Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft

Bombardment of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft
Part of the First World War
North Sea
Date 24 April 1916 Location the North Sea, including off the coast of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, England. Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
British Empire	German Empire
Commanders and leaders
Com. Reginald Tyrwhitt Vice Admiral David Beatty Admiral John Jellicoe	Rear-Admiral Friedrich Boedicker Admiral Reinhard Scheer
Casualties and losses
25 killed 19 wounded 2 light cruisers damaged 1 submarine sunk 200 houses shelled	11 killed 1 cruiser damaged 1 submarine sunk 1 submarine captured

The Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft, often referred to as the Lowestoft Raid, was a naval battle fought during the First World War between the German Empire and the British Empire in the North Sea.

The German fleet sent a battlecruiser squadron with accompanying cruisers and destroyers, commanded by Rear Admiral Friedrich Boedicker, to bombard the coastal ports of Yarmouth and Lowestoft. Although the ports had some military importance, the main aim of the raid was to entice defending ships to sail, which could then be picked off, either by the battlecruiser squadron or by the full High Seas Fleet, which was stationed at sea ready to intervene. The result was inconclusive: nearby British forces were too small to challenge the German force and largely kept clear of the German battlecruisers, the German ships withdrew before the British fast response battlecruiser squadron or the Grand Fleet could arrive.

In February 1916, Admiral Reinhard Scheer became commander-in-chief of the German High Seas Fleet and commenced a new campaign against the Royal Navy. A principal part of his strategy was to make raids into British waters to lure British forces into battle, in conditions advantageous to the Germans. A proposal was made to bombard towns on the east coast of England at daybreak on 25 April, which along with air raids by Zeppelins the night before, would provoke British ships to respond. The raid was timed to coincide with the expected Easter Rebellion by Irish Nationalists, who had requested German assistance.

Immediately before the raid, the German Navy believed that the British had a strong force in the North Sea, off Norway and another at Hoofden and off the south-east coast of England. The Germans intended to sneak out between the two forces to bombard the English coast and then attack whichever British force showed first. With luck, the German battlecruisers could engage the south-east force and after defeating it would run back to the north-west, meeting the northern group in the area around Terschelling Bank. Here the battlecruisers would attack the second British group from the south and the main body of the High Seas Fleet would attack from the north. If successful, the High Seas Fleet would be able to destroy significant elements of the British fleet before the main body of the British Grand Fleet could assist, reducing or eliminating the Royal Navy′s numerical superiority. If the British did not take the bait, then merchant ships could be captured and British units off the coast of Belgium destroyed.

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