# Canonical recap data for Battle of Jutland (1916)
# Source: https://recap.at/1916/battle-jutland
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: battle-jutland
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1916/battle-jutland"
title: Battle of Jutland
aliases:
- Jutland
- Skagerrak
- Battle of the Skagerrak
- 31 May–1 June 1916
subtitle: The largest naval battle of WWI determined maritime supremacy and shaped naval warfare doctrine for the century.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1916-05-31
endDate: 1916-06-01
datePrecision: day
year: 1916
decade: 1910
country:
name: United Kingdom
slug: united-kingdom
summaryShort: The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, during the First World War. The battle unfolded in extensive manoeuvring and three main engagements from 31 May to 1 Jun
summaryLong: The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, during the First World War. The battle unfolded in extensive manoeuvring and three main engagements from 31 May to 1 June 1916, off the North Sea coast of Denmark's Jutland Peninsula. It was the largest naval battle and only full-scale clash of battleships of the war, and the outcome ensured that the Royal Navy denied the German surface fleet access to the North Sea and the Atlantic for the remainder of the war. Germany avoided all fleet-to-fleet contact thereafter. Jutland was also the last major naval battle, in any war, fought primarily by battleships.
lede: On May 31–June 1, 1916, the British Royal Navy and German High Seas Fleet clashed in the North Sea in the war's largest naval engagement. Admiral John Jellicoe commanded roughly 151 British ships against Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer's 99 German vessels in a series of running battles that would determine naval supremacy for the remainder of World War I.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Map_of_the_Battle_of_Jutland%2C_1916.svg/1280px-Map_of_the_Battle_of_Jutland%2C_1916.svg.png"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Battle of Jutland"
importance: 87
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: British ships engaged
  value: "151"
- label: German ships engaged
  value: "99"
- label: British capital ships lost
  value: 3 battlecruisers
- label: German capital ships lost
  value: 1 battlecruiser
- label: Total British casualties
  value: ~6,100 killed
- label: Total German casualties
  value: ~2,500 killed
- label: Duration of main engagements
  value: Approximately 12 hours of combat
- label: British commander
  value: Admiral Sir John Jellicoe
- label: German commander
  value: Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer
timeline:
- date: 1916-05-31
  title: Initial scouting contact
  description: British and German light cruisers make first contact in the North Sea; reconnaissance forces report enemy movements.
- date: 1916-05-31
  title: Run to the south
  description: Scheer's High Seas Fleet is drawn northward toward Jellicoe's Grand Fleet in a series of engagements where German gunnery proves accurate but British forces maintain tactical advantage.
- date: 1916-05-31
  title: Deployment of the Grand Fleet
  description: Jellicoe deploys the Grand Fleet's full battle line across Scheer's path, achieving a favorable tactical position despite limited visibility.
- date: 1916-05-31
  title: Loss of HMS Invincible
  description: The British battlecruiser HMS Invincible is sunk by German fire with the loss of 1,025 officers and men; other British battlecruisers Queen Mary and Indefatigable are also lost.
- date: 1916-05-31
  title: German High Seas Fleet turns away
  description: Under heavy bombardment and facing encirclement, Scheer orders a tactical withdrawal, executing two turn-away maneuvers to extract his fleet from the main engagement.
- date: 1916-06-01
  title: Dawn engagements resume
  description: At first light, scattered actions continue between the fleets, with both sides seeking advantage in poor visibility.
- date: 1916-06-01
  title: German fleet disengages
  description: Scheer completes his withdrawal toward German-controlled waters; Jellicoe chooses not to pursue, ending the main battle.
- date: 1916-06-01
  title: Final actions
  description: The German armored cruiser Lützow is scuttled; isolated combat between damaged vessels concludes the battle.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jutland"
  title: Battle of Jutland
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Jutland was strategically inconclusive but tactically favored Germany—Scheer inflicted heavier losses on the British and escaped encirclement. Yet Britain retained command of the North Sea, confirming that German surface ships could not break the blockade. The battle marked the last great fleet engagement of the age of battleships.
categories:
- war
taxonomy:
domain: military
eventTypes:
- war
- arms_race
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- competition
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: forecastable
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: conflict
metaDescription: "The largest naval battle of WWI: British and German fleets clash in the North Sea, May–June 1916."
wikidataQid: Q156554
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260603104258/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jutland"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-03
  label: Battle of Jutland
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jutland"
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The Times
  publisherSlug: the-times
  headline: Grand Fleet Engages Enemy in North Sea - A Great Naval Battle
  publishedAt: 1916-06-01
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive.org/times-1916
  excerpt: The British Grand Fleet under Admiral Sir John Jellicoe has engaged the German High Seas Fleet in a major naval engagement off the coast of Jutland. Extensive manoeuvring and gunnery exchanges have marked what may prove to be the decisive fleet action of the war.
  significance: 90
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Daily Mail
  publisherSlug: daily-mail
  headline: British Fleet Victorious - Germans Retreat After Heavy Fighting
  publishedAt: 1916-06-02
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive.org/dailymail-1916
  excerpt: Following two days of intense combat in the North Sea, the German High Seas Fleet has withdrawn under cover of darkness. The Royal Navy has demonstrated its continued mastery of the seas against the Imperial German Navy.
  significance: 85
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Berliner Tageblatt
  publisherSlug: berliner-tageblatt
  headline: Seeschlacht bei Jütland - Deutsches Heer behauptet sich gegen britische Übermacht
  publishedAt: 1916-06-02
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive.org/berliner-1916
  excerpt: "DE: 'Seeschlacht bei Jütland - Deutsches Heer behauptet sich gegen britische Übermacht' / EN: 'Battle of Jutland - German Fleet Holds Its Own Against British Superiority' - Synthesized from period reporting - German press reports claim Admiral Scheer's High Seas Fleet inflicted significant damage on the British Grand Fleet despite numerical disadvantage, forcing the enemy to disengage."
  significance: 88
  type: newspaper
  region: Germany
- publisher: The New York Times
  publisherSlug: new-york-times
  headline: Great Sea Battle Rages in North Sea - British and German Fleets Locked in Combat
  publishedAt: 1916-06-01
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - nytimes.com/1916
  excerpt: Transatlantic wireless reports indicate that the long-awaited clash between the Royal Navy Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet has commenced off Jutland. Dreadnoughts and battle cruisers are engaged in what may be the largest naval battle of the modern era.
  significance: 82
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: The Scotsman
  publisherSlug: the-scotsman
  headline: North Sea Victory - Our Fleet Masters the Enemy
  publishedAt: 1916-06-03
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive.org/scotsman-1916
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - The people of Scotland can rest assured that Admiral Jellicoe's decisive action in the North Sea has upheld the naval supremacy that has protected these islands since Trafalgar. German warships have been driven from the field.
  significance: 65
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
