Jellicoe:The War at Sea, 1914-1916
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Letter of 30 October, 1914
The Secretary of the Admiralty sent the Board's reply on 7 November:
I have laid before the My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty your letter of the 30th ultimo.,and I am commanded by them to inform you that they approve your views, as stated therein, and desire to assure you of their full confidence in your contemplated condict of the Fleet in action.
2. My Lords will, as desired, give orders for all available Ships and Torpedo Craft to proceed to the position of the Fleet Action on learning from you that it is imminent.[1]
Churchill later wrote (though it is unclear from the source when):
I take the fullest responsibility for approving the answer proposed by the First Sea Lord. There was no reason in the first phase of the naval war for seeking a battle except in the best conditions, bit I do not accept any responsibility for the actual conduct of Jutland which took place in conditions of relative strength different from those which existed in October 1914.[2]
Gordon decries the Board for "rather carelessly" approving Jellicoe's plan, and claims that "there were several things wrong with it." He suggests that, "The plausibility of the Germans risking a disastrous fleet engagement in open waters for the sake of so uncertain a ploy as a U-Boat ambush was not subjected to analysis, and the likelihood that they might simply be running away was obscured."[3]
1915
On 8 January, 1915, Rear-Admiral Duff of the Fourth Battle Squadron wrote in his diary:
Had a discussion with the V.A. [Vice-Admiral Gamble] I agree with him that the Fleet is very badly run. The Staff in the Iron Duke is far too large, which prevents decentralisation, and takes all initiative and authority out of the hands of the V.A.s.[4]
Jellicoe was appointed Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Bath (G.C.B.) on 8 February.[5] On 5 March he was confirmed in the rank of Admiral after Sir Hedworth Meux was promoted to the rank of Admiral of the Fleet.[6]
In a letter to Jellicoe of 4 July, Balfour commented:
I shall be deeply interested to hear how you propose to deal with the fleet problem on which you and your officers have been engaged. Rest of quote is in J.P.I. p. 171.[7]
On 16 September, 1915, Jellicoe went on leave for ten days. Warspite was sent to Rosyth to return him to the fleet in the event of a concentration. Burney moved aboard Iron Duke in temporary command, and Madden took command of the First Battle Squadron.[8]
Footnotes
- ↑ Quoted in Jellicoe Papers. I. p. 79.
- ↑ Quoted in Bennett. Naval Battles of World War I. p. 136.
- ↑ Gordon. Rules. p. 21.
- ↑ Duff Diary. National Maritime Museum. DFF/15.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 29066. p. 1443. 12 February, 1915.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 29094. p. 2365. 9 March, 1915.
- ↑ Letter of 4 July, 1915. British Library. Jellicoe Papers. Add. MSS. 48990. f 203.
- ↑ Commander Matthew Best's notebook entries for 16 September, 23 September, 1915. Liddle Collection. University of Leeds. RNMN/BEST. Box 1. Volume III.
Bibliography
