Horace Hood, Reginald Bacon, Roger Keyes, and Cecil Dampier successively led a force whose effectiveness depended on quick decisions. Hood's work at Dover earned him promotion to command the Third Battle Cruiser Squadron. Senior officers were distributed among Dover, Dunkirk, Folkestone, and Ramsgate rather than concentrated at a distant headquarters. Their rank gave them authority to respond on their own cognizance, even though acting independently still exposed them to professional consequences. The system depended on communications turning local contact into a rapid, concentrated response.
Chapter · 23:00-29:23
Commanders, local initiative, and rapid reaction
The patrol's command structure placed senior officers around Dover, Dunkirk, Folkestone, and Ramsgate so they could act without waiting for distant instructions.