Who actually won the Battle of Jutland?

Voice over: "The First World War is synonymous with trench warfare; long, narrow, muddy and damp ditches carved into the earth, providing shelter to soldiers fighting a war on land. These are the images typically conjured up when we think about this monumental conflict. But as war on the Western Front waged on, other huge battles, just as crucial, were taking place at sea. Dreadnought battleships, submarines, torpedo boats and destroyers all threatened to clash amongst perilous waves, as Britain pushed to maintain its blockade against Germany.

And the most important naval action seen during the war was the Battle of Jutland. The date was the 31st May 1916. Just off the coast of Jutland in Denmark, the largest nautical battle of the First World War was about to take place. The battle, involving 100,000 men and 250 ships, would last close to two days. But who threw the first punch? And did Britain actually win the fight? To understand what the Battle of Jutland was, and how it came about, we first need to go back almost 20 years."

Ben Dickens: "Before the start of the First World War, Britain and Germany were in a naval arms race. Britain had, for almost 100 years, maintained complete naval supremacy of the seas, established at Trafalgar in 1805. Germany felt threatened by this. At the same time that Germany was establishing its High Seas Fleet, masterminded by Secretary of State for the Navy, Vice-Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, Britain was developing the HMS Dreadnaught. In 1906 Britain launched this impressive new type of naval ship, with ten guns, steam turbine power, and thick armour. The Dreadnought had arrived. It levelled the playing field and both ‘sides’ had to start building their fleets again from scratch.

These two 15inch guns from HMS Ramillies and HMS Resolution are a landmark feature of the Imperial War Museum, here in London. Although not fired at Jutland, what they do show is the scale of the ships involved in the battle. The 15 inch Mk 1 Naval Gun fired a 1,938 lb shell at a velocity of 2,640ft a second. To put this into context, this could fire up to a range of over 16 miles. A crew operating a twin-15 inch turret could fire 2 rounds from each gun every minute."

Voice over: "Germany embarked on building their own fleet of dreadnoughts to hit back at the competition, and although this surprised the British, they doubled their efforts. This was the start of the naval arms race - a major contributing factor to war between Britain and Germany in 1914."

Ben Dickens: "Britain’s strategy was one of blockade, having ‘plugged’ the North Sea with the Dover Patrol covering the English Channel, and the Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow covering the Orkneys to the Norwegian coast. Germany’s High Seas Fleet was effectively contained in the North Sea. This would, it was believed, limit German surface activity to minor actions and restrict both merchant and surface naval operations worldwide for Germany.

Blockade would protect the Allied war effort, prevent the supply of raw materials that our enemies needed for weapons and ammunition, and starve its people into submission. It also allowed Britain to ensure a relatively safe passage for the British Expeditionary Force being sent to France."

Voice over: "Germany led a strategy of offensive operations, luring British forces out of port to take out the force piecemeal. In 1914, the German High Seas Fleet carried out North Sea raids on Great Yarmouth, Scarborough, and Hartlepool. This drew out British ships into action resulting in the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915."

Ben Dickens: "Britain had a secret weapon at its disposal during the First World War - intelligence. At the start of the war, Britain had cut German communication lines, forcing Germany to use British cables to communicate with the outside world. Then, on the 26th of August 1914, the German light cruiser SMS Magdeburg ran aground while scouting at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland. Efforts to refloat the cruiser were fruitless, then attempts to scuttle her failed. Unfortunately for the Germans, Russian vessels arrived on the scene, just as the Magdeburg’s crew were trying to escape."

Voice over: "Three copies of German codebooks were captured. One was delivered by hand to London. By November, the British had worked out how to decipher German naval messages. The stage was being set for battle. Over the first two years of the war, the German fleet had never lured out the full force of Britain's navy."

Ben Dickens: "That was their strategy. The German High Seas Fleet, led by Admiral Reinhard Scheer, had planned to draw out part of the British fleet, to weaken its force. Scheer’s Vice Admiral Franz Hipper led this daring mission with his battlecruiser, Scouting Group. Scheer had the plan. He wanted to bring Admiral Sir David Beatty’s Battlecruiser Fleet, based in Rosyth, and Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, leading the Grand Fleet into the North Sea. Scheer’s plan was to extinguish Beatty’s battlecruiser force before Jellicoe’s Grand Fleet had time to arrive, with Hipper’s force spearheading the mission."

Voice over: "It was the crucial decisions of these individuals which led to the Battle of Jutland playing out as it did."

Ben Dickens: "At the start, Scheer’s plan looked as if it was going to work. It’s early evening on the 30th May 1916. The British Admiralty have intercepted messages, revealing the German fleet's plan to set sail the following morning. They order admirals, Beatty and Jellicoe, to sea."

Voice over: "At 10.30pm, the Grand Fleet, led by Jellicoe, leave Scapa Flow, with Beatty following from Rosyth around the same time."

Ben Dickens: "Vice Admiral Franz von Hipper’s scouting force leaves port, with Admiral Reinhard Scheer leaving an hour later. HMS Galatea notices two German ships, signalling ‘Enemy in sight’, firing the first shot of the battle at 2.28pm. At this point, Beatty orders a seaplane scouting sortie from HMS Engadine, piloted by Lt. Frederick Rutland. This is the first such reconnaissance mission of its kind. Rutland signals to HMS Engadine spotting five German destroyers and three cruisers. The ‘Run to the south’ begins in an aim to cut Hipper’s force off from returning to port."

Voice over: "Between 3.40pm and 3.50pm, Jellicoe receives a message from Beatty...I am engaging the enemy”.

Ben Dickens: "Hipper turns south-east with the aim of leading Beatty into the hands of the High Fleet. Sailing in parallel lines both sides fire. SMS Lützow hits HMS Lion’s ‘Q’ turret. Major Francis Harvey, aboard HMS Lion, suffers a severe injury, which would later prove fatal. As he crawls to the voice pipe from his turret to speak to the gun magazine below, ordering the closure of the room doors and it to be flooded with seawater so the explosive material held in the magazine would not ignite."

Voice over: "HMS Indefatigable receives a direct fire from SMS Von der Tann. She explodes and sinks. Over 1000 men lose their lives. HMS Queen Mary receives a direct hit, exploding its magazine, killing over 1200 crew. HMS Princess Royal, hidden behind the smoke and spray of the waves, is reported to be lost, however is only compromised of view."

Voice over: "In response to this news, Beatty reportedly exclaims, “there seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today”."

Ben Dickens: "Commodore William Goodenough’s cruiser squadron at the southern edge of Beatty’s force sights Scheer’s High Seas Fleet. Beatty starts the ‘Run to the North’ in an aim to draw the German fleet into the hands of Jellicoe’s Grand Fleet."

Voice over: "The Germans follow Beatty’s forces."

Ben Dickens: "HMS Chester is ordered to investigate gun flashes. Four German light cruisers open fire on the ship. Almost all guns are put out of action in the crossfire, including this very gun behind me. This 5.5 inch gun was once installed on HMS Chester. It is this gun which Jack Cornwell mans during the Battle of Jutland."

Voice over: "As HMS Chester is hit seventeen times, the scene aboard the ship becomes one of utter destruction. Crew lay dead with debris strewn across the ship. The entirety of Cornwell’s fellow team are dead, and he himself is hit in the stomach and legs."

Ben Dickens: "Cornwell, despite his injuries, remains at his post, and fulfils his duty. After the battle, HMS Chester returns to port in the River Humber, and injured persons are taken to hospital in Grimsby, where, on the 2nd June, Cornwell dies from his injuries. He was just sixteen years old."

Voice over: "Jack Cornwell was awarded this Victoria Cross for his actions at Jutland and became the youngest recipient of the honour. His funeral was a quiet one, without the formality of ceremony. But after his story was recounted in the press, it began to catch the public imagination."

Ben Dickens: "This turned a boy from Essex into a memorialised icon of the First World War. His portrait was commissioned for the Admiralty, his image adorned stamps, and he even had a Scout badge named after him."

Voice over: "At the same time as HMS Chester received its seventeen direct hits, HMS Shark is also hit. Only 6 of its crew will survive the attack."

Ben Dickens: "Jellicoe and Beatty’s forces unite. The German fleet emerges from the mist to find the entire British fleet ahead of them."

Voice over: "The Grand Fleet completes a manoeuvre called ‘crossing the T’, which moves a substantial proportion of the fleet across the approaching enemy force, creating a T shape, giving the British a strong advantage, as all its ships have the potential of firing on the enemy."

Ben Dickens: "This means the German fleet’s leading ships can only use their forward-facing guns. Jellicoe’s ships form into 6 parallel lines of four ships."

Voice over: "HMS Invincible engages SMS Derfflinger and is hit, splitting in half, killing over 1000 crew members. Scheer fears the destruction of his fleet. He orders the High Seas Fleet to turn and sail in the opposite direction."

Ben Dickens: "The High Seas Fleet turns East in the direction of the Grand Fleet."

Voice over: "Jellicoe crosses the ‘T’ for a second time. German ships charge at the British fleet, turning to launch a torpedo attack for cover."

Ben Dickens: "Jellicoe turns to avoid the torpedo launch, this puts the Germans out of range and at 7.45pm Scheer turns south."

Voice over: "Darkness begins to fall." 

Ben Dickens: "The final shots are fired between both forces' battlecruisers. Jellicoe orders the fleet into a night cruising formation with the signal ‘no night intentions’ ordered. Scheer takes the shortest route to home and the Grand Fleet follows, with both British and German fleets crossing paths and short bursts of action occur for the next six hours."

Voice over: "Next, HMS Southampton sinks SMS Frauenlob. Jellicoe is unaware of the presence of German battleships, when the 4th Destroyer Flotilla, at the rear of the fleet, engages in night action with German light cruisers and dreadnaughts. HMS Tipperary is hit."

Ben Dickens: "HMS Black Prince is separated from its squadron and is sunk. All 900 crew are lost. Between 1 and 2 am, SMS Lützow is scuttled after sustaining heavy damage. Between 2 and 2.15 am, the last action between British destroyers and German battleships and cruisers finally occurs. SMS Pommern is sunk, losing all its crew."

Voice over: "The British fleet reforms into day-cruising, with light cruisers joining formation at 6am. Beatty communicates to Jellicoe that HMS Queen Mary and HMS Indefatigable have been lost, 17 hours after they sank."

Ben Dickens: "The Grand Fleet turn towards Scapa Flow. The fight is essentially over."

Voice over: "The Battle of Jutland saw periods of intense action and moments of relative inaction, but who in the end won?"

Ben Dickens: "Many historians have debated this question again and again, because the answer is not so clear-cut. 6000 British and 2500 German servicemen were lost during the conflict. Britain lost 14 ships, Germany 11. After the battle, each ‘side’ would claim victory. Although British losses were greater than that of Germany, Jellicoe and the Grand Fleet had done enough to maintain naval superiority. A large operation against the British fleet was always going to be a challenge, and the scale of Jutland was not seen again during the First World War."

Voice over: "The Battle of Jutland may have helped to bring the war to an end. Because Britain had maintained its control above sea level, the Germans turned to unrestricted submarine warfare, in an attempt to starve Britain out of the war. America condemned the targeting of merchant ships, and this threatened to bring them into the conflict. So, in January 1917, a German civil servant, Arthur Zimmermann, dispatched a now infamous, coded message to the German ambassador of Mexico, proposing an alliance against America.

Unfortunately for the German’s, Britain had been intercepting their messages. They were able to decode and share the message with America. This gave President Woodrow Wilson the impetus and political cover to bring America and their troops into the war, to crush German morale and to help Britain bring the fighting to a close. The outcome of the battle of Jutland may have been ambiguous, but what is clear, is that thousands sacrificed their lives in a crucial battle that influenced the course of the war and left its mark on history."