Britain's Greatest Naval Battles: The Armada, Trafalgar, Jutland

by Richard Freeman

Until the end of the First World War, Britain's wealth and power depended crucially on her command of the sea through naval power. No country could challenge Britain's power unless it first deprived her of her capacity to rule the waves. Philip II of Spain, Napoleon and Kaiser Wilhelm all took up this challenge. On each occasion Britain found herself on the verge of conquest. And yet each time the navy went out to meet the foe and returned victorious. The Spanish invasion force that accompanied the Armada perished in the Channel and the North Sea. At Trafalgar, Nelson destroyed Napoleon's capacity to mount an invasion. And at Jutland, Jellicoe's fleet so terrified the German Kaiser that he ordered his ships to remain in port. Three great naval battles. Each a decisive and overwhelming victory. Each forcing a turning point in a war. Each, if lost, would have had disastrous consequences for Britain. But which was Britain's greatest victory? This brilliant short book by one of the country's leading naval historians examines each battle, placing the conflict in its historical context, explaining how the battle came about and why the Royal Navy succeeded in driving off the enemy fleet. It provides a fresh perspective for naval historians, and a brilliant concise introduction to the key turning points in our naval history for the general reader. Richard Freeman graduated in mathematics before following a career in distance education. He now writes on naval history. His other books include The Great Edwardian Naval Feud.

Genres: History

54 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2012

Reviews

[Michael Bully · Rating 3 out of 5]

What makes a great battle? The author proposes an interesting test.
Stakes must be high- did it make a difference?
Resources have to been invested in it.
Makes great demands on the participants

Richard Freeman’s conclusion is that

“ Trafalgar has to fall out of our ‘greatest ‘ list due to its lack of significant consequences. Not enough was at risk to qualify on this point. That leaves us with the Armada and Jutland, The relative lack of fighting on the part of the British against the Armada gives Jutland the edge.It was surely the greatest ever naval battle. “

Perhaps we also have to add the question of expectation,certainly when it came to Jutland, the British public were hoping for another ‘Trafalgar’ . The Armada did not come with this baggage of tradition. Finally how does a battle between ships fare in a world with mines and U boats?

The Armada was of course several battles ;
Battle of Plymouth 21st July 1588, Battle of Portland Bill 23rd July 1588, First Battle of the Isle of Wight, 24th July 1588, Second Battle of Isle of Wight 25th July 1588, Battle of Gravelines 29th July 1588,

But a reasonable narrative is presented, stressing how the weather was just as much as a menace as the fireships the English sent in to defeat the Spanish. Good that the writer reminds one how Elizabeth hampered the naval effort with lack of finance and nearly lost the battle(s) . The writer reminds us that the abandonment of English Sailors in ports without pay was shameful-Admiral Howard even resorted to selling his dinner service to help them. Yet also emphasises how much was at stake ;

“An English defeat in the case of the Armada would have left Elizabeth with no significant naval force with which to defend her shores. On that assumption Philip would have landed his troops…..”




Trafalgar was more complex. The author maintains that Napoleon had abandoned his plans to invade Britain. This isn’t detailed ….but presume that his argument is that Napoleon had moved his armies away from the Channel Coast to cross The Rhine in September 1805 against the Third Coalition culminating in the French victory against the Austrians at Ulm on 20th October 1805.

Furthermore, ‘Trafalgar is presented as a ‘Foregone Conclusion’ …..that the French and Spanish sailors were inexperienced , largely as a result of being blockaded by the British.
The French commander Villeneuve had not encouraged his captain to show any initiatives. The British lost no ships, 449 dead, including Nelson,with 1214 wounded. The French- Spanish coalition lost 3500 dead, 4000 other casualties and less than half their ships escaped.

Would have been interesting to also evaluate Trafalgar as a culmination of a series of naval conflicts Britain fought against post-revolutionary France from 1794.



Richard Freeman recognises that the battle of Jutland on 31st May 1916/1st June 1916 was “The largest naval battle of the War…..Indeed the largest naval battle of all time’ “ .

The battle has always divided historians’ opinions. Take Empire of the Deep- The Rise and Fall of the British Navy’ -Ben Wilson (2014)
‘Both sides managed to lose the Battle of Jutland. ……*
In ‘The Battle of Jutland (1964) Geoffrey Bennett claimed “If the prestige of the British Navy had been tarnished by its failure to achieve a major victory at Jutland, it was now at it peak”... also “Jutland was, therefore, decisive in enabling the Allies to win the war.”

The author points out that ‘The Times’ headline of 3rd June 1916 declared the battle as a defeat. A summary of the key points of the battle of Jutland are presented including the British losses of ships and men that were far higher than the Germans- but also:

“At the end of the battle the Germans had fled, leaving Britain in command of the seas….One month later the British fleet was stronger than when it sailed to Jutland.”

His case being that apart from the three battle cruisers and three armed cruisers that Britain lost, the surviving British ships seemed to be back to strength quicker than the Germans. Though the issues of poor storage of cordite leading to on board explosions, flawed shell manufacture and signalling problems are also raised as being detrimental to the British.

The notion that the German navy were ordered to port after Jutland is raised. Broadly correct but there were a couple of other German naval excursions, Heligoland 17th November 1917, and to southern Norway 24th April 1918.

What is interesting is that the author does not really consider all the crucial consequences of Jutland. The battle showed that the Kaiser’s fleet couldn’t beat the British, this led to a greater emphasis on U boat activity. Germany very nearly succeeded in starving Britain by the Spring of 1917. British supremacy above the waves was not enough , and this factor diminished the significance of Jutland as being some sort of eventual British victory.

Well footnoted and references, and a thought provoking work overall.