![Estonian archipelago (Saaremaa and Hiiumaa)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Estonian_archipelago_%28Saaremaa_and_Hiiumaa%29.jpg)
The Battle of Moon Sound was a
naval battle
Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large lan ...
fought between the forces of the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
, and the then
Russian Republic
The Russian Republic,. referred to as the Russian Democratic Federal Republic. in the Decree on the system of government of Russia (1918), 1918 Constitution, was a short-lived state (polity), state which controlled, ''de jure'', the territ ...
(and
three British submarines) in the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
during
Operation Albion
Operation Albion was a World War I German air, land and naval operation against the Russian forces in October 1917 to occupy the West Estonian Archipelago. The land campaign opened with German landings at the Tagalaht bay on the island of ...
from 16 October 1917 until 3 November 1917 during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The German intention was to destroy the Russian forces and occupy the
West Estonian Archipelago
West Estonian archipelago ( et, Lääne-Eesti saarestik, also Moonsund archipelago) is a group of Estonian islands located in the Baltic Sea around Väinameri. The total area is about . The archipelago is composed of the islands Saaremaa, Hiium ...
. The
Imperial German Navy
The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...
had one battlecruiser, 10 battleships, nine light cruisers, one mine cruiser, 50 destroyers and six submarines while the Russians had only two pre-dreadnoughts, three cruisers, three gunboats, 21 destroyers, plus three British submarines.
Background
It was the Germans' intention to destroy the Russian Army and occupy the West Estonian Archipelago (Moonsund Archipelago). The Germans captured the archipelago, with its main islands of
Saaremaa
Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring . The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the island i ...
(Ösel),
Hiiumaa
Hiiumaa (, ) is the second largest island in Estonia and is part of the West Estonian archipelago, in the Baltic Sea. It has an area of 989 km2 and is 22 km from the Estonian mainland. Its largest town is Kärdla. It is located within H ...
(Dagö), and
Muhu
Muhu (also called Muhumaa in Estonian), is an island in the West Estonian archipelago of the Baltic Sea. With an area of it is the third largest island belonging to Estonia, after Saaremaa and Hiiumaa.
Together with neighbouring smaller isl ...
(Moon) during
Operation Albion
Operation Albion was a World War I German air, land and naval operation against the Russian forces in October 1917 to occupy the West Estonian Archipelago. The land campaign opened with German landings at the Tagalaht bay on the island of ...
in September 1917. This left a Russian squadron consisting of the old
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
-era
pre-dreadnought battleship
Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, prote ...
s ''Grazhdanin'' (formally ), and , together with
cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles.
The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
s and
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
s, stranded in the
Gulf of Riga
The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia ( lv, Rīgas līcis, et, Liivi laht) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia.
The island of Saaremaa (Estonia) partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic Sea. The main con ...
. Following the battle, the squadron escaped on 17 October 1917 by way of the Suur Strait separating the island of Muhu from the Estonian mainland. It was thought in the West at the time that the Russian naval force could have been stronger if newer and larger ships had been sent from Petrograd and that indiscipline in the navy had prevented this. This was reported in the London newspaper ''The Times'' soon afterwards.
Many of the sailors fighting for Russia organised themselves democratically and in the preceding months, these organisations had passed numerous motions denouncing the war and calling for an immediate peace. Nevertheless, they also did not want Petrograd, as the centre of the revolution, to fall into the hands of the German military. Many suspected that sections of the government, which would soon be overthrown in the
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
, now wanted to abandon Petrograd so the revolution could be pacified. This train of thought can be seen in the radio message that many of the Russian ships broadcast during the battle; "Attacked by superior German forces our fleet will go down in unequal battle. Not one of our ships will decline the fight. The slandered and maligned fleet will do its duty...but not at the command of a miserable Russian
Bonaparte, ruling by the long-suffering patience of the revolution...not in the name of the treaties of our rulers with the Allies, binding in chains the hands of Russian freedom...In the hour when the waves of the Baltic are stained with the blood of our brothers...we raise our voice:...Oppressed people of the whole world! Lift the banner of revolt!"
Battle
At the start of the Battle of Moon Sound there were two British submarines in the Gulf of Riga. They were
''C 27'' (Lt. Sealy) and
''C 32'' (Lt. Satow). When the Germans got there,
Captain Francis Cromie sent out another submarine,
''C 26'' (Lt. Downie). On the night of 16 October, Lt. Sealy fired two torpedoes at two German ships but missed. Two further torpedoes struck their targets. ''C 27'' returned to
Hanko Hanko may refer to
People
*August Hanko (military personnel), August Hanko, German First World War flying ace
Places
*Hanko, Finland, town and municipality
*Hanko Peninsula, Finland
*Hankø, an island in the Oslo Fjord in Norway
*The asteroid ...
when it was no longer needed. ''C 32'' attempted to attack a German ship but was spotted and bombed. In the afternoon of 16 October, Gruppe Behncke travelled to the south exit of the Suur Strait and dropped anchor around 8:30 pm. All German ships were anchored in a close line with a torpedo boat at each end. The Germans made significant progress onshore on 16 October, taking 120 officers and 400 men prisoner and capturing 49 guns. By the end of the day, German forces were prepared to capture the West Estonian Archipelago and the navy was ready to attack in the
Matsalu Bay
Matsalu Bay ( et, Matsalu laht) is a bay in Lääne County, Estonia; the bay is part of Väinameri.
The bay's area is 67 km2.
The bay and its coast area is under protection ( Matsalu National Park).
The bay is one of the most important wetla ...
and the Suur Strait.
The Russian battle strategy was changed at 4:30 am on 17 October due to a mistake made in the transfer of an order. That morning, ships were on the move by 7:00. The 3rd M.S.H.F was heading east while the 8th H.f.F.l. was heading north under the command of
Erich Koellner
Z13 ''Erich Koellner'' was a built for Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' in the late 1930s. At the beginning of World War II, the ship was still working up. In early 1940 she made two successful minelaying sorties off the English coast that cl ...
.
At 7:20 am, Russian battleships opened fire on the 8th H.f.F.l, the 3rd M.S. Dive and the ''Sperrbrecher''. The 8th advanced but were under constant Russian fire. It was the 3rd M.S.H.F's duty to clear mines.
At 8:00 am Admiral Behncke ordered that the cruisers not advance any further. At this point, the dreadnoughts and proceeded east by the 3rd M.S.H.F, both under the command of
Georg von der Marwitz
Georg Cornelius Adalbert von der Marwitz (7 July 1856 – 27 October 1929) was a Prussian cavalry general, who commanded several German armies during the First World War on both the Eastern and Western fronts.
Early military career
Marwitz was ...
. ''Slava'' was advancing so that she came between Paternoster and Werder and started firing upon any east-bound German ship. While this was going on, the 3rd M.S.H.F. had reached Laura Bank and turned north, ''König'' and ''Kronprinz'' continued east and ''Slava'' was now heading north. Admiral Hopman was at the same time heading west towards the Väike Strait.
At 9:10 am, two Russian ships that had returned south opened fire on the 3rd M.S.H.F. The Russians now understood that if they could stop the minesweepers, they could stop the entire German attack. At 9:40 am, 3rd Ms. Dive was brought over to the east side of Russian minefields to assist the 3rd H.f.F.l.
By 10:00 am, the minesweepers were on the northern edge of the rectangular minefield. ''König'' and ''Kronprinz'' now went forward. Around 10:13 am, ''König'' opened fire on ''Slava''. By 10:17 am, ''Kronprinz'' followed ''König''`s lead and opened fire on the battleship ''Grazhdanin''. The armored cruiser was also attacked by ''König''. ''Slava'' took many underwater hits, causing extensive damage. ''Grazhdanin'' only got hit twice in all of the chaos. At 10:40 am the Germans ceased fire. The Russians continued to fire on the 3rd M.S.H.F. Around 10:30 am, Admiral Bachirev ordered all sea forces to withdraw to the northern Suur Strait. ''Slava,'' now damaged beyond repair, was scuttled by Turkmerec Strauropolski.
The Russians were determined to make the channel impossible to pass through so they laid out more mines and used damaged ships to their advantage. At 10:46 am, the Werder Battery opened fire on the German battleships.
At approximately 11:09 am, two German battleships anchored while under fire at
Võilaid
Võilaid is a small, uninhabited island in the Baltic Sea belonging to the country of Estonia. Its coordinates are .
Võilaid lies southeast of the Estonian island of Muhu in the Gulf of Riga. The island is 2.5 km² and uninhabited. In the s ...
. At 11:28 am there was a false submarine alarm followed by a legitimate one at 12:08 pm.
Around 1:35 pm, the light cruiser attacked Võilaid for approximately ten minutes but met no reply. At 3:45 pm, Admiral Hopman's flagleutnant Obltz Keln led a landing party to take over Woi. At 5:30 pm, a white star shell could be seen which meant that the battery had successfully been taken but the guns were unserviceable. By 3:00 pm,
Kommodore
(pronounced ''kom-o-'dor-eh'') was the highest senior officer rank () in the German ''Kriegsmarine'', comparable to commodore in anglophone naval forces. There was no counterpart in the German '' Heer'' and'' Luftwaffe'', but ''Kommodore'' wou ...
Heinrich took V100 toward the channel that would lead them to the Suur Strait but was immediately under fire from gunboats under the control of Admiral Makarov.
At 10:00 pm, Kptlt Zander began to go forward to the Suur Strait. The V25-class torpedo boat ''S 50'' took up position to mark the passage. At the end of the day, Germans were in control over the southern Suur Strait, the Väike Strait and the Matsalu Bay. On the night of 17 October, the Russians gave up trying to capture the Suur Strait. Just after midnight on 18 October, V25-class torpedo boat ''S 64'' hit a mine and was rendered unmanoeuvrable.
She sank before 1:00 am.
At dawn, German torpedo boats assumed patrol stations in the Matsalu Bay. The landing operations on Hiiumaa gained momentum between 7:15 and 8:00 am, and the area around
Emmaste
Emmaste (german: Emmast) is a village in Hiiumaa Parish, Hiiu County in northwestern Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Fin ...
was secured. By 8:30 am, German minesweepers had worked forward to a mile south of the
Viirelaid
Viirelaid, previously also known as Paternoster, is a small island in the Baltic Sea belonging to the country of Estonia. Viirelaid lies southeast of the island of Muhu. Together with Muhu and neighbouring small islands of Kesselaid, Võilaid ...
lighthouse. At 8:00 am, Behncke's group started east and went behind the 3rd M.S.H.F.
Just after 10:00 am, Behncke ordered Admiral Hopman to dispatch the light cruiser and the 8th M.S.H.F. to the 3rd Squadron while ''Kolberg'', the torpedo-boats and Sperrbrecher would remain to the west. At 12:40 pm the 3rd M.S.H.F. and two boats of the half flotilla confirmed that ''Slava'' was sunk along with two freight steamers. The Germans could see Russian destroyers laying mines, the Russians had not yet detected the Germans, so the Germans opened fire, which was met with a reply. Two German torpedo boats opened fire as the Germans continued northward, two Russian gunboats and several destroyers took them under fire. They then turned south at high speed under the cover of a smokescreen. By the evening of the 18th,
Kuressaare
Kuressaare () is a town on Saaremaa island in Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saaremaa Parish and the capital of Saare County. Kuressaare is the westernmost town in Estonia. The recorded population on 1 January 2018 was 13,276.
Th ...
had been made a supply base, the southern part of Hiiumaa under control of the Second Cyclist Battalion and the S-Flotilla landing section,
Saaremaa
Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring . The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the island i ...
and
Muhu
Muhu (also called Muhumaa in Estonian), is an island in the West Estonian archipelago of the Baltic Sea. With an area of it is the third largest island belonging to Estonia, after Saaremaa and Hiiumaa.
Together with neighbouring smaller isl ...
were now firmly in German hands.
On 19 October the forces of the Gulf of Riga and numerous transport steamers and auxiliaries left the northern Suur Strait under the protection of minesweepers and destroyers. By mid-afternoon, the German forces had penetrated the strait. The German losses were seven minesweepers, nine trawlers and small boats as well as one torpedo boat. The army had 54 dead and 141 wounded. The German Army captured 20,130 prisoners and 141 Russian guns including 47 heavy pieces and 130 machine guns.
[ ]
Aftermath
According to Leon Trotsky, the loss of the Moon Sound archipelago was used by the provisional government as a pretext to begin preparations to move the capital from Petrograd to Moscow. The Bolsheviks accused the provisional government of refusing to defend the revolutionary capital and attempting to abandon it to Imperialist forces. Pressure from below forced the government to abandon these plans.
The Russian losses were minor, the destroyer ''Grom'' was sunk and ''Slava'' scuttled as a blockship at the archipelago entrance, with most of the crews rescued. The other ships suffered damages, but none major. On the 19th of October, the rest of the Russian fleet was able to escape the archipelago to Lapvik, Finland, after bad weather and minefields prevented the German fleet from intercepting it.
The Germans suffered more casualties, 156 were killed and another 60 were wounded. They lost more craft, though mostly small torpedo boats, ''S 64'' hit a mine and sank. Additionally, before the operation, 2 ships were sunk and 2 damaged by mines, while during the operation, multiple ships were sunk by mines, the battleships
''Bayern'' and
''Grosser Kurfürst'' were both damaged by mines and
''Kronprinz'' ran aground while returning to Kiel, which took months to repair, the transport ''Corsica'' was damaged by a mine and ran aground, the minesweeper tender ''Indianola'' was damaged by a torpedo from a British submarine,
and seven minesweepers were sunk in anti-mine operations.
Operation Albion meanwhile was a tremendous German success, with the Russian forces on the islands destroyed, and the islands and coastal batteries firmly in German hands. The Russian defeat prompted the Russian military to refuse further operations and on the 7th of November, the Bolsheviks overthrew the provisional government.
See also
*
Operation Albion
Operation Albion was a World War I German air, land and naval operation against the Russian forces in October 1917 to occupy the West Estonian Archipelago. The land campaign opened with German landings at the Tagalaht bay on the island of ...
*
Moonsund Landing Operation
The Moonsund landing operation (russian: Моонзундская десантная операция; et, Lääne-Eesti saarte kaitsmine), also known as the Moonzund landing operation, was an amphibious operation and offensive by the Red Ar ...
(1944)
References
Sources
*
*
External links
Account of Russian naval activities in World War I; includes a short section on the Battle of Moon SoundArticle in Russian Language on the Battle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moon Sound
Conflicts in 1917
Naval battles of World War I involving Germany
Naval battles of World War I involving Russia
Naval battles of World War I involving the United Kingdom
Baltic Sea operations of World War I
Amphibious operations of World War I
October 1917 events
November 1917 events
Military history of Estonia
Gulf of Riga
Amphibious operations involving Germany