The German outpost forces, which had just been reorganized
by Scheer, were caught napping, and two outpost trawlers were
sunk, but fog and snow interfered with the aerial attack, which
was driven off, and only two planes got back. The only naval
result was the ramming of 6194 by the " Cleopatra " (Tyr-
whitt's flagship, Capt. F. P. Loder Symonds) on the way back
and the loss of the British destroyer " Medusa " by collision
with the " Laverack."
A month later, signs of Scheer's activity were clearly apparent in the resumption of coastal raids. A sortie had already been made into the Hoofden (the narrows between England and Hol- land) on March 5, but on April 24 a more ambitious operation was attempted. This time the objective was Lowestoft. The whole High Sea Fleet was to take part in conjunction with sub- marines stationed off the Forth and eight of the newer airships. The actual bombardment was to be carried out by the five battle-cruisers of the ist Scouting Group, attended by the light cruisers of the 2nd Scouting Group and the 6th and gth Flotillas. The force put to sea on the 24th, but on its way past Nordeney encountered a nasty setback by the " Seydlitz " striking a mine laid by the " Princess Margaret" in Nov. 1915 and having to put back. Intelligence of these movements had been received, and by 10 P.M. the Grand Fleet had put to sea and was on its way south. During the night the German airships taking part bombed Norwich, Lincoln, Harwich and Ipswich. The German battle-cruisers were seen shortly after 4 A.M. on April 25 by the Harwich forces, consisting of the " Conquest," " Cleo- patra," and 16 destroyers, who engaged the " Rostock " and " Elbing," but were driven off by the German battle-cruisers, the " Conquest " being hit by five i2-in. shells and suffering heavy casualties. At 5 A.M. the Germans were off the coast and bombarded Lowestoft and Yarmouth for half an hour. Beatty's battle-cruiser fleet struck down at them towards Terschelling and were off it at 12:30 P.M., but the enemy had passed him and gone home.
The raid had little naval significance, but in order to strengthen the position of the Harwich force in the south, which had been weak ever since the Channel Fleet had been swept off to the Mediterranean, it was decided to station the 3rd Battle Squadron in the Thames (" Hibernia," "Commonwealth," "Zeelandia," "Dominion," "Africa," "Britannia," "Hindustan," all 4 i2-in., 9 4-2-in., 10 6-in.) and it sailed for Sheerness on April 29.
The day that saw the bombardment of Lowestoft saw a barrage being laid by the Dover Patrol off the Belgian coast to cope with the German submarines there, which was completed by May 7 (see SUBMARINE WARFARE). On May 5 1916 Adml. Jellicoe launched another attack against Tondern sheds. The ist L.C.S. and 16 destroyers escorted the seaplane carriers " Vindex " and " Engadine " to Horn's Reef. Three submarines were posted there, and the " Abdiel " laid a line of mines (one of which was to catch the " Ostfriesland " on the night of Jut- land), while the battle-cruiser fleet waited ready in support with the battle-fleet behind it. Only one seaplane would rise off the water, but the " Galatea " and " Phaeton " damaged a Zeppelin, Ly, forcing her to descend near 31, one of the sub- marines on watch, which completed her destruction and rescued seven survivors.
The attack on the " Sussex " on March 24 1916, with the 80 casualties caused by it, had led to a strong American protest, and as Scheer was on his way across to the Lowestoft raid on April 24 he received a message that submarine warfare was to be carried on in accordance with Prize law (that is, by warning and examination). He at once recalled all the submarines of the High Sea Fleet, and announced that the submarine campaign against commerce had ceased so far as his submarines were concerned. This set free a number of submarines for work in conjunction with the fleet, and Scheer set to work to devise a plan to entice the British fleet out. This was ready by the middle of May. Twenty-two submarines were to be stationed off the British ports, two off Scapa, one off Cromarty, seven off the Forth, one off the Tyne, two off the Humber and one south of the Dogger Bank. The High Sea Fleet was then to appear
off the coast of England or Norway in the hope that the Grand Fleet would rush out and be torpedoed by the submarines. Such was the plan of the Jutland operations. The submarines were off their ports by May 23; and 1/75, after laying mines off the Orkneys on May 29 which were to sink the " Hamp- shire," proceeded home, the only submarine to achieve any measure of success.
The weather was too bad for air reconnaissance, which was essential for approaching the English coast, so it was decided to try the less risky advance to the Norwegian coast. But the British Admiralty was on the alert, and the Grand Fleet had put to sea on May 30 before the German ships had cleared the Jade. There followed the battle of Jutland (see JUTLAND, BATTLE OF). The British lost three battle-cruisers, three cruisers and eight destroyers. The Germans one older battle- ship, one battle-cruiser, four cruisers and five destroyers. Scheer, threatened with envelopment and destruction, succeeded in making good his escape, and the High Sea Fleet, driven back to harbour, became the buttress of the submarine campaign. It remained intact, a fleet " in being " barring the road to the Baltic and access to Russia with all the consequences which that involved, guarding the Bight and insuring safe entry and exit to its submarines, circumventing British attempts to mine them in and forcing the British Government to keep a mass of craft still locked up in the Grand Fleet when they were wanted for convoy and the tremendous struggle against the submarine.
A single success was achieved by the submarines engaged in the Jutland operation. On June 5, H.M.S. " Hampshire " on her way to Archangel struck one of the mines laid by 1175 and went down off the Orkneys, bringing Lord Kitchener's great career to an untimely end. He had arrived at Scapa that day with the weather growing steadily worse, and by the after- noon a gale was blowing from the north-east. Lord Kitchener insisted on sailing, and to give the " Hampshire " a lee it was decided to send her up the west side of the Orkneys instead of the east and she sailed at 5:30 P.M. But the wind had backed to N.N.W., and the destroyers, unable to make head against the gale, had to put back. The " Hampshire " was alone when about 7:50 P.M. she struck one of the mines laid by 1/75, one and a half miles from shore, between the B rough of Birsay and Marwick Head, and sank in 15 min., losing all but 12 men.
The disposition of submarines adopted for the Jutland opera- tions had met with no success, but in August Scheer devised another and more successful plan, which led to the loss of the " Nottingham " and " Falmouth." This time, the submarines, instead of being stationed off the ports where patrols weie constantly on watch, were disposed in lines in the North Sea on the expected track of the British fleet. One line of six sub- marines was posted off Blyth, another off the Yorkshire coast, and two lines of Flanders submarines off Terschelling. The High Sea Fleet put to sea in the evening of Aug. 18 1916, leaving the 2nd Squadron this time to guard the Bight, and shaped course from Heligoland in the direction of Hartlepool, intending to bombard Sunderland, at sunset the next day, if the British fleet were not encountered.
The battle-cruisers of the ist Scouting Group were reinforced by the new battleship " Bayern," and by the " Grosser Kur- fiirst " and " Markgraf," in place of the " Derfflinger " and " Seydlitz," which were still under repair; and to permit of rapid concentration they were stationed only 20 m. ahead of the battle-fleet, with eight Zeppelins, to assist in air recon- naissance. They did not get across unscathed. 23 was waiting for them halfway, and sent two torpedoes into the " Westfalen," forcing her to put back, but Scheer held steadily on. Admiral Jellicoe had ample intelligence of the German movements, and had put to sea at 5 P.M. on Aug. 18. After meeting Beatty's force he was on his way down the East Coast with the battle-cruisers, 30 m. ahead, when the 2nd L.C.S. ran into the first line of German submarines in the latitude of the Fame Is. at 5:55 A.M. on Aug. 19, and though going 20 knots the " Nottingham " was struck by two torpedoes from Usz. Admiral Jellicoe immediately turned round and made to the
