Beatty's failure to think like an admiral

Was Admiral Beatty's conduct near treason, ineptitude, or a refusal to communicate with Jellicoe?

Ineptitude, in this assessment: Beatty concentrated on fighting his flagship instead of communicating with Jellicoe and coordinating the fleet.

Beatty's failure, in this assessment, was to keep behaving like an excellent captain after becoming an admiral. Concentrating on his flagship left too little attention for communication with Jellicoe and the ships under his own command. A separate command ship could reduce the temptation to direct the flagship's weapons personally. Destroyers used as command ships at D-Day provide an example of coordinating bombardment and air support from outside the principal gun platform. Destroyer officers gained experience of cooperation early, and a flotilla captain might coordinate nine ships rather than one. That background helps explain both their success in higher command and the aggressive tactics associated with destroyer service.