The Battle of Åland Islands, or the Battle of Gotland, which occurred in July 1915, was a naval battle of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

between the

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and the

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, assisted by a

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of the British Baltic Flotilla. It took place in the

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off the shores of

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, Sweden, a country neutral in World War I.

The battle

On ,Russia was still using the

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in 1915 a squadron consisting of the armoured cruisers , , , , and , under

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Mikhail Bakhirev in ''Oleg'' left their harbours in order to bombard Klaipėda (Memel). While sailing through thick fog ''Rurik'' and ''Novik'' separated from the main group and later acted independently. On the same day the German mine-laying cruiser , screened by the armoured cruiser , the light cruisers and , and seven destroyers, under Kommodore Johannes von Karpf, was laying mines off the Åland Islands. After completing his mission, Karpf reported back through the radio. Karpf's message was intercepted and decoded. When Bakhirev became aware of the German squadron's whereabouts, the bombardment of Klaipėda was canceled. The squadron then focused on intercepting the German minelayers with the constant assistance of the naval staff. In the early morning of , the Russian squadron spotted and immediately opened fire on ''Augsburg'', ''Albatross'' and three torpedo boats. Karpf commanded ''Roon'' and ''Lübeck'', which at the time were heading towards Liepāja (Libau), to return to

. At the same time he ordered ''Albatross'' to find shelter in Swedish territorial waters. ''Bogatyr'' and ''Oleg'' managed to catch up with ''Albatross'' and opened fire. The flaming ''Albatross'' ran aground near Östergarn. ''Bayan'', ''Oleg'' and ''Rurik'' then attempted to return to their base. A couple of hours later they encountered ''Roon'' and ''Lübeck''. A short artillery duel followed. A shortage of shells forced the Russian cruisers to retreat. Fearing a possible arrival of enemy reinforcements the damaged German ships also retreated. As the German armoured cruisers and sailed to reinforce the German squadron, ''Prinz Adalbert'' was torpedoed by the British submarine and limped to shore.

Legacy

The battle is regarded as the first instance of Russian signals intelligence.

Notes

References

External links

The History of the Russian Navy: The Great WarRussian Navy on the eve of and during World War I and the Civil War
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aland Islands, Battle of Action of 19 June 1915 Action of 19 June 1915 Naval battles of World War I involving Russia Naval battles of World War I involving Germany Naval battles of World War I involving the United Kingdom Gotland July 1915 in Europe