WWI Naval Bibliography

"The Battle of Jutland // The Skaggerak" - Books (English)

  • (anonymous) Battle of Jutland Official Despatches
    HMSO, 1920.
    The official compilation of reports submitted by various British ships after the battle. Useful, but some information has been corrected by later publications.
  • (anonymous) Narrative of the Battle of Jutland
    HMSO 9124.
    Also known as the "Admiralty Narrative", this was officially released to the public - it is the bowdlerized version of the Naval Staff Appreciation, of which only a handful of copies remain.
  • Bacon, Admiral Sir Reginald The Jutland Scandal
    Hutchinson & Company, no date.
    A pro-Jellicoe account of the Battle and resulting controversy.
  • Brooks, John Dreadnought Gunnery and the Battle of Jutland- the Question of Fire Control
    Routledge, 2005.
    A very important book that takes another look at the development of RN Fire Control- it describes in detail the technical characteristics of both the Pollen and Dreyer systems, showing that the Dreyer Table wasn't the inferior product that recent historians have claimed it to be. Moreover, the chapter on Jutland is must reading: Brooks argues convincingly that it was Beatty's tactics that led to the poor showing of the British battle cruisers.
  • Campbell, John Jutland- An Analysis of the Fighting
    Naval Institute Press, 1986.
    A very detailed, technical history of the battle and the damage inflicted on individual ships.
  • Churchill, Winston S The World Crisis 1916-1918, Part I
    Thornton Butterworth Limited, 1927
    Several chapters in Churchill's history of the Great War are devoted to Jutland, but be warned: he has clearly taken the Beatty side in the "Jutland Controversy" and has depended heavily on KGB Dewar and the (suppressed) Naval Staff Appreciation.
  • Costello, John and Hughes, Terry Jutland 1916
    Futura Publications, 1976.
    A well-illustrated, popular history.
  • Fawcett, H. W. and Hooper, G. W. W. The Fighting at Jutland
    Maclure, Macdonald & Company (printers), circa 1920.
    "The Personal Experiences of Sixty Officers and Men of the British Fleet".
  • Frost, Holloway The Battle of Jutland,
    Naval Institute Press, 1936.
    (courtesy of Keith Allen (KEACLA1@aol.com)). Click here for a more detailed review.
  • Gibson, Langhorne and Harper, Vice-Admiral J. E. T The Riddle of Jutland
    Coward-McCann, 1934.
    A useful account, based on what was known in the 1930's.
  • Gordon, Andrew The Rules of the Game
    John Murray, 1996.
    "Jutland and the British High Command"- a very thorough and up-to-date analysis of the Battle, concentrating on the different "styles" of command in the RN. Much useful analysis of the "Victoria-Camperdown" tragedy of 1893. This is one of the most important additions to the Jutland literature to have appeared in recent years.
    Click here or here for two other reviews of this important book.
  • Harper, Captain J. E. T. Reproduction of The Record of the Battle of Jutland
    HMSO 1927 (Cmd. 2870)
    Officially released by the Admiralty, this is supposedly the same report produced by Harper in 1919-1920, but never published.
  • Harper, Rear-Admiral J. E. T. The Truth About Jutland
    John Murray, 1927.
    A history by the officer originally responsible for the "Harper Record".
  • Hough, Richard The Battle of Jutland
    Hamish Hamilton, 1964
    A very slim volume (63 pages), with lots of illustrations- basically just a quick summary of the key events, possibly intended for an adolescent audience.
  • London, Charles Jutland 1916: Clash of the Dreadnoughts
    Osprey Campaigns Vol 72, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2000
    (courtesy of Brooks A. Rowlett (brooksar@indy.net))
  • Macintyre, Captain Donald Jutland
    Pan Books, 1960.
    A popular account of the battle.
  • Naval War College, (editor) The Battle of Jutland
    Naval War College, 1920.
    A collection of five papers: The Two White Nations by Commander von Hase; Notes from ONI Publications ie the USN's Office of Naval Intelligence dealing with torpedo firing at Jutland; Narrative of Jutland by Arthur Pollen and others; Account by Admiral Scheer; Account by Admiral Jellicoe. In other words, this is a summary of what was known about the battle by the United States Navy at the end of the war.
  • Rasor, Eugene L. The Battle of Jutland - A Bibliography
    Greenwood Publishing, 1992.
    A useful little volume, listing published books and articles, some in languages other than English - also, some primary sources and archives are inventoried. Pay attention to the date of publication, because obviously anything which has appeared afterward isn't included.
  • Sutherland, Jon & Diane Canwell The Battle of Jutland
    Pen & Sword Publishing, 2007.
    A very unremarkable book describing the battle: no real analysis; chock full of basic errors; no evidence of any primary source research. The account of the battle is fundamentally sound, but there are many better books out there.
  • Steel, Nigel, & Hart, Peter Jutland 1916 - Death in the Grey Wastes
    Cassel, 2003.
    This is an excellent addition to the Jutland literature, because the core of the book is a multitude of excerpts from the Imperial War Museum's oral history collection, including first-person recollections from the German side. The narrative of the battle is also quite good.
  • Tarrant, V. E. Jutand- The German Perspective
    Naval Institute Press, 1995.
    A description of the Battle primarily from the German point-of-view. Useful, but no earth-shattering revelations.
  • Yates, Keith Flawed Victory - Jutland, 1916
    Naval Institute Press, 2000.
    A good introductory text, well-written, but lots of mistakes at the detail level.

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    Last Updated: 30 November, 2007.