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22 June 1916 - Germans prepare to sail
0200, Jade estuary, German Empire, 22 June 1916
After the disappointing results of the 31st May, when two out of three ships of the 6th Division had almost grounded and subsequently fouled their condensers, the operation had been cancelled and rescheduled until the 20th June, subsequently amended to the 22nd.
It had allowed him to add some extra ships to his order of battle, most notably the Koenig Albert and the newly completed Bayern, the letter only manned by the transfer of the crew from the newly decommissioned old pre dreadnaught Lothringen.
The plans was simple enough, indeed it represented his basic strategy ever since he had taken over command of the High Seas Fleet in January 1916 from the perennially cautious Hugo von Pohl. Scheer was well aware that he could not match the Grand Fleet for sheer numbers, even taking into consideration British naval deployments in the Mediterranean. With the Baltic activities of the Russians curtailed, Scheer had gathered as much of the High Seas Fleet as possible for the operation in an attempt to draw forth and trap part of the Grand Fleet and destroy it comprehensively, namely David Beatty's battlecruiser force, hopefully the Harwich Force as well.
The unfortunate cancellation of the May operation had meant that the submarine forces available to lie off the major British bases were not as they had been a month ago, but in essence the plan was unchanged. Hipper had already sortied at 0030 with the 1st and 2nd Scouting Groups, consisting of five battlecruisers, four light cruisers and 32 torpedo boats.
They were to bombard Sunderland and draw David Beatty's battlecruiser force South from the Firth of Forth. Hipper was then to lead the battlecruiser force back onto the guns of Scheer's High Seas Fleet, which would be waiting 45-50 miles off Flanborough Head. He had originally counted on Zeppelin intelligence, however, June 1916 had been a month of extremely poor summer weather, with a maximum four days running of 8 degrees Celsius in Hamburg. Forecast for the day were only modest, with gusting winds, all of which would hamper Zeppelin operations.
The last month had not been a kind one for the Central Powers, Russia destroying Austro-Hungary's armies in Galacia and the Ottomans also in retreat in the East. A victory was badly needed.
For that reason alone, Scheer had pulled together as much fighting power as possible. After Hipper had drawn the British scouting forces South, they would be confronted with 18 dreadnoughts, seven pre dreadnoughts, one armoured cruiser, 13 light cruisers and 49 torpedo boats.
This had been the original plan, however, with zeppelin reconnaissance likely not a possibility, Scheer had amended it to encompass Hipper's forces converging on the Skaggerak, engaging and destroying any commerce and Royal Navy patrols that frequented the area. He was hopeful this would lure part of the British fleet out to drive his forces away. The High Seas Fleet could then overwhelm this under gunned force in waters much closer to home, their flanks covered by light forces and their relatively short path to retreat assured.
In all total forces were:
1. Battlecruiser force, Vice Admiral Franz von Hipper
I Scouting Group
Vizeadmiral Franz von Hipper, 1. Admiralstabsoffizier Korvettenkapitän Erich Raeder
SMS Lützow, flag, Vizeadmiral Franz von Hipper, Kapitän zur See Harder
SMS Derflinger, Kapitän zur See Hartog
SMS Seydlitz, Kapitän zur See von Egidy
SMS Moltke, Kapitän zur See Harpf
SMS von der Tann, Kapitän zur See Zenker
IXth Flotilla
V 28, Kapitänleutnant Lenßen hoisting Korvettenkapitän Goehle (Flottila-Leader) - screening 1SG
IXth Flotilla, 17th Half Flotilla
V27, V28, V26, S36, S51, S52
IXth Flotilla, 18th Half Flotilla
V30, Oberleutnant zur See Ernst Wolf hoisting Korvettenkapitän Werner Tillessen (flag)
S34, S33, V29, S35, V30
IInd Scouting Group
Konteradmiral F. Boedicker
SMS Frankfurt, Kapitän zur See Thilo von Trotha hoisting Konteradmiral F. Boedicker (flag)
SMS Pillau, Fregattenkapitän Konrad Mommsen
SMS Elbing, Fregattenkapitän Madlung
SMS Wiesbaden, Fregattenkapitän Reiß
IInd Flotilla
B98, Kapitänleutnant Theodor Hengstenberg hoisting Fregattenkapitän Schuur (flag)
IInd Flotilla, 3rd Half Flotilla
Korvettenkapitän Boest (flag) on B 98
B98, G101, G102, B112, B97, S49, V43
IInd Flotilla, 4th Half Flotilla
Korvettenkapitän Dithmar (flag) on B 109
B109, B110, B111, G103, G104
VIth Flotilla
G41 Kapitänleutnant Hermann Boehm hoisting Korvettenkapitän Max Schultz (flag)
VIth Flotilla, 11th Half Flotilla, Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Rümann on G 41
G41, V44, G87, G86
VIth Flotilla, 12th Half Flotilla
V69, Kapitänleutnant Stecher hoisting Kapitänleutnant Lahs (flag)
V69, V45, V46, S50, G37
2. High Seas Fleet, Main Body
Chef der Hochseestreitkräfte:Vizeadmiral Reinhard Scheer
Chef des Stabes: Kapitän zur See Adolf von Trotha
Chef der Operationsabteilung: Kapitän zur See von Levezow
IIIrd Squadron, 5th Division
Konteradmiral Paul Behncke, 1. Admiralstabsoffizier Korvettenkapitän Freiherr von Sagern
SMS König flag, Kapitän zur See Brüninghaus
SMS Grosser Kurfürst, Kapitän zur See Goette
SMS Markgraf, Kapitän zur See Seiferling
SMS Kronprinz, Kapitän zur See Konstanz Feldt
IIIrd Squadron, 6th Division
Konteradmiral H. Nordmann (2nd Admiral of IIIrd Squadron)
SMS Kaiser, flag, Konteradmiral H. Nordmann, Kapitän zur See Freiherr von Keyserlingk
SMS Prinzregent Luitpold, Kapitän zur See Heuser
SMS Koenig Albert, Kapitän zur See Gaskell
SMS Kaiserin, Kapitän zur See Sievers
SMS Bayern, Kapitän zur See Max Hahn
Flottenflaggschiff: SMS Friedrich der Große, Kapitän zur See Theodor Fuchs (not in squadron or divisional organisation)
Ist Squadron, 1st Division
Vizeadmiral E. Schmidt, 1. Admiralstabsoffizier Korvettenkapitän Wolfgang Wegener
SMS Ostfriesland flag, Vizeadmiral Schmidt, Kapitän zur See von Natzmer
SMS Thüringen, Kapitän zur See Hans Küsel
SMS Helgoland, Kapitän zur See von Kamecke
SMS Oldenburg, Kapitän zur See Höpfner
Ist Squadron, 2nd Division
Konteradmiral W. Engelhart (2nd Admiral of Ist Squadron)
SMS Posen, flag, Konteradmiral Engelhart, Kapitän zur See Richard Lange
SMS Rheinland, Kapitän zur See Rohardt
SMS Nassau, Kapitän zur See von Schlee
SMS Westfalen, Kapitän zur See Redlich
Vth Scouting Group
Kommodore L. von Reuter, Admiralstabsoffizier Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Weber
SMS Stettin, Fregattenkapitän Friedrich Rebensburg
SMS Stuttgart, Fregattenkapitän Hagedorn
SMS Graudenz, Fregattenkapitän von Steiglitz
SMS Straslund, Fregattenkapitän Boller
SMS Brummer, Fregattenkapitän Drygala
IInd Squadron
Konteradmiral F. Mauve
IInd Squadron, 3rd Division
Konteradmiral Mauve, 1. Admiralstabsoffizier Korvettenkapitän Kahlert
SMS Deutschland, flag, Konteradmiral Mauve, Kapitän zur See Meurer
SMS Pommern, Kapitän zur See Bölken
SMS Pruessen, Kapitän zur See Lammers
SMS Schlesien, Kapitän zur See Fr. Behncke
IInd Squadron, IVth Division
Konteradmiral Freiherr F. von Dalwigk zu Lichtenfels (2nd Admiral of IInd Squadron)
SMS Schleswig-Holstein, Kapitän zur See Barrentrapp
SMS Hessen, Kapitän zur See Bartels
SMS Hannover, flag, Konteradmiral Baron von Dalwigk zu Lichtenfels, Kapitän zur See Wilhelm Heine
SMS Roon, Kapitän zur See Wilhelm von Karpf
IVth Scouting Group
SMS München, Korvettenkapitän Oscar Böcker
SMS Frauenlob, Fregattenkapitän Georg Hoffman
SMS Berlin, Fregattenkapitän Hahn
SMS Lubeck, Fregattenkapitän Priilowitz
SMS Danzig, Fregattenkapitän Wagner
Attached IVth Scouting Group
SMS Hamburg, Kapitän zur SeeBauer, Leader of Submarines
1st Leader of Destroyers
Kommodore A. Michelsen, Admiralstabsoffizier Korvettenkapitän Junkermann
SMS Rostock, Kommodore A. Michelsen, Fregattenkapitän Otto Feldmann
2nd Leader of Destroyers
Kommodore P. Heinrich, Admiralstabsoffizier Kapitänleutnant Meier
SMS Regensburg, Kommodore P. Heinrich, Fregattenkapitän Heuberer
Ist Flotilla, 1st Half Flotilla
Kapitänleutnant Conrad Albrecht (flag) on G39
G38, G39, G40, S32, V170, G197
Ist Flotilla, 2nd Half Flotilla
G192, G195, G196, G193
IIIrd Flotilla
S53, Kapitänleutnant Friedrich Götting hoisting Korvettenkapitän Hollman (flag)
IIIrd Flotilla, 5th Half Flotilla
V71, V73, G88, V74, V70
IIIrd Flotilla, 6th Half Flotilla
Kapitänleutnant Fröhlich
S54, V48, G42, G85, S55
Vth Flotilla
G11, Kapitänleutnant Adolf Müller hosting Korvettenkapitän Heinecke (flag)
Vth Flotilla, 9th Half Flotilla
Kapitänleutnant von Pohl
V2, V4, V6, V1, V3
Vth Flotilla, 10th Half Flotilla
G8, Oberleutnant zur See Rodenberg hosting KapitänleutnantFriedrich Klein
G7, V5, G9, G10, G8
VIIth Flotilla
S24 Kapitänleutnant Fink hoisting Korvettenkapitän von Koch (flag)
VIIth Flotilla, 13th Half Flotilla
Kapitänleutnant G. von Zitzewitz on S15
S15, S17, S20, S16, S18, S24
VIIth Flotilla, 14th Half Flotilla
Korvettenkapitän Hermann Cordes
S19, Oberleutnant zur See Reimer hoisting Korvettenkapitän Hermann Cordes
S19, S23, V189, V186
XIth Flotilla, 21st Half Flotilla
Kapitänleutnant G. von Bulow on S59
S59, S58, S57, G89, G90
XIth Flotilla, 22nd Half Flotilla
Korvettenkapitän H.Curnow
V75, V76, V77, V78
In all, it represented five battlecruisers, 18 dreadnoughts, seven pre dreadnoughts, one armoured cruiser, 17 light cruisers and 81 torpedo boats, almost all of the High Seas Fleet's strength, in all fully 119 ships of war.
After the disappointing results of the 31st May, when two out of three ships of the 6th Division had almost grounded and subsequently fouled their condensers, the operation had been cancelled and rescheduled until the 20th June, subsequently amended to the 22nd.
It had allowed him to add some extra ships to his order of battle, most notably the Koenig Albert and the newly completed Bayern, the letter only manned by the transfer of the crew from the newly decommissioned old pre dreadnaught Lothringen.
The plans was simple enough, indeed it represented his basic strategy ever since he had taken over command of the High Seas Fleet in January 1916 from the perennially cautious Hugo von Pohl. Scheer was well aware that he could not match the Grand Fleet for sheer numbers, even taking into consideration British naval deployments in the Mediterranean. With the Baltic activities of the Russians curtailed, Scheer had gathered as much of the High Seas Fleet as possible for the operation in an attempt to draw forth and trap part of the Grand Fleet and destroy it comprehensively, namely David Beatty's battlecruiser force, hopefully the Harwich Force as well.
The unfortunate cancellation of the May operation had meant that the submarine forces available to lie off the major British bases were not as they had been a month ago, but in essence the plan was unchanged. Hipper had already sortied at 0030 with the 1st and 2nd Scouting Groups, consisting of five battlecruisers, four light cruisers and 32 torpedo boats.
They were to bombard Sunderland and draw David Beatty's battlecruiser force South from the Firth of Forth. Hipper was then to lead the battlecruiser force back onto the guns of Scheer's High Seas Fleet, which would be waiting 45-50 miles off Flanborough Head. He had originally counted on Zeppelin intelligence, however, June 1916 had been a month of extremely poor summer weather, with a maximum four days running of 8 degrees Celsius in Hamburg. Forecast for the day were only modest, with gusting winds, all of which would hamper Zeppelin operations.
The last month had not been a kind one for the Central Powers, Russia destroying Austro-Hungary's armies in Galacia and the Ottomans also in retreat in the East. A victory was badly needed.
For that reason alone, Scheer had pulled together as much fighting power as possible. After Hipper had drawn the British scouting forces South, they would be confronted with 18 dreadnoughts, seven pre dreadnoughts, one armoured cruiser, 13 light cruisers and 49 torpedo boats.
This had been the original plan, however, with zeppelin reconnaissance likely not a possibility, Scheer had amended it to encompass Hipper's forces converging on the Skaggerak, engaging and destroying any commerce and Royal Navy patrols that frequented the area. He was hopeful this would lure part of the British fleet out to drive his forces away. The High Seas Fleet could then overwhelm this under gunned force in waters much closer to home, their flanks covered by light forces and their relatively short path to retreat assured.
In all total forces were:
1. Battlecruiser force, Vice Admiral Franz von Hipper
I Scouting Group
Vizeadmiral Franz von Hipper, 1. Admiralstabsoffizier Korvettenkapitän Erich Raeder
SMS Lützow, flag, Vizeadmiral Franz von Hipper, Kapitän zur See Harder
SMS Derflinger, Kapitän zur See Hartog
SMS Seydlitz, Kapitän zur See von Egidy
SMS Moltke, Kapitän zur See Harpf
SMS von der Tann, Kapitän zur See Zenker
IXth Flotilla
V 28, Kapitänleutnant Lenßen hoisting Korvettenkapitän Goehle (Flottila-Leader) - screening 1SG
IXth Flotilla, 17th Half Flotilla
V27, V28, V26, S36, S51, S52
IXth Flotilla, 18th Half Flotilla
V30, Oberleutnant zur See Ernst Wolf hoisting Korvettenkapitän Werner Tillessen (flag)
S34, S33, V29, S35, V30
IInd Scouting Group
Konteradmiral F. Boedicker
SMS Frankfurt, Kapitän zur See Thilo von Trotha hoisting Konteradmiral F. Boedicker (flag)
SMS Pillau, Fregattenkapitän Konrad Mommsen
SMS Elbing, Fregattenkapitän Madlung
SMS Wiesbaden, Fregattenkapitän Reiß
IInd Flotilla
B98, Kapitänleutnant Theodor Hengstenberg hoisting Fregattenkapitän Schuur (flag)
IInd Flotilla, 3rd Half Flotilla
Korvettenkapitän Boest (flag) on B 98
B98, G101, G102, B112, B97, S49, V43
IInd Flotilla, 4th Half Flotilla
Korvettenkapitän Dithmar (flag) on B 109
B109, B110, B111, G103, G104
VIth Flotilla
G41 Kapitänleutnant Hermann Boehm hoisting Korvettenkapitän Max Schultz (flag)
VIth Flotilla, 11th Half Flotilla, Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Rümann on G 41
G41, V44, G87, G86
VIth Flotilla, 12th Half Flotilla
V69, Kapitänleutnant Stecher hoisting Kapitänleutnant Lahs (flag)
V69, V45, V46, S50, G37
2. High Seas Fleet, Main Body
Chef der Hochseestreitkräfte:Vizeadmiral Reinhard Scheer
Chef des Stabes: Kapitän zur See Adolf von Trotha
Chef der Operationsabteilung: Kapitän zur See von Levezow
IIIrd Squadron, 5th Division
Konteradmiral Paul Behncke, 1. Admiralstabsoffizier Korvettenkapitän Freiherr von Sagern
SMS König flag, Kapitän zur See Brüninghaus
SMS Grosser Kurfürst, Kapitän zur See Goette
SMS Markgraf, Kapitän zur See Seiferling
SMS Kronprinz, Kapitän zur See Konstanz Feldt
IIIrd Squadron, 6th Division
Konteradmiral H. Nordmann (2nd Admiral of IIIrd Squadron)
SMS Kaiser, flag, Konteradmiral H. Nordmann, Kapitän zur See Freiherr von Keyserlingk
SMS Prinzregent Luitpold, Kapitän zur See Heuser
SMS Koenig Albert, Kapitän zur See Gaskell
SMS Kaiserin, Kapitän zur See Sievers
SMS Bayern, Kapitän zur See Max Hahn
Flottenflaggschiff: SMS Friedrich der Große, Kapitän zur See Theodor Fuchs (not in squadron or divisional organisation)
Ist Squadron, 1st Division
Vizeadmiral E. Schmidt, 1. Admiralstabsoffizier Korvettenkapitän Wolfgang Wegener
SMS Ostfriesland flag, Vizeadmiral Schmidt, Kapitän zur See von Natzmer
SMS Thüringen, Kapitän zur See Hans Küsel
SMS Helgoland, Kapitän zur See von Kamecke
SMS Oldenburg, Kapitän zur See Höpfner
Ist Squadron, 2nd Division
Konteradmiral W. Engelhart (2nd Admiral of Ist Squadron)
SMS Posen, flag, Konteradmiral Engelhart, Kapitän zur See Richard Lange
SMS Rheinland, Kapitän zur See Rohardt
SMS Nassau, Kapitän zur See von Schlee
SMS Westfalen, Kapitän zur See Redlich
Vth Scouting Group
Kommodore L. von Reuter, Admiralstabsoffizier Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Weber
SMS Stettin, Fregattenkapitän Friedrich Rebensburg
SMS Stuttgart, Fregattenkapitän Hagedorn
SMS Graudenz, Fregattenkapitän von Steiglitz
SMS Straslund, Fregattenkapitän Boller
SMS Brummer, Fregattenkapitän Drygala
IInd Squadron
Konteradmiral F. Mauve
IInd Squadron, 3rd Division
Konteradmiral Mauve, 1. Admiralstabsoffizier Korvettenkapitän Kahlert
SMS Deutschland, flag, Konteradmiral Mauve, Kapitän zur See Meurer
SMS Pommern, Kapitän zur See Bölken
SMS Pruessen, Kapitän zur See Lammers
SMS Schlesien, Kapitän zur See Fr. Behncke
IInd Squadron, IVth Division
Konteradmiral Freiherr F. von Dalwigk zu Lichtenfels (2nd Admiral of IInd Squadron)
SMS Schleswig-Holstein, Kapitän zur See Barrentrapp
SMS Hessen, Kapitän zur See Bartels
SMS Hannover, flag, Konteradmiral Baron von Dalwigk zu Lichtenfels, Kapitän zur See Wilhelm Heine
SMS Roon, Kapitän zur See Wilhelm von Karpf
IVth Scouting Group
SMS München, Korvettenkapitän Oscar Böcker
SMS Frauenlob, Fregattenkapitän Georg Hoffman
SMS Berlin, Fregattenkapitän Hahn
SMS Lubeck, Fregattenkapitän Priilowitz
SMS Danzig, Fregattenkapitän Wagner
Attached IVth Scouting Group
SMS Hamburg, Kapitän zur SeeBauer, Leader of Submarines
1st Leader of Destroyers
Kommodore A. Michelsen, Admiralstabsoffizier Korvettenkapitän Junkermann
SMS Rostock, Kommodore A. Michelsen, Fregattenkapitän Otto Feldmann
2nd Leader of Destroyers
Kommodore P. Heinrich, Admiralstabsoffizier Kapitänleutnant Meier
SMS Regensburg, Kommodore P. Heinrich, Fregattenkapitän Heuberer
Ist Flotilla, 1st Half Flotilla
Kapitänleutnant Conrad Albrecht (flag) on G39
G38, G39, G40, S32, V170, G197
Ist Flotilla, 2nd Half Flotilla
G192, G195, G196, G193
IIIrd Flotilla
S53, Kapitänleutnant Friedrich Götting hoisting Korvettenkapitän Hollman (flag)
IIIrd Flotilla, 5th Half Flotilla
V71, V73, G88, V74, V70
IIIrd Flotilla, 6th Half Flotilla
Kapitänleutnant Fröhlich
S54, V48, G42, G85, S55
Vth Flotilla
G11, Kapitänleutnant Adolf Müller hosting Korvettenkapitän Heinecke (flag)
Vth Flotilla, 9th Half Flotilla
Kapitänleutnant von Pohl
V2, V4, V6, V1, V3
Vth Flotilla, 10th Half Flotilla
G8, Oberleutnant zur See Rodenberg hosting KapitänleutnantFriedrich Klein
G7, V5, G9, G10, G8
VIIth Flotilla
S24 Kapitänleutnant Fink hoisting Korvettenkapitän von Koch (flag)
VIIth Flotilla, 13th Half Flotilla
Kapitänleutnant G. von Zitzewitz on S15
S15, S17, S20, S16, S18, S24
VIIth Flotilla, 14th Half Flotilla
Korvettenkapitän Hermann Cordes
S19, Oberleutnant zur See Reimer hoisting Korvettenkapitän Hermann Cordes
S19, S23, V189, V186
XIth Flotilla, 21st Half Flotilla
Kapitänleutnant G. von Bulow on S59
S59, S58, S57, G89, G90
XIth Flotilla, 22nd Half Flotilla
Korvettenkapitän H.Curnow
V75, V76, V77, V78
In all, it represented five battlecruisers, 18 dreadnoughts, seven pre dreadnoughts, one armoured cruiser, 17 light cruisers and 81 torpedo boats, almost all of the High Seas Fleet's strength, in all fully 119 ships of war.
- johnboy
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