ABSTRACT
The High Sea Fleet, according to Operations Plan No 19, was to assemble in Schillig Roads on the afternoon of 29 October. Admiral v. Hipper initially cancelled sailing orders late in the evening of the 29th, but reactivated them later as he was unaware of the extent of the rebellion. Admiral v. Trotha at first agreed that the revolt was only temporary and that discipline could be restored shortly. One of Hipper's last acts as Chief of the High Sea Fleet was to disperse the rebellious ships, sending the First Squadron to the Elbe, the Third to Kiel, where it surprised an utterly unprepared Admiral Wilhelm Souchon, and the Fourth to Wilhelmshaven. On 11 November, Trotha and Hipper approached Bernhard Kuhnt, chairman of the executive committee of the naval 'Council of Twenty-One' in Wilhelmshaven, to seek assistance in getting the High Sea Fleet ready for a last patriotic hurrah.
