THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND Largest naval battle in

THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND Largest naval battle in WW 1 Anthony, Harini, Jerry, & Kim

✰✰ THESIS ✰✰ The only major naval battle of WWI, the Battle of Jutland considerably diminished the resources of the British navy and rendered the German navy essentially unusable for the remainder of the war, which forced it to focus on its ground campaign and also consider unrestricted submarine warfare. Ultimately however, this strategy catalyzed the entrance of the United States into World War 1.

✰ WHO, WHERE, WHEN ✰ ★ Naval battle off of Denmark’s North Sea coast ★ Fought between British Royal and German High Seas fleet -Most powerful fleets at the time ★ Only major encounter between Britain and Germany battle fleets ★ May 31, 1916 - June 1, 1916 (36 hours) Fought here

✰ CAUSES OF THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND GERMANY ✰ ★ Since the Germans felt that they had no chance of winning in a full engagement with the superiorly numbered British fleet, they first attempted to use submarines and sink them one by one. ★ Upon failure of this plan, the Germans attempted to lure out a small portion of the Royal Navy with a small scouting force and then proceed to decimate it with the full force of the German fleet. ★ Also due to a British Naval blockade on the North German coast that severely harmed Germany German WW 1 submarines in World War 1

✰ EVENTS PRIOR TO THE BATTLE ✰ OF JUTLAND ★ German Vice Admiral Reinhard Scheer implements the plan and relays it to the German fleet ★ The British fleet intercepts the message and mobilizes the Royal Navy, even though they were unsure if it was true

✰ EVENTS PRIOR TO THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND ✰ ★ Both fleets were unaware of each other coming ○ the British were inclined to believe that another fruitless sweep to find the Germans had taken place ○ Germans did not expect their plan to have leaked in the first place Both fleets sent out fast moving ships to find the other fleet.

✰ SUMMARY OF BATTLE ✰ ★ The fleets open fire at 10 miles distance ★ Germans at advantage at first— British line hit repeatedly due to better vision and sink many ships ★ After the first fleet linked up with the main force lead by Admiral Jellicoe, the Germans were now outnumbered The sinking of the British battleship HMS Indefatigable

✰ MAP OF THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND ✰

✰ SUMMARY OF BATTLE ✰ ★ German admiral Scheer orders a defensive retreat with aid of smoke from torpedos and the foggy weather ○ He orders a turn again in hope of flanking the British navy’s rear, only to go into a worse position ○ Scheer orders a retreat as well because of the bad position ★ Scheer orders another turn, this time passing astern of the British fleets ○ The two sides fought with losses on both sides ★ Scheer retreats back to Horns Reef minefields

✰ VICTORIES ✰ ★ No clear victor, and both sides claimed victory. ★ British claimed victory because fleet was still strong in contrast to Germany's loss of eleven ships and more than 2, 500 casualties, considering them no longer ‘seaworthy’. ★ Germans claimed victory because the British had lost more ships - 14 in total - and more than 6, 000 men.

Casualties and Losses Red=German fleets Blue=British fleets

✰ IMPACT ✰ ★ Largest naval battle of WW 1, large number of lives were lost. ★ Largest surface battle in naval history due to the numbers of battleships and battlecruisers engaged. ★ British Navy lost more men and ships, but remained powerful. ★ German Navy too damaged to be put to sea again for the remainder of the war. -Restricted their campaigns to land

Another Indirect Impact ★ The decimation of the German fleet removed the option of a blockade on British ports, which caused the U. S to join the war. The sinking of the Lusitania -Germans had to use submarine warfare to sink British merchant ships instead of enforcing a blockade -The German use of unrestricted submarine warfare provoked the U. S to enter the war against the Germans

✰ WORKS CITED ✰ Battle of Jutland, www. cwgc. org/history-and-archives/first-world-war/campaigns/war-at-sea/battle-ofjutland. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Battle of Jutland. " Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. , 23 Oct. 2019, www. britannica. com/event/Battle-of-Jutland. Sabur, Rozina. "What Was the Battle of Jutland, Why Was It so Important to the First World War - and Who Won? " The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 31 May 2016, www. telegraph. co. uk/news/2016/05/31/what-was-the-battle-of-jutland-why-was-it-so-important-to-thefi/.