28 January 1915, off the Jade, North Sea
Hipper had made it back to the Jade. It had not been a successful operation and had cost a valuable ship. Upon sighting the British squadron, with it's six large battlecruisers and it's large screen of destroyers, he had turned away to the South. The R.N ships had shown their superior speed, however, his own squadron was held to 24-25 knots by the slower Blucher and some of his torpedo boats.
As the R.N ships had closed, he had come under fire at over 20,000 yards from the leading British ships. After 30 minutes of fire, during which his rear most ship, Blucher, had been hit once, he had finally been able to return fire. After another hour, three of his ships had all been hit, two of them seriously. The British appeared to be concentrating their fire on three ships, Von der Tann(second from the rear), his flagship Seydlitz and Blucher, at the rear of the formation. Most seriously, at 1052, Blucher swung out of formation after a heavy series of hits near the stern, signalling that she had suffered engine room damage and was now good for only 15-16 knots.
Seydlitz had been badly hit as well, with compartments having to be flooded to prevent the dangerous spread of fire, however, her speed had been unimpaired. The British shooting had been unexpectedly wild, however, even as the range wound down. However, it would not continue that way and he had made the hard decision to leave the Blucher to her fate. His ships had hit the leading British battlecruiser hard and she and one of the English ships had dropped back, however, four R.N battlecruisers had continued to pursue, although one of them had lagged behind quite badly as the range continued to wind down.
What had caused them to break off in the finish was his own squadron's superior gunnery, two of the larger leading battlecruisers taking hits, one from the Von der Tann, another from Derfflinger. In the finish it was the British that withdrew, an attempted attack from their light forces being driven off, three enemy destroyers being sunk for the loss of one torpedo boat.
His own forces had lost Blucher, Seydlitz was badly damaged, even though hit only six times, but Von der Tann had taken only three hits that had caused some minor damage.
Hipper had made it back to the Jade. It had not been a successful operation and had cost a valuable ship. Upon sighting the British squadron, with it's six large battlecruisers and it's large screen of destroyers, he had turned away to the South. The R.N ships had shown their superior speed, however, his own squadron was held to 24-25 knots by the slower Blucher and some of his torpedo boats.
As the R.N ships had closed, he had come under fire at over 20,000 yards from the leading British ships. After 30 minutes of fire, during which his rear most ship, Blucher, had been hit once, he had finally been able to return fire. After another hour, three of his ships had all been hit, two of them seriously. The British appeared to be concentrating their fire on three ships, Von der Tann(second from the rear), his flagship Seydlitz and Blucher, at the rear of the formation. Most seriously, at 1052, Blucher swung out of formation after a heavy series of hits near the stern, signalling that she had suffered engine room damage and was now good for only 15-16 knots.
Seydlitz had been badly hit as well, with compartments having to be flooded to prevent the dangerous spread of fire, however, her speed had been unimpaired. The British shooting had been unexpectedly wild, however, even as the range wound down. However, it would not continue that way and he had made the hard decision to leave the Blucher to her fate. His ships had hit the leading British battlecruiser hard and she and one of the English ships had dropped back, however, four R.N battlecruisers had continued to pursue, although one of them had lagged behind quite badly as the range continued to wind down.
What had caused them to break off in the finish was his own squadron's superior gunnery, two of the larger leading battlecruisers taking hits, one from the Von der Tann, another from Derfflinger. In the finish it was the British that withdrew, an attempted attack from their light forces being driven off, three enemy destroyers being sunk for the loss of one torpedo boat.
His own forces had lost Blucher, Seydlitz was badly damaged, even though hit only six times, but Von der Tann had taken only three hits that had caused some minor damage.