WEIGHT OF METAL HURLED

As to the shooting on both sides, it is evident that there must be a great deal of hard thinking going on in the navies of the world as to improvement in this respect. The weight of metal hurled into the sea was prodigious. "In the first and second phases it is estimated that each of the ships under Vice Admiral Beatty and Rear Admiral Evan-Thomas fired about 600 tons and the Germans quite as much if not more."[6]

The battleships stood up well, and everything in the battle confirmed the judgment of those who had pinned their faith to the battleships as the essential of naval power.

The two most revolutionary elements in naval warfare were present, but they cannot be said to have exerted any tactical effect on the battle. The limited use of the airplane has been told, and a Zeppelin was reported at about 4 A. M. June 1, which may have observed the location of the British fleet. U-boats were reported early in the action, but there is no hint that they took any real part in the battle. Yet this does not mean that they are not to be considered. With the great improvements in the type, it is probable that in many conditions the U-boat will be a factor in battles of fleets, and such contingencies should be safeguarded in advance.

The destroyer came to its own in the battle of Jutland as an auxiliary of the battle fleet, both for offense and defense. The whole course of the action proved that a screen of destroyers was absolutely necessary. For offense, it might be argued truthfully that, of the great number of torpedoes used, very few hit anything. The Marlborough was the only capital ship reported struck in the real action, and she was able afterward to take some part in the battle, and then get back to her base. It is supposed that the damaged Pommern may have been so destroyed later, and torpedoes may have struck other scattered marks. But above all things stands out the fact that it was the threat of night torpedo attacks by destroyers which made the British fleet withdraw from the battlefield.

There is no question of the fact that this withdrawal of the British fleet had a great moral effect on Germany. The announcement to the people and to the Reichstag had a heartening effect on the Germans at just the time they needed some such stimulant. But the actual tactical result of the battle was indecisive. It may be said the Germans had so manoeuvred their fleet that a detached part of the superior British force was cut up, but the damage was not enough to impair the established superiority of the British fleet, and the end of the battle left the British control of the sea absolutely unchanged.

The following is the British statement of losses:

BATTLE CRUISERS
ArmorMain
TonnageBelt.Battery.Sp'd.Men.C'p'd
Queen Mary27,000 9 in. 8 13.5-in. 28 1,000 '13
Indefatigable18,750 8 in.8 12-in.26899'11
Invincible17,250 7 in.8 12-in.26750'08
ARMORED CRUISERS
Defense14,600 6 in.4 9.2-in.23755'08
Black Prince13,550 6 in.6 9.2-in.20.5704'06
Warrior13,550 6 in.6 9.2-in.22.9704'08
DESTROYERS
Tipperary1,900 31160'14
Turbulent
Fortune920 29.50100'12
Sp'w Hawk950 3 4-in.31.32100'12
Ardent950 3 4-in.31.32100'12
Nomad
Nestor
Shark950 3 4-in.31.32100'12

The losses admitted by the German Admiralty are:

BATTLESHIP
Tonnage.Armament.Sp'd. Date Completion.
Pommern13,0404 11-in. 191907
14 6.7-in.
BATTLE CRUISER
Luetzow28,0008 12-in. 271915
12 6-in.
LIGHT CRUISERS
Rostock4,82012 4.1-in. 27.31914
Frauenlob2,65610 4.1-in. 21.51903
NEW LIGHT CRUISERS
Elbing
Wiesbaden
DESTROYERS
Five
TOTAL TONNAGE LOST
British 117,150
German 60,720
TOTAL PERSONNEL LOST
British 6,105
German 2,414