Skagerrak: The Battle of Jutland Through German Eyes

by Gary Staff

On 31 May 1916 The German High Seas Fleet clashed with the Royal Navy in the North Sea. The ensuing Battle of Jutland, known to the Germans as the Skaggerak Battle (der Skagerrakschlacht), was the most significant naval action of the First World War. Although not tactically decisive, the strategic result was that British naval supremacy in the North Sea went unchallenged for the rest of the war and the blockade of Germany remained in place.

Many works have dealt with this clash of titans, and many more will doubtless appear for the approaching centenary but the German perspective has been sorely neglected. Gary Staff aims to correct this. By cross-referencing both German and British official records and accounts he has established the most coherent narrative of the battle possible. But the bare bones of the timeline are fleshed out with eyewitness accounts from the crews of the German ships. The result is a gripping read that gives a real sense of the drama, tension and terror of being in battle inside one of these steel behemoths. The thoroughly researched and accessible text is supported by clear maps and a large number of archive photos, many never before published, showing the German vessels before, during and after the action.

288 pages, Hardcover

Published July 8, 2016

Reviews

[Dimitri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't finish this ! Don't say you can offer new perspectives on Jutland if translating German sources means writing "Torpedobootes" all the time in English as dry as the Sahara and completely throwing out a structured division of a 12-hour battle into common phases such as "Run to the South"or "Run to the North" !

[Bryan Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came to this book as part of my WWI interest. I've read a great deal about land war, politics, espionage, technology... but not about the naval war. So it was high time I got up to speed, and where better place to start that the first world war's greatest naval event, the Battle of Jutland (May 31-June 1, 1916)?

Gary Staff's Skagerrak: The Battle of Jutland Through German Eyes is a challenging place to start. Information rich, engaged with the battle's historiographical controversies, it is a fine book for those already studying the battle. It's not the best first book.

Staff follows Jutland in meticulous chronological order, at times literally minute by minute. The opening two chapters cover the months leading up to Jutland, starting with a German change of command, which led to some daring raids on British units and ports. Then Skagerrak kicks off the main event, and remains there until the last chapter, which addresses interpretations of the battle.

Along the way we follow the initial German probe, which wanted to lure out a segment of the (bigger) British navy, in order to quickly destroy it with superior gunnery and local force concentration, but ended up triggering a response from the larger force. What followed was a famously complex struggle, with both sides grappling with dim intelligence. German admiral Sheer charged forward boldly, hurling torpedo boats into the British lines, then commanding titanic salvos from his battlecruisers and battleships. British admiral Jellicoe was more cautious, agonizingly nervous over German mines and torpedoes, holding back when he could (at least according to Staff), but still using his greater numbers to assault enemy ships. Over an afternoon and evening the fleets pounded at each other when they could find each other, the British suffering more losses in tonnage and sailors. Confused engagements spattered over night, then both sides gradually disengaged in the following morning.

Afterwards the Germans claimed victory, with some justice, as Staff argues, and I agree. The British initially considered Jutland/Skaggerak a defeat, then spun it into something more positive, and have been arguing about it ever since. Staff's final chapter points out that while some historians think the German fleet hid in port for the rest of the war, they actually sallied forth repeatedly, amphibiously conquering Russian Baltic islands in 1917, then shipping troops into Finland in 1918 to successfully support the anti-Soviet side in that country's bitter post-independence civil war. Staff consistently praises German leadership: "Vizeadmiral Scheer... had maintained independent initiative and had held the numerically superior [British] Grand Fleet at bay." (130) And to the battle's immediate outcome:

[T]he [German] High Sea Gleet had inflited twice as much damage and casualties as it had received. The British suffered 14 ships sunk for a total loss of 112,920 tons, and 6094 casualties, whilst the Germans lost 11 ships sunk for a total of 60,314 tons and 2552 casualties. Unambiguous statistics.(240)

Skagerrak: The Battle of Jutland Through German Eyes does what it sets out to do, emphasizing the German perspective. We do get dollops of British viewpoints, but only to quickly explain what the enemy is up to. And this perspective is fascinating. Staff carefully explains the command decisions, from Sheer down to torpedo boat captains. Best of all are plentiful accounts of the battle written by sailors, either after the war or from their battle diaries. These stories are richly informative, sometimes very well written, and often exciting or disturbing. I was fond of Kaiser getting ready for battle (74), a great scene of being under fire (139), a tense battle in the dark (183-4), one account of the Wiesbaden's fighting death (119-121), the explosion of Black Prince (201), a scary scene about being trapped belowdecks (78-80). And the metal fan in me cannot help but love one captain's description of an attack as "THE DEATH RIDE OF THE BATTLE CRUISERS" (yes, all caps in the text) (145).

Throughout the book Staff dives into the deepest details. At times I felt I was reading a database, or ledgers from naval staff. For example, page 110 is nothing but a list of hits on the British vessel Warspite, hit after hit without relief, like a spreadsheet. Or:

At 1716hrs Moltke was [hit] by a 15 inch shell from Barham on the citadel armour below the V casemate 15cm cannon, which penetrated the upper coal bunker, where it detonated. The explosion put the V casemate 15cm cannon out of action and killed the 12 serving crew... At 1723hrs a 15 inch shell struck neear the water line beneath the forward funnel and detonated on the side armour. Although the armour was not penetrated a place was displaced and the hull skin below the waterline was torn so that some wing passage and protective bunker compartments were flooded. A few minutes later at 1726hrs there was an underwater hit aft, which passed transversely across the ship before detonating and causing further flooding right aft. Finally at 1727hrs a 15 inch shell... (63)

Not being a regular student of naval war, these passages were thick to wade through. Moreover, Staff does not frame or organize events at a larger level. That is, he spends so much time on these minutiae that he offers little in the way of showing the reader what they mean, especially for the battle as a whole.

Indeed, Skagerrak presumes a certain level of knowledge on the reader's part. Many terms appear without explanation: straddling, casement, "boot" and other German vocabulary. It's not clear why Horn's Reef is an important ground to reach. There is no introduction setting the battle's scene or context in the broader war. No history of the British-German naval race appears, nor a sketch of naval tactics and technology at the time.

When Staff does take up the British side, he is very critical. He condemns naval strategy as being too centralized and doctrine-based, not allowing commanders much flexibility (24) and echoes another author's slam at Beatty for missing a key part of the battle (89-91). Staff especially criticizes Jellicoe for cowardice, inaccurate assessments of the enemy, and lame spinning attempts after the battle (128, 156, 172, 207). He also offers an interesting theory about why British ships tended to explode (202-3).

While obviously cheering on the Germans, Staff does offer some criticisms. He points out several times that the British cryptographic edge boosted their intelligence and gave them a lead on Berlin's plans (24). He dings one commander for shying away from fighting (101). He quietly admits that the Germans put themselves in an awful place at dusk on the 31st, west of the British, and therefore silhouetted against the sunset while their opponents were invisible (162).

When I read most history I expect good maps, and will criticize bad mapping bitterly. Skagerrak is actually quite good on the cartographic front. Every chapter has several schematics of fleet movements, precisely identifying which ship is where, headed in what direction, and at what time. These illustrations are also perfectly placed in the text, right where they are needed. The fonts can be too tiny, however, and I actually used a magnifying glass to make out some text. Elsewhere on the non-textual front the book offers a nice selection of photographs. I wish they were larger, but understand press costs.

On an editorial note, there are some mistakes, usually wrong words that certainly passed spellcheck. For example, "A grove was produced in the roof to a depth of 15mm" - should have been "groove", I think (118).

Overall, if you're a student of the subject, this is a good four stars. As an introduction for the general reader, three.

[Zach Slavens · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book should be reclassified as historical fiction. The only worthwhile aspects of the book are where the author quotes battle journals verbatim for paragraphs on end. The author perpetuates many well debunked narratives of the battle, and relies extensively on heavily flawed (and widely critiqued) sources. Although the book starts well enough, it becomes apparent that the author has no serious familiarity with naval tactics nor the weapon systems employed at Jutland. The author's narrative of the general fleet action and the tactical considerations at play bears little resemblance to objective reality. At several points, the author makes objectively false assertions, and spends several paragraphs pondering why British BCs detonated despite the fact that this cause was well researched, known, and corrected by the British during WWI. On this point, the author's ignorance is simply inexcusable. For a much better historical narrative of the battle, and a fair treatment of all the characters involved, read Castles of Steel by Robert Massie.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fascinating but challenging read. A rare view of the battle of Jutland from the German perspective, providing new detail to a familiar story. To rad this book the reader would be left thinking that everything went well for the Germans, and went to a broader plan, whereas the British just blundered through. The ineffective British firing is stark, as well as the differences in approach that allowed British ships to blow up, whereas their opponents dragged themselves back to port. Though this is largely brushed over as an issue. I struggle with some of Staff's conclusions, which as well as casting doubt on the battle as a British strategic victory, pushes to suggest it was in fact a German strategic victory, and enabled the u-boat campaign to begin in earnest. Whilst the battle's value as a strategic victory can certainly be challenged, the claimed later successful operation of German naval forces is unconvincing, and not supported by the mutinies in 1918.

As other reviewers have identified in more detail, the unusual blend of German spelling throughout the text is both inconsistent and unnecessary, disrupting the flow for the reader, without adding value. At times there was a level of detail too far, detailed strike reports on German ships were not supported by contextual information, making it hard to judge the significance of hits on command and control and ship integrity.

This is an important addition to the growing English language coverage of the German side of the war, but would have benefited from tighter editing, and a clear audience in mind. Like the battle itself, perhaps an opportunity missed.

[Michael Romo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I included this book as part of frenzy of binge reading, on my part, of books that dealt with the battle of Jutland. What I found very helpful in understanding the battle was the appendix in which every ship in both respective fleets were listed along with their important commanding officers (and in some cases the first officers and gunnery officers). For a book of this type I would have wanted to see a bibliography. Overall, a good read.