Operation Schlußstein (Operation Keystone) was a German military operation, which was carried out towards the end of the

First World War 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 ...

in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

region and in

Karelia Karelia (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; , historically Коре́ла, ''Korela'' []; ) is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia (including the Soviet Union, Soviet era), Finland, and Sweden. It is currentl ...

with the aim of occupying the Murman Railway.

Background

After the Bolsheviks' victory in the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

at the end of 1917, the unstable Russian situation caused by the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

prompted the German Supreme Army Command to take expansive action in the East. Although the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty of spring 1918 seemed to end the war in the East, the civil war situation did not bring peace. The non-Russian peoples had been granted sovereignty by

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

, but there were conflict in these region, especially in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. Meanwhile the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

tried to export the

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

and establish

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

regimes in these areas.

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

actively used this situation to their advantage, which represented a breach of the Brest Litovsk peace treaty, as a pretext for further conquest. However, it is not possible to clearly distinguish between political expansionist intentions and actual security concerns of the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

regarding military intervention by the Entente and the establishment of pro-German, predictable governments instead of an unleashed revolutionary furor in the affected areas. The political goals were very

heterogeneous Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts relating to the uniformity of a substance, process or image. A homogeneous feature is uniform in composition or character (i.e., color, shape, size, weight, height, distribution, texture, language, i ...

on the German side - but the military reasons were the main reason. In this context, the occupation of the

Åland Islands Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

in March and the intervention in the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between Whites (Finland), White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (Red Finland) during the country's transition fr ...

in April 1918, the so-called Finnish intervention, took place. The German side was unclear about how to proceed and several scenarios were discussed between the Supreme Army Command and the Foreign Office. At the same time as the German expansion into the northern

, British and French troops landed in

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

to protect the supplies stored there for the Russian army from looting or capture by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, to advance via the Murman railway if necessary, and to intervene on the side of the

White Army The White Army, also known as the White Guard, the White Guardsmen, or simply the Whites, was a common collective name for the armed formations of the White movement and Anti-Sovietism, anti-Bolshevik governments during the Russian Civil War. T ...

in the battles against

and German troops.

German considerations

In the summer of 1918, after several severe setbacks, the

' victory seemed questionable overall. The German military attaché in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Wilhelm Schubert, recommended that they join forces with the anti-Bolshevik forces. The State Secretary of the Foreign Office, Rear Admiral (ret.)

Paul von Hintze Paul von Hintze (13 February 1864 – 19 August 1941) was a German naval officer, diplomat, and politician who served as Foreign Minister of Germany in the last stages of World War I, from July to October 1918. Upbringing Paul Hintze was born ...

, vehemently opposed this and advocated joint action with the Soviets. Thus, on the German side a very mixed picture of conflicting interests regarding future action can be observed.

Soviet plans

In view of further imminent Allied landings, the Bolshevik side advocated joint action against the Murman Railway, white units in

(especially the

Don Cossacks Don Cossacks (, ) or Donians (, ), are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don River (Russia), Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (, ), which was either an independent or an autonomous democratic rep ...

) and against General Alexeyev. The latter was again rejected by Germany.

German plans

The precondition for the action against the Murman Railway was the

' agreement to the occupation of

Kronstadt Kronstadt (, ) is a Russian administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg, near the head ...

and

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, which was finally accepted. The German side wanted to secure a logistic base due to the well developed railway network there, but at the same time to gain control over the Baltic fleet and the Russian power centre. Vice Admiral Friedrich Boedicker was appointed commander of the German forces, who immediately ordered the clearing of the access roads from mines to the Gulf of Finland.

Operation

Mine clearance in the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

began on 12 August 1918. Meanwhile, ships remained on standby in

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

. The staff of the I. Battle Squadron, to which the ships belonged, embarked on the Small Cruiser Stralsund on 16 August and sailed to Libau, where Commander Boedicker joined them. Via Reval, Helsingfors, Narwa and Hungerburg the ship moved to Björkö Sund. Afterwards the operation was postponed due to the unclear situation on the Eastern Front. On September 9, SMS Stralsund was transferred, this time to

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

and disembarked again, arriving immediately in Björkö on September 16. The ship was replaced on 27 September by the old coastal defense ship Beowulf, which remained there as a stationary unit. On 27 September the operation was abandoned due to the general military and political situation. The situation in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

and the collapse of the

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

front led to the cessation of all offensive operations in the

region and on the Eastern front respectively.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlußstein, Operation Military operations of World War I involving Germany Military operations of the Russian Civil War in 1918 German involvement in the Russian Civil War Soviet Russia in World War I Baltic Sea operations of World War I Naval battles of the Russian Civil War August 1918 in Europe September 1918 in Europe