Jutland, 1916: Death in the Grey Wastes

What can you say about Peter heart , manages to explain a very difficult subject with ease, I love his style of writing

Made an excellent gift. Arrived in good quality and in time for Christmas. The writing was excellent and used enough first hand sources to really immerse you in the details of the events.

本書は従軍した両軍の長官、各艦の艦長から将校、下士官、水兵に至るくまなく渉猟された証言で二日間の激戦・乱戦を余すところなく再現した（本文435頁の7～8割はこれらの様々な証言）。砲弾飛び交う迫真の戦闘、血・肉片飛び散る悲惨な破壊、闇夜での撃ち合い、艦の衝突、無残な負傷者はもちろん艦内の楚々とした日々までカバーしている。この点がユニーク。更に本書はかなりの部分が日没後の錯綜した遭遇戦、果敢に突進する英駆逐艦隊と見敵必殺の独艦隊の激闘に当てられているのも評価しうる。海戦全体、また戦後の総括も偏りないがなく好感が持てる。技術面（砲弾、火薬、測距儀、造艦等）の記述がもう少し詳しければとも思うが、基本がeyewitnessで、これで貫ぬかれた貴重な記録で素晴らしい。

A very good comprehensive history of the battle of Jutland that covers a lot of ground. From a narrative standpoint, Hart and Steele do a nice job of laying out clearly the fleet movements and giving a sense for how the action unfolded. He weaves a number of first person accounts throughout the book, so you gain valuable insights into how the participants saw it - and the authors include the range of emotions and viewpoints (including some humor - an ongoing saga of one British ship's baker trying to save his freshly baked bread in the middle of the battle).The authors also do a nice job laying out the strategic situation prior to and after the battle, including discussions of the naval theory that underlay the thinking of both Jellicoe and Scheer.The authors also cover and address key factors that shaped the battle - doctrine and training, communications, intelligence, and the personalities of the leaders.The authors further examine a number of important post-battle items including an evaluation of Jellicoe's performance, the PR battle over who won, and the treatment of the casualties following the battle.Once again, a very good, comprehensive history that establishes a good understanding of the largest naval battle of World War I.

Prior to reading this book I had read several accounts of the Battle of Jutland and became hopelessly confused on each occasion. Much to my relief, I found this book to be informative and absorbing. Critically, the authors base their book around first-hand witness accounts of the conflict. It made for a memorable read. Indeed, I am left full of admiration reagrding the decency and courage displayed by the officers and crews on both sides. However, I found it necessary to some extra research and downloaded some battle plans and dreadnought ship plans which I used as aide memoirs; the navigational terms were leaving me clueless. Also, the battle itself is remarkably complicated and confusing comprising engagements of several types of ship in poor to non-existent visibility. Hence, a bit of homework did help but it did take me a couple of months to finish reading it. Overall, the authors paint Jellico in a kindlier light than Beatty and of what I have read, I tend to agree. That said, I am very happy to recommend this book to anyone trying to figure out exactly what did occur on May 31st/June 1st 2016 just outside of Jutland. So who won? It still remains an intriguing question. Clearly, the Germans sank more of our ships and lost far fewer men but the Royal Navy was soon back on blockade duty while the German fleet hardly ever ventured out again. Anyway, read the book and judge for yourself