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When hundreds of warships belonging to the two most powerful fleets in the world clashed off the coast of Denmark in 1916, the encounter had the potential to reshape the political map forever. However, there were devastating failures of communication and command and, while the Battle of Jutland met Britain's strategic need for continued maritime dominance, the Royal Navy failed to crush its numerically inferior German opponent. The encounter has remained an enduring source of controversy ever since. A remarkable saga of genius, tragedy, and passive corruption emerges. In telling this remarkable story of Nelsonic pragmatism overwhelmed by peacetime vested interests, Andrew Gordon shows what had changed for the worse in the "rules of the game" during a long century of peace, and draws fascinating and challenging conclusions.
| Illustrations | ix | |
| Acknowledgements | xi | |
| Foreword | xiii | |
| Introduction | 1 | |
| I | Background to Battle | |
| 1 | A Ship which can do Everything | 7 |
| 2 | The Grand Fleet | 17 |
| 3 | The Fifth Battle Squadron | 37 |
| 4 | The Grass Was Never Greener | 52 |
| 5 | Another Wild Goose Chase | 66 |
| II | Chasing Hipper & Evading Scheer | |
| 6 | Failure to Concentrate | 81 |
| 7 | The Battlecruiser Duel | 102 |
| 8 | Standing into Danger | 129 |
| III | The Underlying Reason Why | |
| 9 | The Long Calm Lee of Trafalgar | 155 |
| 10 | Sir George Tryon's Action Principles | 193 |
| 11 | Meanwhile, by Royal Appointment | 215 |
| 12 | Nemesis | 243 |
| 13 | Court-Martial | 250 |
| 14 | Their Lordships' Predicament | 275 |
| 15 | Counter-Reformation | 295 |
| 16 | Regulate Britannia | 315 |
| 17 | Ordo ab Chao | 340 |
| 18 | An Example to Our Countrymen | 371 |
| 19 | Commence Hostilities Against Germany | 386 |
| IV | Bringing Scheer to Jellicoe | |
| 20 | Utmost Speed | 403 |
| 21 | The Clash of Battle-Fleets | 433 |
| 22 | Night Inaction | 472 |
| V | Aftermath | |
| 23 | Something Wrong With Our System | 503 |
| 24 | Dirty Work Somewhere | 537 |
| 25 | Perspective | 562 |
| Appendix I | Time and Space at Jutland | 603 |
| Appendix II | Track-Charts | 606 |
| Appendix III | Time and Space at the 'Turn to the North' | 611 |
| Appendix IV | German Targeting at the 'Turn to the North' | 614 |
| Appendix V | Tryon's formal explanation of his Tactical Doctrine | 620 |
| Notes | 623 | |
| Bibliography | 692 | |
| Index | 697 |
Anonymous
Posted May 14, 2013
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
When hundreds of warships belonging to the two most powerful fleets in the world clashed off the coast of Denmark in 1916, the encounter had the potential to reshape the political map forever. However, there were devastating failures of communication and command and, while the Battle of Jutland met Britain's strategic need for continued maritime dominance, the Royal Navy failed to crush its numerically inferior German opponent. The encounter has remained an enduring source of controversy ever since. A remarkable ...