The Battle of Jutland: History's Greatest Sea Battle: Told Through Newspaper Reports, Official Documents and the Accounts of Those Who Were There

by Richard H Osborne

Overview

Since the days of the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy had been the acknowledged as the most powerful maritime force on the planet. Britain could boast more warships, and particularly more Dreadnoughts and battle-cruisers than any other nation. But the Germans had undertaken an enormously expensive shipbuilding program designed to place the Kaiserliche Marine on an equal footing with the Royal Navy. Since the outbreak of war between the two nations in 1914, the British public had waited in eager anticipation for the moment when the opposing battle fleets would meet at sea.

After a number of smaller engagements, major elements of the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet, finally faced each other across the grey seas of the North Sea off Jutland. Instead of the great victory that the British expected, the result was disappointingly inconclusive, with the Grand Fleet losing more men and more ships than the Germans.

In this insightful and unique investigation into the battle, naval historian Richard Osborne draws on the words of the key players to resolve the many disputes, controversies and myths that have surrounded this battle throughout the intervening 100 years.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781848324534
Publisher:	Pen and Sword
Publication date:	08/19/2016
Series:	Voices from the Past
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Richard Osborne is a retired lecturer in Pharmacology who was born in Portsmouth in 1948 and awarded a Ph.D in Neurochemistry by Imperial College in 1974. He has always had a keen interest in ships joining the World Ship Society in 1962 and serving as its Chairman from 2000 to 2012.

Table of Contents

Foreword vii

Acknowledgements xi

Glossary of Technical Terms and Abbreviations xii

Chapter 1 A Tale of Two Communiqués 1

Chapter 2 The Opening Moves 4

Chapter 3 The Run to the South 15

Chapter 4 The Run to the North 40

Chapter 5 Windy Corner 54

Chapter 6 Main Fleet Action 64

Chapter 7 Night Action and Inaction 83

Chapter 8 Ready For Action? 104

Chapter 9 After the Battle: British Reports 129

Chapter 10 German Lies Exposed 155

Chapter 11 The 'Typewriter War' in the United States' Press 180

Chapter 12 German Perspectives 193

Chapter 13 Scapegoating the Battlecruiser 213

Chapter 14 Echoes of Jutland 234

Appendices:

Appendix I Letter from Sir John Jellicoe to the Admiralty, 30 October 1914 255

Appendix II Letter from the Admiralty to Sir John Jellicoe, 7 November 1914 259

Appendix III Data on the Short Type 184 Seaplane Serial Number N8359 260

Appendix IV The British Grand Fleet at Jutland, 31 May 1916 262

Appendix V The German High Seas Fleet at The Skagerrak, 31 May 1916 267

Appendix VI Brief Particulars of British Ships Participating in the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916 270

Appendix VII Brief Particulars of German Ships Participating at the Skagerrak, 31 May 1916 280

Notes and References 285

Bibliography 298

Index 302

Editorial Reviews

The second of these brief reviews of works published this year on the Battle of Jutland, as we approach the end of its centenary year, also makes for fascinating reading. The source material is, as the publisher prints on the book’s cover: “History’s Greatest Sea Battle Told Through Newspaper Reports, Official Documents and the Accounts of Those Who Were There." The author, naval historian Richard Osborne, has assembled the words of many of those involved in order to investigate the many disputes, disagreements, and controversies that arose in 1916 and have never satisfactorily been resolved to this day. Still, no firm conclusion has been drawn and no final answers reached, but the reader will be left much the wiser for having read this excellent work. The book is illustrated with a number of contemporary photos. The front cover illustration depicts Vice- Admiral Beattie’s flagship HMS Lion leading the battlecruisers during the Battle of Jutland.

November/December 2016 Ships in Scale

"I know, yet another book about the Battle of Jutland! I've lost track of how many books on Jutland have been issued or reissued to mark the centenary of the battle. Some have been better than others and this is one of the better volumes. In this book the author, Richard Osborne, draws on the wordsof the key players to examine the many disputes, controversies and myths that have surrounded this battle throughout the intervening 100 years. It contains a fairly straightforward account of the battle itself, but what makes this book different is that, wherever possible, the story of the battle is told through newspaper accounts, official documents and eyewitness accounts...The hardback book is 309 pages long and contains several pages of photographs of ships that took part in the battle. There are detailed Appendices which provide details of the ships which formed both fleets, a comprehensive list of notes and references, an extensive Bibliography and a detailed index.
At £25 I feel this volume is good value for money and I thoroughly recommend this book."

Warship World

The second of these brief reviews of works published this year on the Battle of Jutland, as we approach the end of its centenary year, also makes for fascinating reading. The source material is, as the publisher prints on the book’s cover: “History’s Greatest Sea Battle Told Through Newspaper Reports, Official Documents and the Accounts of Those Who Were There." The author, naval historian Richard Osborne, has assembled the words of many of those involved in order to investigate the many disputes, disagreements, and controversies that arose in 1916 and have never satisfactorily been resolved to this day. Still, no firm conclusion has been drawn and no final answers reached, but the reader will be left much the wiser for having read this excellent work. The book is illustrated with a number of contemporary photos. The front cover illustration depicts Vice- Admiral Beattie’s flagship HMS Lion leading the battlecruisers during the Battle of Jutland.

Nov/Dec 2016 Ships in Scale

I know, yet another book about the Battle of Jutland! I've lost track of how many books on Jutland have been issued or reissued to mark the centenary of the battle. Some have been better than others and this is one of the better volumes. In this book the author, Richard Osborne, draws on the wordsof the key players to examine the many disputes, controversies and myths that have surrounded this battle throughout the intervening 100 years. It contains a fairly straightforward account of the battle itself, but what makes this book different is that, wherever possible, the story of the battle is told through newspaper accounts, official documents and eyewitness accounts...The hardback book is 309 pages long and contains several pages of photographs of ships that took part in the battle. There are detailed Appendices which provide details of the ships which formed both fleets, a comprehensive list of notes and references, an extensive Bibliography and a detailed index.
At £25 I feel this volume is good value for money and I thoroughly recommend this book.

warship world