•June 8, 1916 
L A N, D & WATER 
'^ JclUcoe 
Hood, 
I Beatty 
Thomas 
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Plan I. — The opposing forces at (approximately) 2.30 p.m. 31st May.— 
1.— BEATTY: Lion (flag), Tiger. Queen Mary, Princess Royal (flag), 
Indefatigable, New Zealand (flag) ; E. THOMAS : Barham, Valiant, 
IVarspile, Malaya. 2.— JELLICOE : Iron Duke (flag), a b d Battle 
Squadrons"; HOOD : Invincible (flag), Inflexible, Indomitable. 
ARBUTHNOT : Defence, Warrior, Black Prince, Duke of Edinburgh ; 
3.— VON HIPPER : Hindenbmg. Derflinger. Lutzow. Seydlilz. Molike ; 
4.— VON SCHEER : With 3 Koenigs, 5 Kaisers, 4 Heligolands, 
4 Westphalens, and 6 Pre-Dreadnoughts. 
the southward of Sir David Beatty, Rear-Admiral Evan 
Thomas, flying his flag in Barham, commanded a squadron 
of four Queen Elizabeths, the name ship only being 
absent. Some 75 miles north by east of Admiral Beatty 
was the Grand Fleet under Sir John Jellicoe, steering a 
south-easterly course. With Sir John Jellicoe was a 
squadron of three battle cruisers under Rear-Admiral 
Hood, Invincible, Inflexible and Indomitable, and, in 
addition to light cruisers and small craft, Sir Robert 
Arbuthnot's squadron of four armoured cruisers of the 
Defence and Duke of Edinburgh classes. Ten miles to 
the north-east of Sir David Beatty, von Hipper — who 
commanded in the affair of the Dogger Bank, January, 
1915 — was in command of five German battle cruisers, 
Derflinger, Lutzoiv, Moltkc, Seydlilz, and either Von der 
Tann or Hindenburg, probably the latter. This squadron 
was heading north by west ; and some 60 miles astern of 
him was the High Seas Fleet under Vice-Adnjiral von 
Scheer, consisting of all the German Dreadnoughts, six- 
teen in number. He also had with him half a dozen 
pre-Dreadnoughts of the Deutschland and Braunschweig 
classes. 
The Opening Round. 
It was when the fleets were so disposed that the ad- 
vanced light cruisers of Sir David Beatty and von Hipper's 
squadrons sighted each other and Sir David thereupon 
closed the German squadron at top speed. Von Hipper 
immediately turned his squadron eight points to star- 
board, and steered cither east or east-south-east, and a 
stern chase followed. After about an hour and a half 
• the battle cruisers got within 18,000 yards of the enemy, 
now bearing north-west from them, and opened fire. The 
four Queen Ehzabeths had necessarily been left behind 
in this chase. The mist being thick and visibility poor. 
Sir David Beatty closed the range fairly rapidly and ten 
minutes after the engagement had become general 
Indefatigable was hit, blew up and sank. Twenty minutes 
later Queen Mary shared the same fate. One German 
cruiser was also sunk at this stage. Von Hipper had 
meanwhile been gradually changing course southward, 
Sir David conforming to the same movement as soon as he 
had got to a range that it was imprudent further to 
reduce. His squadron, it must be remembered, had 
now been reduced from six to four. Southerly courses 
\<ere followed until, at about a quarter to five, the entire 
fleet of German Dreadnoughts was seen comjxig straight 
up to von Hipper. 
Von Hipper 
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^Voti 
Scheer 
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Plan II. — (approximately) 2.20 p.m. 
The Holding Action. 
The latter then put his helm over, turned 16 points to 
starboard and took station at the head of the German 
line, where he had three Koenigs and the five Kaisers 
immediately astern of him. The gradual turn south- 
Hood 
-High Stas 
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Plan III. — 4.45 — (approximately 6.20 p.m. 
wards had enabled Sir Evan Thomas to bring up his 
squadron, and when Sir David turned 16 points, so as to 
keep a course approximately parallel to the enemy's, 
but a position slightly ahead of the German line, Admiral 
Thomas was able to fall in behind the battle cruisers, and 
. engage both those of the German battle cruisers that had 
survived and the leading ships of the German Dreadnought 
fleet. At this stage of tJie action the British fast division 
had manoeuvred itself into a position so much in ad- 
vance of its opponents that the leading enemy ship 
bore about 40 degrees abaft the beam. There ensued 
an action lasting for about an hour and a quarter between 
these very disproportionate forces. But the English 
ships had the speed of the German, and seven out of the 
eight vessels had guns that would have been much more 
effective at long range had the weather conditions per- 
mitted of their being used to the full advantage. It is 
vmcertain how many of the German battle cruisers were 
still in action at this point. Certainly not more than four, 
possibly only three. But even with a lesser number, 
the German force would be 19 ships to the British 8, 
