Chapter 84: Quitting While One Is Ahead

When the news of Rader’s victory arrived, Feng Chengqian’s main fleet had already entered the North Sea, still about eight hours’ journey from the battlefield.

This was already the best possible outcome.

If Rader hadn’t reported the situation so promptly, Hipper would have been unable to find the shortest route.

The trouble was, eight hours was still far too long.

Although Rader hadn’t reported encountering Jellicoe’s main fleet, Feng Chengqian had ample reason to believe that, given how fiercely Beatty was fighting, Jellicoe must be nearby. Thus, Feng Chengqian immediately sent Rader a telegram, urging him to be extremely cautious, not to pursue too aggressively, and to dispatch light cruisers to scout the surrounding waters. Feng Chengqian also specially warned Rader to be vigilant for Jellicoe’s main fleet.

Yet, Feng Chengqian hesitated over whether to order Rader to retreat.

In Feng Chengqian’s view, if Rader could lure Jellicoe into an ambush, it would be ideal, even if the odds were slim. But Feng Chengqian was even more aware that, after Beatty’s severe setback, Jellicoe was unlikely to follow Rader’s lead.

What worried Feng Chengqian was whether Rader might let victory cloud his judgment.

If Rader failed to know when to stop, the victory in hand would turn into a disastrous defeat.

Though somewhat concerned, Feng Chengqian felt Rader was unlikely to lose his head. The previous battles had shown Rader to be a very measured fleet commander—even though he was only a naval captain, his performance surpassed many admirals.

As long as Rader could judge when to advance or retreat, even if he couldn’t defeat Jellicoe, he could still escape.

This was precisely why Feng Chengqian refrained from intervening.

There was ample reason to believe the battlecruiser squadron of the Grand Fleet had been thoroughly routed. Intelligence had previously indicated that the Grand Fleet’s battlecruisers numbered no more than four. Had there been more, Jellicoe wouldn’t have split them up, and Beatty would not have suffered so badly.

In other words, Jellicoe lacked the capital ships needed to chase Rader.

Thus, even if they encountered Jellicoe’s main fleet, as long as Rader chose to retreat in time, unnecessary losses could be avoided.

Of course, if Jellicoe refused to let Rader go, there was a chance to expand the victory.

In fact, Feng Chengqian’s worries were entirely unnecessary.

Before the telegram was even sent, Rader realized Jellicoe was likely nearby—only Beatty’s overconfidence had led him to attack before Jellicoe arrived. This was not mere speculation, but a conclusion drawn from the facts: if Jellicoe’s main fleet proceeded at full speed, then by the time Beatty reached the vicinity of the Shetland Islands, Jellicoe would be less than a hundred nautical miles away.

Admittedly, winning a three-on-four fight left Rader full of confidence.

But he had not lost his reason. Beatty was merely a prelude; defeating Beatty did not mean defeating Jellicoe.

Moreover, Rader had paid a heavy price to beat Beatty.

Apart from the Derfflinger, which could still fight, both the Moltke and the Von der Tann were completely incapacitated.

Clearly, Rader could not hope to defeat over a dozen battleships with just six capital ships.

As a result, Rader acted even more cautiously than Feng Chengqian had hoped.

After Beatty retreated, Rader did not order a pursuit, sending only two light cruisers to follow. The main fleet stayed behind to finish off the still-floating Indomitable.

During this time, Beatty organized light cruisers to counterattack, preventing Rader’s scouts from approaching Jellicoe’s main fleet, but nothing occurred that significantly changed the course of the battle—both sides seemed to have agreed to disengage, each minding their own affairs.

Clearly, this was not the outcome Jellicoe wanted.

Shortly before half past eight, surrounded by German ships, the captain of the Indomitable surrendered. Rader showed great courtesy, allowing the British crew to open the sea valves before leaving the ship, and dispatched several small vessels to rescue those who had jumped into the sea.

On the return journey, Rader even entertained the Indomitable’s captain aboard the Derfflinger.

Rader’s passive approach put Jellicoe in an awkward position, even arousing his suspicions.

From Jellicoe’s perspective, Rader’s failure to pursue the retreating Beatty meant one of two things: either Rader knew the Grand Fleet had arrived and dared not give chase, or Rader’s own reinforcements were about to arrive, preparing for a decisive battle with the Grand Fleet—or perhaps both.

At this stage, Jellicoe certainly did not believe the intelligence service’s nonsense.

Rader’s aggressive moves, remaining near the Shetland Islands despite knowing the Grand Fleet was coming, proved the main force of the High Seas Fleet was not in the Gulf of Finland but had entered the North Sea long ago. All this was clearly a tactical arrangement by the High Seas Fleet, intended to lure the Grand Fleet into battle.

This was the last thing Jellicoe wanted.

Though he had confidence in the Royal Navy, Jellicoe knew well they were not yet prepared to face the formidable enemy across the North Sea. If they fought the High Seas Fleet now, even a victory would come at an unbearable price.

Strategically, if the Grand Fleet suffered heavy losses, any victory would lose its luster.

The navy was everything to Britain. For Britain to emerge the greatest victor in this war, it had to defeat the Second German Empire at sea and retain its position as the world’s leading naval power at war’s end; otherwise, even if Germany were defeated, Britain would be replaced by another maritime power—such as America across the Atlantic—and fall to second-rate status.

Jellicoe’s clear strategic vision made him keenly aware of the importance of preserving the fleet.

These worries and considerations made Jellicoe extremely hesitant.

At that moment, even knowing Rader’s fleet lay to the northeast, with no more than six capital ships still able to fight, he did not order a pursuit. Instead, he first dispatched a reconnaissance fleet of mostly light cruisers—nominally to cover Beatty’s two retreating battlecruisers, but in truth to discover whether the High Seas Fleet’s main force lurked behind Rader, or if an enemy trap lay ahead.

Thus, with the situation relatively clear, both sides chose to wait and see.

Given the circumstances, even if Jellicoe chose to pursue Rader, it was unlikely to yield much, but at least it would provide a respectable excuse: the High Seas Fleet may have won tactically, but lost strategic initiative.

Unfortunately, Jellicoe did not do so.

Overall, Jellicoe’s hesitation had no decisive impact, since Hipper’s main fleet could not possibly arrive in time.

After nine o’clock, Jellicoe’s light cruisers spotted Rader’s fleet.

Faced with the threat of heavy guns from the capital ships, the British light cruisers dared not approach, merely shadowing from afar, always staying outside the effective range of the 300mm guns.

At this point, Rader could do nothing about those light cruisers.

Don’t forget, Rader had only six light cruisers, all deployed for reconnaissance. Accompanying the main fleet were just a few small vessels. While these could prevent British light cruisers from launching torpedo attacks, they could not defeat them alone.

With the Grand Fleet’s light cruisers tracking him relentlessly, Rader dared not relax for a moment.

Shortly before ten o’clock, as the sense of crisis intensified, Rader chose to retreat.

Rader did not know that Hipper’s main fleet was now only about eight hours away, nor that Jellicoe was not pursuing at full speed.

Given the circumstances, if Rader had not chosen to withdraw, the outcome might have been different.

To put it plainly, when Jellicoe saw Rader lingering, neither advancing to fight nor retreating, he grew suspicious, even doubting his earlier judgments. To be direct, until Rader began to retreat, Jellicoe believed the High Seas Fleet’s main force had not yet arrived.

If they had lingered another two hours, Jellicoe might well have sought a decisive battle with Rader.

By then, Hipper would be less than six hours from the battlefield. If Rader commanded well, even if he couldn’t defeat Jellicoe, he could tie him down for six hours—a manageable task. Of course, Rader would suffer heavy losses, but compared to crippling—or even annihilating—the Grand Fleet, the loss of Rader’s battlecruiser squadron would be insignificant.

Ironically, Rader’s decision to retreat put Jellicoe in a bind.

Though the maximum speed of Rader’s capital ships exceeded twenty-four knots, Jellicoe’s seventeen battleships could barely make twenty-two. Yet, after the battle with Beatty, both Moltke and Von der Tann had slowed to less than twenty knots.

That meant, if Jellicoe wished to pursue, he could certainly catch up—though it would take several hours.

Rader’s decision was perfectly timed. Had he delayed his retreat by two hours, and Jellicoe pursued at full speed, Rader would have been overtaken before Hipper arrived.

Of course, neither Jellicoe nor Rader knew this.

At that moment, Jellicoe was truly riding a tiger. If he didn’t pursue, he would have to accept responsibility; if he did, he risked falling into a trap.

In the end, Jellicoe decided to chase, but did so with utmost caution.

One way or another, Jellicoe would not take the blame for Beatty, nor fall into the enemy’s snare. During the pursuit, Jellicoe sent several light cruisers ahead. He was very clear: the moment the High Seas Fleet was spotted, he would retreat, never risking a decisive battle.