Facing a collapse in morale, the British government was forced into using their last hope; the Royal Navy. Their plan was to neutralise the Kaiserliche Marine and proceed to shell every single German port city into the stone age. On the 8th of February it sailed out from Scapa Flow, parallel to the coast of Denmark, believing from military intelligence that the German fleet was not ready to meet such an attack.
The Germans, however, had practically orchestrated the whole operation by feeding them false intelligence. Advance British squadrons of destroyers and cruisers were suddenly met by German battlecruisers, and subsequently annihilated. Finding themselves in a divide-and-conquer situation, the British Grand Fleet concentrated its forces for a decisive attack at the port of Hamburg. On the way they were met by dozens of submarines lying in ambush, as well as endless aerial torpedo attacks. By the time Admiral John Rushworth Jellicoe ordered a retreat, they had lost 12 of their 28 dreadnoughts and super-dreadnoughts, as well as 28 of their 105 screen ships (light cruisers and destroyers). The German High Seas Fleet was on their tail at full speed. With multiple damaged ships and still holding superior numbers, Admiral Jellicoe reversed course and faced the Germans at the Battle of Jutland.
The battle was a disastrous defeat for the Royal Navy, losing a further 9 dreadnoughts and half of their remaining destroyers and cruisers. This gave the Kaiserliche Marine naval superiority in the region, only prevented from total victory in the seas by the presence of the French and American fleets in the English Channel. Rather than their last hope, Jutland turned into Britain's worst humilliation.