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| On 31 May 1916 the largest naval battle of the First World War took place off the coast of Jutland in Denmark. Over 6,000 British sailors lost their lives. These high losses were partly due to the unexpected sinking of three large battleships which were designed to take heavy hits without sinking. At the time the sailors who died were heralded as gallant comrades who died gloriously in battle. However, some historians believe that most of these sailors died because people made careless mistakes. | |
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| To reach an answer click on each of the sources below in turn to investigate both sides of the argument. | |
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1. First, find out the following information from the service record of a sailor involved in the battle: 1a. What is the sailor’s full name? 1b. What was his date and place of birth 1c. What job did the sailor do before joining the Navy? 1d. When did he join the Navy? 1e. How old was he when he joined up? 1f. How many ships did he serve on? 1g. What ship did he die on and when? 1h. Does the service record give any information on why the Indefatigable sank?
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2a. How according to the telegram was the Indefatigable sunk? 2b. Was the Indefatigable the only ship to be sunk by this means? 2c. What is the
ship’s Magazine? |
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3a. Is any reason for the ‘severe losses’ given in this statement?
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4a. What ‘deduction’ was made about why the Indefatigable exploded? 4b. Charges are explosives. What was wrong with the way the charges were carried to the guns? 4c. What other factor contributed to the explosion? 4d. Was the death of Joseph John Ackrill and countless others on the Indefatigable:
Explain your answer. 4e. Write a newspaper report based on one of the following headlines.
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Was the Sinking of the Indefatigable An Unnecessary Waste of Life or a Glorious Sacrifice?The First Sea Battle of the War Before 1916 there had been no major sea battles between the world’s largest naval powers, Germany and Britain. The British Grand Fleet kept to the safety of Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands while the Germany High Seas Fleet stayed anchored in their own ports. In January 1916, the Germans had a new Naval Commander, Admiral Von Scheer, and he was eager for action. Von Scheer planned to lure the British Fleet into battle and trap them. The British found out what he was planning and prepared to meet the German fleet. Just before 6pm on 31 May, the great fleets of Britain and Germany, totalling some 250 ships, came into contact off the coast of Jutland. Fierce fighting went on all evening with high explosive shells ripping into thick armour plating. Sailors burned to death or were drowned in the icy-cold sea. As darkness came Von Scheer headed back to port and the British fleet concerned about enemy submarines and minefields refused to give chase. Who Won? Both sides claimed victory. The Germans said they sank more ships but the British claimed Von Scheer had given up first and fled the scene of the battle. However, when losses were counted Britain seemed to have lost more. Britain lost 14 battleships to Germany’s 11. While Germany lost 2,551 men, Britain lost 6,077. The German High Seas Fleet stayed at home for the rest of the war. They chose to rely on U-boats (submarines). German U-boats caused great problems for the British as they sunk an enormous amount of shipping. The British eventually defeated the menace of the U-boats by employing a convoy system where anti-submarine ships protected other ships in a group. |
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To find out more about the Battle of Jutland and WWI see the following web sites. |
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