Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft
Encyclopedia
The Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft was a naval battle fought during the First World War
between the German Empire
and the British Empire
in the North Sea
.
The German fleet sent a battlecruiser squadron with accompanying cruisers and destroyers—commanded by Rear Admiral
Friedrich Bödicker
—to bombard the coastal ports of Yarmouth and Lowestoft. Although the ports had some military importance, the main aim of the raid was to entice out defending ships which could then be picked off either by the battlecruiser squadron or by the full High Seas Fleet, which was stationed at sea ready to intervene if an opportunity presented. The result was inconclusive: Nearby British forces were too small to intervene so largely kept clear of the German battlecruisers, and the German ships withdrew before first the British fast response battlecruiser squadron or the Grand Fleet could arrive.
became commander in chief of the German High Seas Fleet and commenced a new campaign against the Royal Navy. A principal part of his strategy was to institute raids into British waters and then lure British forces into battle in conditions advantageous to the Germans. A proposal was made to bombard towns on the east coast of England
at daybreak on 25 April, which along with air raids by zeppelin
s the night before would prompt British units to intervene. The raid was timed to coincide with the expected Easter Rebellion by Irish Nationalists, who had requested German assistance.
Immediately before the raid, the German Navy believed that the British had a strong force in the North Sea
, off Norway
, and another at Hoofden and off the southeast coast of England. The Germans would sneak out between the two forces to bombard the English coast, and then the bombardment force would attack whichever British force showed first. With a little luck, the German battlecruisers could engage the southeast force, and after defeating it would run back to the northwest, meeting the northern group in the area around Terschelling Bank
. Here the battlecruiser
s would attack the second British group from the south, and the main body of the High Seas Fleet would attack from the north. If successful, the High Seas Fleet would be able to destroy significant elements of the British fleet before the main body of the Grand Fleet could assist, reducing or eliminating the Royal Navy′s numerical superiority. If the British did not take the bait, then merchant ships could be captured and British units off the coast of Belgium
destroyed.
The forces sighted by Germany in the north sea had been part of a raid launched on 22 April in an attempt to draw out the German fleet, but this did not go to plan. The battlecruisers HMS Australia
and had collided off Denmark
in fog, causing serious damage to both ships. Later, the dreadnought collided with a merchant steamer and three destroyers were also damaged in collisions. The mission had been abandoned and the ships returned north to port, so that on 24 April the main body of the Grand Fleet was, as usual, near its home bases, at Rosyth
for the battlecruiser squadron and Scapa Flow
for the remainder of the Grand Fleet.
Lowestoft
and Great Yarmouth
were selected as the targets of the bombardment. Lowestoft was a base of operations for mine laying
and sweeping, while Gt. Yarmouth was a base for the submarines that disrupted German movements in the Heligoland Bight
. The destruction of the harbours and other military establishments of both these coastal towns would assist the German war effort even if the raid failed to bait the British heavy units. Eight zeppelins would—after dropping their bombs—provide reconnaissance for the battlecruisers, which would in turn provide rescue operations should an airship be lost over the water. Two U-boats were sent out ahead of time to Lowestoft, while others were stationed off, or strew mines in, the Firth of Forth
, Scotland
.
The 1st Scouting Group—consisting of the battlecruisers , , , and and commanded by Rear-Admiral Bödicker—would be supported by the four light cruiser
s of the 2nd Scouting Group, and two fast torpedo boat
flotilla
s (VI and IX) together with their two command light cruisers. The Main Fleet—consisting of Squadrons I, II and III, Scouting Division IV, and the remainder of the torpedo flotillas—was to accompany the battlecruisers to the Hoofden until the bombardment was over, in order to protect them against superior enemy forces if necessary.
At noon on the 24th, German forces were in place and the operation began. The route led around British minefields to the English coast, and was intended to put the bombardment group off Lowestoft and Yarmouth at daybreak, where they would bombard the towns for 30 minutes. But at 16:00, the battlecruiser Seydlitz—in the vanguard of the reconnaissance force—struck a mine just north-west of Nordeney, in an area swept the night before. She was forced to turn back with a flooded torpedo
compartment from a 50 ft (15.2 m) hole on the starboard side, being only able to make 15 kn (18.3 mph; 29.4 km/h) with 1400 ST (1,270.1 t) of water onboard and 11 men killed. While the rest of the squadron was stopped for Bödicker to transfer to Lützow and for Seydlitz to extract herself from the minefield, the German ships sighted, and avoided, torpedoes from one or more British submarines. Seydlitz returned to the river Jade accompanied by two destroyers and the Zeppelin L-7. To avoid more possible mines and submarines, the battlecruiser force altered course to a route along the coast of East Friesland. This had previously been avoided because the clear weather risked the ships being sighted from the islands of Rottum
and Schiermonnikoog
and their movements being reported to the British. It was assumed that the British would now be alerted to the movements of the German ships.
The British had already been aware that the German fleet had sailed at midday. More information arrived at 20:15, when an intercepted wireless message gave the information that they were headed for Yarmouth. At 15:50, the British fleet had been placed on two hours notice of action and at 19:05 were ordered to sail south from Scapa Flow
. Around midnight, the Harwich
squadron of three light cruisers and eighteen destroyers was ordered to move north.
Around 20:00, German ships received a message from the Naval Staff confirming that a large British fleet was operating off the Belgian coast and that another large force had been sighted off Norway on the 23rd. This suggested that the British Fleet was still divided into two sections, giving rise to optimism that the operation would go off as planned despite the mining of Seydlitz. At 21:30, another message indicated that British patrol boats off the Belgian coast were heading back to harbour, which was interpreted as confirmation that the British submarine(s) had reported the German movements. In fact, by 24 April the northern British ships had returned to Harbour for coaling.The ships at Flanders included twelve additional destroyers from the Harwich Force
, which had been sent to assist with a barrage of the coast.
The German airships—having dropped their bombs—reported back to the bombardment force: visibility over land was poor, the winds were unfavourable, and the towns were better defended than previously thought: the zeppelins bombing Norwich
, Lincoln
, Harwich
and Ipswich
had been under fire by British ships, but none had been damaged.
At about 03:50, the light cruiser —one of Bödicker′s screen ships—sighted British ships in a west-southwest direction. Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt
—commanding the Harwich ships—similarly saw the German vessels and reported the sighting of four battlecruisers and six cruisers to the Grand Fleet. He turned away south, attempting to draw the German ships after him away from Lowestoft, but they declined to follow.
The four battlecruisers opened fire upon Lowestoft at 04:10 for 10 minutes, destroying 200 houses and two defensive gun batteries, injuring 12 people and killing three. They then moved off to Yarmouth, but fog meant it was difficult to see the target. Only a few shells were fired before reports arrived that a British force had engaged the remainder of the German ships, and the battlecruisers broke off to rejoin them.
Tyrwhitt—when he found he could not draw the German ships away—had returned to them. Initially, he engaged the six light cruisers and escorts, but broke off the action when seriously outgunned after the battlecruisers returned. Light cruiser Rostock and had tried to lead the British ships into the waiting guns of the battlecruisers. But upon sighting the German capital ships, the British cruisers turned south. The German battlecruisers opened fire, causing severe damage to the cruiser and the destroyer and slightly damaging one other light cruiser. Conquest was hit by a shell which reduced her speed and produced 40 casualties. Bödicker failed to follow the retreating ships, assuming they were faster and probably concerned whether other, larger vessels might be about. The Germans then ceased fire and turned northwest towards the rendezvous point off Terschelling Bank, hoping the British cruisers would follow, which they did not.
During the bombardment of the two coastal towns, the light cruiser sank an armed patrol steamer, while the leader of Torpedo-boat Flotilla VI——sank a second. The crews were rescued and taken prisoner. Around 07:30, the German Naval Staff passed on reports from Flanders of intercepted wireless transmissions instructing British ships to coal and then proceed to Dunkirk.
Tyrwhitt attempted to follow the German squadron at a distance. At 08:30, he had located smoke from the ships, but was ordered to abandon the chase and return home. The Grand fleet had been fighting heavy seas and making slow progress coming south, also being forced to leave its destroyers behind because of the weather. At 11:00, the Admiralty ordered the chase to be abandoned, at which point the main part of the fleet was 150 mi (130.3 nmi; 241.4 km) behind the British battlecruiser squadron, which started out from further south. The two battlecruiser squadrons came within 50 mi (43.4 nmi; 80.5 km) of each other, but did not meet.
attacks, encountering only two neutral steamers and some fishing vessels. The operation had been almost a complete failure, netting only two patrol craft sunk, one cruiser and one destroyer damaged, in exchange for serious damage to a battlecruiser, while the actual damage done to the naval establishments at Yarmouth and Lowestoft was light. The German battlecruiser squadron had failed to take advantage of its superior numbers to engage the British light cruisers and destroyers present at Lowestoft.
The German U-boats sent out to intercept British ships leaving harbour had not found any targets. Nor had six British submarines stationed off Yarmouth and six more off Harwich. One German submarine was destroyed and another captured when it became beached at Harwich. One British submarine was sunk, torpedoed by a German submarine.
The raid infuriated the British, and cost the Germans heavily in the court of world opinion, as the operation brought back memories of the "baby killer" raids earlier in the war. British casualties were 21 servicemen killed on warships, and four civilians killed and 19 wounded on land.
The British felt obliged to take steps to react more quickly to future raids. The 3rd Battle Squadron
—consisting of seven King Edward VII-class
battleships—was moved from Rosyth to the Thames, together with . The presence of these ships on the Thames was given later as one reason the Harwich destroyers were not permitted to join the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland
: they were held back to escort the battleships should they be called upon to take part.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
between the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
and the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
.
The German fleet sent a battlecruiser squadron with accompanying cruisers and destroyers—commanded by Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Friedrich Bödicker
Friedrich Bödicker
Vice Admiral Friedrich Bödicker, was a flag officer of the Kaiserliche Marine during the First World War.-Biography:...
—to bombard the coastal ports of Yarmouth and Lowestoft. Although the ports had some military importance, the main aim of the raid was to entice out defending ships which could then be picked off either by the battlecruiser squadron or by the full High Seas Fleet, which was stationed at sea ready to intervene if an opportunity presented. The result was inconclusive: Nearby British forces were too small to intervene so largely kept clear of the German battlecruisers, and the German ships withdrew before first the British fast response battlecruiser squadron or the Grand Fleet could arrive.
Prelude
In February 1916, Admiral Reinhard ScheerReinhard Scheer
Reinhard Scheer was an Admiral in the German Kaiserliche Marine. Scheer joined the navy in 1879 as an officer cadet; he progressed through the ranks, commanding cruisers and battleships, as well as major staff positions on land. At the outbreak of World War I, Scheer was the commander of the II...
became commander in chief of the German High Seas Fleet and commenced a new campaign against the Royal Navy. A principal part of his strategy was to institute raids into British waters and then lure British forces into battle in conditions advantageous to the Germans. A proposal was made to bombard towns on the east coast of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
at daybreak on 25 April, which along with air raids by zeppelin
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
s the night before would prompt British units to intervene. The raid was timed to coincide with the expected Easter Rebellion by Irish Nationalists, who had requested German assistance.
Immediately before the raid, the German Navy believed that the British had a strong force in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
, off Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, and another at Hoofden and off the southeast coast of England. The Germans would sneak out between the two forces to bombard the English coast, and then the bombardment force would attack whichever British force showed first. With a little luck, the German battlecruisers could engage the southeast force, and after defeating it would run back to the northwest, meeting the northern group in the area around Terschelling Bank
Terschelling
Terschelling is a municipality and an island in the northern Netherlands, one of the West Frisian Islands.Waddenislanders are known for their resourcefulness in using anything and everything that washes ashore. With few trees to use for timber, most of the farms and barns are built with masts...
. Here the battlecruiser
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
s would attack the second British group from the south, and the main body of the High Seas Fleet would attack from the north. If successful, the High Seas Fleet would be able to destroy significant elements of the British fleet before the main body of the Grand Fleet could assist, reducing or eliminating the Royal Navy′s numerical superiority. If the British did not take the bait, then merchant ships could be captured and British units off the coast of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
destroyed.
HMAS Australia (1911)
HMAS Australia was one of three s built for the defence of the British Empire. Ordered by the Australian government in 1909, she was launched in 1911, and commissioned as flagship of the fledgling Royal Australian Navy in 1913...
and had collided off Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in fog, causing serious damage to both ships. Later, the dreadnought collided with a merchant steamer and three destroyers were also damaged in collisions. The mission had been abandoned and the ships returned north to port, so that on 24 April the main body of the Grand Fleet was, as usual, near its home bases, at Rosyth
Rosyth
Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
for the battlecruiser squadron and Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
for the remainder of the Grand Fleet.
Lowestoft
Lowestoft
Lowestoft is a town in the English county of Suffolk. The town is on the North Sea coast and is the most easterly point of the United Kingdom. It is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and south-east of Norwich...
and Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
were selected as the targets of the bombardment. Lowestoft was a base of operations for mine laying
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
and sweeping, while Gt. Yarmouth was a base for the submarines that disrupted German movements in the Heligoland Bight
Heligoland Bight
The Heligoland Bight, also known as Helgoland Bight, is a bay which forms the southern part of the German Bight, itself a bay of the North Sea, located at the mouth of the Elbe river...
. The destruction of the harbours and other military establishments of both these coastal towns would assist the German war effort even if the raid failed to bait the British heavy units. Eight zeppelins would—after dropping their bombs—provide reconnaissance for the battlecruisers, which would in turn provide rescue operations should an airship be lost over the water. Two U-boats were sent out ahead of time to Lowestoft, while others were stationed off, or strew mines in, the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
The 1st Scouting Group—consisting of the battlecruisers , , , and and commanded by Rear-Admiral Bödicker—would be supported by the four light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
s of the 2nd Scouting Group, and two fast torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
flotilla
Flotilla
A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
s (VI and IX) together with their two command light cruisers. The Main Fleet—consisting of Squadrons I, II and III, Scouting Division IV, and the remainder of the torpedo flotillas—was to accompany the battlecruisers to the Hoofden until the bombardment was over, in order to protect them against superior enemy forces if necessary.
Raid
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
compartment from a 50 ft (15.2 m) hole on the starboard side, being only able to make 15 kn (18.3 mph; 29.4 km/h) with 1400 ST (1,270.1 t) of water onboard and 11 men killed. While the rest of the squadron was stopped for Bödicker to transfer to Lützow and for Seydlitz to extract herself from the minefield, the German ships sighted, and avoided, torpedoes from one or more British submarines. Seydlitz returned to the river Jade accompanied by two destroyers and the Zeppelin L-7. To avoid more possible mines and submarines, the battlecruiser force altered course to a route along the coast of East Friesland. This had previously been avoided because the clear weather risked the ships being sighted from the islands of Rottum
Rottum
Rottum may refer to any of the following places:*Rottum , a small group of islands in the Netherlands, part of the West Frisian Islands*Rottum, Groningen, a village in province of Groningen, in the Netherlands...
and Schiermonnikoog
Schiermonnikoog
Schiermonnikoog is an island, a municipality, and a national park in the northern Netherlands. Schiermonnikoog is one of the West Frisian Islands, and is part of the province of Friesland....
and their movements being reported to the British. It was assumed that the British would now be alerted to the movements of the German ships.
The British had already been aware that the German fleet had sailed at midday. More information arrived at 20:15, when an intercepted wireless message gave the information that they were headed for Yarmouth. At 15:50, the British fleet had been placed on two hours notice of action and at 19:05 were ordered to sail south from Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
. Around midnight, the Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
squadron of three light cruisers and eighteen destroyers was ordered to move north.
Around 20:00, German ships received a message from the Naval Staff confirming that a large British fleet was operating off the Belgian coast and that another large force had been sighted off Norway on the 23rd. This suggested that the British Fleet was still divided into two sections, giving rise to optimism that the operation would go off as planned despite the mining of Seydlitz. At 21:30, another message indicated that British patrol boats off the Belgian coast were heading back to harbour, which was interpreted as confirmation that the British submarine(s) had reported the German movements. In fact, by 24 April the northern British ships had returned to Harbour for coaling.The ships at Flanders included twelve additional destroyers from the Harwich Force
Harwich Force
The Harwich Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War, that went on to play a significant role in the war.-History:...
, which had been sent to assist with a barrage of the coast.
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
, Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
and Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
had been under fire by British ships, but none had been damaged.
At about 03:50, the light cruiser —one of Bödicker′s screen ships—sighted British ships in a west-southwest direction. Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt
Reginald Tyrwhitt
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt, 1st Baronet, GCB, DSO was a senior officer of the Royal Navy in World War I who commanded light forces stationed at Harwich on the east coast of England during the first part of the war.-Naval career:Tyrwhitt entered the Navy as a cadet in July, 1885...
—commanding the Harwich ships—similarly saw the German vessels and reported the sighting of four battlecruisers and six cruisers to the Grand Fleet. He turned away south, attempting to draw the German ships after him away from Lowestoft, but they declined to follow.
The four battlecruisers opened fire upon Lowestoft at 04:10 for 10 minutes, destroying 200 houses and two defensive gun batteries, injuring 12 people and killing three. They then moved off to Yarmouth, but fog meant it was difficult to see the target. Only a few shells were fired before reports arrived that a British force had engaged the remainder of the German ships, and the battlecruisers broke off to rejoin them.
During the bombardment of the two coastal towns, the light cruiser sank an armed patrol steamer, while the leader of Torpedo-boat Flotilla VI——sank a second. The crews were rescued and taken prisoner. Around 07:30, the German Naval Staff passed on reports from Flanders of intercepted wireless transmissions instructing British ships to coal and then proceed to Dunkirk.
Tyrwhitt attempted to follow the German squadron at a distance. At 08:30, he had located smoke from the ships, but was ordered to abandon the chase and return home. The Grand fleet had been fighting heavy seas and making slow progress coming south, also being forced to leave its destroyers behind because of the weather. At 11:00, the Admiralty ordered the chase to be abandoned, at which point the main part of the fleet was 150 mi (130.3 nmi; 241.4 km) behind the British battlecruiser squadron, which started out from further south. The two battlecruiser squadrons came within 50 mi (43.4 nmi; 80.5 km) of each other, but did not meet.
Aftermath
As the German ships headed for home, they dodged submarineSubmarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
attacks, encountering only two neutral steamers and some fishing vessels. The operation had been almost a complete failure, netting only two patrol craft sunk, one cruiser and one destroyer damaged, in exchange for serious damage to a battlecruiser, while the actual damage done to the naval establishments at Yarmouth and Lowestoft was light. The German battlecruiser squadron had failed to take advantage of its superior numbers to engage the British light cruisers and destroyers present at Lowestoft.
The German U-boats sent out to intercept British ships leaving harbour had not found any targets. Nor had six British submarines stationed off Yarmouth and six more off Harwich. One German submarine was destroyed and another captured when it became beached at Harwich. One British submarine was sunk, torpedoed by a German submarine.
The raid infuriated the British, and cost the Germans heavily in the court of world opinion, as the operation brought back memories of the "baby killer" raids earlier in the war. British casualties were 21 servicemen killed on warships, and four civilians killed and 19 wounded on land.
The British felt obliged to take steps to react more quickly to future raids. The 3rd Battle Squadron
3rd Battle Squadron (United Kingdom)
The British Royal Navy 3rd Battle Squadron was a naval squadron consisting of battleships and other vessels, active from at least 1914 to 1945. The 3rd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet. During the First World War, the Home Fleet was renamed the Grand Fleet...
—consisting of seven King Edward VII-class
King Edward VII class battleship
The King Edward VII class was a class of pre-dreadnought battleships launched by the Royal Navy between 1903 and 1905.-Armament:By 1901, the 29 British battleships of the Majestic, Canopus, Formidable, London, Queen, and Duncan classes then in service or under construction, all following the same...
battleships—was moved from Rosyth to the Thames, together with . The presence of these ships on the Thames was given later as one reason the Harwich destroyers were not permitted to join the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
: they were held back to escort the battleships should they be called upon to take part.