Hello everybody,
@ Phil,
many thanks for your opinion and help.
@ everybody,
according to Sir Ludovic Kennedy ( Kennedy, Ludovic (1974). PURSUIT - The Sinking of the Bismarck. Book Club Associates. p. 212. ) the court martial proposal argument was discussed among Admiral Sir John Tovey, the First Sea Lord Sir Dudley Pound and Sir Winston Churchill ( ironically one of the author of the King’s Regulations on 1913 when he was First Sea Lord ).
In fact it is also mentioned on both Wikipedia links for Capt. J.C. Leach and Rear Adm . Wake-Walker, you can read them as follows.
For Capt J.C. Leach :
“ Despite a proposal to court-martial Leach for breaking off the action with the Bismarck after the Hood had sunk, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his part “.
You can read in here :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Leach ... y_officer)
And for Rear-Adm F. Wake-Walker :
“ On 23 May 1941 at 7.22 pm the Suffolk sighted the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. After a brief exchange of fire, the heavily out-gunned British ships took cover in nearby fog and tracked the enemy by radar. They maintained contact with the two German ships through the night despite appalling weather, and successfully guided Vice-Admiral Lancelot Holland's two capital ships HMS Hood and HMS Prince of Wales into position to intercept the Bismarck. The two forces came together in the battle of the Denmark Strait the next day.
In the subsequent battle, Vice-Admiral Holland was killed when Hood was destroyed, and many of Prince of Wales's senior officers were killed or wounded, which left Wake-Walker in command of the surviving ships, Norfolk, Suffolk and the damaged Prince of Wales. He decided not to risk continuing the battle and decided to continue to shadow the German ships, believing that Admiral John Tovey, with powerful elements of the Home Fleet, was approaching.
Wake-Walker stayed in the trail of the Bismarck, but radar contact was lost early on 25 May. Wake-Walker sent Suffolk to search to the southwest, and thus she played no further in the battle. However Norfolk turned east, and was present during the final part of the battle, the following day.
Later, moves were made to court-martial Wake-Walker and Captain John Leach of Prince of Wales. The view was taken that they were wrong not to have continued the battle with Bismarck after Hood had sunk. John Tovey, Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet, was appalled at this criticism. A row ensued between Tovey and his superior, Admiral Sir Dudley Pound. Tovey stated that the two officers had acted correctly, not endangering their ships needlessly and ensuring that the German ships were tracked. Tovey threatened to resign his position and appear at any court-martial as 'defendant's friend' and defence witness. No more was heard of the proposal.
For his part in the destruction of the Bismarck, Wake-Walker was awarded the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire ( CBE) “.
You can read in here too :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederic_W ... fwar.org-3
So summarizing it seems that :
“ Later, moves were made to court-martial Rear Adm F. Wake-Walker and Captain John C. Leach of Prince of Wales.
The view was taken that they were wrong not to have continued the battle with Bismarck after Hood had sunk.
Admiral John Tovey, Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet, was appalled at this criticism.
A row ensued between Tovey and his superior, Admiral Sir Dudley Pound.
Admiral Tovey stated that the two officers had acted correctly, not endangering their ships needlessly and ensuring that the German ships were tracked.
Admiral Tovey threatened to resign his position and appear at any court-martial as 'defendant's friend' and defence witness.
No more was heard of the proposal “.
If this is true as I personally believe, anybody can have his own opinion about what happened in reality given the regulations/articles in place.
Bye Antonio