Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1971-017-32, Besetzung Insel Ösel, Linienschiff und Zeppelin

Operation Albion was a

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 ...

German air, land and naval operation against the

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

forces in October 1917 to 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, Hiiu ...

. The land campaign opened with German landings at the Tagalaht bay on the island 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 isla ...

, on 12 October 1917, after extensive naval operations to clear mines and subdue

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...

batteries. The Germans secured the island by 16 October and the

Russian army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Force ...

evacuated

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 is ...

on 20 October. After two failed attempts, the Germans landed on

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 ...

on 12 October, capturing the island on the following day. The Russian Baltic Fleet had to withdraw from the Suur Strait after its losses at the

Battle of Moon Sound The Battle of Moon Sound was a naval battle fought between the forces of the German Empire, and the then Russian Republic (and three British submarines) in the Baltic Sea during Operation Albion from 16 October 1917 until 3 November 1917 duri ...

. The Germans claimed 20,000 prisoners and 100 guns captured during Operation Albion from 12 to 20 October.

Strategic significance

At the beginning of World War I the islands were of little importance to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

or Germany. After the revolutionary turmoil in Russia during the early part of 1917, the German high command believed capturing the islands would outflank Russian defences and lay Petrograd (

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

) vulnerable to attack.

Order of battle

German units

* Naval Forces (''Sonderverband''): Vice Admiral Ehrhard Schmidt ** Battlecruiser: (flagship) **

III Battle Squadron The III Battle Squadron was a unit of the German High Seas Fleet before and during World War I. The squadron saw action throughout the war, including the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916, where it formed the front of the German line ...

(''III. Geschwader'') (Vice Admiral

Paul Behncke Paul Behncke (13 August 1869 – 4 January 1937) was a German admiral during the First World War, most notable for his command of the III Battle Squadron of the German High Seas Fleet during the Battle of Jutland. Naval career He was born in Lü ...

)

dreadnought battleship The dreadnought (alternatively spelled dreadnaught) was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her ...

s: (flagship), , , , **

IV Battle Squadron IV may refer to: Businesses and organizations *Immigration Voice, an activist organization *Industrievereinigung, Federation of Austrian Industry *Intellectual Ventures, a privately held intellectual property company *InterVarsity Christian Fello ...

(''IV. Geschwader'') (Vice Admiral

Wilhelm Souchon Wilhelm Anton Souchon (; 2 June 1864 – 13 January 1946) was a German admiral in World War I. Souchon commanded the ''Kaiserliche Marine''s Mediterranean squadron in the early days of the war. His initiatives played a major part in the entry o ...

) dreadnought battleships: (flagship), , , , ** II Cruiser Squadron (''II. Aufklärungsgruppe'') (Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter)

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to th ...

s: (flagship), , , , ** IV Cruiser Squadron (''VI. Aufklärungsgruppe'') (Rear Admiral Albert Hopman) light cruisers: (flagship), , ; minelayer: ; tender: ** Torpedo Boats (Commodore Paul Heinrich) cruiser: (flagship) *** II Torpedo Boat Flotilla: ''B 98''; 3rd Half-Flotilla: ''G 101'', ''V 100'', ''G 103'', ''G 104''; 4th Half-Flotilla: ''B 109'', ''B 110'', ''B 111'', ''B 97'', ''B 112'' *** VI Torpedo Boat Flotilla: ''V 69''; 12th Half-Flotilla: ''V 43'', ''S 50'', ''V 44'', ''V 45'', ''V 46''; 13th Half-Flotilla: ''V 82'', ''S 64'' , ''S 61'', ''S 63'', ''V 74'' *** VIII Torpedo Boat Flotilla: ''V 180''; 15th Half-Flotilla: ''V 183'', ''V 185'', ''V 181'', ''V 184'', ''V 182''; 16th Half-Flotilla: ''S 176'', ''S 178'', ''G 174'', ''S 179'', ''V 186'' *** X Torpedo Boat Flotilla:: ''S 56''; 19th Half-Flotilla: ''T 170'', ''T 169'', ''T 172'', ''G 175'', ''T 165''; 20th Half-Flotilla: ''V 78'', ''V 77'', ''G 89'', ''S 65'', ''S 66'' *** VII Half-Flotilla: ''T 154'', ''T 158'', ''T 157'', ''T 151'', ''T 160'', ''T 145'', ''T 140'', ''T 139'' ** Courland Submarine Flotilla (''U-BootsFlottille Kurland''): ''UC 56, UC 57, UC 58, UC 59, UC 60, UC 78'' ** Minesweepers (''Minensuchdienst'') *** II Minesweeper Flotilla: ''A 62''; 3rd Half-Flotilla: ''T 136'', ''M 67'', ''M 68, M 75, M 76, M 77, T 59, T 65, T 68, T 82, T 85''; 4th Half-Flotilla: ''T 104, T 53, T 54, T 55, T 56, T 60, T 61, T 62, T 66, T 67, T 69''; 8th Half-Flotilla: ''M 64, M 11, M 31, M 32, M 39, A 35'' *** III Half-Flotilla of the Search Flotilla: ''T 141'', 15 motor-boats *** Mine-Searcher Group of the Outpost Half-Flotilla East: 6 fishing vessels *** I Minesweeper Division (Riga): 11 motor-boats *** II Minesweeper Division: 12 motor-boats *** III Minesweeper Division: 12 motor-boats *** IV Minesweeper Division: 10 motor-boats; outpost boat ''O 2'' *** Mine-barrage Breaker group (''Sperrbrechergruppe''): ''Rio Parbo, Lothar, Schwaben, Elass'' ** Anti-Submarine Forces (''U-Bootsabwehr'') *** Baltic Search Flotilla: ''T 144''; 1st half-flotilla: ''T 142, A 32, A 28, A 30'', 32 fishing vessels; 2nd half-flotilla: ''T 130, A 31, A 27, A 29'', 24 fishing vessels * Ground Forces: Generalleutnant Ludwig von Estorff ** 42nd Division ** 2nd ''Infanterie'' Cyclist Brigade

Russian units

* 425th, 426th and 472nd Infantry Regiments * Battleships: , *

Armored cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...

s: , * Destroyers: , , , , , * Gunboats: , * Blockship: ''Lavwija'' * Minelayer: Operation Albion: The Attack On The Baltic Islands
/ref>

British units

* Submarines: , ,

Citations and references

Cited sources

External links

1 October entries on this site summarise Operation Albion

"Oesel Genommen", film footage of the invasion in 1917 from the German Federal Archives

Gregory Thiele "Operation Albion and Joint Amphibious Doctrine" ''Joint Forces Quarterly'' October 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albion, Operation 1917 in Estonia 1917 in Russia Amphibious operations involving Germany Amphibious operations of World War I Baltic Sea operations of World War I Military history of Estonia Military operations of World War I involving Germany Military operations of World War I involving Russia Military operations of World War I involving the United Kingdom October 1917 events