Division II that an English unit of warships, five ships (not four!) had joined in the fight.
The situation thus was becoming critical for Scouting Division I, confronted as they were by six battle-cruisers and five battleships. Naturally, therefore, everything possible had to be done to get into touch with them, and a change was made back to a northerly course. The weather was extremely clear, the sky cloudless, a light breeze from N.W., and a calm sea. At 6.30 P.M. the fighting lines were sighted. At 6.45 P.M. Squadrons I and III opened fire, while the Chief of Reconnaissance, with the forces allotted to him, placed himself at the head of the Main Fleet.
The light enemy forces veered at once to the west, and as soon as they were out of firing range turned northwards.,Whether the fire from our warships had damaged them during the short bombardment was doubtful, but their vague and purposeless hurrying to and fro led one to think that our fire had reached them and that the action of our warships had so surprised them that they did not know which way to turn next.
The English battle-cruisers turned to a north-westerly course; Queen Elizabeth and the ships with her followed in their wake, and thereby played the part of cover for the badly damaged cruisers. In so doing, however, they came very much nearer to our Main Fleet, and we came on at a firing distance of 17 hm. or less. While both the English units passed by each other and provided mutual cover, Captain Max Schultz, Chief of Torpedo-Boat Flotilla VI, attacked at 6.49 P.M., with the Eleventh Torpedo-Boat HalfFlotilla. The result could not be seen.
The fighting which now ensued developed into a stern chase; our reconnaissance forces pressed on the heels of the enemy battlecruisers, and our Main Fleet gave chase to the Queen Elizabeth and the ships with her. Our ships in Squadron III attained a speed of over 20 knots, which was also kept up on board the Kaiserin. Just before fire was opened she had succeeded in repairing damage to one of her condensers. By the Friedrich der Grosse, the Fleet Flagship, 20 knots was achieved and maintained. In spite of this, the enemy battle-cruisers succeeded soon after 7 o'clock in escaping from the fire of Scouting Division I. The Queen Elizabeth and her sister ships also made such good way that they were only under fire from the ships of Scouting Division I and of the Fifth Division (First Half of Squadron III). The hope that one of the ships pursued would be so damaged as to fall a prey to our Main Fleet was not fulfilled, although our firing was effective, and at 7.30 P.M. it was seen that a ship of the " Queen Elizabeth " type after she had been hit repeatedly, drew slowly out of the fighting line with a heavy list to leeward. Two modern, destroyers, the Nestor and Nomad, were all that fell to the share of the Main Fleet; they were hit and badly damaged in the attack by Torpedo-Boat Flotilla IX, and were overtaken and sunk by us; the crews were taken prisoner.
At 7.20 P.M., when the fire from Scouting Division I and from the ships of the Fifth Division appeared to grow weaker, the leaders of the Fleet were under the impression that the enemy was succeeding in getting away, and gave orders to the Chief of Reconnaissance and to all the fighting forces "to give chase." Meanwhile, the previously clear weather had become less clear; the wind had changed from N.W. to S.W. Powder fumes and smoke from the funnels hung over the sea and cut off all view from north and east. Only now and then could we see our own reconnaissance forces. Owing to the superior speed of Beatty's cruisers, our own, when the order came to give chase, were already out-distanced by the enemy battle-cruisers and light craft, and were thus forced, in order not to lose touch, to follow on the inner circle and adopt the enemy's course. Both lines of cruisers swung by degrees in concentric circles by the north to a north-easterly direction. A message which was to have been sent by the Chief of Reconnaissance could not be dispatched owing to damage done to the principal and reserve wireless stations on his flagship. The cessation of firing at the head of the line could only be ascribed to the increasing difficulty of observation with the sun so low on the horizon, until finally it became impossible. When, therefore, enemy light forces began a torpedo attack on our battle-cruisers at 7.40 P.M., the Chief or Reconnaissance had no alternative but to manœuvre and finally bring the unit round to S.W. in an endeavour to close up with the Main Fleet, as it was impossible to return the enemy's fire to any purpose.
The third phase of the fighting the battle
I observed almost simultaneously that the admiral at the head of our squadron of battleships began to veer round to starboard in an easterly direction. This was in accordance with the instructions signalled to keep up the pursuit. As the Fleet was still divided in columns, steering a north-westerly course as directed, the order "Leader in Front" was signaled along the line at 7.45 P.M., and the speed temporarily reduced to 15 knots, so as to make it possible for the divisions ahead, which had pushed on at high pressure, to get into position again.
As long as the pursuit was kept up, the movements of the English gave us the direction, consequently our line by degrees veered round to the east. During these proceedings in the Main Fleet, Scouting Division II, under Rear-Admiral Bodicker, when engaged with a light cruiser of the "Calliope" class{9}, which was set on fire, sighted several light cruisers of the "Town " class, and several big ships, presumably battleships, of which the Agincourt was one. Owing to the mist that hung over the water, it was impossible to ascertain the entire strength of the enemy. The group was at once heavily fired on, returned the fire, discharged torpedoes, and turned in the direction of their own Main Fleet. No result could be observed, as artificial smokes was at once employed to protect the cruisers. In spite of the fog theWiesbaden and Pillau were both badly hit. The Wiesbaden (Captain Reiss) lay in the thick of the enemy fire, incapable of action.
The Chiefs of the 12th and 9th Torpedo-Boat Half-Flotillas who were stationed behind the cruisers, recognising the gravity of the situation, came to the front. Both came under fire from a line of numbers of big ships on a N.W. course, and fired their torpedoes from within 60 hm. of the enemy. Here, too, it was impossible to observe what success was achieved, as dense clouds of smoke hid the enemy from view directly they veered round. But both the above-mentioned commanders reckon that they met with success, having attacked under favourable conditions.
While this encounter with the advance guard of the English Main Fleet was taking place, we, on our flagship were occupied debating how much longer to continue the pursuit in view of the advanced time. There was no longer any question of a cruiser campaign against merchantmen in the Skagerrak, as the meeting with the English fighting forces which was to result from such action had already taken place. But we were bound to take into consideration that the English Fleet, if at sea, which was obvious from the ships we had encountered, would offer battle the next day. Some steps would also have to be taken to shake off the English light forces before darkness fell in order to avoid any loss to our Main Fleet from nocturnal torpedo-boat attacks.
A message was then received from the leader of Scouting Division II that he had been fired on by some newly arrived large ships. At 8.2 p.m. came a wireless: " Wiesbaden incapable of action." On receipt of the message I turned with the Fleet two points to larboard [port] so as to draw nearer to the group and render assistance to the Wiesbaden. From 8.20 onwards there was heavy fighting round the damaged Wiesbaden, and good use was made of the ship's torpedoes. Coming from a north-north-westerly direction, the "Queen Elizabeth" ships and also probably Beatty's battle-cruisers attacked (prisoners, however, stated that after 7.0 P.M. the latter took no part in the fight).
A fresh unit of cruisers (three "Invincibles" and four "Warriors ") bore down from the north, besides light cruisers and destroyers. A further message from the torpedo-boat flotillas which had gone to support Scouting Division II, stated that they had sighted more than twenty enemy battleships following a southeasterly course. It was now quite obvious that we were confronted by a large portion of the English Fleet and a few minutes later their presence was notified on the horizon directly ahead of us by rounds of firing from guns of heavy calibre. The entire arc stretching from north to east was a sea of fire. The flash from the muzzles of the guns was distinctly seen through the mist and smoke on the horizon, though the ships themselves were not distinguishable. This was the beginning of the main phase of the battle.
There was never any question of our line veering round to avoid an encounter. The resolve to do battle with the enemy stood firm from the first. The leaders of our battleship squadrons, the Fifth Division turned at once for a running fight, carried on at about 13,000 m. The other divisions followed this movement on orders signalled from the flagship. By this time more than a hundred heavy guns had joined in the fight on the enemy's side, directing fire chiefly at our battle-cruisers and the ships of the Fifth Division (the " König " class). The position of the English line (whose centre we must have faced) to our leading point brought fire on us from three sides. The " Queen Elizabeths " fired diagonally from larboard [port]; the ships of the Main Fleet, which Jellicoe had brought up, from the forecastle starboard. Many shots were aimed at the Friedrich der Grosse, but the ship was never hit.
During this stage of the fight the cruisers Defence, Black Prince, and Warrior came up from the north, but were all destroyed by the fire from our battleships and our battle-cruisers. Fire from the Friedrich der Grosse was aimed at one of the three, which in a huge white cloud of steam was blown into the air, at 3,000 m. distance. I observed several enemy hits and consequent explosions on the ships at our leading point. Following the movement of the enemy they had made a bend which hindered free action of our Torpedo Boat Flotilla II stationed there.
I could see nothing of our cruisers, which were still farther forward. Owing to the turning aside that was inevitable in drawing nearer, they found themselves between the fire of both lines. For this reason I decided to turn our line and bring it on to an opposite course. Otherwise an awkward situation would have arisen round the pivot which the enemy line by degrees was passing, as long-distance shots from the enemy would certainly have hit our rear ships. As regards the effectiveness of the artillery, the enemy was more favourably situated, as our ships stood out against the clear western horizon, whereas his own ships were hidden by the smoke and mist of the battle. A running artillery fight on a southerly course would therefore not have been advantageous to us. The swing round was carried out in excellent style. At our peace manœuvres great importance was always attached to their being carried out on a curved line and every means employed to ensure the working of the signals. The trouble spent was now well repaid; the cruisers were liberated from their cramped position and enabled to steam away south and appeared, as soon as the two lines were separated, in view of the flagship. The torpedoboats, too, on the leeside of the fire had room to move to the attack and advanced.
While the veering round of the line was proceeding, two boats of Torpedo-Boat Flotilla III ("G88" and "V73 ") and the leading boat of Torpedo-Boat Flotilla I (" S 32 ") had attacked. The remaining boats of Torpedo-Boat Flotilla III had ceased the attack on an order to retire from the leader. The weakening of the enemy fire had induced the First Leader to give the order, being persuaded that the enemy had turned away and that the flotilla, which would be urgently needed in the further development of the battle, would find itself without support. Owing to the shortening of the line at the head, the boats of the other flotillas were not able to attack. One division (Torpedo-Boat Flotillas IX and VI) had just returned from the 8 o'clock attack. The enemy line did not follow our veer round. In the position it was to our leading point, it should have remained on, and could have held us still further surrounded if by a simultaneous turn to a westerly course it had kept firmly to our line.
It may be that the leader did not grasp the situation, and was afraid to come any nearer for fear of torpedo attacks. Neither did any of the other officers on the enemy side think of holding firmly to our line, which would have greatly impeded our movements and rendered a fresh attack on the enemy line extremely difficult.
Immediately after the line was turned the enemy fire ceased temporarily, partly because the artificial smoke sent out by the torpedo-boats to protect the line—the battle-cruisers in particular— greatly impeded the enemy's view, but chiefly no doubt on account of the severe losses the enemy had suffered.
Losses that were observed for certain as sunk were: a ship of the "Queen Elizabeth " class (name unknown), a battle-cruiser (Invincible ), two armoured cruisers (Black Prince and Defence ), the light cruiser Shark, and one marked " O 24." Heavily damaged and partially set on fire were: One cruiser (Warrior, sunk later), three light cruisers, three destroyers (of which the Acasta was one).
On our side "V48" was the only destroyer sunk, the Wiesbaden was rendered incapable, and the Lützow so badly damaged that the Chief of Reconnaissance was subsequently compelled at 9 P.M. to leave the ship under the enemy's fire, and transfer to the Moltke. The leadership of Scouting Division I was thus made over to the Derfflinger (Captain Hartog) until II P.M. The other battle-cruisers and the leading ships of Squadron III had also suffered, but kept their place in the line. No one reported inability to do so; I was, therefore, able to reckon on their being fully prepared to fight. After the enemy was forced to cease firing on our line steering S.W., he flung himself on the already heavily damaged Wiesbaden. The ship put up a gallant fight against the overwhelmingly superior forces, which was clearly to be seen as she had emerged from out of the clouds of smoke and was distinctly visible.
It was still too early for a nocturnal move. If the enemy followed us our action in retaining the direction taken after turning the line would partake of the nature of a retreat, and in the event of any damage to our ships in the rear the Fleet would be compelled to sacrifice them or else to decide on a line of action enforced by enemy pressure, and not adopted voluntarily, and would therefore be detrimental to us from the very outset. Still less was it feasible to strive at detaching oneself from the enemy, leaving it to him to decide when he would elect to meet us the next morning. There was but one way of averting this—to force the enemy into a second battle by another determined advance, and forcibly compel his torpedo-boats to attack. The success of the turning of the line while fighting encouraged me to make the attempt, and decided me to make still further use of the facility of movement. The manœuvre would be bound to surprise the enemy, to upset his plans for the rest of the day, and if the blow fell heavily it would facilitate the breaking loose at night. The fight of the Wiesbaden helped also to strengthen my resolve to make an effort to render assistance to her and at least save the crew.
Accordingly, after we had been on the new course about a quarter of an hour, the line was again swung rounds to starboard on an easterly course at 8.55 P.M. The battle-cruisers were ordered to operate with full strength on the enemy's leading point, all the torpedo-boat flotillas had orders to attack, and the First Leader of the torpedo-boats, Commodore Michelsen, was instructed to send his boats to rescue the Wiesbaden 's crew. The boats told off for this purpose were compelled to relinquish the attempt. The Wiesbaden and the boats making for her were in the midst of such heavy fire that the leader of the torpedo-boats thought it useless to sacrifice his boats. In turning to go back "V73 " and "G 88 " together fired off four torpedoes at the " Queen Elizabeths."
The battle that developed after the second change of course and led to the intended result very soon brought a full resumption of the firing at the van which, as was inevitable, became the same running fight as the previous one, in order to bring the whole of the guns into action. This time, however, in spite of "crossing the T," the acknowledged purpose was to deal a blow at the centre of the enemy line. The fire directed on our line by the enemy concentrated chiefly on the battle-cruisers and the Fifth Division. The ships suffered all the more as they could see but little of the enemy beyond the flash of fire at each round, while they themselves apparently offered a good target for the enemy guns. The behaviour of the battle-cruisers is specially deserving of the highest praise; crippled in the use of their guns by their numerous casualties, some of them badly damaged, obeying the given signal, " At the enemy," they dashed recklessly to the attack.
The conduct of Squadron II (Rear-Admiral Behncke) and the action of the ships of the Fifth Division are equally worthy of recognition. They, together with the battle-cruisers, bore the brunt of the fight, and thus rendered it possible for the torpedo-boat flotillas to take so effective a share in the proceedings. The systematic procedure of our ships in the line was a great help to the flotillas on their starboard side in opening the attack. The first to attack were those ahead with the cruisers, the boats of Flotillas VI and IX. Next came Flotillas III and V from the Main Fleet. Flotilla II was kept back by the Second Leader of torpedo-boats, for fear it might be left unprotected behind VI and IX. This action was justified by the course of events. The 1st Torpedo Half-Flotilla and a few boats from Flotillas VI and IX were occupied in covering the damaged Lützow. There was no longer any opportunity for an attack by Flotilla VII which had been in the rear of our fighting line. As they advanced Flotillas VI and IX were met by the heavy enemy fire that until then had been directed against the battle-cruisers; they carried the attack to within 70 hm. against the centre of a line comprising more than twenty large battleships steering in a circle E.S.E. to S., and opened fire under favourable conditions. In the attack "S 35 " was hit midships and sank at once. All the other boats returned, and in doing so sent out dense clouds of smoke between the enemy and our own Main Fleet. The enemy must have turned aside on the attack of Flotillas VI and IX. Flotillas III and V that came after found nothing but light craft, and had no opportunity of attacking the battleships. The action of the torpedo-boat flotillas had achieved its purpose.
At 9.17 P.M., therefore, the line was again for the third time swung round on to a westerly course, and this was carried out at the moment when the flagship Friedrich der Grosse was taking a southerly course close by the turning point. Although the signal to swing round hung on the starboard side and was being carried out by the neighbouring ships, I made the Chief of the Friedrich der Grosse carry out the turn to larboard [port].
This might have led the ships following behind to think that there was a mistake in the signalling. But my intention to get through and save the ships in front of the Friedrich der Grosse from a difficult situation in carrying out the manœuvre was rightly understood by Vice-Admiral Ehrhardt Schmidt in the Ostfriesland, the Leader of Squadron I. He did not wait, therefore, for the carrying out of the movement from the rear—which is the general rule to avoid all danger of collision—but himself gave the lead in the turning of his squadron by starting the turn to starboard with the Ostfriesland and thus forced his ships round. This action was a very satisfactory proof of the capable handling of the ships and the leaders' intelligent grasp of the situation.
After the change to a westerly course the Fleet was brought round to a south-westerly, southerly, and finally to a south-easterly course to meet the enemy's encircling movement and keep open a way for our return, The enemy fire ceased very soon after we had swung round and we lost sight of our adversary. The enemy's casualties at this stage of the fighting cannot be given.
Excepting the effects of direct hits which we were able to confirm from the flames of explosions, the enemy has only admitted the damage to the Marlborough by torpedoes.³ On our side all the ships were in a condition to keep up the speed requisite for night work (16 knots) and thus keep their place in the line.
Night movements and battles
Twilight was now far advanced, and it was only by personal observation that I could assure myself of the presence and external condition of those ships that chiefly had been under fire, and especially that the Lützow was able to keep with the unit. At 9.30 the battle-cruiser was seen to larboard [port] of the flagship, and had reported that she could do 15 knots. The report made by the torpedo-boat flotilla as to the enemy's strength and the extension of his firing line made it quite certain that we had been in battle with the entire English Fleet. It might safely be expected that in the twilight the enemy would endeavour by attacking with strong forces, and during the night with destroyers, to force us over to the west in order to open battle with us when it was light. He was strong enough to do it. If we could succeed in warding off the enemy's encircling movement, and could be the first to reach Horns Reef, then the liberty of decision for the next morning was assured to us. In order to make this possible all flotillas were ordered: to be ready to attack at night, even though there was a danger when day broke of their not being able to take part in the new battle that was expected. The Main Fleet in close formation was to make for -Horns Reef by the shortest route, and, defying all enemy attacks, keep on that course. In accordance with this, preparations for the night were made.
The Leaders of the torpedo-boats were instructed to arrange night attacks for the flotillas. At 9.20 a southerly course was ordered. In changing to this course Squadron II had fallen out on the starboard side as the leading ship of Squadron I fell into the new course, not being able to fix the position of Squadron II. Owing to the latter's inferior speed it fell behind the ships of Squadrons III and I in the last part of the day's battle. Squadron II now attempted, at full speed and manœuvring to larboard [port], to resume its place in front of Squadron I, which was its rightful position, after the Fleet had been turned. It came, therefore, just in time to help our battle-cruisers that were engaged in a short but sharp encounter with the enemy shortly before it was quite dark. While Scouting Divisions I and II were trying to place themselves at the head of our line they were met at 10.20 by heavy fire coming from a southeasterly direction. Nothing could be seen of the enemy beyond the flash of the guns at each round. The ships, already heavily damaged, were hit again without being able to return the fire to any purpose. They turned back, therefore, and passed in between Squadrons II and I to leeward of the firing.
The head of Squadron I followed the movements of the cruisers, while Squadron II (Rear-Admiral Mauve) stood by and took the enemy's fire. When Squadron II became aware that the failing light made any return fire useless it withdrew, thinking to attract the enemy to closer quarters with Squadron I. The enemy did not follow, but ceased firing.
Almost at the same time the Leader of Scouting Division IV. Commodore von Reuter, under similar conditions, had been engaged in a short encounter with four of five cruisers, some of them ships of the 'Hampshire " class.
Following on this attack, we took a south-easterly course which The Situation at 10.30 P.M, was at once seen to be necessary and adopted by Squadron I, bringing Squadron II again on the starboard side of the Fleet. In view of the fact that the leading ships of the Main Fleet would chiefly have to ward off the attacks of the enemy, and in order that at daybreak there should be powerful vessels at the head, Squadron II was placed in the rear. At 11 P.M. the head of the line stood at 36" 37' North latitude, and 5" 30' East longitude. At 11.6 P.M. the order for the night was "Course S.S.E. ¼ E, speed 16 knots."
Out of consideration for their damaged condition, Scouting Division I was told off to cover the rear, Division II to the vanguard, and the IVth to cover the starboard side. The Leaders of the torpedo-boat forces placed the flotillas in an E.N.E. to S.S.W. direction, which was where the enemy Main Fleet could be expected. A great many of the boats had fired off all their torpedoes during the battle. Some were left behind for the protection of the badly damaged Lützow ; others were retained by the flotilla leaders in case of emergency. The rescue of the crews of the Elbing and Rostock was due to that decision.
The Second, Fifth and Seventh, and part of the Sixth and Ninth were the only Flotillas that proceeded to the attack; the boats had various nocturnal fights with enemy light forces. They never sighted the Main Fleet. At 5 A.M. on June 1 "L 24" sighted a portion of the Main Fleet in Jammer Bay. It was as we surmised —after the battle the enemy had gone north. Flotilla II, which had been stationed at the most northerly part of the sector, was forced back by cruisers and destroyers, and went round by Skagen; at 4 o'clock when day broke the other flotillas collected near the Main Fleet.
The battleship squadrons proceeded during the night in the following order: Squadron I, Flagship of the Fleet, Squadron III and Squadron II. Squadrons I and II were now in reversed positions; that is to say, the ships previously in the rear were now at the van.
Other attempts to bring the admirals ahead were abandoned owing to the darkness and lack of time. The conduct of the line was entrusted to Captain Redlich on the Westfalen. The enemy attacked from the east with both light and heavy forces during the night almost without ceasing. Scouting Divisions I and II and the ships in Squadron I in particular were to ward off the attacks. The result was excellent. To meet these attacks in time, bring the enemy under fire and by suitable manœuvring evade his torpedoes, demanded the most careful observation on board the vessels. Consequently the line was in constant movement, and it required great skill on the part of the commanders to get into position again, and necessitated a perpetual look-out for those manœuvring just in front of them. Very little use was made of the searchlights. It had been proved that the fire from the attacking boats was aimed chiefly at these illuminated targets. As our light guns and the navigation control on the ships were close to the searchlights, and because of the better view to be obtained the officers and men on duty there would not take cover, several unfortunate casualties occurred. On board the Oldenburg the commander, Captain Höpfner, was severely wounded by a shell, and several officers and many of the crew were killed.
Utterly mistaking the situation, a large enemy cruiser with four funnels came up at 2 A.M. (apparently one of the "Cressy" class), and was soon within 1, 500 metres of Squadron I's battleships, the Thüringen and Ostfriesland. In a few seconds she was on fire, and sank with a terrible explosion four minutes after opening fire. The destruction of this vessel, which was so near that the crew could be seen rushing backwards and forwards on the burning deck while the searchlights disclosed the flight of the heavy projectiles till they fell and exploded, was a grand but terrible sight. Squadron I reported during the night that after carrying out an evading manœuvre the Nassau had not returned in her place, and as she did not answer a call it was feared she had been torpedoed. Towards morning, however, there was a faint wireless from her reporting that she was standing by the Vyl Lightship at Horns Reef, and during the night had rammed and cut through a destroyer. After this exploit the commander preferred not to return to our darkened line but made for the morning's rendezvous.
A careful estimation showed that during the night one battlecruiser, one light cruiser and seven destroyers were sunk on the enemy's side, and several battle-cruisers and destroyers badly damaged. The 2nd Division of Squadron I at the head of the line were specially successful in the defence they put up against torpedo attacks, as they themselves accounted for six destroyers. On our side the old light cruiser Frauenlob, the battleship Pommern and "V 4 " were sunk; Rostock and Elbing were abandoned and blown up. At 12.45 A.M. the Frauenlob (Captain Georg Hoffmann), during a fight between Scouting Division IV and four cruisers of the "Town " class, was hit by a torpedo and, according to the accounts of the few survivors, went down fighting to the last.
The Pommern (Captain Bölken) was torpedoed at 4.20 A.M. and went down with a violent explosion. Unfortunately none of the crew could be saved, as the wreckage drifted away so quickly that nothing was seen on the water by a ship following at 500 m. distance.
At 4.50 A.M. "V4" struck an enemy mine; the crew was not saved. At 1.30 A.M. the Rostock and Elbing to the larboard [port] of the head of Squadron I were engaged in a fight with destroyers, but had finally to withdraw from the enemy's torpedoes and break through Squadron I's line, so as not to impede the firing from the ships of the line. While doing this the Rostock was hit by a torpedo, and the Elbing and Posen collided. Both cruisers were put out of action. The Rostock kept afloat till 5.45 A.M., but as enemy cruisers were then sighted she was blown up, the entire crew and the wounded having previously been taken off by the boats of Flotilla III. The crew of the Elbing was also taken over by a boat belonging to Flotilla III. The Commander, Captain Madlung, the First Officer, the Torpedo Officer and a cutter's crew remained on board to keep the ship afloat as long as possible. When, however, enemy forces were sighted at 4 A.M. the Elbing was also blown up. The remainder of the crew got away in the cutter and were subsequently picked up by a Dutch fishing-smack and returned home via Holland.
The Lützow was kept above water until 3.45 A.M. The König, the rear ship of the Fleet, lost sight of her at 11.15 P.M. The vessel was at last steered from the stern. All efforts to stop the water pouring in were fruitless; the fore part of the ship had been too badly damaged, and she had at last 7,000 tons of water in her. The screws revolved out of the water, and she had to be given up. The crew with all the wounded were taken off by the torpedo-boats "G40," "G37," "G38" and "V45," and the Lützow was sunk by a torpedo. Altogether the four boats had 1,250 men from the Lützow on board. Twice they encountered enemy cruisers and destroyers, but on each occasion, led by the senior officer, Commander Beitzen (Richard), they attacked and successfully made their way into the German Bight. In the last engagement "G40" had her engines hit and had to be towed.
When this report reached the Main Fleet the Second Leader of Torpedo-Boats on the Regensburg turned at once, regardless as to whether he might meet with superior English forces or not, and took over the towing party. "S 32,' Leader of Flotilla I (Captain Fröhlich), was hit in her boiler at 1 A.M. and rendered temporarily useless. By feeding the boiler with sea water the captain succeeded, however, in taking the boat into Danish waters. From thence she was towed through the Nordmann Deep by torpedo-boats dispatched to her assistance.
These events prove that the English Naval forces made no effort to occupy the waters between the scene of battle and Horns Reef.
It was only during the night that there was opportunity for the ships to report on the number of prisoners they had on board and to gather from them some idea of the enemy's losses. Then I learned that the Warspite, which we had observed to be badly damaged in the battle, was sunk. Among other vessels reported sunk were the battle-cruisers Queen Mary, Indefatigable, and Invincible. This was all news to me, and convinced me that the English losses were far more considerable than our own.
On arriving at Horns Reef at 5 A.M. I decided to remain there and await the Lützow. I had not then heard of her fate. From 11.30 P.M. on, the vessel had been able to do 13 knots. The last report from her was at 1.55 A.M.—transmitted by convoy-boat " G 40 "—stating that she was making very slow way, that the means of navigation were limited, that the gun power was reduced to a fifth, course south, station E 16. At 5.30 A.M. came a message that the Lützow had been abandoned at 4 A.M.
After that I had no difficulty in drawing my own conclusions. As the enemy did not come down from the North, even with light forces, it was evident that he was retiring, especially as nothing more could be seen of him notwithstanding that his torpedo-boats were about until dawn.
The situation on the morning of June 1
"L" 11, 13, 17, 22 and 22 had gone up during the night for an early reconnaissance. At 5.10 A.M. "L 11 " reported a squadron of twelve English battleships, numerous light craft and destroyers on a northerly course about the centre of the line Terschelling—Horns Reef, and immediately afterwards enemy battleships and battlecruisers north of the first unit. The airship was heavily fired at but kept in touch until compelled to retire and lost sight of the enemy in the thick atmosphere. The airship's reports taken from its we. diary are as follows:
Reconnaissance Trip of " L 11 " on June 1, 1916"On June 1 at 1.30, after midnight ' L 11' went up at Nordholz with the following orders: As fourth airship to cover flank of High Sea forces, course N.W. to W. by Heligoland. Full crew on board, fresh south-westerly wind, visibility limited owing to ground fog and later to a fog-like atmosphere high up extending over 2 or at most 4 nautical miles. Heligoland was not visible through the fog. At 5 A.M. clouds of smoke were seen north of the ship in Square O 33 B and were made for. At 5.10 it was possible to make out a strong enemy unit of twelve large warships with numerous lighter craft steering north-north-east full speed ahead. To keep in touch with them ' L 11 ' kept in the rear and sent a wireless report, circling round eastwards. At 5.40 A.M. east of the first unit the airship sighted a second squadron of six big English battleships with lighter forces on a northerly course; when sighted, they turned by divisions to the west, presumably to get into contact with the first unit. As this group was nearer to the Main Fleet than the first one, ' L 11 ' attached itself to it, but at 5.50 a group of three English battle-cruisers and four smaller craft were sighted to the north-east, and, cruising about south of the airship, put themselves between the enemy Main Fleet and ' L 11.' Visibility was so poor that it was extremely difficult to keep in contact. For the most part only one of the units was visible at a time, while, apparently, the airship at an altitude of 1,100—1,900 m. was plainly visible- to the enemy against the rising sun.
"At 5.15, shortly after sighting the first group of battleships, the enemy opened fire on the airship from all the vessels with antiaircraft guns and guns of every calibre. The great turrets fired broadsides; the rounds followed each other rapidly. The flash from the muzzles of the guns could be seen although the ships were hidden by the smoke. All the ships that came in view took up the firing with the greatest energy, so that ' L 11 ' was sometimes exposed to fire from 21 large and numbers of small ships. Although the firing did not take effect, that and the shrapnel bursting all around so shook the ship's frame that it seemed advisable to take steps to increase the range. The firing lasted till 6.20 A.M. At that time the battle-cruisers bearing down from S.W within close distance of ' L 11 ' forced her to retire to N.E. to avoid their fire. At the same time the visibility became worse and the enemy was lost to view.
"' L 11 ' again took a northerly course and went as low down as 500 metres, in the hope of better visibility. It was impossible to see beyond 1 to 2 nautical miles, and as under these conditions no systematic plan for keeping in contact could be made, N. and S. course was followed so as to keep between the enemy and our own Main Fleet. The enemy did not come in sight again.
" At 8 A.M. the Commander-in-Chief of the High Sea Fleet dismissed the airship, and ' L 11 ' returned. On the way back the ship came across a number of our own torpedo-boats exchanging bases, and messages were given for further transmission. The airship remained close to those boats as far as Sylt. Landed at Nordholz at 2 P.M."
At 4 A.M., 50 nautical miles west of Bovbjerg, "L 24" sighted a flotilla of enemy destroyers, was fired at and returned the fire with bombs, then got away further north, and at 5 A.M. discovered a unit of twelve ships in Jammer Bay, steaming rapidly to the south. It was impossible to keep in contact for further reconnaissance as there was a bank of cloud as low down as 800 m.
From the Main Fleet itself no signs of the enemy were visible at daybreak. The weather was so thick that the full length of a squadron could not be made out. In our opinion the ships in a south-westerly direction as reported by "L 11 " could only just have come from the Channel to try, on hearing the news of the battle, to join up with their Main Fleet and advance against us. There was no occasion for us to shun an encounter with this group, but owing to the slight chance of meeting on account of visibility conditions, it would have been a mistake to have followed them. Added to this the reports received from the battle-cruisers showed that Scouting Division I would not be capable of sustaining a serious fight, besides which the leading ships of Squadron III could not have fought for any length of time, owing to the reduction in their supply of munitions by the long spell of firing. The Frankfurt, Pillau and Regensburg were the only fast light cruisers now available, and in such misty weather there was no depending on aerial reconnaissance. There was, therefore, no certain prospect of defeating the enemy reported in the south. An encounter and the consequences thereof had to be left to chance. I therefore abandoned the idea of further operations and ordered the return to port.
On the way back, west of List, the Ostfriesland, at 7.30 A.M., struck a mine, one that evidently belonged to a hitherto unknown and recently laid enemy minefield. The damage was slight; the vessel shipped 400 tons of water, but her means of navigation did not suffer, and she was able to run into harbour under her own steam. I signalled, " Keep on." The last ships passed through the area without coming across further mines.
Several submarine attacks on our returning Main Fleet failed entirely, thanks partly to the vigilance of the airmen who picked up the Main Fleet over List, and escorted them to the mouth of the river. During the course of the day all the ships and boats were safely in their haven, Special mention must be made of the bringing-in of the Seydlitz (Captain von Egidy) badly damaged at her bows. That the vessel ever reached the harbour is due to the remarkable seamanship of her commander and crew. Finally she was run astern into the dock at Wilhelmshaven.
The U-boats lying off English harbours were told to remain at their posts a day longer. At 6.20 P.M., 60 miles north of Terschelling, the " U 46 " came across a damaged vessel of the "Iron Duke" class (the Marlborough ). She was, however, so well protected that it would have been impossible to get within firing distance of her. A torpedo was fired, but failed to reach the objective. Among the U-boats lying off enemy harbours the " U 21 " on May 31 and "U 22 " on June 1 both succeeded in hitting a destroyer. In each case, however, the sinking could not be observed owing to enemy counter-action. Besides this, one of our minelayers, occupied in laying mines west of the Orkney Islands, achieved an important success. The English armoured cruiser Hampshire (11,000 tons) struck one of these mines on June 5 and sank; with her perished Field-Marshal Lord Kitchener and all his Staff.
LOSSES ON BOTH SIDES
According to careful estimation made by us the enemy lost:
| TONS | ||
| 1 | Dreadnought of "Queen Elizabeth" class | 28,500 |
| 3 | Battle-cruisers(Queen Mary, Indefatigable and Invincible ) | 63,000 |
| 4 | Armoured Cruisers (Black Prince, Defence, Warrior and one of the "Cressy" type) | 53,700 |
| 2 | Light Cruisers | 9,000 |
| 13 | Destroyers | 15,000 |
| TOTAL | 169,200 | |
| We lost: | ||
| 1 | Battle-cruiser ( |
26,700 |
| 1 | older Battleship (Pommern ) | 13,200 |
| 4 | Light Cruisers (Wiesbaden, Elbing, Rostock and Frauenlob ) | 17, 150 |
| 5 | Torpedo-boats | 3,680 |
| TOTAL | 60,730 | |
The enemy's were almost complete losses, whereas we had rescued the crews of the Lützow, Elbing, Rostock and half of those of the torpedo-boats. [In my first report of the battle sent to the Admiralty at Berlin the loss of the Lützow was mentioned. The announcement of this loss was suppressed by the Naval Staff, though not at my request. The enemy could not have seen the ship go down. In the interests of naval warfare it was right to suppress the news. Unfortunately the secrecy observed produced the impression that it was necessary to enlarge our success to that extent.]
Our losses in personnel amounted to: 2,400 killed; 400 wounded. The enemy's losses may be estimated at over 7,000 killed. According to a list which he added to his report of June 18, 1916, Admiral Jellicoe endeavoured to exaggerate our losses in the following manner:
BATTLESHIP OR BATTLE-CRUISERS
| Correct facts | ||
| 2 | Battleships, "Dreadnought" type (certain) | none |
| 1 | Battleship, "Deutschland" type (certain) | one |
| 1 | Battleship or Battle-cruiser (probable) | one |
| 1 | Battleship, " Dreadnought " type (probable) | none |
LIGHT CRUISERS
| 4 | Light cruisers (certain) | four |
| 1 | Large ship or light cruiser (certain) | none |
TORPEDO- BOAT DESTROYERS
| 6 | Torpedo-boat destroyers (certain) | five |
| 3 | Torpedo-boat destroyers (probable) | none |
SUBMARINES
| 1 | Submarine (certain) | none |
| 3 | Submarines (probable) | none |
With regard to the submarines he was totally mistaken, as none took part in the battle. I sent my final impressions of the battle in a written report of 4/7/16 to H.M. the Emperor as follows:
"The success achieved is due to the eagerness in attack, the efficient leadership through the subordinates, and the admirable deeds of the crews full of an eminently warlike spirit. It was only possible owing to the excellence of our ships and arms, the systematic peacetime training of the units, and the conscientious development on each individual ship. The rich experience gained will be carefully applied. The battle has proved that in the enlargement of our Fleet and the development of the different types of ships we have been guided by the right strategical and tactical ideas, and that we must continue to follow the same system. All arms can claim a share in the success. But, directly or indirectly, the far reaching heavy artillery of the great battleships was the deciding factor, and caused the greater part of the enemy's losses that are so far known, as also it brought the torpedo-boat flotillas to their successful attack on the ships of the Main Fleet. This does not detract from the merits of the flotillas in enabling the battleships to slip away from the enemy by their attack. The big ship— battleship and battle-cruiser—is therefore, and will be, the main strength of naval power. It must be further developed by increasing the gun calibre, by raising the speed, and by perfecting the armour and the protection below the water-line."Finally, I beg respectfully to report to Your Majesty that by the middle of August the High Sea Fleet, with the exception of the Derfflinger and Seydlitz, will be ready for fresh action. With a favourable succession of operations the enemy may be made to suffer severely, although there can be no doubt that even the most successful result from a high sea battle will not compel England to make peace. The disadvantages of our geographical situation as compared with that of the Island Empire and the enemy's vast material superiority cannot be coped with to such a degree as to make us masters of the blockade inflicted on us, or even of the Island Empire itself, not even were all the U-boats to be available for military purposes. A victorious end to the war at not too distant a date can only be looked for by the crushing of English economic life through U-boat action against English commerce. Prompted by the convictions of duty, I earnestly advise Your Majesty to abstain from deciding on too lenient a form of procedure on the ground that it is opposed to military views, and that the risk of the boats would be out of all proportion to the expected gain, for, in spite of the greatest conscientiousness on the part of the Chiefs, it would not be possible in English waters, where American interests are so prevalent, to avoid occurrences which might force us to make humiliating concessions if we do not act with the greatest severity."
I followed up my report on the battle with a more detailed account on July 16, 1916, after Admiral Jellicoe's report had appeared in the English Press. I quote here from the above mentioned account:
"Admiral Jellicoe's report, published in the English Press, confirms as follows the observations made by us:Grouping of the English Forces under Vice-Admiral Beatty:
- 1st and 2nd Battle-Cruiser Squadrons.
- 5th Battle Squadron (" Queen Elizabeths ").
- 1st, 2nd and 3rd Light Cruiser Squadrons.
- 1st, 9th, 10th and 13th Destroyer Flotillas.
- Admiral Jellicoe led:
- 1st, 2nd and 4th Battle Squadrons (Fleet Flagship at the head of 4th Battle Squadron).
- 3rd Battle-Cruiser Squadron (" Invincibles ").
- 1st and 2nd Cruiser Squadrons.
- 4th Light Cruiser Squadron.
- 4th, 11th and 12th Destroyer Flotillas.
Intervention in the Battle by the English Main Fleet
"When he first had news that the enemy was sighted, Admiral Jellicoe was north-west of Admiral Beatty's forces. He thereupon advanced at full speed in column formation on a S.E. course, put the 1st and 2nd Cruiser Squadrons for reconnaissance at the head of his formation, and sent forward the 3rd Battle Cruiser Squadron (apparently reinforced by the Agincourt ), to support Admiral Beatty. The 3rd Battle-Cruiser Squadron passed east of Admiral Beatty's leader at 7.30 P.M.; they heard in the south-west the thunder of guns, and saw the flashes, sent out the light cruiser Chester to reconnoitre, and themselves took a N.W. course. Shortly before 8 o'clock the Chester encountered our Scouting Division II and was set on fire by them. After pursuing the Chester, Scouting Division II came across the 3rd Battle-Cruiser Squadron, which opened fire on them. The attacks at 8 P.M. by our Torpedo-Boat Flotilla IX and the 12th Half-Flotilla were launched against this 3rd BattleCruiser Squadron."Admiral Beatty sighted the 3rd Battle-Cruiser Squadron at 8.10 P.M., and at 8.21 P.M. had it ahead of the 1st and 2nd BattleCruiser Squadrons he was leading.
"At 7.55 P.M. Admiral Jellicoe sighted the fire from the guns. It was impossible for him to make out the position of our Fleet. The difference between his and Admiral Beatty's charts added to the uncertainty in judging of the situation. The report says it was difficult to distinguish between friend and foe. At 8.14 P.M. the battleship squadrons turned east into the line between the 1st and 2nd Battle-Cruiser Squadrons and the 5th Battle Squadron. At 8.17 P.M. the 1st Battle Squadron opened fire on the leaders of our ships of the line. Up to 10.20 P.M. those squadrons, with some few pauses, took part in the fighting.
" Shortly before the battleship squadrons arrived, the 1st Cruiser Squadron, together with light forces from the Main Fleet, joined in the fighting. At 8.50 P.M., therefore, between our first and second blows, Admiral Beatty put the 3rd Battle-Cruiser Squadron in the rear of the 2nd. At 9.6 P.M. the leaders of the battleships made for the south. The total impression received by us of the battle is made more complete by the statements in the English Press, and is not altered.
The Enemy's Action during the Night
"At 9.45 P.M. Admiral Beatty had lost sight of our forces. He sent the 1st and 3rd Light Cruiser Squadrons to reconnoitre in the west, and at 10.20 P.M. went to their support with the 1st and 2nd Battle-Cruiser Squadrons, also on a westerly course. Immediately after came the encounter described in my report with the leading ships of our Main Fleet, consisting of Scouting Divisions IV and I and Squadron II. The fact that our forces turned westward must have led the English Admiral to assume that our Main Fleet had taken a westerly course, and made him follow in that direction. The fact that we at the same time put Squadron II in the rear, and with the new leader, Squadron I, again took a S.E. course, resulted in Admiral Beatty's forces passing west in front of us and ultimately losing contact. It was obvious that after the battle the English Main Fleet was divided into two. Admiral Jellicoe's report makes no mention of this. The one portion, consisting of large battleships and light craft, took apparently northerly and easterly courses, as one group of ships was sighted by 'L 24 ' at 5 A.M. on June 1 in Jammer Bay, close under land. It may perhaps have been both those rear squadrons which made off on the attack by our TorpedoBoat Flotillas VI and IX, and then apparently lost touch with the Main Fleet. The other portion, under Admiral Jellicoe, consisting, according to observations by ' L 11,' of eighteen large battleships, three battle-cruisers (probably the 3rd Battle-Cruiser Squadron) and numerous light forces, had, up to 10.46 P.M., been steering south and then south-west. It would appear, from intercepted English wireless messages, that he covered 15 nautical miles. Based on these courses and the speed, he must have crossed our course at midnight, 10 to 15 nautical miles in front of us, and have taken later a course to the centre of the line Horns Reef— Terschelling, where he was seen at 5 A.M. by ' .L 11 ' on a N.N.E. course..
The Consequence of the Enemy's Action during the Night
"Admiral Jellicoe must have intended to resume the battle with us at dawn. It is inexplicable, therefore, why a portion of the Main Fleet made for Jammer Bay during the night. Nor can it be understood how it was that the enemy's light forces, which were engaged with our Main Fleet up to 4.36 A.M. and thus were in touch with us the whole night, could find a way to inform Admiral Jellicoe and Admiral Beatty of our course and navigation. But even apart from that, it must be assumed that the fire from our guns and the enemy's burning cruisers and destroyers would have pointed out the way to the English Main Fleet. In any case it is a fact that on the morning of June 1 the enemy's heavy forces were broken up into three detachments; one in the North, a second with Admiral Beatty in the North-west, and the third with Admiral Jellicoe South-west of Horns Reef. It is obvious that this scattering of the forces—which can only be explained by the fact that after the day-battle Admiral Jellicoe had lost the general command—induced the Commander to avoid a fresh battle."