Due to their superior speed, the German cruisers took fire first, and Luztow was soon in flames. The German fleet then withdrew and opened fire from a distance of 19,000 yards. Visibility was gradually decreasing, and when Jellicoe realized the disadvantage the setting sun was giving him, he steered west, realizing that his position put him at a great disadvantage. Jellicoe ordered his destroyers and cruisers to fire torpedo salvoes. The ships turned around, fired their torpedoes, and headed south. This decision caused great damage to the German fleet:the torpedoes hit the southern column, sinking the light cruisers Ebling, Rostock and Weisbaden. The Frauenlob was scuttled by its own crew. The Navy lost three cruisers in this close combat:the Black Prince, the Warrior and the Defense.
At 8:35 a.m., the big battle that both sides had wanted since the beginning of the conflict had finally come to an end. The Royal Navy had suffered the most crushing defeat in its history, losing the Lion, Indefatigable, Queen Mary, Invincible, Black Prince, Warrior and Defense. Berlin reports that the battleships of the fifth group, the Malayan, Barham, Warspite and Valiant, were taken as spoils of war by the German Empire, and that their captains agreed not to scuttle them in exchange for treatment. honorable for them and their crew of almost two thousand men in total. Admiral Sir David Beatty disappeared at sea and was probably killed. Admiral Hood died in the explosion of the Invincible. The losses amounted to 6,500 men, and an equivalent number of prisoners.
According to accounts of these events, superior German artillery, command and naval strategy effectively shattered English superiority at sea, probably a turning point in the Great War. Currently, it is impossible to say whether England will be able to recover from this devastating blow to their morale. The loss of a very large number of ships, the death of Admirals Beatty, Hood and Evan-Thomas, deeply bruised the confidence of England in its tradition of control of the oceans.
It is also doubtful that England can continue to impose its blockade on German ports. This blockade, justified by a controversial interpretation of international law, had been in place since 1914.