| Revision as of 02:52, 30 October 2005 editGsl (talk | contribs)10,634 edits revert cut-and-paste move, merge changes since move, use battlebox template← Previous edit | Revision as of 02:57, 30 October 2005 edit undoGsl (talk | contribs)10,634 editsm {{otheruses}}, move image into battleboxNext edit → | ||
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| battle_name=Battle of Dogger Bank | battle_name=Battle of Dogger Bank | ||
| |campaign=World War I Naval | |campaign=World War I Naval | ||
| ⚫ | |image=] rolls over onto her side]] | ||
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| |caption=The sinking ] rolls over onto her side | |||
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| |conflict=] | |conflict=] | ||
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| |casualties2=One armoured cruiser sunk and 974 men killed | |casualties2=One armoured cruiser sunk and 974 men killed | ||
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| The '''Battle of Dogger Bank''' was a naval battle fought near the ] in the ] that took place on ] ], during the ], between squadrons of the ] and the ]. | The '''Battle of Dogger Bank''' was a naval battle fought near the ] in the ] that took place on ] ], during the ], between squadrons of the ] and the ]. | ||
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| ===Battle=== | ===Battle=== | ||
| Realising he was overpowered, Hipper attempted to escape, believing the British battlecruisers to be slower than his. Beatty's cruisers, however, were notably faster than their German counterparts, and succeeded in reaching their extreme firing range by 9am. Battle started half an hour later. | Realising he was overpowered, Hipper attempted to escape, believing the British battlecruisers to be slower than his. Beatty's cruisers, however, were notably faster than their German counterparts, and succeeded in reaching their extreme firing range by 9am. Battle started half an hour later. | ||
| ⚫ | ] rolls over onto her side]] | ||
| The British fire was concentrated on Hipper's flagship, battlecruiser ] which was soon damaged with the loss of 192 of her crew. The slower ] ] was also damaged early in the action and began to fall behind the faster German battlecruisers. The German return fire in turn succeeded in hammering Beatty's flagship, ], to a standstill. ''Lion'' took no further part in the battle after 11:00. | The British fire was concentrated on Hipper's flagship, battlecruiser ] which was soon damaged with the loss of 192 of her crew. The slower ] ] was also damaged early in the action and began to fall behind the faster German battlecruisers. The German return fire in turn succeeded in hammering Beatty's flagship, ], to a standstill. ''Lion'' took no further part in the battle after 11:00. | ||
Revision as of 02:57, 30 October 2005
For other uses, see Battle of Dogger Bank (1915) (disambiguation).Template:Battlebox The Battle of Dogger Bank was a naval battle fought near the Dogger Bank in the North Sea that took place on 24 January 1915, during the First World War, between squadrons of the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet.
Origins
With the German home fleet effectively bottled up by Admiral Beatty's success at Heligoland Bight, German Admiral Franz von Hipper decided to launch a raid upon three British East coast towns using the German Battlecruiser Squadron, comprising five battlecruisers supported by light cruisers and destroyers. The raid took place on 16 December 1914 at 9am, and resulted in the death of 18 civilians at Scarborough, causing further damage at Whitby and Hartlepool.
British public and political reaction was outraged that the German Fleet could sail so close to the British coast and proceed to shell coastal towns.
Buoyed by the success of the raid, Admiral Hipper resolved to repeat the exercise the following month. He was however intercepted by the British on 24 January 1915 at the Dogger Bank, midway between Germany and Britain.
Through intercepted German radio traffic the British had learnt of Hipper's proposed sortie on 23 January. Admiral Beatty set sail with five battlecruisers to meet Hipper's three, supported by a further six light cruisers. Joined by additional cruisers and destroyers from Harwich, Beatty headed south before meeting Hipper's outlying vessels at 7.20am on the morning of 24 January.
Battle
Realising he was overpowered, Hipper attempted to escape, believing the British battlecruisers to be slower than his. Beatty's cruisers, however, were notably faster than their German counterparts, and succeeded in reaching their extreme firing range by 9am. Battle started half an hour later.
The British fire was concentrated on Hipper's flagship, battlecruiser Seydlitz which was soon damaged with the loss of 192 of her crew. The slower armoured cruiser SMS Blücher was also damaged early in the action and began to fall behind the faster German battlecruisers. The German return fire in turn succeeded in hammering Beatty's flagship, Lion, to a standstill. Lion took no further part in the battle after 11:00.
Nevertheless, a major British success appeared likely until Beatty, believing his ships had seen a submarine’s periscope, ordered a sharp turn to avoid it. (It seems probable that the periscope was surfacing torpedo launched by a German destroyer). Beatty then gave an order which, thanks to the destruction of Lion's electrics and the damage to her flag hoists, was both vague and hard to see. As a result of the misunderstaning, the remaining British battlecruisers broke off the pursuit of the German battlecruisers and rounded on the crippled Blücher, which had fallen behind the rest of the German ships, sinking her with the loss of 782 men. In the meantime the damaged German battlecruisers were able to make good their escape. 15 British sailors were killed in the battle.
Aftermath
Although the battle was not greatly consequential of itself, it boosted British morale and concerned the German Kaiser, Wilhelm II, enough to issue an order stating that all further risks to surface vessels were to be avoided.
But the Germans took the lessons of the battle to heart, particularly the damage to the Seydlitz which revealed flaws in the protection of her magazines. The British failed to do the same and signalling on board the Lion was equally shambolic in the early stages of the Battle of Jutland the following summer.
The rival squadrons
Britain
1st Battlecruiser Squadron: Lion, Tiger and Princess Royal.
2nd Battlecruiser Squadron: New Zealand and Indomitable.
Germany
1st Scouting Group: Seydlitz, Moltke, Derfflinger and Blücher.