The Grand Scuttle: The Sinking of the German Fleet at Scapa Flow in 1919

by Dan van der Vat

Book Overview

At Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919, there occurred an event unique in naval history. The German High Seas Fleet, one of the most formidable ever built was deliberately sent to the bottom of the sea at the British Grand Fleet's principal anchorage at Orkney by its own officers and men.

The Grand Scuttle became a folk legend in both Germany and Britain. However, few people are aware that Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter became the only man in history...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1843410699
• ISBN13: 9781843410690
• Release Date: June 2016
• Publisher: Birlinn
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.1" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

A Unique Event

On June 21, 1919 occurred the greatest single loss of shipping since Man first sat astride a log and floated away from land. The Persian Fleet met its end at Salamis and the U.S. Pacific Fleet was smashed at Pearl Harbor, but both of these disasters resulted from enemy action. The Spanish Armada was scattered and destroyed, but the main reason for its doom was a big storm. The German High Seas Fleet survived a cataclysmic war almost unscathed, but the bulk of its strength and tonnage was destroyed by order of the German admiral in command at the time. The scale of loss, over 400,000 tons of the finest warships then in existence, 74 vessels of which 52 actually went to the bottom under the eyes of the enemy, is unique in itself. That it was an act of self-destruction based on a misapprehension compounds the uniqueness of the event. At the end of World War I, the German High Seas Fleet was sent to Scapa Flow in the north of Scotland for internment. The ships were demilitarized (i.e., all ammunition was off-loaded and all weapons were disabled) and swung at anchor while the Treaty of Versailles was being thrashed out. Skeleton German crews were on board and the Fleet was under the command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter. In mid-June 1919, Reuter, whose English was not good, read an article in The Times that the High Seas Fleet was to be parcelled out to the victorious powers. Rather than have that happen, he arranged for all the ships to be scuttled, and gave the order on June 21st. Unfortunately, The Times article was about options under discussion at Versailles. While the French, Japanese and Italians wanted some of the German ships, the British and Americans didn't want to upset the balance of naval power. The same day that Reuter had the Fleet scuttled, the British and Americans prevailed upon the other allies to have the ships scrapped. Van der Vat discusses the situation in Germany at the end of the war, what conditions were like on the ships interned in Scapa Flow, and how dislike and distrust of the Germans by the British caused the scuttle. He explains how the scuttle took place and how it caused the final casualties of the First World War. Van der Vat concludes by describing the decades long salvage of the High Seas Fleet. As a bit of trivia, fragments of the Kaiser's fleet are in demand for making scientific instruments and some small bits of the German ships are probably on the Moon.

A compelling account of the greatest scuttle ever.

World War One was over. The two main protagonists had been Great Britain and Germany who, between them, possessed the two largest naval fleets in the world. Germany was beaten and her ships interned with skeleton crews in Scapa Flow whilst decisions were made as to which of the victorious allied nations got which ships to add to their own fleets - as war reparations. To the victor go the spoils and all that. In the meantime Germany was changing fast. The Kaiser and German imperialism were gone and a new Republic was born. On board the ships in Scapa Flow ordinary sailors no longer took orders from their officers. They were now republicans and they set up workers councils and undertook only those tasks which "they" saw as essential. As a Navy they were a sorry sight. Against this backdrop, the man in charge of those ships and crews was Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter who was a fine commander of the old school. Whilst the British were simply trying to run a floating prison camp, von Reuter hatched a plan to deny the victorious Allies all the ships under his "command." They included 5 Battlecruisers, 11 Battleships, 8 Cruisers and numerous Destroyers. But!, he could not trust all of those under his command with knowledge of either his plan - or even that one existed. Nevertheless, on 21 June 1919, under the very noses of those British guards and also under the very noses of certain crew members who would have spoiled his plans, von Reuter successfully scuttled his entire fleet. This is an essential account where the author tells that entire story so exceedingly well. It is an excellent read and I congratulate him for his painstaking research and for the well written text. NM

Where did the High Seas Fleet go?

The answer is - to the bottom of Scapa Floe. This book covers one of the least known and written about aspects of WWI, the fate of the German High Seas Fleet after the armistice was put into effect on November 11, 1918. Prior to reading this book about all I knew was that the fleet had been taken to the British naval base of Scapa Floe and had somehow managed to scuttle itself, leaving the British with a large mess on their hands. The hows and whys of the scuttling are covered in a very even-handed manner. Indeed, one comes to sympathize with the German Admiral, in command of the once proud and mighty fleet, now charged with preventing it from falling into the hands of the British while having to deal with mutinous crews, minimal supplies, and constant British vigilence. The Story leading up to the scuttle itself is told in good detail. However, the extensive salvage operations carried out by the British after the event are compressed into only a few pages. This is the weakest portion of the book, but the part that could be the most interesting. Unfortunately, the reader is mostly left to guess about how the British cleared up the wrecks, a process which took almost twenty years and is still not really complete. There are a few pictures of the salvage operations added seemingly as an afterthought. However, since the book is about the events leading up to the actual scuttling itself this is not a major problem, merely a matter of personal preference. All in all this book is a good value and I recommend it to anyone with an interest in WWI naval warfare.

Wonderful writing on an obscure, yet most important topic

I read this book while in college, and it was my first exposure to Mr. Van Der Vat's writing. Mr. Van Der Vat does a masterful job at detailing the last moments of the High Seas Fleet, and portraying the scuttle not as a shameful end, but of a final act of defiance and honor for the German Imperial Navy. This is an often-overlooked part of the Armistice of World War I, and the surrender/scuttle played an intergal part in shaping German public attitudes and actions during the inter-war period, and German Naval attitudes leading up to World War II. I highly reccommend this book to anyone w/ an interest in naval or military history.

Fascinating, well-researched account

I was very impressed with the scope of this book. The author uses the first few chapters to describe the political situation leading to the construction of the fleets, as well as the events which led to the German internment. He next covers the activities of the fleet while at Scapa Flow in depth, and, following the scuttling, completes the account with information about the subsequent salvage operations. This book is comprehensive, but not so bogged down in detail that you lose sight of the story, its reasons and its characters. Highly recommended.