Dreadnought Destruction: Sinking the German High Seas Fleet

The sinking of the German fleet interned at Scapa-Flow (Orkney Islands), June 21, 1919. We know that one of the stipulations of the armistice signed with Germany on November 11, 1918 was that that power's surface warships were to be "immediately decommissioned and interned in neutral or Allied ports, and remain there under the supervision of the Allies and the United States, guard detachments only being maintained on board". In fact, all the ships designated by the Allies - 11 battleships, 5 battlecruisers, 7 light cruisers and 50 destroyers - had, a few days after the armistice, been assembled in Scapa-Flow Bay, in the center of the Orkney archipelago, i.e. north of Scotland, and had remained there ever since, under the supervision of the English naval authorities, but under the effective authority of German Admiral von Reuter.

Cast

Emily Turton

Self

Sebastian Rojek

Self

Michael Epkenhans

Self

Yorck-Ludwig von Reuter

Self

Frédéric Guelton

Self

Nick Jellicoe

Self

Janette Park

Self

Stephan Huck

Self

Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany

Self (Archive Footage)