"There seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today" - a Century on
Today is the centenary of the Battle of Jutland. A hundred years on there still remains controversy and divided opinion on the battle and how it was it fought (and not fought). On one hand the dashing and but potentially reckless Beatty..
On the other hand the staid and risk aware (or risk averse?) Admiral Jellicoe, who was the only man on either side who could lose the war in an afternoon
Pretty sure I wrote 10,000 words on the subject once at Staff College... Want to know more? Then go read these highly recommended and fascinating accounts of the naval race and the lead up and conduct of the largest fleet engagement of WW1.
I also have a title called The Battleship Builders, a really fascinating and detailed account of effort and industrial scale required to actually build the Royal Navy fleet ..
There was a very smart little essay in War on the Rocks today on modern lessons of Jutland here: http://warontherocks.com/2016/05/a-century-after-the-castles-of-steel-lessons-from-the-battle-of-jutland/
Thanks so much for the link to the article on the relevance of Jutland to naval strategy today. I found it well worth reading. Just last week I saw Scapa Flow for the first time and the poppies from the Tower of London making their first appearance in Scotland at the Church/Cathedral of Kirkwall in the Orkneys.
While the whole thing is very moving and tragic everyone seems to forget that we were on the winning side in both World Wars and it'd be an even worse tragedy if we'd lost.
So thanks again, [it would be interesting to read similar essays on land power and air power or even the new dimensions of space and cyber if the strategic aspects have developed beyond infancy]
Seem to be a couple of characters?
ReplyDeleteThey certainly were very different commanders with different approaches to defeating the German High Seas Fleet.
DeleteSome more info on the commanders just posted at http://marksimner.me.uk/battle-of-jutland-the-commanders/
ReplyDeletethanks indeed
DeleteI definitely need to be more aware of this action, thank you for the couple of titles.
ReplyDeleteI also have a title called The Battleship Builders, a really fascinating and detailed account of effort and industrial scale required to actually build the Royal Navy fleet ..
ReplyDeleteThere was a very smart little essay in War on the Rocks today on modern lessons of Jutland here: http://warontherocks.com/2016/05/a-century-after-the-castles-of-steel-lessons-from-the-battle-of-jutland/
ReplyDeleteGreat article - thanks Michael!
DeleteThanks so much for the link to the article on the relevance of Jutland to naval strategy today. I found it well worth reading. Just last week I saw Scapa Flow for the first time and the poppies from the Tower of London making their first appearance in Scotland at the Church/Cathedral of Kirkwall in the Orkneys.
ReplyDeleteWhile the whole thing is very moving and tragic everyone seems to forget that we were on the winning side in both World Wars and it'd be an even worse tragedy if we'd lost.
So thanks again, [it would be interesting to read similar essays on land power and air power or even the new dimensions of space and cyber if the strategic aspects have developed beyond infancy]
Stephen