Editing Reinhard Scheer (section)

====Battle of Jutland====
{{main|Battle of Jutland}}
Admiral Scheer's fleet, composed of 16 dreadnoughts, six pre-dreadnoughts, six light cruisers, and 31 torpedo boats departed the Jade early on the morning of 31 May. The fleet sailed in concert with Hipper's five battlecruisers and supporting cruisers and torpedo boats.<ref>Tarrant, p. 62</ref> The British navy's [[Room 40]] had intercepted and decrypted German radio traffic containing plans of the operation, and so sortied the Grand Fleet, totaling some 28 dreadnoughts and 9 battlecruisers, the night before in order to cut off and destroy the High Seas Fleet.<ref>Tarrant, pp. 63–64</ref>

At 16:00 UTC, the two battlecruiser forces encountered each other and began a running gun fight south, back towards Scheer's battle fleet.<ref>Campbell, p. 34</ref> Upon reaching the High Seas Fleet, Vice Admiral [[David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty|David Beatty's]] battlecruisers turned back to the north to lure the Germans towards the rapidly approaching Grand Fleet, under the command of Admiral [[John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe|John Jellicoe]].<ref>Bennet, p. 73</ref> During the run to the north, Scheer's leading ships engaged the {{Sclass|Queen Elizabeth|battleship|2}}s of the [[5th Battle Squadron (United Kingdom)|5th Battle Squadron]].<ref>Tarrant, p. 116</ref> By 18:30, the Grand Fleet had arrived on the scene, and was deployed into a position that would [[Crossing the T|cross Scheer's "T"]] from the northeast. To extricate his fleet from this precarious position, Scheer ordered a [[points of the compass|16-point]] turn to the south-west.<ref>Tarrant, p. 153</ref> At 18:55, Scheer decided to conduct another 16-point turn to launch an attack on the British fleet;<ref name=T165>Tarrant, p. 165</ref> he later explained his reasoning:
<blockquote>
It was as yet too early to assume 'night cruising order.' The enemy could have compelled us to fight before dark, he could have prevented our exercising our initiative, and finally he could have cut off our return to the German Bight. There was only one way of avoiding this: to inflict a second blow on the enemy with another advance carried through regardless of cost...It also offered the possibility of a last attempt being made to bring help to the hard-pressed {{SMS|Wiesbaden||2}}, or at least of rescuing her ship's company.<ref name=T165/>
</blockquote>
This maneuver again put Scheer in a dangerous position; Jellicoe had turned his fleet south and again crossed Scheer's "T."<ref>Bennett, p. 106</ref> A third 16-point turn followed, which was covered by a charge by Hipper's mauled battlecruisers.<ref>Tarrant, pp. 177–181</ref> Scheer then ordered the fleet to adopt the night cruising formation, which was completed by 23:40.<ref>Campbell, p. 275</ref> A series of ferocious engagements between Scheer's battleships and Jellicoe's destroyer screen ensued, though the Germans managed to punch their way through the destroyers and make for [[Horns Reef]].<ref>Campbell, p. 274</ref> The High Seas Fleet reached the Jade between 13:00 and 14:45 on 1 June; Scheer ordered the undamaged battleships of the I Battle Squadron to take up defensive positions in the Jade [[roadstead]] while the ''Kaiser''-class battleships were to maintain a state of readiness just outside Wilhelmshaven.<ref>Tarrant, p. 263</ref>