<!:TITLE=Battle of Jutland><l:lexpage><l:lexhead>Battle of Jutland<l:/lexhead>
<l:lexbody>Naval battle between British and German forces May 31, 1916, off the West coast of Jutland. Early on May 31, the German fleet under Admiral Scheer entered the North Sea from the Baltic, intending to entice British battle-cruisers in the area of the Norwegian coast and there destroy them. Leading the fleet were five battle-cruisers under Admiral Hipper; the main fleet consisted of 16 Dreadnought and 6 pre-Dreadnought type battleships, accompanied by 11 light cruisers and 72 destroyers. Alerted by German radio traffic, the British Grand Fleet under Admiral Jellicoe sailed from Scapa Flow with 28 Dreadnoughts and 3 battle-cruisers. A further force of 6 battle-cruisers and 4 fast battleships under Admiral Beatty sailed from the Rosyth naval base.
Hipper's and Beatty's scouting destroyers saw each other in the afternoon of May 31 and the German force promptly turned away to entice the British ships to the German fleet. Beatty took the bait and a long range gunnery duel then took place in which two British battle-cruisers were sunk and Beatty's flagship damaged. Beatty himself then turned away to draw the Germans north and bring them against Jellicoe's heavier strength. The fleets met, and a general melee ensued during which another British battle-cruiser was sunk. Seeing that he was outgunned, Scheer turned away under cover of smokescreens and destroyer attacks. Jellicoe continued southwards in the hope of getting his fleet between Scheer and the German bases. Scheer turned back into range, then left four battlecruisers to cover his retreat . Jellicoe, fearful of torpedoes in the failing light of evening, decided not to follow and the battle thus came to a somewhat inconclusive end. Both sides claimed victory, Germany for having sunk more ships than they lost, and Britain because the German High Seas Fleet never ventured outside harbor for the rest of the war.
