'THE GREAT WAR', 'THE WAR TO END WAR', 'WORLD WAR 1'
'What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
- Only the monstrous anger of the guns.'
from 'Anthem for Doomed Youth'
by Wilfred Owen
31st MAY - 1st JUNE 1916
THE NAVAL SEA BATTLE
OF JUTLAND
Transcript from: 'More Sea Fights of the Great War'
by W.L. Wyllie, C. Owen & W.D. Kirkpatrick
pub. 1919
CHAPTER VIII As the divisions turned to starboard there was a little overlapping, and one yarn relates that a distinguished admiral's hat was blown off by the discharge of a salvo from the last ship in the line ahead, now on the flagship's port bow.
Above is a picture of the rival fleets seen from farther west. On the extreme left our destroyers are seen driving off a torpedo attack launched by the Germans at 7.10. Beyond are the battleships of the High Sea Fleet. The wash of Iron Duke is seen upon the water, and Royal Oak is following, firing her 15-inch guns at the distant Germans. Superb and the handsome Elswick ship Canada are in her wake. All are in hot action. Benbow is seen beyond, leading her division to starboard, and in the smoky distance are Marlborough and the ships of the First Battle Squadron. An illustration of another incident which shows the indomitable spirit of the British sailor faces is the one below.
Acasta, as was told in our last chapter, was very badly mauled in her encounter with German light cruisers, and was finally so damaged that she lay drifting close to the course of the British battleships. She had a list to starboard, two large holes just abaft the third funnel, one large hole forward on the port side, and sat very low in the water, her guns and torpedo tubes still trained abeam as they had been during the action. As the fleet flagship Iron Duke came rushing by, firing her guns and leading her division, the men of the plucky little destroyer rushed out, forming a line from the forecastle head to right aft, and gave their Commander-in-Chief three hearty cheers. Acasta was afterwards taken in tow by Nonsuch and brought safe to port. |
At seven Sir David Beatty, who was now far away to the south-east and who had been gradually turning his squadron more and more to starboard, reported that the enemy was to the westward. The alterations of course by the battleship divisions had now brought the enemy's line once more into sight, and our heavy ships again began their fire at the misty outlines upon the far horizon. The rear of the British line was still much nearer the enemy at 8,500 yards than the leading divisions at 15,000. In spite of smoke and haze the salvos fell with good eftect upon both cruiser and battleship; the two classes seemed to be intermixed, as though some of the battle-cruisers had fallen back among the heavy ships. Iron Duke, at 7.20, trained her guns upon a "Liitzow" type of cruiser, which spread a smoke screen as a protection. Agincourt had been in action with one of four battleships which showed up clearly, and her observers thought that at least four of her salvos had straddled the enemy. Revenge directed her fire on what appeared to be battle-cruisers, and made distinct hits on two of them. Colossus was fighting what she took to be "Derfllingers" or "Lützows" at ranges from 8,000 to 10,000 yards, and claimed several hits. The light cruiser Calliope also reported that the fire of Orion's line had caused two "Königs" to burst into flame. This phase of the battle is quite different from the opening. Except Marlborough, which had been torpedoed, and Colossus, which had been hit by two 12-inch shells, not one of our battleships had received any damage whatever; some of them had not even been fired at. The High Sea Fleet, on the contrary - if we may believe the reports of our officers in the fire controls - had received considerable damage. Many ships turned away into the mists, whilst others covered themselves with a smoke screen. It was evident to Sir John that the weather was too thick for accurate spotting at long range, so at 7.5 the whole Battle Fleet was edged up closer to the elusive enemy by turning simultaneously three more points to starboard. The Germans, however, had no stomach for a fight at close quarters. A flotilla of destroyers supported by a cruiser made its appearance in the south-west, and owing to the impending attack the British fleet was ordered to turn again to the south. This brought the ships once more in line ahead. |
A report came from one of the "Orions" that a submarine had been sighted on the port bow. This report, along with the torpedo attack, successfully accomplished the German purpose. A heavy fire was opened at the enemy destroyers, sinking at least one of them in spite of a third smoke screen, and the British battleships were kept very busy dodging torpedoes. First they were turned two points to port by subdivisions. This, however, was not enough, and later a further two points was ordered. At least twenty torpedoes were seen, but they were mostly near the end of their run and moving comparatively slowly. Some of them rushed among the ships of Sir Cecil Burney and Admiral Evan Thomas. Many were the alterations of course, and the captains, who had been carefully trained at this work in Scapa Flow, showed great skill in escaping the deadly "fish." Meanwhile the whole of the German ships, covering the sea with a great smoke screen, had turned to the south-west, making the most of the short time before dark to get away. Here is a German account of this part of the battle: |
Sir David Beatty's report of this part of the battle is as follows :
|
Darkness was coming on, and Sir John Jellicoe turned his fleet by divisions to the south-west. It was once more in line ahead, having turned in a great semicircle during the fight.A little after nine the Admiral ordered the Battle Fleet to form divisions in line ahead, disposed abeam to port, with the columns one mile apart steering south. The destroyer flotillas were ordered to take station five miles astern. Admiral Beatty's battle-cruisers now bore west, and the cruisers were between the two fleets. About this time the whole of the enemy seem to have turned towards Horn Reef, and some German destroyers wandering east-ward in the dark now made an attack on the Second Light Cruiser Squadron, at that moment in rear of the battleships. It seemed to have been a half-hearted affair, and the enemy were driven to the north-west, though the rest of Admiral Scheer's fleet continued to push eastward. At ten o'clock three German light cruisers ran across Castor, flying the broad pennant of Commodore Hawksley. The ships were only two thousand yards apart, and the rapid and accurate fire of the enemy soon knocked away the wireless gear of the British light cruiser and damaged her bridge. She replied by firing torpedoes, and the leaders of her flotilla, Magic and Marne, followed suit; but the destroyers astern, unfortunately, did not join in, as they were not sure of the identity of the strangers. However, the enemy made off after a violent explosion. The German accounts seem to suggest that these wounded vessels were Hamburg and Elbing; the latter ship afterwards sank. Commodore Goodenough was the next to meet the German attack. Southampton and Dublin had a sharp engagement lasting fifteen minutes with what is supposed to have been the German Fourth Scouting Group. Four enemy ships concentrated all their fire on the two leaders of the British Light Cruiser Squadron. The range was very short, and both ships suffered many casualties. Three fires broke out on board Southampton, but the fine work of officers and men promptly dealt with this menace. It is thought.that the light cruiser Frauenlöb was sunk by our Light Cruiser Squadron at this moment. |
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