The Rules of the Game

When hundreds of warships belonging to the two most powerful fleets in the world clashed off the coast of Denmark in 1916, the encounter had the potential to reshape the political map forever. However, there were devastating failures of communication and command and, while the Battle of Jutland met Britain's strategic need for continued maritime dominance, the Royal Navy failed to crush its numerically inferior German opponent. The encounter has remained an enduring source of controversy ever since. A remarkable saga of genius, tragedy, and passive corruption emerges. In telling this remarkable story of Nelsonic pragmatism overwhelmed by peacetime vested interests, Andrew Gordon shows what had changed for the worse in the "rules of the game" during a long century of peace, and draws fascinating and challenging conclusions.