The Battle of Jutland (Wordsworth Military Library) [Paperback]

Geoff Bennett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1999 | Series: Wordsworth Military Library

At the end of May 1916, a chance encounter with Admiral Hipper's battlecruisers has enabled Beatty to lead the German Battle Fleet into the jaws of Jellicoe's greatly superior force, but darkness had allowed Admiral Scheer to extricate his ships from a potentially disastrous situation. Though inconclusive, at the Battle of Jutland the German Fleet suffered so much damage that it made no further attempt to challenge the Grand Fleet, and the British blockade remained unbroken. Captain Bennett has used sources previously unavailable to historians in his reconstruction of this controversial battle, including the papers of Vice-Admiral Harper explaining why his official record of the battle was not published until 1927, and the secret "Naval Staff Appreciation" of 1922 whose criticism were so scathing that it was never issued to the Fleet. Also included are numerous battle plans, photographs and an introduction by Bennett's son.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Wordsworth Military Library (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1840222042
• ISBN-13: 978-1840222043
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,170,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not just another account of this famous indecisive battle., May 7, 2007

By 

Ned Middleton (British professional underwater photo-journalist & author) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Battle of Jutland (Pen & Sword Military Classics) (Paperback)

When this book first arrived, my first thoughts were; "Oh not another book about Jutland!" Then I saw the name of the author and I became immediately optimistic. I was not to be disappointed.

Geoffrey Bennett was a distinguished naval historian who had previously served in the Royal Navy for 35 years. From that background he was able to bring an understanding of naval matters to his work which is rarely found elsewhere. I have yet to be disappointed with anything written by this author.

Indecisive encounters are just like any other contentious subject be it war or even football. For example, few Germans would agree that "that" goal scored by Geoff Hurst in 1966 actually went over the line. On the other side of the coin, few Englishmen would disagree that it was a perfectly good goal.

It is the same with the Battle of Jutland. If we add up the combined tonnages of all ships lost, damaged and put out of action, then Germany won on points. If, on the other hand, we argue that the objective was to damage the German High Sea Fleet to such an extent that it would never challenge the Royal Navy again, then, we "could" easily suggest the result went in favour of the British Grand Fleet because German sea power remained confined thereafter.

Because neither side scored a decisive victory, there is little point in holding a view about who may or may not have won and we can all speculate (or is it day-dream?) about what might have happened if only... More importantly, what sets this work apart from others on the same subject is the sources tapped by Geoffrey Bennett which were previously unknown prior to the first publication of this book. Research is the key to works of this nature and Geoffrey Bennett was both meticulous and knowledgeable when it came to conducting his own.

Previously published in 1964 and again in 1972, there has been a lot of accurate and inaccurate books published about the Battle of Jutland in the ensuing years. Perhaps it is time to get back to some basic facts which are well presented and equally well written up for the reader to enjoy. In this way, we can look at all those contentious issues afresh.

NM

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Grand Fleet and High Seas Fleet meet in battle., February 9, 2008

By 

Kevin M Quigg (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Battle of Jutland (Pen & Sword Military Classics) (Paperback)

I have read the author's previous book about the Falklands, and this book was as detailed, but a little more confusing in movements. Author makes extensive use of official reports from the battle, including extensive quotations. I liked the book and got a detailed answer on what happened at Jutland. For the British to call this a victory, it was clear it was not. They lost over 6,000 men, and three battlecruisers. The Germans lost two major ships and were mauled badly. However, for the rest of the war, the German's fleet in being, was only that. Both sides suffered from this battle. The British could afford their losses, and made good on replacements. The Germans spent the rest of the war suffering poor morale, and finally mutiny.

This is an OK read by a good author. The book is well researched, and reads OK. There is enough detail to show how the battle played out.