Jutland Rulebook

Table of Contents

Basic Game
Advanced Game
Tournament Game
Solitaire Game
Examples of Play
- Initial Move & Search Procedure
- Gunnery & Torpedo Damage
Strategy & Tactics
- Strategy:
- Tactics:
The Ships at Jutland
The Real Campaign
- North Sea May–1916
Opposing Forces at Jutland
- Grand Fleet (British)
- High Seas Fleet (German)

Basic Game

Description of Play

The object of Jutland is to sink opponent's ships. However, you must first find out where his ships are located in the vast expanse of the North Sea. Location and movement of ships are kept (in pencil) secretly by each player on his own Fleet Search sheet. When contact is made, a battle develops. Because there is no battle board, ship to ship combat is conducted on any flat surface such as a large table or the floor. Battle Area Markers are placed on this flat surface to determine exactly where each Die-Cut Ship Counter should be entered into battle. Battle formations are pre-determined by each player on the Task Force section of his Hit Record sheet (reverse side of Search sheet). The Battle Maneuver Gauge determines how ships may maneuver for combat. Once under fire, combat is determined by consulting the Range Finder to determine range, and combat is resolved by consulting the Basic Game Gunnery Table card and rolling the Die. The Time Record card determines length of play as it alternates between searching for opposing task forces and their actual combat. Details of play now follow:

Ship Counters

Ship Counters are used only during Battle Procedure. Example:

Stern Gunnery Factor (2) — Bow Gunnery Factor (2) — Name of ship (Monarch) — Broadside Gunnery Factor (6) — Movement Factor (4-8) — Protection Factor (4)

BROADSIDE GUNNERY FACTOR: Relative strength of firepower when firing at defending ships.

PROTECTION FACTOR: Relative ability to withstand attacker's firepower.

MOVEMENT FACTOR: Distance ships may move when engaged in battle.

How to Win

The British control the North Sea and are blockading the Germans. Thus the burden of attack falls on the German player.

German Player wins if he has more Ships remaining in play than does the British player at the end of the June 1, 12 PM turn.

British Player wins if he sinks more of the German player by the June 1, 12 PM time limit.

A Draw occurs if neither condition is met.

Prepare for Play

Hereafter, British player will be called Blue; German player called Black; Search sheet hexagons called squares.

STEP 1: Blue obtains a Fleet Search sheet that is backed up by British Hit Record sheet: Black obtains one backed up by a German Hit Record sheet — both are found on same pad.

STEP 2: Punch out the die-cut Ship Counters. Set aside the Light Cruisers (CL) and Destroyers (DD) as they are not used in the Basic Game.

STEP 3: Blue stacks his Ship Counters on the British Task Force board. At start of game British ships must be broken down into 3 Task Forces as indicated historically thereon. Black does likewise. Players should keep their own Task Force boards away from opponent's view.

STEP 4: Both players refer to Fleet Makeup section of their Hit Record sheets. For each Task Force formed in Step 3, decide what will be their battle formation by writing down the "number of ships — number of columns of ships — yard intervals between columns."

STEP 5: Blue marks the starting position of his three Task Forces on his Fleet Search sheet. Task Force 1 starts at A17; Task Force 2 starts at D13; Task Force 3 starts at K9. Black's entire fleet starts at BB16.

Search Sheet Movement

Each whole square on the Search sheet represents 36,000 yards or 1 hour's sailing time. Neither player can move into partial squares containing coast line or islands. (German may move through Heligoland square and British may enter starting bases.) To record movement, draw a continuous pencil line from the starting squares through every square into which each task force passes — periodically identify each pencil line with its task force number(s) and hour of arrival. German movement into shaded whole sea squares means he has been spotted by British and Norwegian shore patrol. When spotted, Black must disclose his square location but does not state the number and types of ships.

Initial Move

German hope for victory lies in the strategy of attacking British fleets in detail before they are able to unite. This situation is reflected in the Initial Move whereby Black may set sail from BB16 anytime May 30, midnight and thereafter, passing as many squares as he wishes until he has either:

(a) been spotted (moved into a shaded whole sea square) or,

(b) reached the square he wishes to begin Search Procedure from.

Black now figures his total hours at sea, marking off 1 hour for every square passed into by the task force(s) that has traveled the farthest. Since it would take British ships 5 hours to raise steam Black may move his task forces an additional 4 squares, marking off 4 more hours of sailing time. The stage is now set for the Search Procedure.

Search Procedure

STEP 1: Both players, simultaneously, may move all task forces 1 square in any direction permissible. Players are not required to move any task force and may move only those desired.

STEP 2: Black searches first. He must call the location of every square in which he has task forces. He also has the option to call out the location of any and all squares adjacent to his task forces — but is not required to do so. As each square is called, Black must state whether or not British forces are therein — although he does not have to state the number and types of ships involved at this moment.

STEP 3: Blue conducts his search turn exactly as Black does in Step 2.

STEP 4:

(a) If neither side had been sighted play proceeds to Step 5.

(b) If sightings have been made where opposing forces are in squares adjacent to each other play proceeds to Step 5. Do not go to Battle Procedure.

(c) If sightings have been made where opposing forces are in the same square play proceeds immediately to Battle Procedure.

STEP 5: Mark off 1 hour of time. Both players may re-form ships currently on a common square into new task forces — making proper adjustments on the Task Force boards and Fleet Makeup sections. Play now reverts to Step 1 (above).

Battle Procedure

Battle Procedure is the re-enactment of task force search and encounter on a ship-to-ship scale. The Battle Area Markers negate the need of a battle board. They are blowups of the compass shown upper right-hand corner of the Fleet Search sheets. Players conduct actual battle on any flat surface at least 3' x 4' — preferably one on which the ship counters will not slide too easily, like a rug for instance.

STEP 1: Place 1 Battle Area Marker in the approximate center of the battle surface. Both players, simultaneously, now transfer their ship counters from their Task Force boards to the battle surface, facing them in the direction in which they had entered the search sheet square where the sighting was made. Ships must be placed in the formation written down on the Fleet Makeup section with the front row 18,000 yards away from the center of the Battle Area Marker. Use the Range Finder to measure this distance. Place ships in line directly against each other front to back. Space each column as stated in Fleet Makeup. In some cases, the distance between closest ships of opposing columns will vary according to the direction each task force is traveling — they could be as far apart as 36,000 yards (if approaching from opposite directions such as east & west) or as close as approximately 12,000 yards (if approaching from adjacent directions such as west and southwest). This is un-important, and although maximum sighting range during daylight is 24,000 yards, it is assumed actual sighting is first made at such alternate distances.

STEP 2: The maximum nighttime sighting range is 6,000 yards. If the Time Record Card indicates that play is in a night hour (shaded hours) opposing forces must be moved to within 3,000 yards of the center of the battle area marker.

STEP 3: If un-engaged forces are known to be in search squares adjacent to the sighting square, place additional markers 36,000 yards apart in proper directional relationship. Do not bring on un-engaged forces at this time.

STEP 4: Players now conduct battle as directed in the Maneuver & Fire section.

STEP 5: At the conclusion of battles for all sightings play reverts to Search Procedure.

Maneuver & Fire

Black always moves his ships first; then Blue moves his ships — that is the maneuver portion. In the firing portion, Black fires all ships first; Blue fires secondly. But since firing is in reality simultaneous, a British ship sunk in Black's firing turn may fire in Blue's turn before removal from play. Six maneuver & fire turns equal 1 hour of sailing time. At the end of the 6th maneuver & fire turn, play reverts to battle procedure for all other battle engagements, if any, to be fought in the current hour. (Use spare battle area markers — do not disturb battles in progress.) At the end of the 6th maneuver & fire turn for all battle engagements, mark off 1 hour. Both players then move all task forces on their Search sheets 1 square — and if such movement brings them into the battle squares that would be an adjacent Search sheet square, all un-engaged task forces in such squares must also be brought into battle. Battles continue in this manner hour after hour until opposing ships are all sunk or withdrawal occurs. Battles that are concluded in less than 6 maneuver & fire turns of a particular hour are considered 1 hour in duration anyhow.

Maneuver

Ships are moved individually with the use of the Battle Maneuver Gauge. They must move in the following formations whenever possible:

(a) LINE AHEAD: a single file of ships. All trailing ships must follow behind lead ships. Task Forces of 3 or less must maneuver in Line Ahead.

(b) COLUMN OF DIVISIONS: 2 or more single files, 3 ships minimum per file. For best maneuverability, intervals between columns should equal the length of the columns.

In any maneuver turn, formations may change directions by:

(a) LINE AHEAD TURN: lead ship (The Flag Ship) may turn right or left at any angle up to 180 degrees, trailing ships may turn only at flag ship's pivot point.

(b) FRONT TO FLANK TURN: all ships may turn right or left at any angle up to 90 degrees at the same instant and continue abreast.

(c) FLANK TO FRONT TURN — British ships revert to original line at (b) turning only in the direction that will place the Flag ship in the lead once again.

(d) BATTLE TURN AWAY (Not allowed by British) — All German ships in line may completely reverse course 180 degrees at the same instant.

When battle losses chop up formations, ships must be moved individually to form new formations as quickly as possible.
Formations are allowed more than one directional change in a single maneuver turn.
Ships may pass thru enemy formations if it looks apparent they would ram otherwise. A ship may not end its move stacked on top of an enemy ship. Players may arbitrarily spread ships apart to allow pass-throughs.

Firing

Firing does not occur until both players' ships have been maneuvered.
Firing Ranges between opposing individual ships is explained on the Range Finder (what else?).
In the Basic Game all firing is considered Broadside to Broadside regardless of actual facings.
Battle odds are determined by matching up the Broadside Gunnery Factor of the firing ship against the Protection Factor of the ship being fired on. For example, odds for the Ajax firing on the Posen would be 6 to 6 (1 to 1).
Firing ships may gang up and direct their fire all against one opposing ship. For example, the Ajax and Erin could fire against the Posen at 12 to 6 (2 to 1).
Ships cannot split their fire against more than one opposing ship in the same turn.
Ships fire just once in a single turn.
Ships must have a clear line of fire; they may not fire over their own or over enemy ships.
The attacker may resolve each individual ship-to-ship battle in any order he chooses.
All battles are resolved by consulting the Basic Game Gunnery Table card.
One firing turn is completed when both players have fired from all ships within range to fire.
After all firing has been resolved, play reverts to maneuver for another turn.

Withdrawal

As soon as the closest ships of opposing Task Forces are beyond the visual contact points from each other's battle ends. On the Search sheet, the withdrawing task force's pencil line is extended into the square into which it is heading — forces of the opposing player remain in their current square. One hour is marked off and play reverts to the Search Procedure. Withdrawal toward a prohibited square is not allowed. Instead, forces must turn and fight, or head in a permissible direction.

Search Escape

During Search Procedure, British task forces may escape off the sheet, through the 6 English Channel whole squares and the 14 whole squares to the north; German task forces may escape only through the 4 whole squares at the Skagerrak. Task forces must return in the same area from which they escaped — but may return through different squares allowing proper time: for instance, Task Force 1 could leave through DD2 at 1 AM — if it returns through DD5 it cannot do so until 5 AM or thereafter. Players must write the hours of escape and arrival in the proper squares.

Basic Game Gunnery Table

Battles are resolved on the Basic Game Gunnery Table, only. Ignore Hit Record sheets for this purpose as all hits result in sinkings.

Advanced & Tournament Games

You have completed the instructions to the Basic Game. For greater realism and depth of play we suggest you learn the more advanced games described in the Battle Manual.

Send Stamped Envelope

For general information about all Avalon Hill products, including the bi-monthly magazine, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: The Avalon Hill Company, 4517 Harford Road, Baltimore, Md. 21214.

Advanced Game

For greater realism, get into play of this advanced version as soon as possible after mastering the Basic Game. All Basic Game rules apply except as indicated in the following sections:

How to Win

BRITISH win:

as soon as they obtain a 3 to 1 ratio in capital ships over the Germans, or
as soon as they have driven all German capital ships back to port without losing more capital ships than lost by the Germans.

GERMANS win:

as soon as they obtain a 1 to 1 ratio in capital ships over the British, or
if the British fail to drive all capital ships back to port within 30 hours of being spotted by the British.

DRAW occurs if neither side meets time limits, or none of the above conditions of victory are met.

Search Procedure

Players may call out only the squares containing their task forces. Unlike the Basic Game, players may not call out squares adjacent to task forces since this basic game option was based on the premise that reconnaissance ships were actually in the form of Light Units in those squares. Unless otherwise stated, all ships travel 1 search square per hour, unless whose movement factors are reduced to 4 or less travel 1 search square every 2 hours.

Light Ships

Used historically as reconnaissance ships, light cruisers and destroyers are added primarily for scouting and launching torpedo attacks. Light ship counters may occupy search squares by themselves, because of their ability to launch torpedo attacks against capital ships, should lead capital ships in column. Light ship counters may maneuver individually and are not subject to the formation movement & turning restrictions.

Destroyers

Ships (not to scale) — Name of Group — Gunnery Factor — Torpedo Factor — Movement Factor

The information referring to Light Cruisers is the same with the exception that they do not launch torpedoes.

GUNNERY FACTOR: Relative strength of firepower of a ship regardless of facing. The loss of every ship reduces gunnery factor by 1.

MOVEMENT FACTOR: Distance the ship counter may move when engaged in battle.

TORPEDO FACTOR: Relative strength of firepower when launching torpedoes at defending ships. Ship loses torpedo factor for each counter as indicated on Hit Record sheet.

NOTE: Light ship counters have no protection factor. Each counter is removed from play permanently as soon as every hit box is checked off with hits.

If a sighting is made in squares containing their opposing enemy capital ships, players do not have to go to battle procedure — although they may do so if both players agree. Otherwise, players continue Search procedure.

Effect of Light Ships in Combat

	Against Capital ships	Against Lightcruisers	Against Destroyers
Lightcruisers Guns:	No Effect	Effective — Consult Gunnery Damage Table	Effective — Consult Gunnery Damage Table
Destroyers Guns:	No Effect	No Effect	Effective — Consult Gunnery Damage Table
Destroyers Torpedoes:	Effective — Consult Torpedo Table	Effective — Consult Torpedo Table	Effective — Consult Torpedo Table

NOTE: Destroyer counters may launch torpedo attacks only once as they carried no re-loads. While Lightcruisers and Capital ships carried torpedoes with any degree of accuracy, historically, between 80-90% of the torpedoes fired were launched by destroyers.

Sinking Capital Ships

As explained on the Gunnery Damage Table card, a ship can be sunk through gunnery damage inflicted in a single turn that is too great to be offset by damage control. Such hit boxes reflect damage to weapons systems only. Such damage is permanent and never erased. However, waterline damage is repairable by damage control up to a point — that point represented by the protection factor printed on the Hit Record sheet beside each ship's name. A ship cannot be sunk unless it receives a number of gunnery hits in a single turn at least equal to its protection factor — regardless of the number of permanent hits received in previous attacks. Once all hit boxes of a ship are checked off, additional gunnery hits become torpedo hits, unlike gunnery hits, cause damage that is cumulative, therefore a ship is sunk when the cumulative total of torpedo hits equals its protection factor.

Damage to Capital Ships

All damage to weapons systems is marked off left to right — thus forward turrets are always hit first. Since the number of hit boxes, themselves, represents a ship's gunnery factor (ignoring the factors printed on the ship counters) each hit reduces that ship's gunnery factor by 1. For example: at the start the Kaiser's gunnery factor is 10 each side. After receiving, say 3 hits, its broadside gunnery factor is reduced to 7. Since there are 12 boxes altogether for the Kaiser, 12 hits knocks out its firepower altogether. However, it is still afloat with additional gunnery hits to be recorded as torpedo hits. Every torpedo hit reduces a ship's movement factor by 1. Ships whose movement factors have been reduced to 4 and below can only move 1 search square every 2 hours. Whenever a ship loses its entire movement factor it becomes dead in the water and cannot move. Ships directly behind ships dead in the water may move over top such ships. If such ship would end its turn on top of a ship dead in the water, simply place the two ships side by side.

The reduction in gunnery factors due to hits on British ships in Black's firing turn do not apply until after Blue has completed his firing turn.

Damage to Light Ships

Light Cruisers: Hits are checked off left to right. Every hit inflicted on a light cruiser squadron reduces its gunnery factor. For example: after 1 hit on CL-Sqd 1, its gunnery factor is reduced to 6; three hits would reduce it to 2: four hits eliminates the squadron.

Destroyers: Hits are checked off left to right. Every hit inflicted on a destroyer flotilla reduces its gunnery factor by 1, and its torpedo factor to the number in the highest undamaged box. For example: three hits on DD-Flot 1 reduces its gunnery factor to 7 and its torpedo factor to 1. Eight hits reduces its gunnery factor to 2 and eliminates its torpedo factor. Ten hits eliminates the flotilla from play.

Gunnery Facing

While most facing will be broadside to broadside there will be instances where only bow and stern turrets may be allowed to fire. In such instances opposing ships would have to be between 75 to 105 degrees to each other, as in diagram (a). As long as a ship is within the confines of the dotted lines, firing situation would be broadside to bow, or vice-versa. A ship outside this perimeter, as in (b) would be broadside to broadside. Diagram (c) shows Bow to Bow; diagram (d) shows broadside to broadside.

(a) Broadside to Bow or Bow to Broadside

(b) Broadside to Broadside

(d) Broadside to Broadside

In the event most facing is not easily discernible and arguments arise, simply resolve each case with a friendly roll of the die.

Torpedo Attack

Only destroyer flotillas may launch torpedoes. Torpedoes can be launched only in daytime from a maximum of 6,000 yards. Each flotilla may launch torpedoes only once per game (as they carried no reloads) however, they do not have to launch all allotted torpedoes in a single turn — they may divide their torpedo factor among several turns. For example: British DD-Flotilla 13 may apply all 4 factors in one turn, or attack with 1 factor in 4 turns. Factors lost due to enemy attacks are applied against those factors already used up. Launching procedure is:

STEP 1: All ships including destroyers maneuver and fire their guns.

STEP 2: At completion of maneuver & fire turn, surviving destroyers then within 6,000 yards of target ships announce how many torpedo factors are being fired and against which ships.

STEP 3: In the following maneuver & fire turn, both players must accept torpedo attack, whereby the attack is resolved on the Torpedo Attack Table, or

a) ships that decided to stay on course must accept torpedo attack, whereby the attack is resolved on the Torpedo Attack Table, or

b) ships that decided to avoid torpedoes, must make a 90 degree turn away from direction of torpedo attack. Ships that have turned 90 degrees automatically avoid being hit by the torpedoes. They cannot, however, fire their guns or launch torpedoes, themselves, in the firing portion of the current turn. Ships may break out of formation in order to avoid torpedoes. They must attempt to rejoin their formation as quickly as possible.

STEP 4: The attacker rolls the die once for each flotilla attacking.

STEP 5: Match up the die roll with the proper torpedo factors column to determine the number of hits.

Torpedo hits are not checked off in the hit boxes — a side record should be kept in the space following the hit boxes themselves. A ship becomes sunk when the number of torpedo hits it has accumulated throughout the game equals its protection factor. A ship's movement factor is reduced by 1 for each torpedo hit. When torpedo hits reduce a ship's movement factor to 0, that ship cannot move for the remainder of the time it stays afloat.

When a torpedo attack is announced against a target ship, hits indicated on the Torpedo Table within 3,000 yards of launch, hits are doubled. Ships that decide to avoid torpedoes by turning 90 degrees away are still hit by torpedoes at the normal (undoubled) rate.

Torpedo Attack Table

Rows are the die roll; columns are the Total Torpedo Factors Firing (1–10).

DIE	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1	2	2	2	2	2	2	4	4	4	4
2	3	3	5	5	5	5	8	8	8	8
3	0	5	5	5	5	8	8	10	10	10
4	0	0	0	8	8	8	8	10	10	12
5	0	0	0	0	8	8	8	10	12	14
6	Roll die again — or — incorporate "Flotation Hits" optional rule

Refueling

All German capital ships must return (pass through) BB16 within 54 hours of leaving. Thus, German ships leaving at May 30, midnight, must pass through BB16 no later than in the June 1, 6 AM turn.

All British capital ships must return to any one of their three starting bases, A17, D13 or K9, within 60 hours of leaving. British ships may refuel at ports other than their home base.

Ships that do not return within the time limit remain in their current squares for the remainder of the game. They cannot maneuver if involved in combat, although allowed to fire.

Tournament Game

The following sections comprise a group of optional rules that may be added at the discretion of the individual players. Each rule, itself, adds additional realism. Players do not have to incorporate all optional rules and may select only those they feel bring them the most enjoyment in the play of Jutland.

Reduced Visibility

During daytime the weather conditions in the North Sea were such that visibility changed in a matter of minutes. Thus at the start of any Battle Procedure, Black rolls the die once and consults the Visibility table. For example: a die roll of 4 means that visibility is only 18,000 yards. At the beginning of the 2nd and all successive maneuver & fire turns in that hour, Black rolls the die each time. Only this time, he does not consult the Visibility table — instead, a die roll of 1, 2 or 3 simply increases current visibility by 4,000 yards while a die roll of 4, 5 or 6 decreases visibility by 4,000 yards. The Visibility table is used only on the 1st maneuver & fire turn of any hour. Maximum firing range cannot be greater than current visibility range. Increase or decrease in firing ranges does not change the ranges where hits are halved, doubled or tripled. Where visibility happens to be over 30,000 yards, both players must disclose the presence of forces in all adjacent squares to the battle area.

Visibility Table

If time is between 3 AM and 8 PM inclusive, and die roll is:	Maximum Visibility Becomes:
1	Over 40,000 Yards
2	30,000 Yards
3	24,000 Yards
4	18,000 Yards
5	12,000 Yards
6	6,000 Yards

Gunnery Facing — Basic Game Option

Players wishing to apply the Gunnery Facing rule of the advanced game play may do so simply by referring to the Bow and Stern Gunnery factors printed directly on the ship counters when computing battle odds. For example: if Britain's Barham is attacking the Kaiser, how to broadside, battle odds would be 3 to 6 (1 to 2) instead of 6 to 6.

British Sweep

(The Jutland Fleet Search map diagram shows exactly the movements of opposing forces during actual battle. It also serves as an example for the sweep optional rule below. The solid black line shows German movement up to contact, May 31, 2:30 PM. The dotted black line shows where they intended to go had they not been sighted. The solid blue line shows British sweep up to the contact point; the dashed blue line shows the remainder of the sweep pattern. In the sweep procedure, both players would erase the pencil lines shown as dotted lines here once the intercept point is established.)

The British occasionally swept the North Sea in search of German ships, and also to let them know they were still rulers of the sea. This sweep option occurs during Black's initial move as follows:

STEP 1: Black completes his initial move in the normal manner. In addition, he should specify hours of arrival approximately every 4 squares apart.

STEP 2: While Black is plotting his initial move, Blue plots a sweep pattern on his own search sheet, designating which pencil lines belong to which task forces. In addition, he too, should specify hours of arrival at 4-square intervals. (The sweep diagram shows what both the German and British moves might look like — and also — it shows the actual routes taken historically up to where contact was made at 022.)

STEP 3: Blue determines whether or not he would have sighted German forces at some point during Black's initial move. He takes his own search sheet and superimposes it along with his own, holding them up to a light to see if opposing sweep lines intersect:

a) if no contact is made, both players start search procedure with all task forces where they would have been in the hour that Black completes his initial move (showing himself off the Norwegian coast at K26, 7 PM, in the example).

b) if contact is made, both players proceed to battle procedure with all task forces where they were when contact was made (at 022, 2-3 PM, in the example). Contact is made only when pencil lines of opposing forces intercept in the same hour.

STEP 4: Erase all pencil lines extending beyond the contact hour or, in the case where no contact is made, erase all British sweep lines extending beyond the hour in which Black completes his initial move.

Submarines

British submarines were not employed with the fleet and had no bearing on the actual battle. The Germans, however, did employ 14 subs mainly for reconnaissance and, in theory, for ambushing capital ships (because there was no sonar, subs could not be sighted except when surfaced).

Black may start the 14 subs on any search square(s) he chooses including the shaded whole sea squares along the British and Norwegian coasts. Blue must be informed of their location and number if placed on shaded sea squares. Black may employ subs individually or in packs of any size. Since German subs moved quite slowly they may only move 2 squares every 3 hours. Black records their movement exactly as he does for surface ships. Black is not required to call out sub squares unless he wishes to, in which event Blue must make a full disclosure of the number, types and names of all ship counters therein whereby play proceeds to Submarine Torpedo procedure:

STEP 1: Blue designates which evasive action he takes by writing down on paper one of three letters, "A," "B," or "C." Blue may select from "C" only if DD Flotillas are present in the square under attack.

STEP 2: Black calls out one of the four Submarine Action options.

STEP 3: Players cross-index Blue's written commitment of evasive action with Black's submarine action to get the result for that hour. For example: in cross-indexing Sub action "A" with evasive action "3" in a square where 6 subs are attacking, Blue must record 3 torpedo hits against the one capital ship of Black's choice. The number of destroyers present is determined by counting the number of undamaged hits boxes for each DD-Flot counter in the square.

STEP 4: Play reverts to normal Search Procedure or Battle Procedure, whatever the current situation may be.

NOTE: If action occurs at night, Black must roll the die in the above, in the above steps; if a 1 or 2 is rolled, Black proceeds as outlined in the above steps; if a 3, 4, 5 or 6 is rolled, darkness precludes any submarine torpedo action.

German Submarine Action

British Evasive Action	1. Subs Turn Away	2. Subs Attack DD-Flotillas	3. Subs Attack 1 Capital Ship	4. Subs** Attack 2 or More Capital Ships
A Capital Ships Alter Course	Subs move to any adjacent square designated by Black	1 DD-Flotilla hit for every 4 Subs attacking	1 Capital Ship hit for every 2 Subs attacking	1 Capital Ship hit for every 2 Subs attacking; 1 Sub sunk
B Task Force proceeds full speed ahead	Subs move to any adjacent square designated by Black	No DD Hits	1 Capital Ship hit for every 4 Subs attacking; 1 Sub sunk	1 Capital Ship hit for every 2 Subs attacking
C DD-Flotillas Screen Capital Ships from Subs	Subs move to any adjacent square designated by Black	1 DD-Flotilla hit for every 4 Subs attacking	No Hits, 1 Sub sunk for every 5 Destroyers in square	1 Capital Ship hit for every 4 Subs; 1 Sub sunk for every 10 Destroyers in square

*Hits must be apportioned among 2 or more Capital Ships designated by Black before attacking.

Each sub may attack 6 times per game. It may, however, be used anytime Black's submarine action as Black may call out its square location any hour it wishes for the remainder of the game.

British ships that are sunk in this action are removed from play immediately and may not take part in upcoming Battle Procedure. If British ships happen to be currently engaged in battle, there is no physical movement of ships to reflect the evasive action designated by Blue in Step 1.

German Subs available:

U-24, U-32, U-43, U-44, U-46, U-47, U-51, U-52, U-63, U-66, U-67, U-70, UB-21, UB-22

Critical Hits

To reflect specific types of gunnery damage that presented unusual problems to Damage Control, an attacker who rolls a "6" on the Gunnery Damage table rolls the die again and consults the following table:

CRITICAL HIT DAMAGE

DIE ROLL	ACTION
1	STEERING HIT: Ship must remain stationary for 3 consecutive maneuver & fire turns, although it may turn up to 180 degrees in place each turn. Trailing ships may pass over top of stationary ship.
2	ENGINE HIT: Ship's movement factor reduced by 3 for the remainder of the hour.
3	ENGINE HIT: Ship's movement factor reduced by 4 for remainder of the game. It may only travel 1 search square every 2 hours, moving on the even hour only.
4	FIRE CONTROL HIT: Ship cannot fire for 2 consecutive turns beginning next maneuver & fire turn.
5	FIRE CONTROL HIT: If British, ship cannot fire for 2 consecutive turns; if German, for 1 turn beginning next turn.
6	STEERING HIT: Ship must remain dead in the water for the remainder of the time it stays afloat. Trailing ships may pass over top of stationary ship.

Flotation Hits

To reflect specific types of torpedo hits, which are more correctly called "Flotation" hits, an attacker who rolls a "6" on the Torpedo Table rolls the die again and consults the following table:

FLOTATION HITS

DIE ROLL	ACTION
1	STEERING HIT: Ship becomes dead in the water for 3 maneuver & fire turns, then be towed by a DD counter at speed no greater than 4 movement factors during battle, and 1 square every two hours during search procedure.
2, 3	TRANSVERSE BULKHEAD HIT: Consult Torpedo Table and roll die again, tripling the number of hits.
4	FORWARD TORPEDO ROOM HIT: Ship's battle procedure speed slowed to 4 movement factors, and search procedure speed slowed to 1 square every 2 hours.
5	EXCESSIVE LIST: Interferes with fire control. Gunnery factors halved for 3 maneuver & fire turns beginning next turn.
6	AMMUNITION SUPPLY interfered with. Gunnery factors halved for 6 maneuver & fire turns beginning next turn.

Smokescreens

Only the German player may lay down a smokescreen; and only by Light Cruisers and Destroyers. To lay a smokescreen place a marker (anything will do) at two points on the course travelled by the light ship counter to designate the beginning and the end of the smokescreen. British vision of German ships behind the smokescreen remains blocked for 2 maneuver & fire turns including the turn in which the screen is laid. During this period neither side may fire through the smokescreen. British ships may pursue German ships through smokescreens and can resume firing in the turn in which they move between the German ships and the smokescreen. At the beginning of the 3rd maneuver & fire turn after laying down of the screen, the 2 markers are removed. Destroyers may lay down as many smokescreens as desired.

Fast Search Speed

All Battlecruisers and Lightcruisers with a movement factor of 11 or greater may, during search procedure, move 2 squares in every even numbered hour. Both squares may be called out in search of opposing forces.

Wind Direction

The prevailing winds of the North Sea blew in easterly directions most of the time. Winds that blew ship's smoke in the direction of attack reduced rangefinding and gunnery accuracy. Before each maneuver & fire turn, the German player rolls the die once and consults the Wind Direction table. Hits inflicted by ships firing in the exact direction the wind is blowing in that turn are cut in half, the firing ship getting the benefit of any fraction.

WIND DIRECTION

DIE ROLL	WIND IS BLOWING:
1	Between N and E
2	Between N/E and S/E
3	Between E and S
4	Between S/E and S/W
5	Between W and N
6	Between N/W and N/E

Ammunition Supply

To reflect the fact that ships' ammunition supply was limited, apply the following restrictions: BB, BC, B, CA ships may fire in a maximum of 6 Battle Procedure hours. Destroyers may fire torpedoes only once. They may fire their guns as often as desired. Light Cruisers may fire their guns as often as desired. Submarines may only launch torpedoes 6 times.

Air Reconnaissance

Because British seaplane carriers were unable to carry out reliable reconnaissance only the German player benefits from this optional rule.

German zeppelins were used in the same manner as Light Cruisers, the main difference being their faster speed and virtual immunity from surface ship gunfire. Black has 9 airships that he starts at CC14, CC16 and Z19. He may divide the 9 up among the three airbases in any manner he wishes. Airship search is conducted in the same manner as with surface ships — Black must keep a record in pencil of each square airships pass through. For identification, use the original German airship designation: "L" for Luftschiff. Airships travel at the rate of 2 squares per hour but can only stay "at sea" for 20 hours.

Black rolls the die once at the beginning of every hour so that some air search departures can be conducted in every hour. Airships that do not return to one of the three air bases within 20 hours of departure are eliminated from play. To determine reconnaissance visibility, Black rolls the die at the beginning of every hour he has airships at sea. Die rolls of 3, 4, 5 & 6 indicate that visibility is too poor for airships to spot any British ships. On a die roll of 2, every airship at sea may call out both squares they pass through in that hour. On a die roll of 1, every airship at sea may call out all squares adjacent to those two squares ("Reduced Visibility" optional rule, do not roll the die to determine air reconnaissance visibility, instead apply the die roll of that optional rule.) If spotted by airships, Blue states only that he has a force of ships in that square — he does not disclose their number and types.

German Airships available: L9, L11, L13, L14, L16, L17, L21, L22, L23.

Additional British Forces

The following are additional forces in the south that were never utilized. This rule should not be incorporated except in conjunction with the Smokescreen, Submarine, and Air Reconnaissance rules, or against a pretty stupid German player. Players should add the following data to their home-made ship counters:

	Gunnery Factor	Movement Factor	Hit Boxes
HARWICH FORCE — start at CC2:
DD–Flot 9(—)	11	12	4-4-3-3-3-2-2-1-1-0
DD–Flot 10(—)	7	13	3-2-2-2-1-1-0
CL–Sqd 5	10	12	10-8-6-4-2
DOVER FORCE — start at DD1:
(3rd Battle Squadron)
B—Africa	1-2-1	7	10
B—Britannia	1-2-1	7	10
B—Commonwealth	1-2-1	7	10
B—Dominion	1-2-1	7	10
B—Hibernia	1-2-1	7	10
B—Hindustan	1-2-1	7	10
B—Zealandia	1-2-1	7	10
BB—Dreadnought	3-4-3	8	8
(3rd Armored Cruiser Sqd)
CA—Antrim	0-1-0	9	2
CA—Devonshire	0-1-0	9	2
CA—Roxburgh	0-1-0	9	2
DD–Flot Harwich	8	12	2-1-1-1-1-1-0-0

At start consider the Harwich force as Task Force 4; the Dover Force as Task Force 5.

Weapons System Damage

To reflect a more realistic distribution of damage inflicted by enemy fire, do not mark off hits in the forward hit boxes first. Instead, roll the die again: if the die roll is 1, 2 or 3, check the hits off on the forward hit boxes in the usual manner. But if the die roll is 4, 5 or 6, check off the hits on the hit boxes in the aft section of the ship reading left to right. To determine which is forward and which is aft simply total the number of hit boxes and divide in half. In some cases, wing turrets will fall in both the forward and aft sections. Examples:

BB Collingwood 8 — Forward Section / Aft Section

BB Conqueror 8 — Forward Section / Aft Section

BB Friederich Der Grosse 12 — Forward Section / Aft Section

In cases where hits are to be checked off in sections containing no remaining un-checked boxes, such hits become torpedo hits instead.

Redistribution of Forces

To add variety, Blue may redistribute his entire fleet within the following maximums per base:

Naval Base	Maximum number of ship counters
Scapa Flow A17	40
Cromarty D13	26
Rosyth K9	27, no more than 22 BBs
Hull V5	12
Harwich CC2	6, DDs and CLs only
Dover DD1	15

This option must also incorporate the Additional Forces optional rule. Black must be told of the number of capital ships in each base. Each independent group of capital ships must be accompanied by at least one DD Flotilla.

Actual Scale

The scale of this game has been distorted to conserve space in the battle area. Each ship counter represents 2500 yards while it should, in reality, equal 750 yards for the ship and the remainder for minimum interval between ships. (This distorted scale, while it allows for play in a reasonably small area, such as the living room, presents maneuver problems when large numbers of ships are involved. Players can solve this by increasing the scale of play when unlimited playing surface is available to you.

Make a new Range Finder 5 feet long with every 1000 yards 2½ inches apart. Make a new Maneuver Gauge about 35 inches long and 5⅞ inches wide with every movement factor notch 2 inches apart.

An alternative is to simply allow the stacking of ships 3-high in the event lack of space precludes play in larger scale.

Re-Creating History

No amount of optional rules can re-create all of the elements of the actual battle. Optional rules can, if used properly, re-create the most important aspects — bear in mind that these rules are designed primarily to recreate the conditions under which the original commanders operated. In designing the game, more emphasis has been placed on re-creating history rather than in producing an evenly balanced game of logic.

Solitaire Game

As the German, the solo player takes 6 different search sheets and plots the German initial move 6 different ways, numbering each plan 1 to 6. Each plan must have the German fleet laying an ambush within 3 squares of one or more British base. Departure time must be noted on each of the 6 plans. As the British, the solo player also takes 6 search sheets and plots 6 different search patterns. On sheet 1 he sweeps for the German fleet off the coast of Norway; sheet 2's sweep cannot be farther south than Cromarty (row D); sheet 3's sweep must be between Cromarty and Rosyth; sheet 4's sweep cannot be farther north than Rosyth; sheet 5's sweep can be a random sweep to anywhere; and sheet 6's sweep can be a random sweep anywhere but for the Battlecruiser fleet only. A roll of the die determines which of the 6 German plans is used. Using much the same rules outlined in "British Sweep" optional rule, compare the German plan with all of the British plans to determine where contact is made, if at all. If there is no contact, play begins with the German fleet starting from the last square reached in his initial move, and all British forces starting from their respective home bases. From this point, or the point of contact, the game is played without further search procedure. In Battle procedure, opposing task forces should be closed for battle as quickly as possible, whenever several alternatives exist they should be written down and numbered, in multiples of 6 if possible, with a random throw of the die binding the solo player to whichever action matches up with the die roll.

Examples of Play

Initial Move & Search Procedure

Diagram 1 shows the first stage of Black's initial move. He has split his fleet into two task forces at D16 ending the first stage with TF 1 in K11 and TF 2 being spotted in F16. Black computes total hours at sea to be 22 hours and marks off time down through May 30, 10 PM. (Notice that at this time of the year, and being so far north, there are only 6 hours of darkness per day.)

Diagram 2: Black completes his initial move by moving TF 2 four additional squares stopping in J13. TF 1 has remained in K11. Black marks off 4 additional hours down through May 31, 2 AM. Play now goes to Search Procedure.

Diagram 3: In diagram 3 both players have moved their forces simultaneously. Black moved TF 2 to J12 while holding TF 1 in K11. Blue moving all three TF's in R11 square. It is not possible for British TF's to have reached any of Black's squares, Battle cannot occur in this hour, however since both British squares must call out all squares containing their TF's, and if exercising the option of calling out squares adjacent to TF's (Basic game, only), Black is informed of Blue TF 3 in K10. Black marks off the May 31, 3 AM hour.

Diagram 4: Blue has moved only TF's 1 and 2, holding TF 3 in K10. Black, expecting Blue to unite forces as soon as possible, expects a TF 3 move into J11 where he moves his own TF 2, holding TF 1 in K11. Again, no battle occurs and the May 31, 4 AM hour is marked off.

Diagram 5: Blue moves TFs 1, 2 and 3, the latter into J11. Black, thinking that Blue would keep TF 3 again in K10, moves TF 2 there, holding TF 1 in K11. Here is a case where opposing forces have passed by each other without coming within sighting range. Since maximum sighting range is 24,000 yards, and each square represents 36,000 yards, it must be assumed that these opposing forces, in passing, were farther than 24,000 yards apart. Thus, once again no battle occurs and the May 31, 5 AM hour is marked off.

Diagram 6: A battle finally develops as both TF 3 and TF 1 move into J12. After all other TFs have stated their locations, play proceeds to Battle Procedure. The hour is not marked off as the Battle Procedure is actually the re-enactment of the May 30, 6 AM Search turn.

Diagram 7 is a blow-up of J12. "B" is the Battle Area Marker that represents the center of the battle square. Assuming that Blue's TF 3 is in 1 column line ahead formation (as stated in Fleet Makeup) all 10 ships of the Battlecruiser Fleet are positioned one behind the other with the Flagship 18,000 yards from the center of the Battle Area Marker coming in from the west. Black's TF 1, consisting of 7 ships, is positioned coming in from the southwest with flagships also 18,000 yards from the center of the marker and columns approximately 6,000 yards apart. In this example, closest ships of opposing forces are only about 16,000 yards apart — had they approached from exact opposite directions (east-west, NE-SW) they would have been 36,000 yards apart.

Diagram 8 shows the end of the 1st maneuver & fire turn. Black's TF 1, headed by flagship Konig, moved 8 maneuver gauge notches per ship turning left toward the British (although several ships had to execute front to flank move to get into the positions shown). Blue's TF 3, headed by flagship Lion, moved in line ahead at their 10 notch speed, the first 3 ships in line turning to the right. Range between the Lion and Konig are approximately 8,000 yards. The British, here, are at an advantage because only 5 of Black's ships have a clear line of fire while all of Blue's ships have a clear line. Blue's last ship in line happens to be beyond the 20,000 yard maximum firing range so it could not fire in this turn.

In diagram 9, assuming no one was sunk in the previous turn, both forces are moved in the 2nd maneuver & fire turn for the current hour. Black is able to maneuver all of his ships in line ahead; Blue continues in line ahead and must turn all trailing ships at the same pivot point established in the previous turn (diagram 8). All ships have clear lines of fire against opposing ships. Usually, firepower should be directed against opposite number in line. However, in this example opposing forces are traveling in opposite directions thus Blue's flagship (Lion) would fire on Black's trailing ship and so on — Blue's last 4 ships in line would all fire on Black's flagship (Konig).

If this diagram happened to reflect the completion of the 6th maneuver & fire turn, Black would then mark off the May 31, 6 PM turn. Battle is held up momentarily so that play can revert to search procedure. Players then return to battle for another 6 maneuver & fire turns that will make up the May 31, 7 PM hour. If any un-engaged forces have entered the battle square they are placed in the battle area in the usual manner — except — they cannot be placed any closer than maximum sighting range (24,000 yards in this instance) to the closest enemy ship.

In diagram 10 we are assuming it is the end of the 4th maneuver & fire turn. The remainder of Black's TF 1 (those ships not sunk) has automatically withdrawn from battle since the closest ships of opposing forces are farther apart than 24,000 yards after Blue has completed his move. In this event battle procedure ends — the current hour is marked off — and Black extends TF's Search sheet pencil line into the adjacent square to which it has withdrawn, southeast to K12 in this example. Blue's ships remain in J12. Play now reverts to Search Procedure during which all task forces, including Black's TF 1, may be moved 1 square.

Gunnery & Torpedo Damage

Gunnery hits reflect, for the most part, damage done to above deck portions of the ship involved with loading, firing, aiming of guns plus the more substantial machinery needed for ammunition supply as well as fire control equipment. Torpedo hits, which caused below decks damage, affected a ship's ability to stay afloat. Torpedo hits could more correctly be called "flotation" hits causing damage which, due to pressure of sea water and difficulty in repairing such waterline damage, is cumulative. Shellfire will indeed sink a ship but only when the shells cease to find things above decks and instead begin to tear apart its vitals. This is reflected in the rule that states all gunnery hits in excess of the number of hit boxes become torpedo hits instead.

BB Collingwood 8

In turn 1, the Collingwood is attacked by the Kaiser at 9,000 yards. The die roll is 2 — and at 9,000 yards the number of hits is doubled to 4. In Blue's turn, the Collingwood's gunnery factor remains unchanged at 8. In turn 2, however, it is reduced to 4.

BB Collingwood 8

In turn 2, the Kaiser is again attacking starboard from 9,000 yards. The die roll is 1 and the number of hits is doubled to 6. But since only 4 unchecked boxes pointing starboard remain, 2 of those 6 hits become torpedo hits. In addition a torpedo attack by DD-Vg Flot 1 inflicts 3 torpedo hits, totaling 5 torpedo hits for the turn. In Blue's turn the Collingwood's broadside gunnery factor is 4 as a result of damage received in turn 1. In turn 3, the Collingwood's movement factor is reduced to 6 because of the 2 torpedo hits, and its starboard broadside gunnery factor becomes 0.

BB Collingwood 8

In turn 3, the Kaiser closes to 2,800 yards. The die roll is 5 and the number of hits triples to 3. Since all starboard hit boxes are checked off, the 3 gunnery hits become torpedo hits. Those 3, plus 5 from the previous turn, add up to 8 which equals the Collingwood's protection factor — thus it is sunk (even though no damage had been inflicted on the port side wing turret). Blue does not remove the Collingwood from play and could fire 2 broadside gunnery factors from the port side. The Collingwood would be removed at the end of turn 3.

Strategy & Tactics

Strategy:

German — In the Basic Game the German has the advantage of being able to make his initial move without fear of being caught in a British sweep. At first glance it would appear that the best German strategy in the Basic Game would be to head straight for Rosyth and the somewhat isolated Battlecruiser Fleet. However, if the British show any sense they will scout carefully while leaving Rosyth and, if they discover an ambush, they will merely hole up in their base until the rest of the Grand Fleet comes down from the north. The Germans will then have a choice of either going north to meet the main body of the Grand Fleet or else steaming home empty handed. The Germans might be better off going after the main Grand Fleet bases at Cromarty and Scapa Flow. It would be a more even fight but then the rewards would be great also. Actually, any success on the part of the Germans would be in proportion to the number of risks the British would be willing to take.

In the Advanced and Tournament games the German player must also show a certain degree of caution. The use of all the optional rules re-creates the original situation in a British sweep that the Germans must plan carefully to avoid a British sweep. Unless they are able to use airships for reconnaissance it would be unwise to steam very far from the German base. Remember, they may stay at sea for only 54 hours. It's 23 hours each way to Rosyth and would take the Grand Fleet 15 hours to raise steam and reach Rosyth. This puts the Germans under the same conditions that the original German commander, Reinhard Scheer, endured. Strategy then becomes a gamble, although careful planning can take a considerable amount of risk out of the operation.

British — While the German must strive to catch parts of the British fleet before it unites, the British must not only unite their fleets but must also force the German to fight. The easiest way to do this is to head for the German base once the Grand Fleet is united. As the Germans must return to port long before the British they will be forced to fight their way through or else lose most of their destroyers. In the BASIC game the British must take for granted that the Germans will be lying in wait for them off one of their bases. Thus good use must be made of scouting forces in order to prevent groups of Battleships from being overwhelmed. When engaged in a sweep it is best to keep the Battleships together and do most of the "sweeping" with scouting forces (BC's, CA's, CL's and DD's). There is a good chance that a British sweep may miss a German fleet operation until the Germans are off the British coast. In this case the British must be careful as they will not have enough fuel to lay off the German base and wait for the High Seas Fleet. Both fleets would probably have begun operations at the same time and thus the British would not have enough of a time advantage to allow them to force a fight with the Germans and still be able to get their own fleet back to port in time.

Tactics:

Victory will often go to the side which can most efficiently deploy his capital ships. With this in mind it would help you a great deal if you kept the following "rules of thumb" in mind the next time you find yourself entering into Battle Procedure.

1—Never send your capital ships in first — You should always have CL or DD units leading your Capital ships by at least 10,000 yards. Better yet, you should try and put heavier units (BC or CA) in the search square ahead of your mainbody. This use of the vanguard is helpful in many ways. For one thing, it gives your battleships time in which to deploy. Even deploying from a column of divisions can be time consuming. The extra time, and space, also gives you an opportunity to maneuver before you get involved in the dreary, inevitable, knock down, drag out gun duel.

2—Try to get clear fields of fire for as many of your ships as possible. This usually means using a single line ahead formation. There are situations, however, when two or more lines may give better results. Deciding upon and organizing the proper formation again depends on having enough time in which to deploy your ships properly.

3—Have your DD's available to launch torpedo attacks in the event you must break off the action. Don't just let your DD's wander around while the BB's have it out. Keep them handy.

4—Don't forget reconnaissance while you are in Battle Procedure. There are usually other task forces lurking about and you, as well as your opponent, will be rushing in reinforcements. Make sure that you spot them far enough off so that they don't catch you in an unfavorable position. Continue to scout ahead of the battle as well as to the flanks if at all possible until you have accounted for all major portions of the enemy fleet.

5—Take advantage of the special qualities, or defects, of certain ships. For instance, the German BC's and the British "fast" BB's (the ones with speed factor of 10) are obviously superior ships and can be used with a better chance of success in difficult situations. The British CA's and German B's must be used carefully lest they be lost too easily.

The Ships at Jutland

Type (Number at Jutland)	Length	Weight	Main Armor	Main Guns
BB Bellerophon (6)	490'	18000t	11"	10x12"
BB Neptune (3)	510'	20000t	11"	10x12"
BB Orion (7)	550'	23000t	12"	10x13.5"
BB Iron Duke (3)	580'	25000t	12"	10x13.5"
BB Barham (4)	600'	28000t	13"	8x15"
BB Revenge (2)	580'	26000t	13"	8x15"
BB Agincourt (1)	632'	28000t	9"	14x12"
BB Erin (1)	525'	23000t	12"	10x13.5"
BB Canada (1)	625'	28000t	9"	10x14"
BC Invincible (3)	530'	17000t	7"	8x12"
BC Indefatigable (2)	555'	19000t	7"	8x12"
BC Lion (3)	660'	26000t	9"	8x13.5"
BC Tiger (1)	680'	29000t	9"	8x13.5"
CA various types (8)	500'	14000t	6-7"	9.2" & 7.5"
B Deutschland (6)	398'	13000t	9.5"	4x11"
BB Posen (4)	452'	19000t	11.8"	12x11"
BB Ostfriesland (4)	546'	23000t	11.8"	12x12"
BB Kaiser (4)	564'	25000t	13.7"	10x12"
BB Konig (4)	573'	26000t	13.7"	10x12"
BC Von Der Tann (1)	563'	19000t	9.8"

CL Varied in length from 350-450+ feet in weight to 5000t. No armor except perhaps on deck. Armament consisted of various numbers and combinations of 3.4", 4", 4.1", 5.9" and 6" guns plus torpedo tubes.

DD Varied in length from 250-350 feet and in weight from 600-1800 tons. No armor and armed with 2-5 3.4", 4" or 4.1" guns and 2-6 torpedo tubes.

German ships all had better placement of armor and in general were better "protected." What their guns lacked in size they made up for in superior performance and quality of shell.

BB's were the "ships of the line" which carried the majority of the fleet's firepower. B's were the old type battleship in general use before the Dreadnought (similar to Bellerophon) was launched in 1906. The new BB's depended on the large scale use of long range big guns while the older B's had also used smaller guns (as the CA's). The BC's were replacements for the CA's. Their job was scouting and leading the main battle fleet. The principle on which they were built was that they could destroy anything they could fight and run away from anything they couldn't. DD's were originally called Torpedo Boat Destroyers (TBD's) whose function was to protect the fleet from torpedo attack. Since they also carried torpedoes they actually replaced the smaller torpedo boats. CL's (sometimes called Scout Cruisers) were actually enlarged DD's designed more for scouting than for launching and repelling torpedo attacks.

BB's carried as secondary armament a dozen or so 4", 5.9" or 6" guns.

The Real Campaign

(BB Barham illustration)

North Sea May–1916

This was the gateway to Germany's life sustaining foreign trade. The two entrances to this area, from the north between Scotland and Norway and from the south through the English Channel, had been closed by English cruisers in 1914. In that year Germany began losing the war through starvation and economic strangulation. What the Allied armies could not achieve on land would be accomplished at sea . . . .

Germany possessed the world's second largest surface fleet in 1916. Her 23 Capital Ships were superior to the British in all the categories that mattered. Better armored and protected, they used superior tactics and, despite the usually larger caliber of the British guns, managed to give as well as they got in a gun duel. England had the upper hand, however, in their superior numbers. Riding at anchor in the three main British anchorages were 41 capital ships. Compared to the German ships their quality ranged from good to hopeless. Still, in a general engagement, the British would probably prevail. Both the British and the Germans realized this and planned accordingly.

Planned accordingly? Yes, both sides had plans, but only the German plans showed any possibility of bearing fruit. Both fleets spent most of their time in their anchorages, while the Germans hoped vainly for an opportunity to sweep away the British blockading cruisers and reestablish their trade. To do this they would first have to overwhelm the British battleships. The British, on the other hand, hoped for such an encounter. If they could crush the German fleet they could force their way into the Skagerrak and thence to the Baltic. Britain could then supply her hard pressed, but then isolated, ally Russia and thus keep her in the war and possibly avoid a Communist revolution.

The British could not get at their enemy unless the Germans decided to come out of their well defended anchorage. The Germans had an easier method for getting at the British.

One major flaw in the British dispositions was their use of three bases. This was due partially to the need for a "quick-reaction" force (against German battle cruiser raids) closer to the German base than Scapa Flow. The main reason, however, was simply a lack of sufficient British anchorages. The basic German plan was to take advantage of this dangerous deployment by showing themselves off the coast of England or Norway and then trying to smash one of the three parts of the British fleet with the entire High Seas Fleet, and thus even the odds for a final, decisive battle.

The British had but one antidote for this plan and that was to make frequent (often two or three a month) "sweeps" of the North Sea looking for any stray German ships. The British were aided by a very efficient radio interception service which had obtained most of the German naval codes. Intercepted radio messages would rarely tell them exactly when the German fleet was going to sea. It would, however, increase the British chances of being at sea the same time the Germans went out. The Germans were aware of this and hoped to use their Zeppelins for air reconnaissance to detect the British fleet should an enemy "sweep" be in progress when they came out.

By the spring of 1916 a crisis had been reached in the German Navy. The Kaiser had been hesitant to risk his fleet while there was still a chance that his U-Boats could destroy enough English merchant ships to bring about a German Victory. The United States was now threatening to join the Allies if Germany continued to sink ships, and injure Americans, near England. The submarine war was called off and the way opened for a showdown fight between the battleships.

In mid-May the German plan was put into effect. First submarines were stationed off the British bases, especially Rosyth (Battle cruisers). The U-Boats were to serve a dual purpose. If they were not able to sink any British ships they would at least (it was hoped) be able to spot them leaving their anchorages on a sweep. The German Battle cruisers would show themselves off Sunderland while the rest of the fleet would remain in the center of the North Sea, waiting to catch one of the three British Bartleship groups. German airships would assist the submarines in keeping an eye on the British. Bad weather and necessary repairs prevented the Germans from carrying out their plan until May 31. By this time the submarines were nearly out of fuel and, worse still, they had been noticed by the British who now suspected that something was afoot.

May 31st, the last possible day on which to begin the offensive, showed signs of having weather unsuitable for airship reconnaissance. The Germans could now either call off the entire operation or go out without the airships. A compromise was decided upon. The Battle Cruisers would show themselves off Norway instead of Sunderland. In this way at least one flank would be covered against a possible British sweep. The British, however, now had more of a chance to unite their fleet and drive off the Germans.

Shortly after midnight, May 31st, the three British battleship groups began their sweep. Three hours later the German Battlecruisers started north followed at four-thirty AM by the battleships. The British sweep would be a simple one with the entire fleet uniting off the Norwegian coast (by coincidence, not far from the German rendezvous) and then proceed south to the German base and thence home. At 2:30 PM, May 31st, the light cruiser screens of the two battlecruiser forces made contact. At this point neither side knew, or even suspected, that the other side had its entire fleet out. The Germans immediately turned south in order to draw the British ships to the German battleships. The British went after the Germans, thinking that they would have to chase them back to port.

At this point both battle fleets were rapidly approaching each other — the British coming from the north, the Germans from the south. Only some 60 miles separated the two battleship fleets when, at 4:30 PM, the light cruisers leading the British battlecruisers spotted the German battleships coming north. The British had lost two battlecruisers in the half hour of shooting from 4 to 4:30. Once they saw the German fleet they immediately turned north to lead the Germans to the Grand Fleet. The Germans did not yet know that the entire British fleet was out.

formation at a range of 6-12,000 yards. (Crossing the "T.")

The wind was behind the Germans thus blowing the smoke of their stacks in front of their range finders — they were blinded. For the British the breeze blew the smoke behind them. The Germans, being unable to return the British fire, executed one of their special maneuvers — Gefechtskehrtwendung (battle turn away) — which had each ship in the column turn around while destroyers laid down a smoke screen to cover the movement.

Scheer, the German Commander, now realized that his worst fears had come true. He had been caught by a British sweep. Although, by 7:00 PM he had sunk another British battlecruiser, he knew that there would be little to be gained by taking on the entire British Fleet. He headed for home.

The British, however, were to the east of the Germans and thus could force the Germans to fight their way through to their base. The Germans played cat and mouse with the British until darkness came at 9:00 (sunset — 8:20). They then relied on their superior night fighting ability to get past the British. The British made contact with the Germans at night, but only with destroyers. German fire power kept them at bay. When it became light at 2:00 AM (sunrise 3:10 AM) the Germans were already clear of the British. By 6:00 AM the British had given up and at 9:30 AM they prepared to steam home.

Who won the battle? It might be said that Germany won a naval battle (of sorts) while England won the naval war. British losses were heavy. Battlecruisers Indefatigable, Invincible and Queen Mary were lost along with armored cruisers Black Prince, Defence and Warrior plus eight destroyers. The Germans scuttled the Lützow because her low speed (due to 24 British heavy shell hits) prevented her from reaching port fast enough. The obsolete battleship Pommern took two torpedoes amidships during the night and went down. Four light cruisers and five destroyers were also lost. Seven British and eleven German Capital ships also sustained substantial shell, torpedo or mine damage.

Both sides declared a victory, and on paper, Germany's claim appeared to be the most convincing. The fact of the matter was that Germany had been driven back to port by a superior fleet. The Germans realized this and, although they tried their plan three more times before the war ended, they knew that the submarine might bring a larger success more quickly. The war and the blockade became more difficult for Germany until, in February 1917, she resumed unrestricted submarine warfare. The United States then entered the war on the side of the Allies. Even the collapse of Russia that summer did not save Germany from defeat. The blockade, and Jutland, had done its work.

Opposing Forces at Jutland

Grand Fleet (British)

Battle Fleet

Admiral Sir J. R. Jellicoe, Commander in Chief Vice Admiral Sir C. E. Madden, Chief of Staff

Iron Duke (F.) (Capt. F. C. Dreyer)

4th Battle Squadron

Benbow (F.)

Vice Admiral Sir D. Sturdee, Commander of Squadron

4th Division (Vice Admiral Sir D. Sturdee)	3rd Division (Rear Admiral A. L. Duff)
Benbow (F.) (Capt. H. W. Parker)	Superb (F.) (Capt. E. Hyde-Parker)
Bellerophon (Capt. E. F. Bruen)	Royal Oak (Capt. C. Maclachlan)
Temeraire (Capt. E. V. Underhill)	Canada (Capt. W. C. M. Nicholson)
Vanguard (Capt. J. D. Dick)

1st Battle Squadron

Marlborough (F.)

Vice Admiral Sir Cecil Burney, Second in Command, Grand Fleet Captain E. F. F. G. Grant, Chief of Staff

6th Division (Vice Admiral Sir Cecil Burney)	5th Division (Rear Admiral E. F. A. Gaunt)
Marlborough (F.) (Capt. G. P. Ross)	Colossus (F.) (Capt. A. D. P. R. Pound)
Revenge (Capt. E. B. Kiddle)	Collingwood (Capt. J. C. Ley)
Hercules (Capt. L. Clinton Baker)	Neptune (Capt. V. H. G. Bernard)
Agincourt (Capt. H. M. Doughty)	St. Vincent (Capt. W. W. Fisher)

2nd Battle Squadron

King George V (F.)

Vice Admiral Sir T. H. M. Jerram, Commander of Squadron

1st Division (Vice Admiral Sir T. H. M. Jerram)	2nd Division (Rear Admiral A. C. Leveson)
King George V (F.) (Capt. F. L. Field)	Orion (F.) (Capt. O. Backhouse)
Ajax (Capt. G. H. Baird)	Monarch (Capt. G. H. Borrett)
Centurion (Capt. M. Culme-Seymour)	Conqueror (Capt. H. H. D. Tothill)
Erin (Capt. The Hon. V. A. Stanley)	Thunderer (Capt. J. A. Ferguson)

3rd Battle Cruiser Squadron

Rear Admiral The Hon. H. L. A. Hood, Commander of Squadron Invincible (F.) (Capt. A. L. Cay)

Indomitable (Capt. F. W. Kennedy)	Inflexible (Capt. E. H. F. Heaton Ellis)

1st Cruiser Squadron

Rear Admiral Sir Robert Arbuthnot, Commander of Squadron

Defence (F.) (Capt. S. V. Ellis)	Warrior (Capt. V. B. Molteno)
Duke of Edinburgh (Capt. H. Blackett)	Black Prince (Capt. T. P. Bonham)

2nd Cruiser Squadron

Rear Admiral H. L. Heath, Commander of Squadron

Minotaur (F.) (Capt. A. C. S. H. D'Aeth)	Hampshire (Capt. H. J. Savill)
Cochrane (Capt. E. La T. Leatham)	Shannon (Capt. J. S. Dumaresq)

Battle Cruiser Fleet

Vice Admiral Sir David Beatty, Commander in Chief Captain R. W. Bentinck, Chief of Staff Lion (F.) (Capt. A. E. M. Chatfield)

Princess Royal (F.) (Capt. W. H. Cowan)	New Zealand (F.) (Capt. J. F. E. Green)
Queen Mary (Capt. C. I. Prowse)	Indefatigable (Capt. C. F. Sowerby)
Tiger (Capt. H. B. Pelly)

5th Battle Squadron

Rear Admiral H. Evan-Thomas, Commander

Barham (F.) (Capt. A. W. Craig)	Valiant (Capt. M. Woollcombe)
Warspite (Capt. E. M. Phillpotts)	Malaya (Capt. The Hon. A. D. E. H. Boyle)

High Seas Fleet (German)

Battle Fleet

Vice Admiral Reinhard Scheer, Chief of the Fleet Captain Adolph von Trotha, Chief of Staff Friedrich der Grosse (F.) (Capt. T. Fuchs)

Squadron III

König (F.)

Rear Admiral Behncke, Chief of Squadron Captain von Gagern, Staff Officer

Division V (Rear Admiral Behncke)	Division VI (Rear Admiral Nordmann)
König (F.) (Capt. Brüninghaus)	Kaiser (F.) (Capt. F. von Keyserling)
Grosser Kurfürst (Capt. E. Goette)	Prinz Regent Luitpold (Capt. K. Heuser)
Markgraf (Capt. Seiferling)	Kaiserin (Capt. Sievers)
Kronprinz (Capt. C. Feldt)

Squadron I

Ostfriesland (F.)

Vice Admiral Ehrhard Schmidt, Chief of Squadron Captain W. Wegener, Staff Officer

Division I (Vice Admiral Schmidt)	Division II (Rear Admiral Engelhardt)
Ostfriesland (F.) (Capt. von Natzmer)	Posen (F.) (Capt. Lange)
Thüringen (Capt. H. Küsel)	Rheinland (Capt. Rohardt)
Helgoland (Capt. von Kameke)	Nassau (Capt. H. Klappenbach)
Oldenburg (Capt. Höpfner)	Westfalen (Capt. Redlich)

Squadron II

Deutschland (F.)

Rear Admiral Mauve, Chief of Squadron Captain Kähler, Staff Officer

Division III (Rear Admiral Mauve)	Division IV (Rear Admiral F. von Dalwigk zu Lichtenfels)
Deutschland (F.) (Capt. H. Meurer)	Hannover (F.) (Capt. W. Heinz)
Pommern (Capt. Bölken)	Schleswig-Holstein (Capt. Barrentrapp)
Schlesien (Capt. F. Behncke)	Hessen (Capt. R. Bartels)

Scouting Group I

Vice Admiral Hipper, Chief of Scouting Forces Captain E. Raeder, Staff Officer Lützow (F.) (Captain Harder)

Derfflinger (Captain Hartog)	Moltke (Captain von Karpf)
Seydlitz (Captain M. von Egidy)	Von der Tann (Captain Zenker)

As the British battlecruisers ran north the visibility began to worsen. It had been practically unlimited by 6:00 PM, when the British spotted their own battlecruisers racing north, the visibility was down to 12,000 yards. The British knew the German fleet was out there, but where and in what direction? Jellicoe, the British Commander, took a chance and deployed his ships to the east. This maneuver brought him across the point of the German line ahead