· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
That water-walled bulwark, still secure
And confident from foreign purposes.’
King John. Act II, Sc. 1.
German Dreadnoughts off Yarmouth—What does it mean—Anticlimax—Inroads upon the Grand Fleet—The Drain of Refits—Sir John Jellicoe’s Protests—Admiralty and Commander-in-Chief—The Dreadnought Margin—The Third Battle Squadron to Rosyth—The Admiralty Insist on their view—The Destroyer Distribution—A Real Difficulty—A Wearing Discussion—The actual Facts of Relative Strength—British Readiness to Accept Battle—The Attempted Seaplane Raid on Cuxhaven—The Grand Fleet sweeps South—The Invasion Alarm—Moon and Tides—Further Intervention on the Belgian Coast—Immense Relief of the Falklands Victory—Lord Fisher’s View—Correspondence between us—Lord Fisher and Admiral Sturdee—Admiral Oliver’s foresight—Growing Power of the Fleet—New Construction—Submarines—Fisher’s Great Impulse—The Battle Cruisers Repulse and Renown—Monitors—The Great Programme—Full Speed Ahead.
Lord Fisher had barely taken up his duties in the Admiralty, when an incident occurred which seemed to indicate the ending of the period of German inactivity in the North Sea which had succeeded the action of August 28 in the Heligoland Bight. Early in the morning of November 3, the unusual signal was made to the Admiralty that several German battle-cruisers or battleships had been sighted off Gorleston on the Norfolk coast by the mine-sweeping gunboat Halcyon and that she was engaged with them. Almost immediately afterwards heavy shells were reported to be bursting in the water and on the beach near Yarmouth. The First Sea Lord and I reached the War Room from our bedrooms in a few minutes. The question was, What did it mean? It seemed quite certain that German battle cruisers would not be sent to throw shells at an open town like Yarmouth. Obviously this was a demonstration to divert the British Fleet from something else which was going to happen—was already perhaps happening. Was it a German raid into the Channel, or a serious attempt by the German Navy to intervene upon the Belgian coast while the land battle was still raging? Was it a descent on the British coast at Sunderland or Blyth? We had no means of judging. The last thing it seemed possible to believe was that first-class units of the German Fleet would have been sent across the North Sea simply in order to disturb the fisher-folk of Yarmouth. By other signals our destroyers, Leopard and Lively, who were patrolling in the neighbourhood of Yarmouth, also reported that they were engaged, and added that they were proceeding to attack the enemy. Where were our main forces? The Commander-in-Chief was for the first time in the war at the Admiralty, whither he had been summoned to confer with the new First Sea Lord. The Grand Fleet was at Lough Swilly in the North of Ireland. The 3rd Battle Squadron was steaming through the Irish Channel. No part of the Grand Fleet was nearer than Beatty and his battle cruisers: and these were as far off as Cromarty. Whatever happened, we could not fight a general action with our main Fleet till late on the following day. Meanwhile the Harwich striking force, the Dover flotillas, Admiral Hood’s forces off the Belgian coast and Admiral Burney’s Channel Fleet must do the best they could. If the German demonstration off Yarmouth was the prelude or concomitant to a serious attempt to break into the Channel, the very greatest naval events would follow. The contingency, as the reader is aware, had always been faced, and we were well aware that we should have to wait for our revenge till the next day. Meanwhile there was nothing to be done but to put all the fleets and flotillas on guard and in motion with the double object of resisting to the utmost a German attack to the southward and intercepting as speedily as possible from the North the return of the enemy. Several hours of tension passed; and then gradually it became clear that the German battle cruisers were returning home at full speed, and that nothing else was apparently happening; and the incredible conclusion forced itself upon us that the German Admiralty had had no other purpose in hand than this silly demonstration off Yarmouth beach.
This anticlimax was fatiguing. The experience of bracing ourselves to the most tremendous events, and then finding nothing happen, was one which we were compelled more than once to undergo at the Admiralty.
The new First Sea Lord was even more sure of the superiority of the British line of battle over the enemy than I was, and in this his views contrasted very sharply with those of the Commander-in-Chief. In full agreement with Sir Arthur Wilson, he proposed on his assumption of office to bring the Third Battle Squadron (the King Edwards) down to Portland to increase our security against a German incursion into the Channel; and he moved the Fifth Battle Squadron (the Formidables) with the two Lord Nelsons to Sheerness to provide battleship support for the Harwich Striking Force, and to give an additional security against raid or invasion. These movements were no sooner determined than news of the Battle of Coronel was received (November 4), and we were forced to make far more serious inroads upon Sir John Jellicoe’s command. The battle cruisers Inflexible and Invincible were sent as described to the Falklands: and Lord Fisher, as we have seen, demanded the Princess Royal for the Atlantic.
This last order produced continuous protests from Sir John Jellicoe, and led to an interchange of telegrams and letters in which the Commander-in-Chief dwelt upon every aspect of his dangers and weakness and the Admiralty, while insisting on their decision, endeavoured to reassure and placate him.