The Battle Heligoland Bight - 28 August 1914
Designed by the British as a
means of attacking German patrols in the north-west German coast, the encounter
at Heligoland Bight on 28 August 1914 comprised the first naval battle of the
war.
Commander Tyrwhitt was charged with leading the Harwich Force of two light
cruisers, Fearless and Arethusa, accompanied by two flotillas of 31 destroyers,
1st and 3rd Flotillas, in a raid upon German shipping located close to the
German naval base at Heligoland.
Acting as cover for Tyrwhitt's force was the First Battle Cruiser Squadron,
recently arrived from
Scapa Flow and under the
command of Vice Admiral Beatty. His squadron
consisted of the battleships New Zealand and
Invincible, plus three battlecruisers.
Tyrwhitt began the action by sinking two German torpedo boats at around 7am on
28 August. Not entirely surprised by the British attack, the Germans hastily
deployed the Frauenlob and the Stettin, joined shortly afterwards by four other
light cruisers, including Rear Admiral Mass's flagship, Koln.
Finding himself outgunned by the German defence and under increasing fire, with
the Arethusa heavily damaged, Tyrwhitt called Beatty for urgent assistance at
11.25am. Beatty, some 40km to the north, hurried to Tyrwhitt's assistance,
arriving at 12.40pm. In time to save Tyrwhitt, Beatty's squadron sunk Mainz,
Koln, and Ariadne and damaged a further three other cruisers.
Retreating hurriedly under the cover of mist, the Germans had lost 1,200 men, as
opposed to just 35 British fatalities.
As a consequence of the action, Beatty enhanced his reputation as a fighting
seaman; it also influenced the Admiralty's decision to appoint Beatty as
Commander of The Grand Fleet, replacing
Sir John Jellicoe, who was summarily dismissed by
Lloyd George on Christmas
Eve, 1917, in a dispute over the use of convoy shipping.
Beatty's success however overshadowed deficiencies in the British handling of
the encounter, in areas as diverse as planning and communication.