Royal Navy Grand Fleet 1914-1918: Britain’s last supreme naval fleet

Spithead Review, 1914

By Angus Konstam

Osprey Publishing, 2025

Reviewed by David F. Beer

You might think the dreadnoughts and other powerful ships of the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet were destined to find the German High Seas fleet somewhere in the North Sea, engage it in a battle reminiscent of Trafalgar, and thus win the sea war for Britain. However, this did not happen. Apart from the indecisive Battle of Jutland and a few smaller conflicts such as Dogger Bank and Heligoland Bight, the Grand Fleet spent much of the war at anchor in Scapa Flow or making routine sweeps of the North Sea. This was instrumental in winning the war but disappointed the British people, who were proud of their navy. 

The real intent of the Admiralty was not sea battles but the prevention of arms, materials, and food from reaching the enemy. By mid-1916, the blockade was having a real effect, and food and raw materials became increasingly scarce in Germany. Nevertheless, the story of the Royal Navy and its growth, organization, and operations during the war is a complex one, and the author provides an extremely detailed and readable account of these topics. The numerous illustrations, maps, and photos in the book are also enlightening and greatly help the reader gain a clear view of the Royal Navy’s structure, battles, and goals during this period.

The 80 glossy pages of this oversized book are organized into five chapters: Introduction, The Fleet’s Purpose, Fleet Fighting Power, How the Fleet Operated, and Combat and Analysis.  With its 20 dreadnoughts in service by August 1914, more being built, some older battleships, over 120 cruisers, plus destroyers and other vessels, Britannia really did rule the waves. It increasingly did so with ships powered by newly developed steam turbines, not coal. How ships were organized into fleets consisting of squadrons and flotillas, and how these ships were armed, is also fully covered with text and graphics.

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Special attention is given to the major naval figures of this time. The personalities and careers of Vice-Admiral David Beatty, Admiral "Jackie" Fisher, and a host of other lesser-known senior officers are described. A chart lists the names of the First Sea Lords during the war. German naval leaders are also given their due. We become familiar with Naval Intelligence and the cryptic Room 40 of the Admiralty with its use of radio and ability to monitor German naval activity. Tragedy is inevitable in war, and Jutland took its toll. HMS Indefatigable was lost with over a thousand British sailors, and later the battlecruiser Queen Mary blew up, with only eight survivors of her crew of over 1,200 men. 

This is an unusually detailed 80-page study of the Royal Navy in the Great War, and the graphics and paintings within the text make it even more informative and readable. An index and a list for further reading add to its value. The author, illustrator, and Osprey Publishing have all produced an impressive volume, and I highly recommend it.

David F. Beer