Approaching the British, Hipper again clashed with the battlecruisers, including Hood's fresh ships. Taking heavy damage, he was forced to abandon his flagship SMS Lutzow, but not before his ships sank HMS Invincible, killing Hood. At 6:30 PM the main fleet action began with Scheer stunned to find Jellicoe's battleships crossing his T. His lead ships under intense fire from the British line, Scheer averted disaster by ordering an emergency maneuver known as Gefechtskehrtwendung (battle about turn to starboard) which saw each ship reverse course by turning 180-degrees.
Knowing that he could not win a stern chase and with too much light remaining to escape, Scheer turned back towards the British at 6:55 PM.
At 7:15 PM, Jellicoe again crossed the German T with his battleships hammering SMS Konig, SMS Grosser Kurfürst, SMS Markgraf, and SMS Kaiser of Scheer's lead division. Under intense fire, Scheer was forced to order another battle about turn. To cover his withdrawal, he ordered a mass destroyer attack on the British line, along with an sending his battlecruisers forward. Meeting brutal fire from Jellicoe's fleet, the battlecruisers took heavy damage as Scheer laid a smoke screen and retreated. As the battlecruisers limped away, the destroyers commenced torpedo attacks. Turning away from the assault, the British battleships escaped unscathed, however it cost Jellicoe valuable time and daylight.
Night Action
As darkness fell, Beatty's remaining battlecruisers exchanged final shots with the Germans around 8:20 PM and scored several hits on SMS Seydlitz. Aware of German superiority in night fighting, Jellicoe sought to avoid renewing the battle until dawn.
Cruising south, he intended to block Scheer's most likely escape route back to the Jade. Anticipating Jellicoe's move, Scheer slowed and crossed the Grand Fleet's wake during the night. Fighting through a screen of light vessels, Scheer's ships engaged in a series of chaotic night battles.
In these fights, the British lost the cruiser HMS Black Prince and several destroyers to enemy fire and collisions. Scheer's fleet saw the loss of the pre-dreadnought SMS Pommern, a light cruiser, and several destroyers. Though Scheer's battleships were sighted several times, Jellicoe was never alerted and the Grand Fleet continued sailing south. At 11:15 PM, the British commander did receive an accurate message containing the German location and heading, but due to a series of faulty intelligence reports earlier in the day, it was disregarded. It was not until 4:15 AM on June 1, that Jellicoe was alerted to the German's true position by which point he was too far away to resume the battle.
Aftermath
At Jutland, the British lost 3 battlecruisers, 3 armored cruisers, and 8 destroyers, as well as 6,094 killed, 510 wounded, and 177 captured. German losses numbered 1 pre-dreadnought, 1 battlecruiser, 5 light cruisers, 6 destroyers, and 1 submarine. Casualties were listed as 2,551 killed and 507 wounded. In the wake of the battle, both sides claimed victory. While the Germans succeeded in sinking more tonnage and inflicting higher casualties, the battle itself resulted in a strategic victory for the British. Though the public had sought a triumph similar to Trafalgar, the German efforts at Jutland failed to break the blockade or significantly reduce the Royal Navy's numerical advantage in capital ships. Also, the result led to the High Seas Fleet effectively remaining in port for the remainder of the war as the Kaiserliche Marine turned its focus to submarine warfare.
While both Jellicoe and Beatty were criticized for their performance at Jutland, the battle did lead to several changes in the Royal Navy. Determining that the loss in battlecruisers was largely due to shell handing procedures, changes were made to ensure a higher degree of safety. Also improvements were made to gunnery practices, signaling, and the Fleet Standing Orders.
Selected Sources