Note 18 — THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND MAY 31, 1916

Lord Jellicoe had sent to the Admiralty a formal dispatch (October 30, 1914) stating his conviction that the Germans would “rely to a great extent on submarines, mines and torpedoes,” (J) and defining his own “tactical methods in relation to these forms of attack.” (J) On November 7, 1914, the Admiralty approved the “views stated therein.” Lord Jellicoe in his book cites this Admiralty approval of 1914 as applying to the Battle of Jutland.

19 “The German organization at night is very good. Their system of recognition signals is excellent. Ours are practically nil. Their searchlights are superior to ours, and they use them with great effect. Finally, their method of firing at night gives excellent results. I am reluctantly of the opinion that under night conditions we have a good deal to learn from them.” (J)

20 “The British Fleet was not properly equipped for fighting an action at night. The German fleet was. Consequently to fight them at night would only have been to court disaster. Lord Jellicoe’s business was to preserve the Grand Fleet, the main defense of the Empire as well as of the Allied cause, not to risk its existence.” Sir Percy Scott, Fifty Years in the Royal Navy.

21 See A Guide to the Military History of The World War, pp. 320–22.