Gotland raid

Stranded mine cruiser Albatross

date	June 30, 1915 to July 2, 1915
place	off Gotland , Baltic Sea
output	Russian victory

Parties to the conflict
German Empire German Empire	Russian Empire Russian Empire ; United KingdomUnited Kingdom
Commander
German Empire Johannes von Karpf	Russian Empire Mikhail Bachirev
Troop strength
3 large cruisers 2 light cruisers 1 mining cruiser 13 torpedo boats	3 armored cruisers 2 light cruisers destroyers
losses
1 mine cruiser interned 1 large cruiser badly damaged 1 small cruiser slightly damaged	2 large cruisers slightly damaged

The Gotland Raid was an advance by the Russian Baltic Fleet in the Baltic Sea during World War I , which led to a sea battle between German and Russian naval forces on July 2, 1915 near the island of Gotland , which belongs to neutral Sweden . British submarines were also involved on the Russian side .

Starting position

The starting point was a German company to mine the accesses to the Gulf of Finland near the Åland Islands near Bogskär . At the same time, the command of the Baltic Fleet planned an action against German outpost forces and a bombardment of Memel .

The German armed forces under the command of Commodore Johannes von Karpf , consisting of the large cruiser Roon , the small cruisers Augsburg and Lübeck , the mine cruiser Albatross and seven torpedo boats , left Memel on June 30, 1915. The venture was not the first of its kind, with at least seven more in the previous two months.

After the mine-laying campaign ended on July 1st, the German association split up and ran different courses. Only the cruiser Augsburg remained with the Albatross . Radio communications on the German side had been maintained throughout the company. The Russian side was able to overhear them, because after the stranding of the small cruiser Magdeburg on August 26, 1914 off Odensholm, the signal books of the Imperial Navy fell into their hands. In this way, the Russian side received precise information about the presence, strength, position and course of the German ships. The Russian naval commander was informed by the German company and immediately changed his plans.

The battle

Battle overview of the German and Russian units

In the early hours of July 2 sighted one under the command of Rear Admiral Mikhail Bachirew standing Russian squadron consisting of the armored cruisers Admiral Makarov and Bajan and the protected cruisers Bogatyr and Oleg , on his way to the East Prussian coast the German ships. In the artillery duel that followed, the German mine cruiser Albatross , which was poorly armed with artillery , was so badly damaged that it had to be put on the burning beach at Östergarnsholm on the east Gothic coast . The ship and its crew were interned in neutral Sweden, later salvaged and restituted after the war. The Augsburg escaped because the Russian units concentrated their fire on the Albatross . The large cruiser Roon did not appear on the battlefield until after this section of the battle and attacked the Russian cruisers that were already withdrawing. He scored a hit on the armored cruiser Bajan , but it did not cause much damage. The Roon itself received no direct hits, only the radio antenna was torn down by splinters.

While the battle continued, both sides sent additional heavy forces to assist. On the Russian side, the armored cruiser Rurik joined in and met the German ships that were already sailing south. At first there was a fierce battle with the Lübeck , which the Rurik in the fog had confused with the Nowik , a major destroyer. When the Roon of the Lübeck rushed to the rescue, there was also a short battle between the two armored cruisers. The Rurik suffered minor damage from hits in this battle; the Lübeck was lucky and was only slightly damaged by splinters. On the German side, the two large cruisers Prince Adalbert and Prince Heinrich left Danzig with two torpedo boats . Before Hela , the Prinz Adalbert was torpedoed by the patrolling British submarine E9 under Max Kennedy Horton . Despite the damage, the ship was able to be held in the underwater area and brought to Kiel by its commander, Captain Andreas Michelsen .

consequence

The consequence of this German debacle was the realization that the ships used in the Baltic Sea and for the most part obsolete were urgently supplemented by more modern units and that advances had to be covered by heavy units (e.g. older battleships ).

literature

Lutz Bengelsdorf: The naval war in the Baltic Sea 1914-1918. Hauschild, Herford 2008, ISBN 978-3-89757-404-5 .
The disaster of the miner Albatross. In: Siegfried Breyer: The Imperial Navy and its large cruisers (= Marine-Arsenal. Special issue 15). Podzun-Pallas, Wölfersheim-Berstadt 1997, ISBN 3-7909-0603-4 , pp. 46-47.
Federal Navy Archives: Combat reports of the cruisers "SMS Lübeck" (RM92 / 2154), "SMS Augsburg" (RM92 / 2979), "SMS Roon" (RM92 / 3388)

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ S 126 , S 131 , G 135 , G 141 , S 142 , G 147 and S 149 .
↑ Three and a half months later, on October 23, 1915, the same ship was less fortunate. A torpedo from the British submarine E8 detonated near an ammunition chamber and blew the cruiser in two; there were only three survivors.

[1] S 126 , S 131 , G 135 , G 141 , S 142 , G 147 and S 149 .

[2] Three and a half months later, on October 23, 1915, the same ship was less fortunate. A torpedo from the British submarine E8 detonated near an ammunition chamber and blew the cruiser in two; there were only three survivors.