The Battle of Jutland

A major new account of the Battle of Jutland based on contemporary sources, examining the influence of technology, tactics and leadership.

The Battle of Jutland, fought between the British and German fleets in 1916, was the greatest naval engagement of the First World War. John Brooks presents a full account of the Battle, based on contemporary sources, which offers challenging new interpretations of the action and of its technologies, tactics and leadership.This is a major new account of the Battle of Jutland, the key naval battle of the First World War in which the British Grand Fleet engaged the German High Seas Fleet off the coast of Denmark in 1916. Beginning with the building of the two fleets, John Brooks reveals the key technologies employed, from ammunition, gunnery and fire control, to signalling and torpedoes, as well as the opposing commanders' tactical expectations and battle orders. In describing Jutland's five major phases, he offers important new interpretations of the battle itself and how the outcome was influenced by technology, as well as the tactics and leadership of the principal commanders, with the reliability of their own accounts of the fighting reassessed. The book draws on contemporary sources which have rarely been cited in previous accounts, including the despatches of both the British and German formations, along with official records, letters and memoirs.