Seas Fleet in the World War, the battle of Jutland.
This was indecisive, but even in a history with the limits of this
book it deserves a chapter of its own. In the magnitude of the
forces engaged, a magnitude less in numbers of ships--great as
that was--than in the enormous destructive power concentrated in
those ships, it was by far the greatest naval battle in history.
Moreover, this was the one fleet battle fought with the weapons
of to-day. Any discussion of modern tactics, therefore, must be
based for some time to come on an analysis of Jutland. Finally, the
indecisiveness of the action has resulted in a controversy among
naval critics that is likely to continue indefinitely. Meanwhile
the debatable points are rich in interest and suggestion.

In earlier wars the nation with a more powerful fleet blockaded
the ports of the enemy. In this war the sea mine, the submarine,
the aircraft and the long-range gun of coast defenses made the
old-fashioned close blockade impossible. Such blockade as could
be maintained under modern conditions had to be "distant." The
British made a base in the Orkneys, Scapa Flow, which had central
position with relation to a possible sortie of the German fleet
toward either the North Atlantic or the Channel. The intervening
space of North Sea was patrolled by a scouting force of light vessels
of various sorts and periodical sweeps by the Grand Fleet. On May
30, 1916, the Grand Fleet, under Admiral Jellicoe, set out from
its base at Scapa Flow for one of these patrolling cruises. On
the same day Vice Admiral Beatty left his base at Rosyth (in the
Firth of Forth) with his advance force of battle cruisers and
battleships, under orders to join Jellicoe at sea. On the following
day the High Seas Fleet took the sea and the two great forces came
together in battle.

It is not certain why the German fleet should have been cruising
at this time. Having declined to offer battle in the summer of
1914, on account of the British superiority of force, the High
Command could hardly have contemplated attacking in 1916 when the
odds were much heavier. From statements published by German officers
since the war, the objects seem to have been, first, to prevent a
suspected attempt to force an entrance into the Baltic; secondly,
to fall upon Beatty's Battle Cruiser Squadron, during its frequent
patrolling cruises, when it was detached from the main force; and,
thirdly, to destroy the British trading fleets