Battle of JutlandBritain vs. Germany: 1916

Callie Juetten, Mackenzi Patterson, Tarika Sivakumar, Maya Fletcher, Nelson Carlos da Silva

Thesis

• In the greatest naval battle of World War I, the Battle of Jutland, between the esteemed powers of Germany and England, casualties were overwhelming and dictatorial strategies over the seas used, ultimately resulting in British naval dominance and control over port cities.

Background

• Only major sea battle during WWI• May 31, 1916• North Sea off mainland of Denmark• Largest sea battle in naval warfare history in

terms of the number of battle ships engaged

German High Seas Fleet

• Admiral Franz Von Hipper and Hugo Von Scheer

• Germans had much smaller fleet than British

Map

British Grand Fleet• Admiral David Beatty• British had much larger fleet than Germany• Strong navy was important to protect Britain

and colonies from invasion, and imports/exports

• Knew they had little to gain from a victory and everything to lose by defeat

German Plan

• Lure parts of British fleet into North Sea• German submarines stationed several miles

outside of the main British Naval Bases of Rosyth and Scapa Flow

• In effort to sink British battleships with torpidos

• Proved INEFFECTIVE failed to actually sink the British ships

British Plan

• British could read the coded messages of the German plan of battle

• A few German ships sailed into British waters in effort to attack a small British fleet

• They did not realize that the English were able to decode their plan

• British sent their Grand Fleet to surprise the Germans

Events of Battle• 4 phases: May 31,19161. Beatty (British) encountered Hipper (German) and chased the

German Fleet South 2. Beatty (British) went North 2 British battle cruisers destroyed3. British bombarded German fleet4. Retreat of German battleships and Admiral Jellicoe (British)

sailed away to avoid German attacks-British lost more battleships than Germans, but the German

ships suffered more damage GREATER BRITISH DOMINANCEEnded June 1, 1916

Outcome

• British lost more ships and men than Germans• Strategically, Britain dominated over Germany

- Germans never threatened Navy again- Germany used submarines instead of ships (not challenging for Britain to attack)

• British controlled North Sea and kept the main High Seas Fleet (Germany) from controlling it

Short Term Effects

• Germany realized that they could not reach a peace agreement with Britain

• Germany assumed that this would be the last war• Germany realized that they would not be able to

conquer the sea like they had hoped once the excitement of the battle died down

• Both sides refuted to their home ports • British were able to blockade the Germans from their

ports Germans began randomly attacking imports

Long Term Effects

• April 1917: United States declared war on Germany after Germany resumed random attacks on merchant ships (including US ships)

• Britain gained more naval dominance in trade due to their block over the German ships

Works Cited

• http://battle-of-jutland.com/• http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-

of-jutland• http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/jutland.htm• https://archive.org/details/

battleofjutland300grearich• http://www.westernfrontassociation.com/great-

war-at-sea-in-air/nava-actions/435-jut-prine.html