SMS Kronprinz - Wikipedia
Action of 19 August 1916 - Wikipedia
Battle of Jutland - Wikipedia
Action of 5 November 1916 - Wikipedia
On 5 November 1916, the Germans sent out a division of Konig-class dreadnoughts (including Grosser Kurfurst and Kronprinz) and Moltke to salvage the U-boats U-30 and U-20. In otl, the sortie was cancelled after the Germans had Grosser Kurfurst and Kronprinz torpedoed and damaged. Even if the sortie were successful and salvaged both U-boats with the dreadnoughts' and Moltke's assistance, the mere presence and knowledge of the salvaged or the to-be-salvaged U-boats (not to mention other U-boats' presence) and the torpedo threat posed by them, plus the possibility of the British knowing that the salvaged U-boats were submarines and British submarines instead of British surface ships could be used to defeat or force cancellation of the sortie, sink or damage any U-boats (including both U-boats to be salvaged) in the sortie or sink or damage any German surface ships in the sortie would result in the sortie being unengaged by British surface ships.
However, the possibility that the sortie could be cancelled and replaced by a fleet battle and sortie including the German dreadnoughts but without having to salvage the U-30 and U-20 (both U-boats sharing the same fate as their otl counterparts). The rationale would be that the Germans, by sortieing their dreadnought fleet to destroy British battleships and battlecruisers (preferably in isolated squadrons from the remaining dreadnought battleship squadrons), could gain a victory, prestige and success that could deter neutral countries from joining the Entente and Entente countries from being angered or militarily and diplomatically more aggressive with their offensives and actions with neutral countries respectively because the loss of U-20 off Denmark would leak out U-20's and its commander's responsibility in sinking the Lusitania to the extent of the aforementioned fears the Germans could face from neutral and Entente countries. This would be the pod and the pod would be on 4 November 1916 for this timeline.
After the decision was made to cancel the sortie to salvage both U-boats, the Germans decided to prepare the fleet for battle. All German capital ships damaged at Jutland or at the action of 19 August 1916 were already repaired by 4 November 1916 and the Derfflinger could be called back to battle service with faster training. Otherwise, the fleet battle and sortie could be delayed until December 1916 so that Derfflinger could participate and so that the Grosser Kurfurst and Markgraf could return to the High Seas Fleet's III Battle Squadron instead of the High Seas Fleet's Battlecruiser Squadron. Also, the loss of Lutzow at Jutland (a few months before the pod) and its inability to participate in the December 1916 sortie unlike the other German battlecruisers involved at Jutland were taken into account so that the decision was made to complete SMS Hindenburg with all possible German dock yard workers and focusing on the parts needed to get the ship moving. Even then, the loss of Lutzow at Jutland would cause SMS Bayern and SMS Baden to be included in the Battlecruiser Force and the SMS Hindenburg to be completed early.
On 28 December 1916, the naval action of that day would be started. It was the day after both dreadnought fleets set sail. More realistically, the British would have stayed at port after their 19 August 1916 experience and nothing significant should and would have happened. But the action that day would begin when HMS E23 sent a report of a German battle fleet heading northwards to bombard the British coast. The German battle fleet heading northwards will head to meet the British and vice versa to meet in a naval gun battle. By 3:30 p.m., the stage was set to see a dreadnought and battlecruiser battle involving the dreadnoughts and battlecruisers exchanging fire with their enemy counterparts since Jutland when Admiral Beatty's ships met Admiral Hipper's ships and started firing gunshots at the enemy.
At approximately 4:00 p.m., a shell from Seydlitz detonated on HMS Lion's Y Turret. In the scenario, the fire caused by the shell left everybody dead or crippled, Francis Harvey being no more. With nobody willing to assist the wounded men after an explosion and fire following, the fires spread and by 4:25 P.M., the Lion had detonated with the loss of Admiral William C. Pakenham and virtually every crew member on board, with some 15 barely escaping to become prisoners of the Germans. Seydlitz was able to do (in this scenario) what its admiral's now sunken flagship (Lutzow) could not do to Lion, but Beatty was safe commanding the Grand Fleet.
After the lost of HMS Lion due to magazine explosions, command of the squadron was hampered by the loss of Admiral Pakenham and his staff. Command of Pakenham's fleet passed temporarily to Hugh Evan Thomas in HMS Barham. As to make matters worse, HMS Princess Royal and HMAS Australia had also blown up with magazine detonations minutes earlier due to shell hits from Derfflinger and Von Der Tann respectively, with the HMS Tiger, HMS Renown, HMS Repulse, HMS Courageous, HMS Glorious and HMS New Zealand fleeing northwards.
The next catastrophe was to occur soon. At 17:30, HMS Malaya was hit on the starboard 6 inch guns by Bayern. Other ships detected the raging fires but the ship blew up in a few minutes, leaving about 20 survivors. The blow up came as a shock to the other battle cruisers, shocked by how one of the most modern and well armed battleships afloat in the Royal Navy could be destroyed in quick succession to the 3 battle cruisers. Crewmen suspected that an explosion of the 6 inch magazines or guns or penetrations through the weakly armoured deck was responsible. [Close call at otl Jutland, extra and heavier shells make the hit on 6 inch guns fatal in this scenario.] [Posted earlier.]
On HMS Barham, a heavy shell wrecked the auxiliary wireless office and wounded medical and wireless personnel. Another struck the 6 inch gun casement and caused a fire that wounded 2 people. A shell hit the top of the deck. Altogether, the Barham was hit by 6 15 inch shells from the Bayern and 2 of them were able to pierce the 6 inch magazine itself, blowing up the ship half an hour before Malaya and the 5th Battle Squadron would shift command to the HMS Queen Elizabeth. The chief surgeon on Warspite ordered picric acid to be applied on burns and injuries, which only exacerbated the wounds that the bandages applied had to be discarded. The scene in a boiler room was found with real casualties of a devastating war and shattered body parts with lots of bleeding could be found, much to the disgust of the surgeon. As the German battlecruiser squadron sailed north, it sailed without the Hindenburg as the Hindenburg suffered engine failure. It would be detached together with Baden and Bayern and both Hindenburg and Baden were found and sunk by HMS Warspite and HMS Valiant in exchange for Warspite and Valiant sinking.
The next tragedy to befall the battle cruisers would occur, with shells from Seydlitz landing on HMS Inflexible and HMS Indomitable sinking the battlecruisers with all hands by 18:40 and 19:00 respectively, just as the Hindenburg was sinking from battle damage (Seydlitz would be finished off by shells from HMS Orion in a death ride). In addition, Von Der Tann and Derfflinger would be damaged by shells from the death ride, causing the losses of Von Der Tann, Derfflinger and Revenge. Von Der Tann, Derfflinger, Seydlitz and Moltke, before sinking, would spend their final shells blowing up the Tiger, Repulse, Glorious and New Zealand. Also, a torpedo salvo from German destroyers would sink Marlborough and damage Emperor of India, which would be finished off by U-66's torpedoes the next morning, while a torpedo salvo from British destroyer Onslaught would sink the Moltke.
In addition, 2 armoured cruisers (Duke of Edinburgh and Shannon) were sunk with the loss of all hands, while the disabled Minotaur would sink the next day. HMS Queen Elizabeth was shelled by German battleships and was wrecked. Due to further damage to the rudders, the ship was unable to move and after made combat incapable, was scuttled the next day. SMS Konig sustained 8 13.5 inch shell hits on the hull and 1 15 inch shells as well and it was sunk the next day. The battle would result in unrestricted submarine warfare and complete Germany's WW1 defeat by 11 November 1918.
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