Scarborough Raid

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Background

In mid-November, 1914 the commander of the German High Sea Fleet, Admiral von Ingenohl, under pressure for action from his subordinate Hipper, decided to bombard the British coastal towns of Scarborough and Hartlepool as soon as he received the permission of the German Emperor, Wilhelm II. In the aftermath of the German naval victory at the Battle of Coronel on 1 November, Wilhelm approved the idea. The Imperial German Navy Admiralstab ordered that before the operation could commence every ship of Scouting Group I had to be available. The bombardment was consequently delayed till mid-December because of machinery problems with the battle cruiser Von der Tann.[1]

On 8 December the British victory at the Battle of the Falkland Islands prompted von Ingenohl to back up the bombardment force by taking the entire High Sea Fleet to sea, an intention he decided to conceal from the German Emperor. The well-publicised presence of the British battle cruisers Invincible and Inflexible at the Falklands lowered the British numerical superiority in the North Sea, and von Ingenohl wanted to act before they returned to the Grand Fleet. At Vize-Admiral Reinhard Scheer's suggestion, the older German pre-dreadnoughts were left stationed in the Baltic Sea so as to negate the need for a potentially suspicious transit through the Kiel Canal. The submarine U-27 was sent to reconnoitre Scarborough and Hartlepool, and reported weak defences and no mine fields.[2]

Despite the German Navy's precautions, the British Royal Navy's Room 40 was able to deduce from intercepted wireless messages that the Germans intended to send out Hipper Scouting Groups, but not that von Ingenohl would be following with the rest of the High Sea Fleet.[3] On 11 December the Admiralty informed Jellicoe that the Germans:

can never again have such a good opportunity for successful offensive operations as at present, and you will no doubt consider how best to conserve and prepare your forces in the interval, so as to have the maximum number possible always ready and fresh. For the present the patrols to prevent contraband passing are of small importance.[4]

Jellicoe passed the warning on to the commander of the British battle cruisers, Vice-Admiral David Beatty, on 12 December: "There is an idea at Head Quarters that the Germans may move during the next week or two … "[5]

See Also

  • Scarborough Raid

Footnotes

  1. Goldrick. King's Ships. p. 191.
  2. Goldrick. King's Ships. pp. 190-191.
  3. Goldrick. King's Ships. p. 191.
  4. Admiralty to C-in-C Grand Fleet. 11 December, 1914. Sent 00:20. Naval Staff Monograph (Historical). Volume XII. p. 214. Quoted in Goldrick. King's Ships. p. 191.
  5. Jellicoe Papers. I. p. 105.

Bibliography