Chapter Summaries

The British Battleships Colossus and Dreadnought were overwhelmed by the German Kaiser-class battleships, while Admiral John Jellicoe watched and hoped the French could sink King Albert and Regent Leopold. The two British ships remained under heavy fire as Jellicoe waited for them to hold out long enough for his plan to succeed.

• The German Battleships Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm and Brandenburg outgunned the British Battleships Colossus and Dreadnought, whose crews feared they had been sacrificed.
• The captain of the Colossus complained that Admiral John Jellicoe had sent them to their deaths and prayed the German shells would miss.
• The German battleships bracketed the Colossus and Dreadnought and began concentrated fire, putting both ships in constant danger.
• Vice Admiral David Beatty warned Jellicoe that losing the two British battleships would erase the Combined Fleet’s numerical advantage.
• Jellicoe hoped the Colossus and Dreadnought could hold out while the French Navy sank the German Battleships King Albert and Regent Leopold.

Admiral Lame’s five French Battleships struggled against the two German Battleships, whose armor and firepower proved superior. The Normandy and Bretagne suffered heavy damage, while the French fleet’s attacks failed to seriously harm the Germans.

• Admiral Lame ordered the French ships to fight harder after receiving a Telegram from Admiral Jellicoe demanding that they sink the German Battleships.
• A German shell hit the Normandy’s bow, damaging compartments and starting a fire, while a shell from the Gascony struck the King Albert’s conning tower but failed to penetrate its armor.
• The King Albert hit the Normandy’s No. 4 main turret, destroying it and setting off ammunition that started a major fire near the stern.
• Admiral Lame blamed the Gascony and Flanders for their poor accuracy, but the French ships continued to fare badly against the German return fire.
• The Regent Leopold’s 343mm shell severed the Bretagne’s No. 2 funnel, which fell onto and destroyed its No. 3 main turret, while the ship’s superstructure caught fire.

The German battleship Brandenburg sank the British battleship Dreadnought and joined Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm in attacking Colossus. The British battle line lost its numerical advantage as Colossus suffered a devastating turret explosion that threatened its magazine.

• Admiral John Jellicoe and Vice Admiral David Beatty recognized that German armor made the British ships' firepower ineffective at sinking them.
• Brandenburg hit Dreadnought twice, destroying its steering gear and leaving it flooding, but Admiral John Jellicoe refused the captain's request to abandon ship.
• Brandenburg hit Dreadnought a third time, and the battleship broke apart and sank, reducing the battle line to twelve British ships against fourteen German ships.
• Brandenburg and Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm turned their guns on Colossus, which had already taken a damaging hit above the waterline.
• Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm struck Colossus's turret, detonating its shells and propellant; flames then raced toward the magazine holding more than a hundred shells.

German battleships sank the British Battleship Colossus and Battleship North Dakota, worsening the Combined Fleet’s position in both battle lines. Vice Admiral Martin feared the fleet would be defeated once the German battlecruisers arrived.

• The Battleship Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm’s barrage devastated the Battleship Colossus, and Admiral Reinhard Scheer ordered German battleships to encircle the Tiger and Andrea Duilio.
• Vice Admiral Martin’s 2nd Battle Line fought the Germans at close range while Martin worried that mounting losses had left the Combined Fleet at a serious disadvantage.
• German shells struck the Battleship Nevada, killing the crew inside Turret No. 4 but failing to penetrate its armor.
• The Battleship Westfalen hit the Battleship North Dakota, destroyed its command crew, and opened its waterline; the ship flooded, capsized, and sank.
• The Battleship Westfalen and Battleship Nassau turned their guns on the Battleship Delaware.

The German Navy continued to overpower the Combined Fleet as Admiral Jellicoe and Vice Admiral Beatty faced the prospect of defeat. The Normandy was crippled and sunk, leaving the French Navy with four Battleships and the Combined Fleet’s 1st Battle Line badly outmatched.

• Vice Admiral Hipper celebrated the German Navy’s sinking of a British battleship and asked when Vice Admiral Spee’s eleven Battlecruisers would arrive.
• Vice Admiral Beatty told Admiral Jellicoe that Admiral Martin had lost a Battleship and that the rest of his warships were under German fire.
• The German Navy battleship King Albert hit the Normandy, and a shell destroyed its boiler room, killing sailors and slowing the ship.
• Admiral Lame ordered the crew to abandon the Normandy and continue directing the battle from the Flanders.
• The King Albert struck the Normandy eight times in five minutes, and the crippled ship sank beneath the sea.

After the Normandy sank, French and Italian commanders grew determined to withdraw from the battle, while Admiral Jellicoe struggled to hold the Combined Fleet together. Germany’s eleven battlecruisers approached to reinforce the main fleet, poised to overwhelm the Allies.

• Admiral Lame saw the Normandy sink and sent Admiral Jellicoe a telegram urging the Combined Fleet to retreat.
• Admiral Jellicoe and Vice Admiral David Beatty received the French message and argued over Admiral Lame’s refusal to continue fighting.
• Admiral Paul learned that the Allies had lost four battleships while Germany had lost none, and ordered a telegram asking Admiral Lame whether France would withdraw.
• Admiral Paul decided Italy would retreat with France if the French Navy left the battle.
• Vice Admiral Spee’s eleven battlecruisers approached and prepared to intercept a British battle line by crossing the T.

The German Navy's Battlecruiser Squadron arrived and concentrated its fire on the British Battleship Nevada. After the battered ship began flooding and listing, Vice Admiral Martin ordered the crew to abandon ship and transferred his command to the Battleship New York.

• Vice Admiral Spee ordered eleven German battlecruisers to open fire on the Nevada after they seized Crossing the T.
• Vice Admiral Martin ordered the Nevada to turn, but German shells struck her bow, turret, side armor, and superstructure.
• The Nevada took more than ten large-caliber hits in three minutes, suffered extensive flooding, and began listing heavily.
• Vice Admiral Martin ordered the crew to abandon the Nevada and moved his command to the Battleship New York.

Vice Admiral Spee redirected the German Battlecruisers from the sinking Battleship Nevada to the Battleship Oklahoma, which was destroyed by concentrated fire and abandoned. Vice Admiral Martin’s fleet was trapped in a hopeless position, and the French and Italians withdrew from the battle line.

• Vice Admiral Spee ordered the eleven German Battlecruisers to target the Battleship Oklahoma after the Battleship Nevada began sinking.
• German shells battered the Battleship Oklahoma, disabled its command and superstructure, and flooded its hull.
• A shell from the Battleship Friedrich Karl detonated the Battleship Oklahoma’s magazine, destroying its stern and prompting the captain to order the crew to abandon ship.
• Vice Admiral Martin realized his fleet had lost two Battleships and was trapped between the German Navy’s 2nd Battle Line and Battlecruiser Squadron.
• Admiral John Jellicoe and Vice Admiral David Beatty assessed the Allies’ overwhelming disadvantage as a staff officer reported that the French and Italians had retreated.
• Admiral John Jellicoe denounced the French and Italians for withdrawing without orders.

After the French and Italian fleets fled, Admiral John Jellicoe ordered the remaining British ships to break out rather than face certain destruction. Admiral Reinhard Scheer sent the German fleet and carrier-based aircraft in pursuit, turning the battle into a race to sink the fleeing British ships before nightfall.

• Admiral John Jellicoe and Vice Admiral David Beatty recognized that the British fleet could not defeat the Germans after the French and Italian ships withdrew.
• Admiral John Jellicoe ordered the British warships to flee in separate directions, and their captains forced their boilers to increase speed.
• Admiral Reinhard Scheer ordered the German fleet to pursue the British and requested carrier-based aircraft from Your Highness.
• The German Battlecruiser Squadron led the pursuit as the British ships tried to escape before darkness fell.

After the Allied fleet’s defeat, Admiral Jellicoe chose to stay with the surviving British ships while Vice Admiral Beatty escaped aboard Tiger. The German Navy pursued the British and continued destroying Vice Admiral Martin’s trapped American battleships, leaving New York under heavy fire.

• Admiral Jellicoe refused to leave the fleet, and Vice Admiral Beatty boarded Tiger to carry news of the defeat back to Britain.
• Tiger sped toward the British mainland as the German Navy pursued the remaining British warships and prepared to finish off the American battleships.
• Admiral Reinhard Scheer led the 1st Battle Line after the British while three Mackensen-class battlecruisers encircled New York.
• Vice Admiral Martin watched New York’s guns fire on Mackensen, but their shells missed.
• A 380mm shell from Mackensen penetrated New York above the waterline and tore a large hole in its hull, while the Americans continued fighting fiercely.

The German battleships Bavaria and Brandenburg cornered the British Battleship Vengeance and battered her until Admiral John Jellicoe ordered the crew to abandon ship. Jellicoe remained aboard and sank with the Vengeance into the Atlantic Ocean.

• Bavaria pursued the Vengeance as both battleships exchanged fire, and Brandenburg joined the encirclement.
• The Vengeance hit Bavaria's bow, but Bavaria and Brandenburg returned fire and destroyed Turret No. 3, cutting the Vengeance's firepower in half.
• Admiral Reinhard Scheer ordered Bavaria and Brandenburg to close from 15,000 meters to 8,000 meters and finish off the Vengeance.
• After the Vengeance took more than ten 380mm hits, Admiral John Jellicoe ordered the crew to abandon ship.
• Jellicoe locked himself in his cabin and sank with the Vengeance.

The German Navy sank the British battleships New York and Texas as its encirclement offensive crushed the Allied fleet. Vice Admiral David Beatty fled aboard Tiger, but German aircraft arrived as the battlecruiser tried to escape.

• Vice Admiral Martin ordered the crew to abandon New York and escaped aboard a launch as German shells set the ship ablaze and damaged its bow.
• New York sank, and Texas was sunk soon afterward by three German Derfflinger-class battleships.
• Vice Admiral Spee ordered German battleships to pursue the fleeing Allied warships and destroy the remaining capital ships.
• Vice Admiral David Beatty learned that Vengeance had sunk with Admiral John Jellicoe aboard and concluded that the Royal Navy had suffered an unprecedented defeat.
• Beatty received word that New York and Texas had also sunk, then heard an alarm announcing the arrival of German aircraft.

German carrier-based aircraft crippled and sank Tiger, while the French and Italian battleships surrendered to avoid the same fate. Vice Admiral Spee’s fleet took possession of the six surrendered battleships, though Admiral Lame and Admiral Paul escaped aboard destroyers.

• German fighters strafed Tiger as bombers damaged it with a bomb and torpedo bombers struck it with two torpedoes.
• Tiger lost its steering gear, and another wave of German aircraft hit it with three bombs and four torpedoes.
• Vice Admiral David Beatty ordered Tiger abandoned, and the battlecruiser capsized and sank.
• Admiral Lame and Admiral Paul ordered the French and Italian battleships to surrender by raising white flags and shutting down their boilers.
• Vice Admiral Spee’s fleet took over the six surrendered battleships, but Admiral Lame and Admiral Paul escaped aboard destroyers.

After the German High Seas Fleet destroyed the British capital ships and captured French and Italian battleships, Scheer explained that Germany would sell many of its older capital ships and build its strength around aircraft carriers. Oscar received news of the victory and felt confident that the Empire would win the war.

• Hipper reported that the British capital ships had been sunk, while some smaller warships escaped.
• Spee reported that the fleet had captured four French battleships and two Italian battleships, and Scheer ordered them repaired and later sold.
• Scheer told Hipper and Spee that Germany would sell many older capital ships and rely on aircraft carriers as the navy's main force.
• Scheer said Germany could later capture Britain's unfinished warships after defeating the country.
• Hipper said the victory results were ready to report to the Emperor, and Oscar was overjoyed when he heard the news.

Emperor Oscar learned that the Imperial Navy had decisively defeated the Allied Powers’ fleet at little cost, confirming aircraft carriers as the navy’s future focus. He expected France and Italy to surrender soon and prepared for either British capitulation or an invasion of Britain.

• Oscar waited in his office for news of the decisive naval battle and considered the Imperial Navy’s future development.
• Tirpitz and Falkenhayn arrived smiling, and Oscar asked first about German losses.
• Tirpitz reported that the Imperial Navy had lost no Capital Ships beyond the earlier loss of Blücher and had suffered only limited damage and other losses.
• Tirpitz revealed that the Imperial Navy had annihilated the Allied fleet’s Capital Ships, with French and Italian battleships surrendering and carrier-based aircraft sinking twelve enemy Capital Ships.
• Oscar praised the aircraft carriers’ performance and agreed that carriers and carrier-based aircraft should become the navy’s development priority.
• Falkenhayn declared that the Allied navies had been wiped out, and Oscar predicted France and Italy would soon surrender while ordering preparations to punish or invade Britain.

Churchill received Admiral Beatty’s report that the Allied fleet had been catastrophically defeated, with every British Capital Ship lost and Admiral Jellicoe killed. He left to inform Prime Minister Asquith and discuss Britain’s remaining options.

• Churchill waited in his office for news of the decisive naval battle.
• Churchill’s secretary reported that Admiral Jellicoe had been killed and delivered Admiral Beatty’s Telegram.
• Churchill read that the Allied fleet had lost every Capital Ship while sinking only one German Battlecruiser, and cursed the French and Italian fleets for fleeing.
• Churchill concluded that the Royal Navy and British Empire were finished and ordered a car to take him to Prime Minister Asquith.

After the Royal Navy was annihilated by the German fleet, Churchill and the British Cabinet confronted the Empire’s desperate choices. The chapter ended with Churchill rejecting surrender and arguing that Britain should fight to the bitter end.

• Churchill arrived at Prime Minister Asquith’s residence, where the Cabinet gathered to hear the outcome of the naval battle.
• Churchill confirmed that every Royal Navy capital ship had been sunk and that the French and Italian fleets had surrendered to Germany.
• Asquith and the other ministers blamed the French and Italians for fleeing, while Churchill knew their absence would not have saved the Royal Navy.
• Sir Edward Grey said Britain could either surrender or continue fighting, and warned that surrender could cost it its colonies, parts of the homeland, and its status as a great power.
• Churchill declared that Britain could not surrender to Germany and should fight to the bitter end.

Churchill urged Prime Minister Asquith and the Cabinet to resist Germany rather than surrender, despite the likely devastation of Britain. He argued that if the mainland fell, the British Empire could continue the war from its colonies, and the Cabinet considered his proposal.

• Churchill argued that Britain should fight to the bitter end, while Sir Edward Grey warned that the mainland could be devastated.
• Richard Haldane told Asquith that Britain had two million troops but lacked sufficient equipment and training to defend against Germany’s elite forces.
• Churchill proposed expanding the army further and relying on the Channel and German supply difficulties to limit an invasion force.
• Lloyd George asked what Britain should do if resistance failed, and Asquith weighed the risks of fighting against the costs of surrender.
• Churchill said the government could retreat to India, Canada, or Australia and continue the war if Germany took the mainland, prompting the Cabinet to see the colonies as a possible refuge.

After Churchill’s mainland-defense plan was approved, Prime Minister Asquith decided to resign and try to escape the burden of leading Britain through the war. Lloyd George refused to succeed him, leaving Asquith without an obvious replacement.

• The Cabinet approved Churchill’s proposal, and Asquith appointed Churchill to take full responsibility for defending the British mainland.
• Asquith told Lloyd George that he wanted to resign as Prime Minister, citing his worsening health and Britain’s dire situation.
• Lloyd George urged Asquith to remain in office, fearing that he would be expected to take over the failing government.
• Asquith said he would submit his resignation to the King the next morning and identified Lloyd George as his customary successor.
• Lloyd George firmly refused the position and threatened to resign himself if Asquith insisted.

Asquith decided to resign as Prime Minister and, with Lloyd George's support, persuaded Churchill to succeed him. After George V approved Asquith's resignation and the Cabinet backed Churchill, Churchill became the new Prime Minister of the British Empire.

• Lloyd George proposed finding a successor so Asquith could resign without making him Prime Minister, and they agreed Churchill was the best candidate.
• Asquith summoned Churchill and offered him the Prime Minister's office, which Churchill accepted after considering the advantages of leading Britain's war effort.
• Asquith formally resigned to George V, who approved the resignation despite first trying to persuade him to stay.
• Asquith recommended Churchill as his successor, and the Cabinet's support convinced George V to appoint Churchill Prime Minister.