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On 21 June 1919 the ships of the German High Seas Fleet - interned
at Scapa Flow since the Armistice - began to founder, taking their
British custodians completely by surprise. In breach of agreed
terms, the fleet dramatically scuttled itself, in a well-planned
operation that consigned nearly half a million tons, and 54 of 72
ships, to the bottom of the sheltered anchorage in a gesture of
Wagnerian proportions. This much is well-known, but even a century
after the Grand Scuttle' many questions remain. Was von Reuter, the
fleet's commander, acting under orders or was it his own
initiative? Why was 21 June chosen? Did the British connive in, or
even encourage the action? Could more have been done to save the
ships? Was it legally justified? And what were the international
ramifications? This new book analyses all these issues, beginning
with the fleet mutiny in the last months of the War that
precipitated a social revolution in Germany and the eventual
collapse of the will to fight. The Armistice terms imposed the
humiliation of virtual surrender on the High Seas Fleet, and the
conditions under which it was interned are described in detail.
Meanwhile the victorious Allies wrangled over the fate of the
ships, an issue that threatened the whole peace process. Using much
new material from German sources and a host of eye-witness
testimonies, the circumstances of the scuttling itself are
meticulously reconstructed, while the aftermath for all parties is
clearly laid out. The story concludes with the biggest salvage
operation in history' and a chapter on the significance of the
scuttling to the post-war balance of naval power. Published to
coincide with the centenary, this book is an important reassessment
of the last great action of the First World War.
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