The Grand Fleet, 1914-1916: Its Creation, Development and Work

by John Jellicoe

'Lord Jellicoe has won the affection and esteem of the whole of the Grand Fleet. The book is throughout magnanimous, direct, and transparently honest.' - The Spectator In 1914, Great Britain had one of the most formidable navies the world had ever seen. At the outset of the war the Grand Fleet, under the leadership of Admirals like John Jellicoe, moved to contain their enemy’s High Seas Fleet and blockade Germany. Yet, despite the sophistication of the British fleet, it was never able to fully restrict the German navy who led daring raids to bombard the English coast at Yarmouth and Lowestoft and came into conflict with the British at Heligoland Bight and Dogger Bank. Jellicoe, who was commander of the British Grand Fleet at the time, provides fascinating insight into the most famous naval battle of World War One, Jutland. In a step-by-step analysis of the battle, he explained why the British were unable to strike the decisive blow on that day. As well as covering the naval engagements of the first two years of the war, Jellicoe explains how naval warfare developed during this period, with the advent of submarines and the use of mines. The Grand Fleet, 1914-1916 sheds light onto the British navy of the First World War, how it developed, the battles that if fought and the leadership behind it. Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB, OM, GCVO, SGM, DL (5 December 1859 – 20 November 1935) was a Royal Navy officer. He fought in the Anglo-Egyptian War and the Boxer Rebellion and commanded the Grand Fleet during the First World War. In 1919, he published The Grand Fleet, detailing his wartime experiences.

Genres: History, Naval History

558 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1919

About the author

Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB, OM, GCVO, SGM, DL was a British naval officer. He served in the Anglo-Egyptian War and Boxer Rebellion. During Word War I, he commanded the Grand Fleet and took part in the Battle of Jutland. He became First Sea Lord in November 1916 but was abruptly removed in December 1917 due to disagreements with the government of David Lloyd George. From September 1920 to December 1924, he was Governor-General of New Zealand. His son, George Jellicoe, commanded the Special Boat Service during World War II.

Reviews

[Marianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Includes my publisher Erik Empson's introduction to this hefty tome about naval warfare in the North Sea - clearly been messing about with boats rather than promoting my book! But a fascinating introduction nonetheless.

[James McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book throughout. It’s definitely not for the average reader as Jellicoe was very analytical and detailed in some areas. I do like the points he makes about why the Germans didn’t win the Battle of Jutland.

If anyone is interested in how the Grand Fleet was formed and operated during his years in command, this was very good. And I never realized how often the fleet put to sea despite only one major engagement.

I also enjoyed how he pointed out why the German battleships were better. It gives a good idea on why 3 British battlecruisers, HMS Indefatigable, HMS Queen Mary, and HMS Invincible blew up whereas some German battleships like SMS Seydlitz could take 20+ hits and survive.

This is a very good first hand account and it may settle any doubts you have about him as an admiral.

[Erik Empson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting book although it is quite technical in places. The introduction aims to challenge some commonly held assumptions about the First World War.