Originally posted by: grrl
I remember writing a paper on that battle for Modern European History class. IIRC, the battle was a bit piecemeal, there wasn't any full blown shoot out between the two battle groups.
The "main" battle is what everyone remembers. The German High Seas Fleet were led into the main battle line of the British Grand Fleet. A relatively short encounter occured, since the Germans were at a huge disadvantage.
The most interesting part was the running battle between the battle cruiser fleets, which are basically called the Run to the South and the Run to the North.
This was Beattys command. He failed to keep the Grand Fleet informed as to where he was and what was happening. This was single main purpose of the battlecruisers. To scout and report the position of the German High Seas Fleet.
It was only Jellicoes educated guess that enabled him to actually get in position against the German fleet.
btw not only did Beatty fail to keep Jellico informed as to the Germans whereabouts, he failed to destroy the battlecruiser fleet.
What many people don't know is that due to losses and maintenance the battlecruiser fleet had been depleted and Beatty was given four of the brand new Queen Elizabeth class battleSHIPS. They weree almost as fast as the battlecruisers and had the first 15 inch guns ever. He had a hugely overwhelming force at his command.
Yet Beattys inept ship handling and lack of training and planning kept these ships out of most of the battle. In fact, he exposed them to withering fire of the entire German fleet.
