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Old 08-30-20, 04:44 PM   #1
cheeky_kaleun
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: London, UK
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Default The alternative Battle of Jutland - Better or worse?

Playing the magnificent game Jutland, I had a rather excellent opportunity to play out an alternative Jutland during the Campaign game, and it was utterly fascinating. I would be very interested to hear opinions about whether this 'different' Jutland was worth the losses.

This was in mid-January 2016. One must remember that at this time, the fleet disposition was somewhat different. The three Queen Elizabeths were with the Grand Fleet, while Hood's 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron was with Beatty's Battlecruiser Fleet. At this time, Beatty's battlecruisers were off the coast of Emden, at the western end of the German Fleet's mine-protected bastion. It was protecting a French minelayer to "plug" the holes and basically box the Germans in.

The 1st Battle Group, based at Cromarty and consisting of eight dreadnoughts of the Iron Duke, Colossus and St Vincent Class was separately tasked and doing its own thing in the mid-north sea, patrolling for German merchant shipping, while the Grand Fleet (with only 20 dreadnoughts, including the obsolete HMS Dreadnought but also three Queen Elizabeths) was carrying out a mining operation northwest of Ebsbjerg. Suddenly at around 6am, in the morning twilight, the Grand Fleet sailing north was surprising as (at 4km visibility, early morning twilight plus the mist) two German battlecruisers come out of the mist, with countless escorts coming out of the mist too. The fleet was still in cruising formation and the German BCs were at the port-end of the fleet (closest to the three-ship Queen Elizabeth division led by Read-Admiral Sir Hugh Evan Thomas).

The QEs immediately commence firing their 15-inch guns at the two German battlecruisers we could see, and I'm not sure whether it was a lucky hit from a closer cruiser or from the QEs but their speed was reduced to 21 knots. Still, as the QEs revved up from a cruising 15 knots, the German BCs (with Von der Tann in the rear) disappeared back into the mist.



I ordered an armoured cruiser ahead of the fleet to turn to port and cut them off, and at least give me a sighting so the QEs could catch up with them once the QEs got up to their shipyard rated 24 knots. It was an insane engagement as German destroyers suddenly appeared out of the mist only to go up against four-ship divisions of dreadnoughts, such as in this picture. I'm not sure you can make it out in the pre-dawn twilight haze, but this lone German destroyer is attacking a division of HMS Benbow, Temeraire, Bellerophon and Emperor of India. The shell splash from the 12-inch guns is larger than the destroyer!; (cont below)



Another incident, this German destroyer got in the was as the armoured cruiser HMS Achilles moved west into the fog to try to discover the position of the Von der Tann, only to go bow to bow with an unlucky German destroyer; (cont below)



Long story short, we absolutely shattered them sinking both BCs we were able to find and 40 escorts they had with them. We only lost two ships of our own, one light-cruiser and a destroyer although the QEs had taken a bit of a battering.

Concluding that the High Seas Fleet couldn't be far behind I ordered the Grand Fleet to the northwest, and immediately ordered four armoured cruisers of the 7th Cruisers at Lerwick in the Orkneys, and the 1st Battle Squadron about 200 miles to the west, to sail for a rendezvous. About four hours later, we encountered the remaining four German battlecruisers, accompanied by only three light cruisers (we had wiped out almost their entire escort force of 40 ships including destroyers and light cruisers).

They immediately moved to engage (why take on such a superior force? I only understand later, to slow us down and let the High Seas Fleet catch up). Taking a page from Jellicoe's book I immediately formed the entire fleet of 20 dreadnoughts into a battleline, with the slightly battered QEs taking the van, and crossed their 'T'.

In addition, I had seven King Edward VII class pre-dreadnoughts but they were too far away (acting as picket ships at the van) and too slow (18 knots) to help immediately. The battle was intense, we managed to sink all four German battlecruisers but at the loss of the three Queen Elizabeths in the van. Dreadnought had also taken on some water so the entire battle line was restricted to 19 knots. Just as this was occurring, six light cruisers were sighted on the southern horizon. This could only mean one thing; the High Seas Fleet. I wouldn't rate my 17 dreadnoughts (including the damaged HMS Dreadnought) against their 16.

Their dreads battleline was travelling at 20 knots, my own at 19 knots (if I sacrificed HMS Dreadnought I could get this up to 20). It was take 24 hours for them to catch up at that differential, but catch up they would. I made a split second decision.

All of our remaining escorts, made up of 2 armoured cruisers, seven light cruisers, 10 destroyers along with all seven King Edward VII pre-dreadnoughts, turned 180 degrees to the south to confront the German battleline. Whatever the cost, they must slow them down and give the 17 remaining battleships of the Grand Fleet time to get away. I expected these heroes to be completely sacrificed and destroyed, at best I hoped to inflict some hull penetrations so that the German battleships would take on enough seawater to slow them down by a knot or two.

But that force fought with extraordinary bravery, beyond all expectations. They managed to sink *three* German dreadnoughts! In fact, while a cruiser division of seven light cruisers were sailing down the port side of the German battleline at point blank range, they managed to achieve an extraordinary hit on the SMS Friedrich der Grosse (Kaiser-class, commissioned 1913) that caused a magazine explosion and the vessel sunk within 2 minutes. I don't know if it was a torpedo hit or somehow a 6-inch shell managed to penetrate a secondary magazine (wasn't paying attention to the cruisers at that time). But it was an amazing victory and presaged amazing things. Those seven King Edward VII class pre-dreads fought with courage and tenacity, they were cut to pieces, but in the process managed to sink two modern German dreadnoughts, the SMS Grosser Kurfurst (Konig class, commissioned 1914) and the SMS Konig (also Konig, also 1914).

See below here a picture of the battle after it's mostly over. The black circle indicates it is sinking. A red circle indicates heavy damage and almost no chance whatsoever of saving the ship. As you can see the old HMS Zealandia, Hindustan and Dominion are covered in splash and sinking, but their crew are still manning the guns. See below, the KEVIIs are sinking, but they managed to split the German line so that the front is only travelling at 13 knots, and the battleship in the van, Grosser Kurfurst, is sinking. (cont below)



The Hindustan and the Zealandia covered in splash, sinking, while the Gross Kurfurst and Konig are sinking, and the Friedriech der Grosse has sun with all hands. (cont below)



And a map showing the disposition of the fleets, with the Grand Fleet's 17 dreadnoughts sailing north at 19 knots, away from the battle area to rendezvous with the the 1st Battle Squadron's 8 dreadnoughts and another 4 armoured cruisers sailing south from Lerwick (cont below)



In the end, that delaying force was completely obliterated but the High Seas Fleet was slowed down enough that the Grand Fleet got away. At the cost of seven pre-dreadnoughts, two armoured cruisers, seven light cruisers and ten destroyers, it managed to sacrifice itself and inflict significant damage on the High Seas Fleet.

Was it worth it?

Overall losses:

Total destruction of Hipper's Scouting Force and the death of Admiral Hipper, including his six battlecruisers, and around 40 escorts (in two separate engagements).

The destruction of three modern dreadnoughts of the German High Seas Fleet (Grosser Kurfurst, Konig and Friedrich der Grosse), with appreciable damage also inflicted on Markgraf, Kronprinz, Kaiser, Prinzregent, Konig Albert and Kaiserin.

On the losses side of the question, the Royal Navy lost three of its newest dreadnoughts, the three Queen Elizbath class super-dreads, although within a month another two new QEs (Valiant and Malaya) will be commissioned. The Royal Navy also lost seven obsolete pre-dreadnought battleships of the King Edward VII class, seven light cruisers and ten destroyers.

All in all, for a battle in which the Battlecruiser Fleet was hundreds of miles away and not even involved, in which the Grand Fleet did not have the additional 8 dreadnoughts from the 1st Battle Squadron that it would have at Jutland, I think it did pretty well. It completely destroyed Hipper's scouting force and six modern battlecruisers, and three modern battleships, for the loss of three modern battleships, seven obsolete pre-dreads, seven light cruisers and ten destroyers. All-in-all, I count that a win particularly given next time I can lure the High Seas Fleet out, they will be down to 13 dreadnoughts, and I will have 27 dreadnoughts along with 9 battlecruisers.

But what do you think? In terms of loss of life, it would have been worse than Jutland, and it ended with the Grand Fleet fleeing to the north (rather than Germans fleeing at end of Jutland) for rendezvous with reinforcements, but it destroyed the German battlecruisers and 40(!) escorts (the Germans were not as rich in escorts as the British), and three of 16 dreadnoughts. On the other hand, all up we'd be looking at about 10,000 British deaths at sea.

Better or worse outcome?

Last edited by cheeky_kaleun; 08-30-20 at 05:10 PM. Reason: Add mist pic QE
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