Chapter 80: Full Speed North

On the night of September 5th, the Grand Fleet entered the English Channel.

Because the German army had been advancing triumphantly along the Western Front, reaching the Belgian coastline, the British Royal Navy began laying minefields in the Channel in mid-August. Once the Grand Fleet entered the Channel, it could only proceed at a very slow speed, led by a few guiding boats.

At this time, Raeder's battlecruiser squadron was speeding northward.

Raeder had clearly misunderstood Feng Chengqian’s orders, believing he should head directly for the Shetland Islands rather than bombard British coastal towns along the way as planned. Evidently, Raeder had not considered the consequences of his actions—perhaps he had not considered them at all.

Feng Chengqian’s insistence that Raeder follow the plan was not without reason.

In terms of timing, Hipper’s main fleet would not reach the Skagerrak Strait until September 8th. Before then, Raeder’s primary task was to pin down the Grand Fleet, preventing it from intercepting the main fleet, and only then lure the Grand Fleet into the main fleet’s ambush. Therefore, Raeder needed to act according to plan, keeping Jellicoe following his lead, rather than rushing to the Shetland Islands ahead of schedule.

If Raeder reached the Shetland Islands prematurely, it would only result in Jellicoe pursuing him at full speed.

Tactically, this was not necessarily a bad thing.

According to Feng Chengqian’s judgment, Jellicoe would likely dispatch his faster battlecruisers, along with some armored and light cruisers. If Raeder seized the opportunity, he might destroy the Grand Fleet’s battlecruiser squadron and achieve a tactical victory. The key was that Jellicoe’s main fleet was slower and would not participate in the pursuit. This could lead to an unpredictable outcome: after his battlecruiser squadron was routed, would Jellicoe still seek battle?

Clearly, Feng Chengqian could not make a precise judgment.

In his view, if Jellicoe’s battlecruiser squadron was defeated, Jellicoe might retreat, thus forfeiting the precious chance to inflict a decisive blow on the Grand Fleet.

It was important to remember that the Grand Fleet at this time had only four battlecruisers.

Missing the opportunity to shift the naval balance for the sake of four battlecruisers was clearly not worthwhile.

Moreover, even if the Royal Navy lost four battlecruisers, its overall strength would still exceed that of the Imperial Navy and maintain the initiative.

What Feng Chengqian desired was certainly not merely the destruction of four battlecruisers.

Unfortunately, Feng Chengqian was unaware that Raeder had disregarded his instructions and was hastily heading for the Shetland Islands.

In truth, even if he had known at the time, he could have done nothing.

On the afternoon of September 6th, after nearly forty hours of full-speed sailing, Raeder’s battlecruiser squadron arrived in the waters near the Shetland Islands.

By then, the British Royal Navy was fully prepared.

However, only a few medium and small warships had been deployed here, and they were no match for the High Seas Fleet’s battlecruiser squadron.

Before nightfall, the two sides encountered each other; the battle lasted less than an hour.

It must be admitted that the officers and men of the Royal Navy never lacked morale, and all were prepared to die for their country. Facing eight capital ships armed with 300mm guns, those few light cruisers and destroyers did not retreat, but fought to the last moment.

This battle, devoid of suspense, sent towering waves across the North Sea.

That same night, Jellicoe received word: the High Seas Fleet’s battlecruiser squadron had arrived at the Shetland Islands and bombarded the Bay of Biscay. Although the fleet’s exact whereabouts were unclear, Jellicoe was certain that the eager Raeder would not withdraw immediately.

The key question now was: What did Raeder intend to do next?

Simply put, if Raeder did not lead his fleet homeward, there must be a reason for him to remain and continue operations in the North Sea.

Jellicoe struggled to understand what reason Raeder could have for staying in the North Sea.

According to Jellicoe’s judgment, Raeder’s task was to attract the Royal Navy’s attention and keep the Grand Fleet busy in the North Sea.

Clearly, that objective had been achieved.

Therefore, Raeder had no reason to remain.

This being the case, Raeder would surely return to Wilhelmshaven, or pass through the Skagerrak Strait into the Baltic Sea, heading for a Baltic port.

The crucial question was: when would Raeder set sail for home?

After careful consideration, Jellicoe believed Raeder would not return immediately, since his mission was to delay the Grand Fleet; he would not leave before making contact with them.

In other words, Raeder was still operating near the Shetland Islands.

And with that, a dilemma emerged.

If the Grand Fleet rushed to the Shetland Islands, Raeder would certainly retreat, playing right into his hands. Since battleships were much slower than battlecruisers, and Jellicoe had only four battlecruisers at his disposal—not enough to pin down Raeder—he would be unable to catch him. If the Grand Fleet did not head for the Shetland Islands, Raeder might find another way, such as continuing to bombard British coastal towns. Obviously, this outcome was also unacceptable to Jellicoe. If he took no action, he might even lose his position as fleet commander.

There was only one solution: find a way to entice Raeder into a trap.

The question was, how to lure Raeder in?

After much thought, Jellicoe could only devise one plan: send the battlecruiser squadron ahead, engage Raeder, and then try to draw him into the main fleet’s ambush.

Yet Jellicoe was not entirely confident in this plan.

The reason was simple: if Raeder had a clear mission, he would not fall for the bait, but instead use the opportunity to destroy the Grand Fleet’s battlecruiser squadron.

So how to entice Raeder without exposing the battlecruiser squadron to excessive risk?

It must be acknowledged that Jellicoe was an experienced commander.

On the night of September 6th, two hours after receiving the news, Jellicoe ordered Rear Admiral Beatty to lead the battlecruiser squadron northward at increased speed, but to maintain a cruising speed of about twenty-two knots. Thus, the squadron was only about two and a half knots faster than the main fleet. Upon reaching the vicinity of the Shetland Islands, the battlecruiser squadron would be approximately sixty nautical miles ahead of the main fleet.

This distance was not too great, but remained within observation range.

As long as Beatty had some competence, he could lead Raeder south, into the main fleet’s striking range.

With these arrangements made, Jellicoe thought no more of it.

Whether or not a battle occurred, he would be able to stop the High Seas Fleet from continuing its attacks on British coastal towns, and thus provide an account to Parliament and the public. If handled properly, he could even present it as a great victory: successfully preventing the German Imperial Navy from carrying out raids in the North Sea.

At this moment, Feng Chengqian also received news that Raeder had attacked the Bay of Biscay and sunk several British warships in the battle. More importantly, several small vessels operating north of the English Channel had spotted the Grand Fleet heading north.

The situation could not be clearer.

Jellicoe had led the Grand Fleet into the North Sea and was heading north at full speed, obviously intending to intercept Raeder.

Feng Chengqian did not merely observe; that night, he sent a telegram instructing Raeder to shift eastward, but not too far, and not to retreat before making contact with the Grand Fleet.

This time, Feng Chengqian made his instructions extremely clear.

After encountering the Grand Fleet, if only the battlecruiser squadron was met, Raeder was to seize the opportunity for victory. If he came upon the main fleet, he was to retreat at once to avoid needless losses. More importantly, he was to remain highly vigilant during the engagement.

Simply put, there was only one principle: avoid a decisive battle with the main force of the Grand Fleet.

Yet Feng Chengqian did not have much confidence in Raeder.

If Raeder were reliable, he would not have bombarded the Bay of Biscay on September 6th, and Jellicoe would not have led the Grand Fleet north at this time. According to Feng Chengqian’s judgment, Jellicoe would first head for the Thames Estuary, then proceed north along the British coast. Thus, he would not reach the vicinity of the Shetland Islands until around September 9th. Now, Jellicoe would certainly lead his fleet directly north and arrive by the night of September 8th. At that point, Feng Chengqian’s main fleet would have just entered the Skagerrak Strait. In other words, even if Raeder strictly followed orders and retreated toward the Strait, Jellicoe might see through his intentions.

At this stage, inflicting a heavy blow on the Grand Fleet was nearly impossible.

Unfortunately, aside from ordering the fleet to proceed at full speed—which the High Seas Fleet was already doing—Feng Chengqian had no better option.

In Feng Chengqian’s view, the outcome now depended on luck and whether Jellicoe made a mistake.

If Jellicoe blundered, there was still a chance to deal a heavy blow to the Grand Fleet. If Jellicoe kept a cool head and analyzed the situation calmly, the prospects were not bright.

Would Jellicoe make a mistake?

At least on the night of September 6th, Jellicoe did not.

Given the circumstances, Jellicoe made the best possible deployment.

The problem was that Jellicoe faced the same issue as Feng Chengqian: the abilities of his key subordinates were questionable.

Although Jellicoe was a navy commander who favored offensive action, he was also rational and purposeful, never regarding offense as the ultimate goal. Unlike him, Rear Admiral Beatty was the quintessential aggressive commander, believing that victory could only be achieved through attack.

This attitude suited his role perfectly.

As commander of the battlecruiser squadron, he had to value offense, for from their very inception, battlecruisers existed for attack.

Upon receiving Jellicoe's orders, Beatty also misunderstood.

To him, this was a signal for an all-out offensive.