The Scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet

The First World War is most famous today for the trench warfare of the Western Front; and as a result other elements of the war are often overlooked. The build up to the war though had been particularly marked by the arms race, which had been exhibited by the build up of naval forces of the Royal Navy and the Imperial German Navy. 

During World War One the Grand Fleet of the Royal Navy and the German High Seas Fleet would face off against each other. During the four years of fighting though there was only one major battle, the 1916 Battle of Jutland. For the latter half of the year, the German High Seas Fleet would stay at anchorage in Kiel and Wilhelmshaven. 

The German Fleet in Scapa Flow - PD-UKGov

In November 1918 the First World War came to an end, but end in hostilities brought forth the question of what to do with the relatively intact German naval fleet. Numbering almost 100 ships, many of which were amongst the most advanced in the world, the consensus was that they could not remain in Germany but there was little other agreement over their fate. 

Allies, including Italy, France and Japan, wished to have a selection of the German ships, to improve their own navies, although Britain was somewhat reticent at boosting the navies of other countries. So whilst negotiations took place in Paris, it was agreed that most of the German High Seas Fleet should be placed under guard at Scapa Flow. 

Scapa Flow was the home base of the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet, and the natural harbour could easily anchor several fleets of vessels. So word was sent to Admiral Franz Ritter von Hipper, commander of the German High Seas Fleet. Admiral von Hipper placed the fleet under the command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, and so it was von Reuter who led 70 German naval ships to Scapa Flow. 

German Sailors Surrender - PD-UKGov

Getting the ships to Scapa Flow was actually quite an achievement as desertion had been rife in the fleet before the end of the war, and mutiny was also spreading, with orders failing to be followed.

By January 1919, there were a total of 74 German ships anchored; there were 11 battleships, including the SMS Friedrich der Grosse, 5 battlecruisers, 8 cruisers and 50 destroyers.  Initially there were also 20,000 German sailors onboard, but with no need to sail, the crews were repatriated until only skeleton crews remained, numbering less than 2,000 men. 

For ten months the German Fleet was anchored beneath the guns of the Grand Fleet, and as the months passed the morale of the German sailors decreased. Food and entertainment was scarce, and there was no orders coming to von Reuter from Germany. 

Plans were being made in Britain to take control of the German ships, and von Reuter must have realised this possibility. Having no wish to hand over the German navy intact to another country, von Reuter set about making his own plans to deny the Royal Navy his ships. Plans were advancing as there was a belief that the armistice was about to be redacted. 

There were too few men onboard the ships to fight or to sail, and so the only option was to plan to scuttle the ships. Instructions were sent around the German ships. 

Fortuitously for von Reuter, the Grand Fleet started torpedo exercises in the North Sea, and so Admiral Freemantle left behind only a couple of destroyers and tenders to guard, what was presumed to be, an inactive German navy. 

At 11:20 a.m. on 21 June 1919 the signal was sent to all ships to commence scuttling.

Seacocks, portholes and watertight doors were opened and the waters of Scapa Flow started to flood in. 

There would not have been any immediate sign of the German’s actions, but after about forty minutes the Friedrich der Grosse started to list. This was the signal for the crews onboard the German vessels to start to abandon ship. 

News was quickly dispatched to Admiral Freemantle, who turned his ships around, to return to Scapa Flow, but for the British sailors left behind, they faced an almost impossible task of preventing the sinking of the German fleet. 

The first German ship to sink was the Friedrich der Grosse (12:16) and the last of the capital ships to go was the Hindenburg (17:00). In total 15 of the 16 capital ships were sunk, four of the eight light cruisers, and 32 out of the 50 destroyers. The British sailors managed to save the other German ships by beaching them, mostly by towing them to shore.

Von Reuter had managed to destroy more of the German navy than the Royal Navy had done in four years of fighting. In the eyes of the German admiralty, von Reuter and the German sailors had regained the pride lost in the original surrender. 

The scuttling was not without bloodshed though, as although most of the German sailors managed to abandon ships, nine were actually shot and killed as the British sailors tried to stop the scuttling of vessels. 

The 23 ships that had been beached were quickly repaired, refloated and distributed amongst the allied fleets of Britain, America, France and Japan. The sunken ships though were left where they lay.

Eventually though, it became economically viable to salvage the vessels, and from 1923 the firm of Ernest Cox set about retrieving the vessels for scrap. In the first 18 months of operation, Cox’s firm managed to raise 24 destroyers, but with much of the easy work done, it was time to take on the more complex, larger vessels. By the start of World War II only seven German vessels remained where they had sunk. 

Salvage Work on the Baden - PD-UKGov

Today, the wrecks of the Konig, Kronprinz, Markgraf, Brummer, Coln, Dresden and Karlsruhe can still be seen on the bottom of Scarpa Flow, and for those skilled enough, and with the right paperwork, the wrecks can be dived. Other evidence of the scuttling, including left behind gun-turrets, can also be viewed in the area. 

The scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet was a final act of defiance by the German navy, and although some in the British government saw it as a breaking of the armistice, some also admired the integrity of von Reuter in leaving Scarpa Flow with some honour.

Copyright - First Published 9th April 2014
 

Keywords - WWI, German Fleet, German Fleet WWI, Scapa Flow WWI, Scuttling Scapa Flow