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March 23rd 1918
In Germany, the morning papers of the 23rd March 1918 all carried the same front page story. The SMS Von der Tann had come into the Jade late the previous evening and to great fanfare. The papers again ran with the High Seas Fleet's victory over the Grand Fleet and more individual stories of heroism were written about the crews and the ships, and below that there were reprints of the previous day's news. Massive gains on the Western Front in France and Belgium and the victory at sea all still gave massive moral boosts to the civilian population of Germany.
In Britain, the papers ran the stories that had filtered out of Germany the previous day. Late that afternoon, the radio started to buzz with news reports that only 1 Battleship and 2 Battlecruiers (5 Battleships and 11 Battlecruisers had sortied, but 2 BC had been damaged and forced to return earlier) had returned to Rosyth, meaning that 4 Battleships and 7 Battlecruisers had been lost or crippled. This was a blow as the German press had only claimed 4 ships. In the absence of reliable information from either the government or the Admiralty, the British public started to fear the worst and many people rushed to the fleet anchorages and naval offices to try and get news of loved ones. This in turn forced the government and Admiralty to issue a statement in the early evening saying that the remainder of the ships was due to arrive back during the night due to several damaged ships being under tow. The brief statement issued said that further news would be issued at 11am the following day when Rear-Admiral Henry Oliver (Battlecruisers), Rear-Admiral Evan Thomas (5th Battle Squadron) had reported to the Admiralty and told them what had happened.
This had the effect of appeasing the British public - for the time being - and families returned home to await the promised broadcast at 11am the following day.
March 24th 1918
A lull seemed to hang over Britain the following morning and just before 11am the country ground to a halt as the public tuned into the government broadcast. The First Sea Lord himself made the broadcast. He stated simply that the High Seas Fleet had attacked the Dover-Calais Mine Barrier and sunk several of the light ships that had been guarding it. The German ships had fled when the Channel Fleet had been sighted, but they had been intercepted by the 1st and 2nd Battlecruiser Squadrons accompanied by the 5th Battle Squadron.
He continued that the 1st and 2nd Battlecruiser Squadrons, along with the 5th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet had intercepted the retiring High Seas Fleet at midday on 21st March and fought a battle in the Broad Fourteens area off the Island of Texel. During the Battle, one British Battleship had been sunk by torpedoes and two British Battlecruisers had been sunk in combat. A third one had succumbed to battle damage several hours after combat ended and while under tow. He said that the ships outstanding from yesterday had all made port during the night and were now being attended to as required. Miraculously, no British Light Cruisers had been sunk, but many of their escorting destroyers were either damaged or destroyed and lists were still being complied.
He continued that the German Fleet had run the gauntlet of British ships and retired into a channel they had swept through a British minefield. The British ships were under orders not to be drawn onto a minefield so they retired at that time. As the Germans had retired while under fire he said, the battle could be considered a victory for the Grand Fleet and the Empire as, like after Jutland, the Grand Fleet remained at sea after the High Seas Fleet had returned to port.
Known German losses were restrained to torpedo boats and destroyers he said, but German reports as to the extent of damage on their ships was incorrect. All the German capital ships had been severely damaged and would require extensive dockyard repairs before being able to return to sea ~ If at all. As such he said the German claims that the majority of their Battlecruiser Squadron was battle ready and undamaged were complete lies designed to attempt to delude the British public into believing that the Grand Fleet had come off worse than it had. This he said was impossible, as the majority of the British fleet never left it's anchorage in Scapa Flow, and as such, was fully intact and combat ready.
The First Lord concluded his statement saying that casualty lists were being prepared by the Admiralty, but could not be issued until all ships had given casualty lists to the appropriate departments. He hoped this would be within 24 hours and urged those with family in the navy to be patient and allow the Admiralty to issue accurate information at the appropriate time.
The Admiralty had also issued a statement to the papers and radio services containing additional details, which were put out as soon as the First Sea Lord finished his broadcast. Given the Admiralty title of the statement The Battle off the Island of Texel - March 21st 1918, the press assumed this was the official name of the battle and so Die Schlacht in den Breiten Vierzehn in Germany became The Battle of Texel in England. These further details which stated what ships were sunk and which were damaged did nothing to ease the British public. Quite simply it said that the Battleship USS Malaya along with the Battlecruisers HMS Princess Royal and HMS Australia had been sunk during combat. The HMS Indomitable had foundered after combat despite best efforts to save her. The two Battlecruisers that had returned to port early with damage were the HMS Courageous and HMS Glorious, and they had been attacked by a submarine, which in turn had been sunk.
Naturally enough, this statement did much to reassure the families of those ships that were already in port, but for those people with family on the sunken ships, panic occurred. Were their loved ones alive or dead? Again, the naval offices were flooded with people. Less than last time however, as it was only those people with family on sunken ships that crowded them this time, desperately searching for news. Over the next several days, accurate lists of injured, dead and missing personnel were issued and people were either relieved or began to grieve for their loss.
Elsewhere in the United Kingdom, all dockyard facilities suitable for taking the damaged warships are told to clear out their facilities of non-essential work. All dry-docks that can accommodate a damaged warship and that can be emptied are to be emptied and made ready to repair ships damaged at The Battle of Texel. Armour, gun and equipment manufactures have orders placed for the required equipment. More orders will follow as more detailed reports come in. Also, the storage facilities that hold the spare gun barrels for the Royal Navy are made ready as replacement gun barrels will be required for several ships.
March 23rd 1918
In Germany, the morning papers of the 23rd March 1918 all carried the same front page story. The SMS Von der Tann had come into the Jade late the previous evening and to great fanfare. The papers again ran with the High Seas Fleet's victory over the Grand Fleet and more individual stories of heroism were written about the crews and the ships, and below that there were reprints of the previous day's news. Massive gains on the Western Front in France and Belgium and the victory at sea all still gave massive moral boosts to the civilian population of Germany.
In Britain, the papers ran the stories that had filtered out of Germany the previous day. Late that afternoon, the radio started to buzz with news reports that only 1 Battleship and 2 Battlecruiers (5 Battleships and 11 Battlecruisers had sortied, but 2 BC had been damaged and forced to return earlier) had returned to Rosyth, meaning that 4 Battleships and 7 Battlecruisers had been lost or crippled. This was a blow as the German press had only claimed 4 ships. In the absence of reliable information from either the government or the Admiralty, the British public started to fear the worst and many people rushed to the fleet anchorages and naval offices to try and get news of loved ones. This in turn forced the government and Admiralty to issue a statement in the early evening saying that the remainder of the ships was due to arrive back during the night due to several damaged ships being under tow. The brief statement issued said that further news would be issued at 11am the following day when Rear-Admiral Henry Oliver (Battlecruisers), Rear-Admiral Evan Thomas (5th Battle Squadron) had reported to the Admiralty and told them what had happened.
This had the effect of appeasing the British public - for the time being - and families returned home to await the promised broadcast at 11am the following day.
March 24th 1918
A lull seemed to hang over Britain the following morning and just before 11am the country ground to a halt as the public tuned into the government broadcast. The First Sea Lord himself made the broadcast. He stated simply that the High Seas Fleet had attacked the Dover-Calais Mine Barrier and sunk several of the light ships that had been guarding it. The German ships had fled when the Channel Fleet had been sighted, but they had been intercepted by the 1st and 2nd Battlecruiser Squadrons accompanied by the 5th Battle Squadron.
He continued that the 1st and 2nd Battlecruiser Squadrons, along with the 5th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet had intercepted the retiring High Seas Fleet at midday on 21st March and fought a battle in the Broad Fourteens area off the Island of Texel. During the Battle, one British Battleship had been sunk by torpedoes and two British Battlecruisers had been sunk in combat. A third one had succumbed to battle damage several hours after combat ended and while under tow. He said that the ships outstanding from yesterday had all made port during the night and were now being attended to as required. Miraculously, no British Light Cruisers had been sunk, but many of their escorting destroyers were either damaged or destroyed and lists were still being complied.
He continued that the German Fleet had run the gauntlet of British ships and retired into a channel they had swept through a British minefield. The British ships were under orders not to be drawn onto a minefield so they retired at that time. As the Germans had retired while under fire he said, the battle could be considered a victory for the Grand Fleet and the Empire as, like after Jutland, the Grand Fleet remained at sea after the High Seas Fleet had returned to port.
Known German losses were restrained to torpedo boats and destroyers he said, but German reports as to the extent of damage on their ships was incorrect. All the German capital ships had been severely damaged and would require extensive dockyard repairs before being able to return to sea ~ If at all. As such he said the German claims that the majority of their Battlecruiser Squadron was battle ready and undamaged were complete lies designed to attempt to delude the British public into believing that the Grand Fleet had come off worse than it had. This he said was impossible, as the majority of the British fleet never left it's anchorage in Scapa Flow, and as such, was fully intact and combat ready.
The First Lord concluded his statement saying that casualty lists were being prepared by the Admiralty, but could not be issued until all ships had given casualty lists to the appropriate departments. He hoped this would be within 24 hours and urged those with family in the navy to be patient and allow the Admiralty to issue accurate information at the appropriate time.
The Admiralty had also issued a statement to the papers and radio services containing additional details, which were put out as soon as the First Sea Lord finished his broadcast. Given the Admiralty title of the statement The Battle off the Island of Texel - March 21st 1918, the press assumed this was the official name of the battle and so Die Schlacht in den Breiten Vierzehn in Germany became The Battle of Texel in England. These further details which stated what ships were sunk and which were damaged did nothing to ease the British public. Quite simply it said that the Battleship USS Malaya along with the Battlecruisers HMS Princess Royal and HMS Australia had been sunk during combat. The HMS Indomitable had foundered after combat despite best efforts to save her. The two Battlecruisers that had returned to port early with damage were the HMS Courageous and HMS Glorious, and they had been attacked by a submarine, which in turn had been sunk.
Naturally enough, this statement did much to reassure the families of those ships that were already in port, but for those people with family on the sunken ships, panic occurred. Were their loved ones alive or dead? Again, the naval offices were flooded with people. Less than last time however, as it was only those people with family on sunken ships that crowded them this time, desperately searching for news. Over the next several days, accurate lists of injured, dead and missing personnel were issued and people were either relieved or began to grieve for their loss.
Elsewhere in the United Kingdom, all dockyard facilities suitable for taking the damaged warships are told to clear out their facilities of non-essential work. All dry-docks that can accommodate a damaged warship and that can be emptied are to be emptied and made ready to repair ships damaged at The Battle of Texel. Armour, gun and equipment manufactures have orders placed for the required equipment. More orders will follow as more detailed reports come in. Also, the storage facilities that hold the spare gun barrels for the Royal Navy are made ready as replacement gun barrels will be required for several ships.
