Much of the pre-war tension between Britain and Germany had centred on the growing naval rivalry between an established maritime power and its parvenu challenger. Yet, for most of the course of the First World War, both sides kept their powder dry.

Early skirmishes off the coast of South America had brought one resounding victory apiece - for the German High Seas Fleet off Coronel (1 November 1914) and for the British Grand Fleet off the Falkland Islands (8 December 1914). In the North Sea, British victories at Heligoland Bight (28 August 1914) and Dogger Bank (24 January 1915) were offset, at least in part, by the success of German submarine attacks against Allied shipping.

Faced with the continued British dominance of the sea and the crippling impact of the Allied trade blockade, the onus was on Germany to break this stalemate. On 31 May 1916, 42 German warships - led by the newly appointed commander of the High Seas Fleet, Reinhard Scheer - left their North Sea bases to attack Allied shipping off the Norwegian coast. Late in the afternoon, they were confronted by the full might of the British Grand Fleet under Sir John Jellicoe near Jutland (or Skaggerak to the Germans).

Yet, despite the heavier British losses, German claims of victory rang hollow. Following the battle, British naval superiority was undimmed and the blockade continued. The High Seas Fleet's rapid retreat to base during the encounter showed that it was still wary of facing the full armoury of the Royal Navy in a prolonged fight. After 31 May 1916, the German naval command did not risk another major clash with the Grand Fleet, preferring instead to attempt to break the stranglehold of the blockade through a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.

The Battle of Jutland was an honourable draw, but one side - Germany - had needed victory more than the other.