BATTLE OF JUTLAND

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21505, 31 May 1933, Page 8

BATTLE OF JUTLAND

anniversary to-day historic engagement great fleets at grips The historic: Battle of Jutland, -which marked the only occasion during the Great War on which the British and German battle, fleets met, occurred 17 years ago to-day. Although criticism, claim and counter-claim have been waged about the outcome of the engagement, it remains a fact that it lefb the British fleeb master of the sea for the remainder of the war. The movements of the fleets, the British Grand Fleet under Admiral Jellicoe, later to become Governor-General of New Zealand, and the German High Seas Fleet under Admiral Reinhard Scheer, were necessarily governed by highly-technical considerations difficult for the layman to follow. In this fact was the genesis of much of the comment voiced by critics who were disappointed that the German fleet was not sunk in its Admiral Jellicoe Warned At 5.40 p.m. on May 30 Jellicoe, who had been warned by the British Naval Intelligence Department that a large operation seemed imminent, was given orders to proceed to a rendezvous about 60 miles east of the Scottish coast. By 10.30 p.m. the three sections of the Grand Fleet had left their bases at Scapa Flow, Invergorden and liosyth and set out across the North Sea. Vice- Admiral Jerram was in command of the ships from Invergordon and Admiral Beattv in charge of those from Rosyth. Beatty was making for a point 69 mile 3 S.S.E. of the battle fleet's position, a disposition enabling his force to guard against a raid. When the British fleet put to sea 13 hostile submarines were lying off tlia coast. They made a few ineffective attacks'. The position was not made thoroughly clear to Jellicoe, who received a wireless message from the Admiralty next morning, indicating that the German fleet flagship was in the Jade River. This left him with the impression that there was no need for undue haste and he regulated his speed so as to economise his destroyers' fuel consumption. German Scouting Force

The German Vice-Admiral Hipper, with his scouting force, left the Jado River at 2 a.m. on May 31 and steamed northward, keeping well out- of sight on the Danish coast. Scheer, with his battle fleet, followed 50 miles astern. At 2 p.m. Beatty, having arrived at his rendezvous, prepared to turn north in accordance with instructions, but investigations of a stray merchant steamer, sighted by his light cruiser screen and by the western wing of Hipper's scouting force, resulted in Beatty and Hipper realising each others proximity. This hastened- a meeting which otherwise would have occurred nearer the British battle fleet. Beatty at once sot -out to cut off the retreat of the enemy's light cruisers, when the heavy smoke of Hipper'a battle cruisers was sighted on liis port bow. He thereupon turned to the east, heading to cross Hipper's stern and not knowing that the German battle fleet was coming up astern. There followed a hot running fight to the southward, between Beatty and Hipper. At 4.33 p.m. the head of the German battle fleet was sighted. A wireless message was sent to Jellicoe who then realised that the main German fleet was coming north. Beatty assumed the role of the pursued and turned north, to lure the German ships toward the Grand Fleet. Contact With Enemy Lost When in due course contact between Beatty and Jellicoe came about it was not quite as had been anticipated. Zigzagging and many other- alterations of course had thrown out the reckoning, so that when it became evident that tie German battle fleet would be met on Jellicoe's. starboard bow instead of right ahead, it was too late for him to alter the dispositions of the Grand Fleet. Steering, as he thought, to join Beatty, he found himself on the opposite side, that is, to the eastward of the enemy. . Hipper doubled back to the southwest to seek the cover <r>f the German battleships, hot fighting between the lighter forces taking place continuously. Prior to this Jellicoe was left in doubt until the very last minute as to the exact position of the enemy. Somewhere to the southward, he knew, was the High Seas Fleet, but between him and his adversary were battle cruisers, cruisers and, destroyers belching smoke and gun fire and obscuring his_ view. Beatty, hot; on the heels of his own quarry, had lost sight of the battle fleet and had not been able to answer Jellicoe's urgent inquiry. At 6.14 the German battle fleet was sighted by Beatty again and Jellicoe was informed. Germans Evade Trap Within a minute of receiving Beatty's report Jellicoe ordered his fleet to deploy on the port, or easterly, column. This was a masterly decision, setting his ships in the form of an obtuseangled letter L, one arm of which was steadily lengthened to envelope the head of the enemy's line. The whole a magnificent piece of fleet work. The High Seas Fleet. was heading into the angle of the British formation when Scheer realised his jieril. The van of the Germans was being hotly engaged when Scheer executed a bold and skilful manoeuvre. His destroyers dashed out and threw up a smoke screen while each of his big ships turned about and retreated, thus escaping from the trap. It was now 6.40 p.m. and there remained only two hours of daylight. The enemy was now somewhere out of sight to the south and. west and Jellicoe was able to work his way between them and possible lines of retreat to the German coast. Eventually the enemy appeared again out of the mist, and soon the leading German snips were smothered by gunfire. By 7—U p.m. the German battle fleet had repeated its former tactics of turning about and retiring, this time to the westward. Jellicoe., thereupon, set about disposing his ships to cut oil Scheer's return to Germany under cover of the darkness. . Scheer commenced after nightfall to feel his way back home, the lighter ships of both fleets engaging one another from time to time. Fortune favoured the High Seas Fleet, which was able to make "port before daylight, and at a.m. Jellicoe regretfully made a signal to that effect.