|
|
Jutland was a truly terrible battle. The festering
Anglo-German naval race that had ignited at the turn of the
century had led to a burning desire in both countries for a naval
Armageddon - 'Der Tag' - that would settle the command of
the seas once and for all. Never had a battle been so eagerly
craved for so long in advance. Yet when the battle commenced on 31
May 1916, two years into the Great War, death came quickly in the
grey wastes of the North Sea for thousands of men who perished in
their ships, blown to pieces in an instant. Others were less
fortunate. Trapped behind locked doors and hatches in airtight
chambers, they died slowly and alone in Stygian darkness as their
doomed ships slipped beneath the waves.
Many of those who survived the battle were left
shocked and trembling by the sheer naked power of the destructive
forces that had been unleashed around them. Yet, despite
everything, men of both sides had stuck to their tasks, bolstered
by their inculcated naval traditions of cheerful acceptance of
duty and sacrifice. This online exhibition presents the testimony
of some of those survivors - their voices reaching across the
years as they tell of their experiences - interwoven with the
story of the battle.
top
|
 |
