One afternoon, while browsing through a book I had purchased on a recent trip to England, I found a pair of old and browned type-written sheets folded and tucked unobtrusively between the pages. I took them out carefully and found, to my surprise, an after-action report by an anonymous officer who had been aboard HMS AGINCOURT at the Battle of Jutland. HMS AGINCOURT played no great part in the Drama of Jutland. There is nothing particularly special about the contents of the report, except that it has never appeared in general print. The real value of this account is in its careful reading and contemplation. It is a vivid portrait of the confused, uncertain, and imperfect nature of war at sea in the early part of this century. The report is copied here verbatim. In order to place things in better historical perspective, I have added several notes at the end of the article. The notes refer directly to the author's time references. "NOTES, TIMES & REMARKS ON THE ACTION SO FAR AS AGINCOURT WAS CONCERNED" "From W/T reports, it appeared that we should come into touch with enemy fleet at 6:00 PM, the Battle Cruisers having then already been in action." Author's Note: At 6:00 PM, the ship's position was 57 degrees 7' N, 5 degrees 41' E: course 134 degrees, speed 20 knots. AGINCOURT last ship of the 6th Division would be either 4th or last of the line. "6:04 Altered course to 167 degrees, 18 knots. "6:08 Altered course to 122 degrees. "6:12 Our Battle Cruisers and flashes of enemy guns came into sight from just on the Port bow to Starboard: Battle Cruisers crossing from right to left. 5th Battle Squadron following and firing on enemy -- not yet in sight from AGINCOURT. "Our Light Cruisers and Destroyers did not at once retire, and seemed to hang just in front between us ad the Battle Cruisers, and thus receive the 'overs', and some shots directed at them and at the Fleet while deploying: one of our Armoured Cruisers crossing between the Battle Cruisers and our Fleet to take up her station being heavily hit. "6:14 Enemy's shots falling near us -- both short and over. "6:16 Salvo near HERCULES while deploying. "6:17 Turned to Port, course 45 degrees. "6:18 MARLBOROUGH opened fire -- range not yet clear for AGINCOURT. "6:24 Opened fire on enemy Battle Cruisers range 10,000 yards: could only just see target and could not be certain of her number in the line. Hit enemy aft, when smoke from crossing cruiser blotted her from view. "6:32 Opened again on enemy Battle Cruisers, but could not be certain of fall of shot: observed a hit on enemy ship. "6:34 Lost sight of enemy in mist. "6:55 MARLBOROUGH hit by a torpedo. Control tops saw the wash from a periscope of submarine passing from left to right on Starboard side shortly after MARLBOROUGH was struck. "7:04 Turrets opened on German Cruiser with four funnels, apparently disabled and on fire from other ships. She was still floating when last seen. "7:06 Enemy Battleships, KAISER class (four), came into sight on Starboard beam. Opened fire on one of these -- range 11,000 yards. Firing was broken as enemy made a lot of smoke and later sent out Destroyers, but four straddles were obtained and hits observed. "7:08 Torpedo passed a few yards astern of AGINCOURT, ship's speed being 19 1/2 knots: Course altered to clear. This torpedo may have been fired by submarine which fired at MARLBOROUGH. "7:17 Ship straddled by enemy Battleships. "7:18 6" guns in main control opened on one of the enemy Destroyers, range 9,000 yards. After five hits were seen and boat disabled, fire was shifted to a second boat. She passed out of sight in the mist after two salvoes were fired -- about 7:30. "7:35 Track of two torpedoes approaching: turned away, and they passed just ahead. "7:41 Submarine reported Starboard side: turned away to avoid. "7:45 Course 185 degrees, speed 15-17 knots. "7:50 Passed a wreck on Port hand as of a ship -- bottom up: upperworks grey, green boot-top, and red bottom. "8:25 Torpedo track on starboard side: turned away at full speed: torpedo broke surface before reaching ship. "9:06 Submarine reported on Port side: zig-zagged. Gunfire heard at intervals on Port side, presumably enemy Destroyers being engaged. "9:30 Eased to 'Night Defence'. During the action some splinters of shell came on board, evidently the result of the 'straddle'. "2:30 a.m. Vice Admiral Commanding 1st B. Sq. transferred his Flag to REVENGE -- MARLBOROUGH returning to port. "3:52 a.m. Zeppelin in sight on Starboard bow. Opened fire with 6" and A.A. guns, but she rose and made off. Bursts observed above her, but short. REVENGE fired a salvo of 15" at her. "4:50 a.m. Passed five-horned floating mine. "5:20, 6:35, & 7:20 Passed wreckage - ammunition cases, life belts, fishing gear, and two large patches of oil." AUTHOR'S NOTES 6:02 AGINCOURT was the last ship in the extreme right hand Division column. Had Jellicoe chosen to deploy the Fleet to Starboard, AGINCOURT would have become the 4th ship in the battle-line. However, Jellicoe deployed to Port, and she became the last ship in the battle-line. 6:12 Author refers to Arbuthnot's Armoured Cruiser Squadron. He most likely observed the explosion of Arbuthnot's flagship DEFENCE, which blundered into the head of the German battle-line while attempting to pass to the Squadron's assigned station ahead of the deploying British line. 6:55 AGINCOURT was by no means the only ship to report submarine contacts. There were repeated claims of sightings by many ships all during the battle. Post-war documents established that no German submarines had been present during the action. 7:04 Obviously the SMS WIESBADEN, which had been disabled earlier in the battle and subsequently served as a target for nearly every passing British Dreadnought in the battle-line. 7:50 This wreck was the INVINCIBLE, flagship of Hood's 3rd Battle Cruiser Squadron. INVINCIBLE suffered a magazine explosion while engaged in a running gunnery duel with SMS DERFFLINGER of the German 1st Scouting Group. 9:06 Jellicoe had specified that during the night all British Light Cruisers and Destroyers were to take station 5 miles to the rear of the main body in order to avoid incidents of mistaken identity between the Dreadnoughts and their own screens. AGINCOURT being at the end of the line, the author heard the engagement between the head of the German column and the British Light Cruisers and Destroyers which had been stationed at the tail of the British column. The Germans broke through, passed across the wake of the British Fleet, and subsequently escaped the clutches of both Jellicoe and total defeat. 2:30 MARLBOROUGH, which had been torpedoed by a long range torpedo fired from a German Destroyer, had been able to keep up the 17 knot Fleet speed the rest of the day. But by 2:30 a.m., gradual continuous flooding had lowered her best speed to 15 knots. Unable to keep up with the formation, she was forced to turn back for port. During the trip home, she encountered heavy weather. She made port the next day in extreme danger of sinking, having shipped 7500 tons of water aboard. Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. 1 #2 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1979 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com