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The Battle of Jutland - the First World War - June 1916

At sea the British and German fleets met in one of the wars largest naval battles, the Battle of Jutland. The following is part of the Daily Mirror's report on the battle.

Foe Fleet Avoid Long Action With Our Main Force
Three German Battleships Hit Repeatedly, Two Cruisers Disabled, U-boat Rammed and Sunk
Press Bureau, Friday 7.00pm

The Secretary of the Admiralty makes the following announcement:
On the afternoon of Wednesday, May 31, a naval engagement took place off the coast of Jutland. The British ships on which the brunt of the fighting fell were the battlecruiser fleet and some cruisers and light cruisers, supported by four fast battleships. Among these the losses were heavy.

The German battle fleet, aided by a low visibility, avoided prolonged action with our main forces, and soon after these appeared on the scene the enemy returned to port, though not before receiving severe damage from our battleships.

The battlecruisers Queen Mary, Indefatigable, Invincible and the cruisers Defence and Black Prince were sunk. The Warrior was disabled and, after being towed for some time, had to be abandoned by her crew. It is also known that the destroyers Tipperary, Turbulent, Fortune, Sparrowhawk and Ardent were lost, and six others are not yet accounted for.

No British battleships or light cruisers were sunk.

The enemy's losses were serious. At least one battle cruiser was destroyed and one severely damaged; one battleship reported sunk by our destroyers during a night attack; two light cruisers were disabled and probably sunk. The exact number of enemy destroyers disposed of during the action cannot be ascertained with any certainty, but it must have been large.

The BBC website has a complete transcript of the Daily Mirror's report on the battle of Jutland.