SOLDIER AT JUTLAND

Evening Star, Issue 21290, 20 December 1932, Page 7

SOLDIER AT JUTLAND

CHANGE VIEW OF BATTLE SPECTATOR IN MAINTOP The whole history of the battle of Jutland will have to be rewritten if the account published by Major Claude Wallace in 1 From Jungle to Jutland comes to bo accepted. Major Wallace was the only soldier to witness the battle. ■ He relates how he had a premonition that the encounter would take place, and obtained permission to visit the Fleet while he was on leave from France. , Major Wallace was thus a spectator in the maintop of the St. Vincent' throughout the engagement. He states —in contraditiou to the official report —that the battle cruiser squadron was in a position between the German ships and the British battle fleet, which was beginning to deploy into line. “ In order, as I supposed, to get out ■of the way,” he states, “the Lmn changed Course 10 points—that is, turned 180 degrees on to a course exactly opposite to that which she had been pursuing—and steamed off in a westerly' direction, followed, in their turn by the other battle cruisers. . . . Some minutes after the battle cruiser squadron was sighted the battle fleet altered course to a southerly direction, and after pursuing this course for about five minutes the fleet turned in a south-easterly direction. “But the order for deployment which I had expected would be issued immediately did not come until about twentv minutes after the, sighting of the Lion. The reasons, for this unaccountable delay wore obscure at the time, though we now know that toe Commander-in-Chief was not informed of the position of the German battle fleet until 0.14, and therefore did not know whether to deploy to port or starboard. “ ft began to dawn on me that something must have gone wrong. The deployment was being carried out at greatly reduced speed, the St. Vincent fetcaming at not more than nine knots, with the result that the ships were bunching dangerously to such an extent. indeed, that Neptune was not more than 200yds ahead of us. . . . “ Suddenly, from the enemy destroyers and light cruisers, smoke began to issue from many places on the decks, as well as from their funnels, and lay low upon the water. The Germans had ceased firing at about 6.35, and were now putting out a smoke screen to cover their retreat. The first .phase of the battle fleet action was over. What. I wondered, was Jellicoo going to do now? “ By this time our course was southeast by east; was he going to continue upon it, or was he going to change his direction to the south in pursuit of the German fleet? “ Everything had been in his favour half an hour ago; now everything was against him. . Visability had got worse; a strong torpedo attack had been launched; the enemy had disappeared from view behind a thick smoke screen through which it would he difficult and dangerous to manoeuvre, and-probably the fleeing Germans had dropped mines in their wake. The grand, opportunity that had presented itself earlier had been irrevocably lost.”