Castles of Steel, page 118
CHAPTER 2: GOEBEN IS YOUR OBJECTIVE
27 “would easily be able to avoid the French”: Churchill, I, 222–23.
27 “A droop-jawed, determined little man”: Robert James, 9.
29 “We did not plead much”: McLaughlin, 54.
30 “the African coast”: Kopp, 23.
30 “like an armadillo”: Marder, I, 55.
31 “Your first task”: Churchill, I, 222–24.
31 “Goeben must be shadowed”: Ibid., 223.
31 “Watch on mouth of Adriatic”: Ibid., 224.
31 “Very good. Hold her”: Ibid.
31 “to prevent Goeben leaving”: McLaughlin, 49.
32 “a backstairs cad . . . a sneak”: Fisher, FGDN, II, 360.
32 “a serpent of the lowest type”: Ibid., 418.
32 “Sir Berkeley Mean”: Ibid., 447.
32 “went to Balmoral”: Ibid., 418.
32 “Winston has sacrificed the country”: Ibid., 458.
32 “I fear this must be my last communication”: Ibid., 451–52.
33 “Use Malta as if it were Toulon”: Churchill, I, 229.
33 “break in upon”: Ibid., 222.
33 “in quest of his colleague”: Hough, Great War, 71.
34 “The idea of turning about”: McLaugh-lin, 56.
34 “sowing death and panic”: Ibid.
34 “Our trick succeeded brilliantly”: Kopp, 24.
34 “like a giant azure bell”: Ibid., 27.
35 “giant grey monsters”: Ibid., 28.
35 “not French ships”: McLaughlin, 60.
35 “The overheated air”: Kopp, 30.
36 “Goeben . . . is evidently going to interfere”: Churchill, I, 224.
36 “Winston with all his war paint on”: Asquith, Letters to Venetia, 150–51.
36 “no act of war”: Churchill, I, 225.
36 “the tortures of Tantalus”: Ibid., 226.
36 “unable to utter a word”: Ibid., 227.
36 “Sent hands to tea”: McLaughlin, 59.
37 “Goeben out of sight”: Hough, Great War, 74.
37 “for the last time”: McLaughlin, 67.
37 “With a heavy heart”: Ibid., 68.
38 “Numerous Sicilians”: Ibid.
38 “At present time”: Ibid., 69.
38 “It was impossible for me”: Ibid.
39 “Italian government have declared neutrality”: Churchill, I, 226.
40 “Had it been put to me”: Ibid., 250.
40 “Certainly if . . . [Milne]”: Ibid., 254.
40 “Is Austria neutral power”: McLaughlin, 66.
40 “First Cruiser Squadron and Gloucester”: Ibid.
41 “Goeben altering course to southward”: Ibid., 71.
42 the Silver King: Ibid., 32.
42 “the handsomest officer”: Ibid., 105.
42 “met Mrs. Troubridge in the Abbey”: Ibid., 30.
42 “they must not be surprised”: Ibid., 74.
43 For Troubridge’s conversations with Wray, see Ibid., 76–77.
43 “I cannot turn away”: Marder, II, 26.
43 “Being only able to meet Goeben”: McLaughlin, 78.
44 “Why did you not continue”: Ibid.
44 “With visibility at the time”: Ibid.
45 “gradually . . . drop astern”: Corbett, I, 66.
45 “Have engaged at long range”: Hough, Great War, 77.
45 “Commence hostilities at once”: Marder, II, 30.
46 “Negative my telegram”: Hough, Great War, 81.
46 “Indispensable military necessity”: Tuchman, Guns of August, 157.
47 “Enter. Demand surrender”: McLaugh-lin, 84.
47 “Action Stations”: Kopp, 66.
47 “Request pilot”: Ibid., 67.
47 “Please follow me”: Ibid., 68.
48 “They are to allow them to enter” and “Yes”: Kannengiesser, 26.
48 “interesting,” but that “as we shall insist”: Asquith, Letters to Venetia, 168.
48 “temporarily and superficially”: Tuchman, Guns of August, 159.
49 “I have even more terrible news for you”: Morgenthau, 81.
49 “we could not afford to do without”: Churchill, I, 29.
49 “insolent,” “defiant,” and “openly fraudulent”: Ibid., 491.
50 “more slaughter, more misery and ruin”: Churchill I, 252.
50 “careful examination . . . their Lordships approved”: Milne, 146.
51 “Your sole duty”: Churchill, I, 491.
51 “amazing misconduct”: McLaughlin, 108.
51 “signally failed”: Ibid., 107–8.
51 “had a very fair chance”: Ibid., 111.
51 “did, from negligence”: Ibid., 112.
51 “Do not be brought to action”: Churchill, I, 222.
51 “fixed and unalterable opinion”: McLaughlin, 110.
51 Troubridge and Milne: Marder, II, 34.
51 “he had no intention to engage”: McLaughlin, 111.
52 “All I could gain”: Ibid., 107.
52 “deep conviction”: Ibid., 133.
52 “a desperate one”: Ibid.
52 “It was at this psychological moment”: Marder, II, 27.
53 “the limited ammunition of Goeben”: Churchill, I, 251.
53 “Up to the range of sixteen thousand yards”: McLaughlin, 120.
53 “superior force . . . fully and honorably”: Ibid., 145.
54 “Sir Berkeley Goeben”: Fisher, FGDN, III, 52.
54 “this most disastrous event”: Ibid., 53.
54 “an amateur on shore”: Milne, 16.
54 “They pay me to be an admiral”: Hough, Great War, 84.
55 “Even if all our ships had been sunk”: Pope, 197.
CHAPTER 3: JELLICOE
56 “the only man on either side”: Churchill, III, 112.
56 “Jellicoe to be Admiralissimo”: Fisher, FGDN, II, 424.
57 “If war comes before 1914”: Ibid., 443.
57 “our beloved Commander-in-Chief”: Marder, II, 10.
57 “really does too much”: Fisher, FGDN, II, 418–19.
58 “one of the cleverest cadets”: Winton, 12.
58 “Jellicoe was admired”: Goldrick, in The Great Admirals, ed. Sweetman, 365.
58 “Property of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe”: Bacon, Jellicoe, 8.
58 “swam with extraordinary vigor”: Bacon, Jellicoe, 53.
59 “I felt the shock”: Jellicoe Papers, I, 10.
60 “I don’t think I shall ever forget”: Bacon, Jellicoe, 113.
61 “one of the five best brains”: Winton, 101.
61 “far greater protection”: Jellicoe Papers, I, 13.
61 “I had a decided admiration”: Ibid., 22.
62 “On my way to Keil”: Ibid., 15.
62 “I think it shows”: Ibid., 17.
63 “If one asks English naval officers”: Marder, I, 410.
63 “It did not take me very long”: Jellicoe Papers, 26–27.
63 “He thanked me”: Ibid., 30.
64 “certainly one of the future leaders”: Ibid.
64 “brilliant and daring”: Ibid., 29.
65 “War with Germany”: Bacon, Jellicoe, 190.
65 “in certain circumstances”: Jellicoe, Grand Fleet, 3.
66 “I had the most profound respect”: Ibid., 5.
66 “the fleet might conclude”: Ibid.
67 “These are not times”: Gilbert, I, 60.
67 “respectfully and most earnestly”: Winton, 142.
67 “We have absolute confidence”: Ibid.
67 For the messages between Churchill and Jellicoe, see Jellicoe Papers, I, 41–42.
68 “When I reported myself”: Jellicoe, Grand Fleet, 4.
69 “as always, a most gallant officer”: Ibid., 5.
70 “would cause unprecedented disaster”: Beatty Papers, I, 112.
70 “We received the terrible news”: Beatty Papers, I, 113.
70 “Your feelings do you credit”: Churchill, I, 218.
70 “I hope I never have to live”: Jellicoe Papers, I, 48.
70 “My dear Jellicoe”: Bacon, Jellicoe, 202.
71 “Look here, old chap”: Ibid., 203.
CHAPTER 4: FIRST DAYS
72 “the principal object”: Marder, I, 367.
73 “a steady and serious”: Ibid., 371.
73 “In a war with Germany”: Ibid., II.3.
73 “Great Britain cannot help”: Ibid., I, 431.
73 “Owing to recent”: Ibid., 424.
73 “so long as”: Ibid., II, 3.
76 “As it is”: Ibid., I. 372–73.
76 “Before the war”: Dewar, 152.
76 “There was only one”: Scheer, 11.
76 “equalization of forces”: Groos, I. 54.
77 “dropping things overboard”: Patterson, Tyrwhitt, 46.
77 “the first British shot in the war”: Keyes, Memoirs, I, 68.
78 “if we go up on a mine”: Goldrick, 66.
78 “The foremost half of the ship”: Ibid., 67.
79 “stagger out of the chart house”: Keyes, Memoirs, I, 70.
79 “the strong odor of petroleum”: Groos, I, 233.
79 “Tomorrow, Sunday,”: Churchill, I, 256.
80 “In the years”: Tuchman, Guns of August, 121.
80 “contemptible little army”: Patterson, Jellicoe, 61.
80 “The more English”: Tuchman, Guns of August, 121.
81 “We grudged every light cruiser”: Churchill, I, 286–87.
81 “the mother country”: Bean, I, 16.
82 “without the loss of a single ship”: Churchill, I, 305.
CHAPTER 5: BEATTY
84 “For no apparent reason”: Chalmers, 122–23.
84 “observe the private unhappiness”: Barnett, 135.
86 “free ranging”: Charles Beatty, 34.
87 “Some months ago”: Chalmers, 75–76.
87 “So great is the joy”: Ibid.
87 “Dear Arthur”: Charles Beatty, 40.
87 “wilful and beautiful”: Tree, 16.
87 “divorce crushed my father’s spirit”: Ibid., 18.
87 “Your mother has sent me”: Ibid., 26.
88 “You have done a great deal of grumbling”: Beatty Papers, I, 11.
88 “My darling Tata”: Ibid., 8.
88 “Well, love”: Chalmers, 118.
89 “J-aaack”: Charles Beatty, 42.
89 “What? Court Martial my David”: Leslie, 211.
89 “I have thought for a long time”: Beatty Papers, 15.
89 “beautiful, opulent, ambitious”: Roskill, 36.
89 “the most unhappy man”: Ibid.
89 “We have eight admirals”: Beatty Papers, 23.
89 “As you know, ‘Lion’ and I”: Ibid., 16–17.
90 “I felt as if I was an ogre”: Beatty Papers, 30–31.
90 “Rear Admiral Beatty”: Chalmers, 105.
90 “David must have known”: Charles Beatty, 57.
90 “Mum, Mum, come”: Chalmers, 111.
90 “made no secret”: Charles Beatty, 57.
90 “My little lady”: Roskill, 45.
91 “David was threatening to leave the Navy”: Ibid., 43–44.
91 “The fact is that the Admiralty”: Beatty Papers, 34.
92 “The vessel was commanded”: Churchill, My Early Life, 178–79.
92 “You are quite right”: Beatty Papers, 11–12.
92 “I see in the papers”: Ibid., 28.
92 “You seem very young”: Morgan, 322.
92 “My first meeting”: Churchill, I, 88.
92 “I had two hours solid conversation”: Beatty Papers, 35.
92 “I hope to be able to squeeze”: Ibid., 65.
93 “Oh dear, I am so tired”: Ibid., 46.
93 “viewed naval strategy”: Churchill, I, 88.
93 “I had no doubts”: Ibid.
93 “a love of doing everything”: Chalmers, 116.
93 “a nice old thing”: Ibid., 124.
94 “You must not bother”: Beatty Papers, 66.
95 “There seems to be something wrong”: Chatfield, 143.
96 “I have often been asked”: Goodenough, 91.
CHAPTER 6: THE BATTLE OF THE BIGHT
97 “We are still wandering”: Beatty Papers, I, 120.
97 “What is the Navy doing” and “offensive measures”: Roskill, Beatty, 82.
97 “When are we going to make war”: Keyes, Memoirs, I, 76.
98 “simple and daring”: Churchill, I, 308.
98 “too fully occupied”: Keyes, Memoirs, I, 80.
98 “gave me an opportunity”: Ibid., 81.
99 “damned slow”: Patterson, Tyrwhitt, 41.
99 “from the oldest and slowest”: Ibid., 54.
100 “a destroyer sweep”: Chalmers, 142.
100 “Propose to cooperate”: Goldrick, 85.
100 “Until I know the plan of operations”: Ibid.
100 “Cooperation by battle fleet”: Ibid., 86.
100 “We are to rendezvous”: Chalmers, 143.
101 “Are you taking part”: Ibid.
101 The German defensive arrangements in the Heligoland Bight are described in Groos, I, 131–33.
102 “Attacked by enemy cruisers”: Goldrick, 88.
103 “hunt destroyers”: Ibid.
104 “were in boiling water”: Groos, I, 150.
105 “as a sample”: Corbett, II, 109.
106 “Please chase westward”: Goldrick, 97.
106 “Cruisers are our cruisers”: Ibid.
106 “I was not informed”: Beatty Papers, I, 126.
106 “I came under detailed orders”: Goldrick, 98.
107 “to cut off the retreat”: Groos, I, 175.
107 “We received a very severe and most accurate fire”: Chalmers, 145–46.
108 “Am attacked by large cruiser”: Beatty Papers, I, 124.
108 “a hornets’ nest”: Marder, II, 51.
108 “intercepting various signals”: Beatty Papers, I, 129.
109 “What do you think we should do”: Chatfield, 134.
109 “Am proceeding to your support”: Goldrick, 101.
109 “heavy smoke clouds”: Groos, I, 176.
109 “very wisely fled like a stag”: King-Hall, 54.
109 “Even in the act”: Goldrick, 102.
110 “furrowed”: King-Hall, 55.
110 “The ship reared”: Groos, I, 179.
110 “We closed down on her”: King-Hall, 55.
110 “Mainz was incredibly brave”: Chalmers, 146.
110 “The state of Mainz”: Groos, I, 178–79.
110 “Sink the ship”: Ibid., 177.
111 “A young German officer”: Keyes, Memoirs, I, 88.
111 “I really was beginning to feel a bit blue”: Marder, II, 52.
111 “Following in each other’s wake”: King-Hall, 57.
111 “There straight ahead of us”: Chalmers, 146.
112 “As we approached”: Chatfield, 125.
112 “The turrets swung around”: Ibid.
113 “A small German ship”: Ibid.
113 “the first salvo fell”: Goldrick, 106.
113 “completely enveloped”: Groos, I, 185.
113 “The Admiral told me”: Chatfield, 126.
113 “drifting among corpses”: Groos, I, 218.
114 “not to engage”: Ibid., 193.
114 “At 8:23 p.m.”: Ibid., 198.
115 “It seems your anchor”: Chalmers, 152.
115 “The end justified the means”: Marder, II, 52.
115 “We had a great reception”: Ibid.
116 “the only action which was possible”: Ibid.
116 “It was good work”: Beatty Papers, I, 121.
116 “Poor devils”: Chalmers, 152–53.
116 “I had thought I should have received”: Ibid., 154.
116 “It really was awfully fine”: Patterson, Tyrwhitt, 62–63.
116 “I think an absurd fuss”: Keyes Papers, I, 19.
117 “I think it right to tell you”: Ibid., 17–18.
118 “a greater expenditure of ammunition”: Chatfield, 127.
118 “The battle was of immense”: Marder, II, 54.
118 “It was no great naval feat”: Chatfield, 126.
118 “Enemy battle cruiser squadron”: Groos, I, 283.
119 “the long-suppressed battle ardor”: Ibid., 210.
119 “However heavy the losses”: Ibid., 216.
120 “the larger part”: Ibid., 215.
120 “hold itself back”: Bennett, Naval Battles, 151.
120 “in his anxiety”: Goldrick, 115.
120 “August 28”: Tirpitz, II, 91.
120 “on the approach of the English”: Ibid., 92–93.
121 “They knew we were coming”: Chalmers, 154.
121 “[We] could not go messing about”: Marder, II, 55.
121 “The Germans knew nothing”: Churchill, I, 309.
CHAPTER 7: SUBMARINES AND MINES: “FISHER’S TOYS”
122 “water conducts shock”: Keegan, The Price of Admiralty, 97.
123 “Death near”: Fisher, Records, 177–78.
123 “playthings” and “Fisher’s toys”: Marder, Anatomy, 559.
123 “un-English”: Ibid., 368
123 “underhanded method of attack”: Mackay, 298.
124 “I shall be very disappointed”: Fisher, FGDN, I, 366.
124 “the cleverest officer in the navy”: Marder, I, 83.
124 “exercised an extraordinary influence”: Marder, Anatomy, 366.
125 “dressed like North Sea fishermen”: Keyes, I, 47.
125 “I note by examining”: Hough, Great War, 174.
125 “the notoriously short, steep seas”: Keyes, Memoirs, I, 102.
126 “Under the circumstances”: Goldrick, 121.
126 “We have no money to waste”: Hough, Great War, 169.
126 “for experiments connected with submarines”: Ibid., 170.
126 “her employment”: Ibid.
127 “Our submarine fleet”: Gray, 28.
129 “Think of . . .”: Keyes, Memoirs, 76–77.
129 “the ‘live bait’ squadron”: Churchill, I, 323.
130 “My dear fellow”: Marder, II, 57.
130 “The Bacchantes ought not to continue”: Churchill, I, 324.
130 “I should not have given in”: Kerr, 248.
130 “Still rather rough”: Goldrick, 127.
132 “Oh, no. I have only broken one arm”: Hoehling, 42.
133 “three cruisers”: Thomas, 18.
133 “I could see their gray-black sides”: Hoehling, 48.
133 “to make my aim sure”: Ibid.
133 “a dull thud”: Thomas, 20.
