The Grand Fleet: 1914 to 1916 - Paperback

by John Rushworth Jellicoe (Author)

This history of the British Grand Fleet from 1914 to 1916 was written by its commander, Admiral John Rushworth Jellicoe. It is a detailed analysis of the Royal Navy's strategic, tactical, and logistical problems during the first two years of the First World War from the point-of-view of a professional naval officer at the highest level. It details the operations of the British Grand Fleet which was assigned the responsibility of defending the stormy North Sea against the Imperial German Navy. Admiral Jellicoe was forced to cope with many unprecedented changes in the conduct of naval warfare brought about by such things as the submarine, torpedoes, long-range gunnery, aircraft, and airships, all of which demanded the development of entirely new tactics and strategies. The challenge to Admiral Jellicoe was huge, as these new technologies were being aggressively developed by the Germans, giving them the most technologically advanced navy in the world at that time. Substantial destruction of the Grand Fleet at their hands would have doomed Britain to catastrophic defeat.Admiral Jellicoe's narrative begins with the outbreak of war in 1914 when he was given command of the Grand Fleet, Britain's largest and most vital fleet, culminating with its stupendous encounter in 1916 with the German High Sea Fleet off Jutland in the greatest sea battle yet fought, after which he was promoted to the Admiralty as First Sea Lord.