JUTLAND Hipper's Squadron

My second contact with the battle of Jutland came in the late eighties, with the little group of wargame enthusiasts that played around Bordeaux. At that time, we used The MicroFleet series to play naval battles, especially the WW1 pack that allowed you to recreate the whole of Jutland – we never tried ! – and more simply, battle cruisers battles.

That brought me to purchasing models from Navwar – much less expensive that GHQ’s, to accommodate my modest purchasing power then – and with a friend, we used these to play the Run to the South (the 5th Battle squadron was there, but for them I used the Microfleet counters). In that battle – sorry, no pics – I remember the German player decided to rapidly  close the distance as the Brits were  turning to bring all guns to bear and he feared their longer range. In that instance, he allowed his T to be crossed, with devastating effect – Beatty would have been happy ! – and broke the engagement after losing a battlecruiser to nothing for the Brits. The 5th Battle squadron never had a chance to close the distance.

Nearly forty years later, and with a bigger purse, I decided it was time to replace these long sold Navwar models with GHQ ships. They still have to see the tabletop, perhaps using the WW1 NIMITZ rules set spinoff you can find on Sam Mustafa’s Facebook group. Or, if I’m lucky to find an able & willing  opponent and have the wherewithal to hang on through the game, Harry Pratt’s excellent NAVAL THUNDER rules.

First, a  topdown view of the 4 German classes, highlighting the evolution of their design (bigger size, superfiring turrets)

SMS -Seine Majestäts Schiff - Von der Tann took but a mere 18th months from order to launching, and as much again to commission.  Bewildering times as we see know how long it takes to build a mere frigate… Anyways, Von der Tann sank HMS Indefatigable, but  took a beating at Jutland, losing all her primary battery guns, but gamely staying in formation to attract British fire.

SMS Moltke – sister ship of the infamous Goeben also took but 3 years from order to commission. She too was also heavily damaged at Jutland, coping 15’’ shells from the 5th Battle squadron.

SMS Seydlitz, a one-class ship, ordered March 1910, commissioned May 1913. She was nearly sunk in 1915 at the Dogger Bank, and at Jutland, was once more so heavily damaged that she barely made port again, miraculously escaping the clutches of a vengeful Grand Fleet.

SMS Lützow was the2nd  of the German Battlecruisers to be commissioned after the start of the Great War, beginning her career in may 1915, and becoming Admiral Hipper’s flagship. Unlike her predecessors, she sported 12’’ guns instead of their 11 », with superfiring turrets both fore and aft. Jutland was the only time she ever saw action, as she was too badly damaged to get back to port and had to be scuttled. She was the most advanced ship lost by any side during the battle.

SMS Derfflinger was Lützow’s sistership, being commissioned on September 1st 1914, less than a month after Great Britain’ s entry into the war. She took part in the battle of the Dogger Bank, and was heavily damaged at Jutland, suffering KIA losses of 1 man for every 7 crew member in the occurrence.

Lastly, some German S Class Torpedoboote, part of a modern and numerous class that saw combat at most of the naval engagements of World War 1