An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 27 Von der Tann and the Moltke. Destroyers launched their tor- pedoes, causing the big ships to manoeuvre swiftly to avoid impact. Clouds of smoke from the guns and the ships' funnels obscured the battleground, giving the German fleet an ad- vantage as British gunners had to pause to reload and re-aim, while the Germans could con- tinue firing. Battlecruisers and dreadnoughts cut through the waters seeking targets. These massive hulks of steel manoeu- vred into firing positions, their great guns sending shell after shell into the air. Splashes of spray rose into the air as misses were calculated while hits sent up flame and smoke as the shells detonated. While the German commander soon realised he was en- gaging at least a significant proportion of the British Grand Fleet, he was also inflicting considerable damage on the British battlecruisers. The first major casualty of the battle was HMS Indefatigable, when shells ignited the ship's maga- zine blowing it to pieces and killing all but two of her crew. At 16:26hrs, the Queen Mary was hit and sunk after a salvo hit her amidships; all but nine of her 1,266 crew perished. Through the haze, the main British forces steamed into range and entered the fray. HE Reid, a gunner on the dreadnought HMS Agincourt, part of the First Battle Squadron, recalled: 'A great flash and terrific crash and two 12-inch guns recoil as their projectiles fly towards the object of interest. Everyone grins as up comes a fresh projectile for each gun...These were immediately rammed home by the electric rammer and down again darts the cage for more. With the noisy rammer, recoil- ing guns and tipping of these huge shells into loading trays, and other guns going off, the din was terrible. Away goes [the] fire bell again and before it finishes its single 'Ding', the guns crash back and go forward into place to the accompaniment of the shrieking air-blast which blows away all the burning debris. By the time the gun regains its position, everything is ready again.' 1914-18 The First World War An Illustrated His- tory (2014). Jellicoe headed south in an attempt to cut off the Ger- mans. As the fleets clashed, the Lutzow was sunk and the Seydlitz and Derfflinger badly damaged. The British Grand fleet manoeuvred so as to assault the thinly spread German line. Scheer realised his adversary's plan and attempted to breakout into the Baltic but failed to run the gauntlet and his ships suffered 27 direct hits. The German commander then ordered a full retreat using his lighter ships to cover the withdrawal of the Imperial Navy's best vessels. Out of range of the Royal Navy's guns, the deteriorating light enabled the Germans to escape the onslaught. Scheer consolidated his remaining force and once again turned to face his adversaries but the threat of a possible German submarine attack dissuaded Jellicoe from rising to the challenge. During the short summer night, both sides continued to clash, resulting in a number of light cruisers and destroyers being sunk. Ships on both sides succeeded in evading a great number of torpedoes, but the German Pom- mern was hit, broke in two and sunk. By the end of the battle the Royal Navy had lost 14 ships and 7,000 men while the Germans had lost 11 ships and 2,500 men. Both sides claimed victory, yet with so many casualties on the British side and the Germans forced into a tactical with- drawal, the final outcome was not as many had expected. Although no dreadnoughts were sunk, many battlecruis- ers and destroyers were lost on both sides. Though the British suffered the heavier number of casualties, they had forced the Germans back to port and now had undisputed control of the North Sea. Both the German and British military hierarchies were livid that a crushing defeat had not been possible, as they believed outright victory at the Battle of Jutland could have turned the tide of war. Churchill, the Lord of the Admiralty, berated Admiral Jel- licoe for not pursuing the retreating Germans and delivering that crushing blow that would have given the Allies a victory similar to that at Trafalgar. The amount of ships lost in the battle came as a shock and highlighted their vulnerability in modern warfare. While many still believed in the might of the warship and the dominance of the high seas, others were looking to the air and beneath the waves; the age of the aircraft carrier and submarine was dawning. Battleship HMS Barham 1916 German Destroyers generating a smoke screen to escape from the British battleships' shellfire

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