Historical sources on WWI sea battles

Extract A

"From October 25, 1911, to May 28, 1915, I was, in the words of the Royal Letters Patent and Orders in Council, 'responsible to Crown and Parliament for all the business of the Admiralty [the government department that ran the Royal Navy].' This period comprised the final stage in the preparation against a war with Germany; the mobilisation [gathering together and readying] and concentration of the Fleet before the outbreak; the organisation of the Blockade [the cutting off of enemy ports to stop goods getting in or out]; the gathering in 1914 of the Imperial forces from all over the world; the clearance from the oceans of all the German cruisers and commerce destroyers; the reinforcement of the Fleet by new construction in 1914 and 1915; the frustration and defeat of the first German submarine [underwater vessel, known as a U-boat] attack upon merchant shipping in 1915; and the initiation [beginning] of the enterprise against the Dardanelles [a narrow strait in Turkey; the naval attack on this waterway was the origin of the Gallipoli campaign]. It was marked before the war by a complete revision of British naval war plans; by the building of a fast division of battleships armed with 15-inch guns and driven by oil fuel; by the proposals, rejected by Germany, for a naval holiday; and by the largest supplies till then ever voted by Parliament for the British Fleet. It was distinguished during the war for the victories of the Heligoland Bight, of the Falkland Islands and the Dogger Bank; and for the attempt to succour [rescue] Antwerp. It was memorable for the disaster to the three cruisers off the Dutch Coast; the loss of Admiral Cradock's squadron at Coronel; and the failure of the Navy to force the Dardanelles." 

Extract B

"Such was the ponderous [heavy and slow-moving] balance which had succeeded the unquestioned ascendancy [dominance] of Germany. Outside both systems rested England, secure in an overwhelming and as yet unchallenged, naval supremacy [complete control of the seas]." 

Extract C

"Hitherto [up until this point] all British naval arrangements had proceeded on the basis of the two-Power standard, namely, an adequate superiority over the next two strongest Powers, in those days France and Russia. The possible addition of a third European Fleet more powerful than either of these two would profoundly affect the life of Britain." 

Contextual information:

Winston Churchill was a British politician who held the position of First Lord of the Admiralty from October 1911 to May 1915, making him the civilian head of the Royal Navy at the outbreak of World War One. He published The World Crisis in 1923 as a memoir and historical account of his role in the war, drawing on official Admiralty documents and his personal records. The preface and opening chapter provide a direct account of Britain's major naval actions and decisions during Churchill's tenure. 

Bibliographical reference:

Churchill, W. S. (1923). The World Crisis, Volume I (of VI) (pp. v, 9, 14). The Macmillan Company of Canada / Charles Scribner's Sons.  

Copyright: Public domain. 

Extract A

"In the latter part of July, when the situation in Europe had assumed a threatening aspect [appearance], Mr. Churchill, the First Lord [civilian head of the Admiralty, the government department that ran the Royal Navy], informed me that in the event of hostilities [fighting] occurring involving this country, it was considered necessary that the Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleets should have the assistance of a second in command, and he added that I had been selected for the appointment, and it was desired that I should arrange with Sir George as to the ship in which I should fly my flag." 

Extract B

"At about 4 A.M. on August 4th, I received Admiralty orders to open a secret envelope which had been handed to me in the train as I was leaving London, by an officer from the Admiralty. This envelope contained my appointment as 'Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet' — a new designation which must be explained later." 

Extract C

"In some parts of the book reference is made to the Germans being superior to us in matériel [military equipment]. There were many directions, however, in which war experience showed the correctness of our views and the wisdom of our pre-war policy. We did, in fact, obtain a margin of safety in the most essential type of vessel, the capital ship [the largest and most powerful type of warship, including the dreadnought class], and we did gain advantage from the heavier calibre [size] of our guns." 

Extract D

"The ideas held in pre-War days as to the capabilities of submarines [underwater vessels, also called U-boats] were found, after a short experience of war, to need modification [adjustment]. In the first place, it became quickly apparent that the German submarines possessed a radius of action [range of travel] and sea-keeping qualities considerably greater than those of our own submarines. It had been, for instance, looked upon as a considerable achievement for our submarines to keep the sea for a period of five to seven days, and they had not operated at any great distance from the coast." 

Extract E

"During this war, however, the advent [arrival] of the submarine [underwater vessel, also known as a U-boat] and destroyer, and, to a lesser extent, the use of the mine rendered such dispositions [arrangements of ships] impossible. No large ship could cruise constantly in the vicinity of enemy bases without the certainty that she would fall an early victim to the attacks of submarines." 

Contextual information:

Admiral Viscount Jellicoe was the Commander-in-Chief of the British Grand Fleet from August 1914 to November 1916, placing him in command of the most powerful naval force in the war. He published The Grand Fleet 1914–1916 in 1919 after the end of the war, drawing on his personal experience and official records to describe the fleet's operations and strategy. The book covers the organisation of the Grand Fleet, its strategic goals, and the nature of the submarine and mine threat. 

Bibliographical reference:

Jellicoe, J. R. (1919). The Grand Fleet 1914–1916: Its Creation, Development and Work (pp. vii–ix, 3–4, 15–16). George H. Doran Company.  

Copyright: Public domain.

Extract A

"IN THE MATTER OF the Formal Investigation held at the Central Buildings, Westminster, on the 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th of June, at the Westminster Palace Hotel on the 1st of July, and at the Caxton Hall, Westminster, on the 17th of July, before the Right Honourable LORD MERSEY, Wreck Commissioner [a government official appointed to investigate ship disasters], assisted by Admiral Sir F. S. INGLEFIELD, K.C.B.; Lieutenant-Commander HEARN; Captain D. DAVIES; and Captain J. SPEDDING, acting as Assessors [expert advisers], into the circumstances attending the loss of the steamship 'Lusitania,' of Liverpool, and the loss of 1,198 lives at a spot ten to fifteen miles south of the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, on the 7th May, 1915. REPORT OF THE COURT. The Court, having carefully enquired into the circumstances of the above-mentioned disaster, finds, for the reasons appearing in the annex hereto, that the loss of the said ship and lives was due to damage caused to the said ship by torpedoes [self-propelled underwater weapons] fired by a submarine [underwater vessel] of German nationality whereby the ship sank. In the opinion of the Court the act was done not merely with the intention of sinking the ship, but also with the intention of destroying the lives of the people on board." 

Extract B

"The 'Lusitania' was a Turbine steamship built by John Brown & Co., of Clydebank, in 1907, for the Cunard Steamship Company [a major British passenger shipping company]. She was built under Admiralty Survey and in accordance with Admiralty requirements, and was classed 100 A.1. at Lloyd's [rated as the highest quality by Lloyd's of London, the leading maritime insurance organisation]. Her length was 755 feet, her beam [width] 88 feet, and her depth 60 feet 4 in. Her tonnage [total weight capacity] was 30,395 gross and 12,611 net." 

Contextual information:

Lord Mersey was an English judge appointed as Wreck Commissioner to investigate the sinking of the Lusitania. The formal investigation was held in London in June and July 1915, just weeks after the ship was sunk on 7 May 1915 by German submarine U-20. The report was presented to both Houses of Parliament and is the official British government finding on the cause of the disaster. 

Bibliographical reference:

Mersey, Lord (Wreck Commissioner). (1915). Report of a Formal Investigation into the Circumstances Attending the Foundering on 7th May, 1915, of the British Steamship "Lusitania" of Liverpool, after Being Torpedoed off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland (Cd. 8022, pp. 1–2). His Majesty's Stationery Office.  

Copyright: This is an official report presented to Parliament by Command of His Majesty and published by His Majesty's Stationery Office in 1915. As a UK Crown government publication first published before 1 January 1928, it is in the public domain.

Extract A

"The Battle of Jutland has been made a matter of bitter controversy, and accounts of the action have been so molded [shaped] to fit partisan [one-sided] theories that the actual events have become obscured [hidden]. Yet these events can now be determined through means that were never before available in the case of a great naval battle. Both commanders have published their detailed accounts, and there is no longer any reason for uncertainty as to the essentials of the action. Many of the tales from Germany were obviously untrue, but Admiral Scheer, the German Commander-in-Chief, has given a straightforward story of the battle which supplements [adds to] the version of Admiral Jellicoe, the British Commander-in-Chief." 

Extract B

"This sortie [military expedition out from a base] of May 31 brought on the Battle of Jutland." 

Contextual information:

Thomas G. Frothingham was a Captain in the United States Reserve who wrote extensively on the military history of World War One. He published A True Account of the Battle of Jutland in 1920, drawing on the official dispatches of Admiral Jellicoe and German Commander-in-Chief Admiral Scheer to produce what he described as a reliable account of the battle's events. His work was one of the earliest systematic attempts to reconstruct both sides' movements at Jutland from primary sources. 

Bibliographical reference:

Frothingham, T. G. (1920). A True Account of the Battle of Jutland, May 31, 1916 (pp. 1, 3). Bacon & Brown. 

Copyright: Public domain.