Operation Albion

So many believe post Jutland the High Seas Fleet sulked in its bases scared of its own shadow,  something we all know not to be true. Let's take one example of how the fleet still had some sharp teeth left after three years of war.

In October 1917 the Germans executed a  naval operation  in the Baltic's Gulf of Riga. Russia was in the midst of revolutionary times and the army was equally disorganized, mutinous and large numbers were deserting to return to their homes. The choas allowed the German land forces to resume their advance eastwards and they captured both Riga and Dünamünde during early September. These success greatly enlarged the area of Courland coast then under German control, but it also turned the German eyes towards the prizes of Ösel and the other islands located within the Gulf of Riga.

Russian naval forces retained control of the gulf, which exposed  the left flank of the German army, along  with the coast line  to naval bombardment. There was also the possibility  that the Russians might attempt to make a landing in the rear of the German land forces, although the state of the Russian army made this highly improbable.

More importance was  that the Russian naval threat, prevented the Germans from using Dünamünde as a supply port. The Germans had already learnt that the their surface fleet could not remain in the Gulf of Riga without securing its line of access through the Irben Strait, and to achieve this Ösel and the batteries on the Sworbe Peninsula (they commanded the minefields) would have to be removed. There were also,  Germans who believed, unlikely as it may seem today, that the British had surveyed the Sworbe Peninsula with the notion of  occupying it to establish a foothold on the shores of the Baltic.

The idea of action in the Baltic was equally agreeable to a faction within the  German naval command. The operation, (to be code named “Albion”) would require a heavy naval contingent seconded from the North Sea. Rhienhard Scheer, (Chief of the High Sea Fleet), would write post war, “this offered a welcome diversion from the monotony of the war in the North Sea.” Captain Levetzow, (chief of operations on Scheer’s staff), was equally  happy to include a number the heavier ships in Operation Albion. The chief of the Admiralstab, (maybe as a result of the recent 'strikes' within the fleet), was  equally keen  for an opportunity of action and to raise the battleship crews morale.

The psychological factor was also important to the German high command, with Ludendorff thinking of it in terms of an opportunity to increase the desire for peace within the Russian army. “The blow was aimed at Petrograd, and, since very many people have no idea of time and space, was bound to make a profound impression there”  Ludendorff believed. Hindenburg also a believer that the operation would “intensify our pressure on a nervous Petersburg without employing any large forces.”

The German  Baltic Admirals  were less enthusiastic about Operation Albion. It would be easier  for the High Sea Fleet to detach a number of its dreadnoughts into the Baltic, than it was to make available the  numbers of the essential minesweepers the operation would demand. Minesweepers were required on a daily bases in the North Sea, to maintain the clear passage ways for  the transit of the U-boats. By this stage in the war, all agreed the submarine war had the priority. Prince Heinrich ( Commander-in-Chief, Baltic Fleet and  a younger brother the Kaiser),  had  reservations about the operation, mainly  because of the lateness in the season, the uncertainty of the weather, the  minefields, and the on going  presence of British submarines in the Baltic. These concerns were no doubt equally shared by his chiefs of staff,  Rear Admiral von Uslar and Rear Admiral Hopman, commander of the Baltic scouting forces. Rear Admiral Uslar believed  the effort and resources  required were  too much for just securing  the flank of the army. Hopman was to write to Von Tiṙpitz shortly before the commencement of operation that its military value was “nonsense” but  “it brings a fresh breath of air into the fleet, whose spirit, as far as the ratings are concerned, is in even more dire straits than Your Excellency suggested some time ago.”

On 18 September  orders for the joint operation to capture both Ösel and Moon Islands were issued. The question of command was a potentially tricky as both Scheer (half of whose fleet would be transferred short term ) and Prince Heinrich wanted the command. The problem was  solved by creating the command to a 'Sonderverband' (task force) under the ranking subordinate admiral in the High Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Ehrhard Schmidt. The joint army navy  operations were to be overseen from Riga by Lieutenant General von Hutier, (commander in chief of the Eighth Army), in whose area of operation offensive would take place. Lieutenant General von Kathen would command the army units , comprising of the reinforced 42d Infantry Division and 2d Infantry Cyclist Brigade (approximately 24,600 officers and men), and they  would be transported in two groups of nineteen steamers to Tagga Bay on the western shores of Osel.

The Sonderverband was by a large margin the  most powerful German naval force to appear in the Baltic during the war years. The task force flagship for the duration, would be the Moltke. The 3rd Battle Squadron (König, Bayern, Grosser Kurfürst, Kronprinz, and Markgraf),  the 4th Battle Squadron (Friedrich der Grosse, König Albert, Kaiserin, Prinzregent Luitpold, and Kaiser) would be 'loaned' by the High Seas fleet. The Second Scouting Group, comprising of five cruisers and  Hopman’s three Baltic cruisers would also be loaned. Commodore Heinrich would fly his flag in the cruiser Emden ll, leading the three half flotillas of destroyers and torpedo boats detached from the High Sea Fleet, a mine-sweeping division, also from the North Sea and the Baltic minesweepers, mine hunters, mine breakers(?), submarines, and depot ships.  The “Rosenberg flotilla” (an antisubmarine flotilla of torpedo boats and trawlers under Fregattenkapitän von Rosenberg) would also be attached. The German task force  numbered more than 300 vessels of all types, plus 6 zeppelins and more than 100 aircraft. Despite these numbers, former chief of staff of the German Eighth Army noted  after the war, that  the fleet “was lacking in adequate mine-sweeping equipment. This deficiency later, on several occasions, made itself felt most embarrassingly.”

The Russian forces in the Gulf of Riga came  under the command of Rear Admiral Bakhirev, who flew his flag in the cruiser Bayan(1900). His command  included the pre-dreadnoughts  Grazhdanin (1899, (formerly the Tsarevitch)) and the Slava (1902). In addition the cruisers Admiral Makaroff (1905) and (later) Diana, 3 gunboats, 12 new destroyers, 14 older destroyers, plus 3 Royal Navy C-class submarines*, older torpedo boats, minesweepers, minelayers, mine hunters, and assorted patrol craft.
(*Four C class submarines operated in the Baltic Sea, and were based at Tallinn. They formed part of the blockade of Germany, trying to prevent the import of iron ore from Sweden. They were ordered there in September 1915 via a tortuous route, towed around the North Cape to Arkhangelsk and taken by barge to Kronstadt. Three of these boats were destroyed (along with the British E class submarines E1, E8, E9, E19) outside Helsinki in 1918 to avoid their capture by German troops of the Baltic Sea Division who had landed nearby).

The  Russian ships main anchorage was in Kuiwast Roads, which lay between Moon Island and the mainland, approximately 60 miles from the Irben Strait. The Russians,  due, maybe to the chaotic conditions in the army, appear to not to have done much to strengthen their land defenses,  concentrating instead on mine laying in the Irben Strait. The Ösel garrison, was  theoretically almost 14,000 strong,  but in reality was only at 60 to 70 percent strength. Russian morale and their powers their willingness to  resist the German advance were unknown qualities. The navy would in the main, with few exceptions, fight hard, perhaps harder than many would have  anticipated.

Whilst Operation Albion was in progress  the Dreadnoughts Oldenburg, Thuringen, Ostfrieslsnd, Westfalen and Helgoland sailed from Putzig Wiek to patrol off Danish Apenrade, in order to prevent any attempts  by the Royal Navy to interfere with German plans.

On the 25th September German naval forces sailed from Kiel, eastwards into the Baltic. The task force remained at Putzig in Poland from the 26th September until the 10th October when they sailed, escorting the troop ships.

Bad weather delayed the commencement of the  German mine-sweeping,  but improved sufficiently for the  German landing to take place at Tagga Bay at dawn on 12 October, with the Moltke and the Third Battle Squadron engaging the Russian batteries at Tagga Bay. A subsidiary landing, covered by the Rosenberg flotilla, took place near Pamerort farther north on the island. The Fourth Battle Squadron engaged the batteries at Sworbe on the southern tip of Ösel.

The German plan was for their light forces to advance through the shallow waters of Soela Sound, between Ösel and Dagö Island, obtaining command of Kassar Wick (the inlet between Moon Island and the southeast coast of Dago). From there  they could offer support to the army’s passage from Ösel to Moon Island, and block the passage from Moon Sound to the Gulf of Finland, effectively  trapping the Russian naval forces defending the Gulf of Riga. The navy also had to pass trough the Irben Strait in order to provide naval support for the German army advancing on Arensburg, the main town on Ösel.

The landings took place successfully on 12th October      but it became apparent  quickly the danger of Russian mines when both the Bayern and Grosser Kurfürst were both mined while taking up their bombardment positions. A German transport also was damaged by a mine, and her cargo of troops and their equipment had to be rescued by the escorting torpedo boats before the ship was beached. The damage to the Grosser Kurfürst wasn't serious. Her bulkheads limited the flooding to between 260 and 280 tons. But the  damage to the Bayern turned out to be much more serious than first thought. Temporary repairs failed to work, and the ship had to put back into Tagga Bay. After further temporary repairs, she slowly, over the course of nineteen days limped   back to Kiel.

Her repairs would last from 3 November to 27 December, during which time the forward torpedo tube room was stripped of its equipment and the torpedo ports were sealed. The room was then adapted to be an extra  watertight compartment. The opportunity to install  four 8.8 cm (3.5 in) anti-aircraft guns was taken at same time.

Grosser Kurfürst despite her mine damage, continued with the bombardment of Russian coastal guns on the Cape. But later in the day she too was detached from the invasion force. She limped back to Kiel, where after temporary repairs she passed through the Kiel canal and into dry dock in Wilhelmshaven. She rejoined the fleet on the 2nd December.

The Germans also experienced  great difficulties in the narrow waters in the Soela Sound while trying to gain control of Kassar Wick. The  conditions were difficult, with tricky currents, narrow channels, uncertain depths, sandbars, and rocks. As result   a number of German battleships, torpedo boats and other craft sustained damage from grounding.

Also on the morning of 12th the Germans discovered Russian destroyers in Kassar Wick, but the Russians manage to push  the German minesweepers, by force, back into Soela Sound. The Germans found they now faced the  problem that  the farther they pushed into Kassar Wick, the farther they got from the big guns of their supporting ships. The Russians however  could be supported by their cruisers in Moon Sound. In the afternoon two German torpedo boat and destroyer flotilla's engaged four Russian destroyers, supported by a gunboat. The Russians were joined later joined by another five of their destroyers as well as the cruiser Admiral Makarov. As a result the Germans failed  to get through to Moon Sound. The Germans didn't remain in Kassar Wick and after dark withdrew through Soela Sound.

Commodore Heinrich, (commanding the flotillas), asked for reinforcements, but the Germans still could not progress any farther on the 13th, when Russian destroyers, aided by fog, prevented the  Emden from entering into Soela Sound or even drawing close enough to deliver effective counter fire. Heinrich was now convinced that it would need the bigger and longer ranging guns of a battleships to drive  the Russian destroyers and gunboats off and secure control of Kassar Wick.
The sweeping operations at Irben were under the  command of Admiral Hopman, but the Germans had been making at  slow progress. On the night of the 13th, Schmidt ordered that Hopmans ships  break through to provide naval support for the German army now closing in on Arensburg. The Germans, under bombardment from the 30.5-cm battery at Zerel, failed to break through the  minefields on the 14th.

The dreadnoughts König Albert and Kaiserin, and later in company with the Friedrich der Grosse, bombarded Zerel at long range (7½ to 12½ miles), but accurate fire from the battery forced the ships to alter course frequently and finally disperse. The Germans, always of the danger from the Royal and Russian navy submarines and the mines, ended the bombardment after  an hour.
On the morning of the 15th October, Vice Admiral Behncke, commander of the 3rd Battle Squadron, arrived off the entrance to the Strait with the König and Kronprinz. He anchored the two dreadnought's in a close line with a torpedo boat at each end and then opened fire onto the Russian positions. The Zerel battery did not respond to German fire, and the Germans assumed it had been silenced and that they could proceed with their mine-sweeping. They had to break off sweeping operations  in the afternoon when the battleship Grazhdanin and three destroyers were seen to be approaching the Sworbe Peninsula. The Russians were there for another purpose in fact. It was the advance of the German army that finally sealed the fate of  Zerel. The Russians evacuated the battery after most of the gun crews had deserted. The remaining troops blew up the guns and ammunition stores, but the Grazhdanin and her destroyer escorts unsure how effective the destruction had been, bombarded the abandoned position. The remaining garrison, cut off on the Sworbe Peninsula by the German advance, were evacuated by sea.

The Russians planned on the night of 13/14 October to block the channel in Soela Sound by sinking a blockship and laying a new minefield. These plans were however frustrated when the blockship ran aground and couldn't  be refloated. The ship’s committee of the minelayer Pripyat refused to carry out the mission stating it to be too dangerous. This  breach of discipline was even condemned in the Soviets post war account of the operation.

The tide finally turned when on the 14th  when the Germans, after, sweeping and buoying a clear channel, managed to bring the dreadnought Kaiser from Tagga Bay into the entrance of Soela Sound. By 11.30 the Kaiser was in position and her 12 inch guns drove the Russian gunboats and destroyers away from the eastern entrance to Soela Sound. Commodore Heinrich’s reinforced flotilla could then dashed through the Sound and engage the Russian warships in Kassar Wick. In the exchange of fire, the large new Russian destroyer Grom was hit in the engine room by a 12 inch shell from the Kaiser, knocking out both her turbines, inflicting  a list on the destroyer. The gunboat Khrabri tried unsuccessfully  to take the Grom under tow but was engaged by the German flotilla, and after the tow broke, the Grom was abandoned. The German destroyer B98 (a veteran of Jutland), raced in to capture the Russian destroyer and take her under tow. But she found the Grom was too badly damaged and sank her. The Germans did manage to recover an invaluable chart of the local waters from the sinking ship. By 15.00 the German flotillas had driven the Russians out of Kassar Wick and finally remained in control until they to withdrew after dark. The Russians were still however a threat with the Germans coming under fire at the eastern edge of the inlet from the cruiser Admiral Makarov in Moon Sound.

During the night of 14–15 October, the Pripyat supported  by three motorboats laid a fresh field of mines in Kassar Wick north of Cape Pawasterort. (According to one source, the Pripyat’s mutinous crew had been replaced by more reliable men drawn from the destroyers and torpedo boats).
When the German flotillas returned to the inlet the next day, the destroyer B98 lost her bow to the new minefield and had to be towed back to Libau. The destroyer B112 while trying to discover a route  around the new minefield, ran a ground and was out of action. Despite this, the heavy fighting in the waters around the north of Ösel was effectively  over.
At the start of the Battle of Moon Sound, two British submarines were patrolling in the Gulf of Riga. These were the C 27 (Lt. Sealy) and C 32 (Lt. Satow). On the Germans arrival, Captain Francis Cromie sent out a third submarine, C 26 (Lt. Downie). On the night of the 16th of October, C27 fired two torpedoes at two German ships but both missed. Two further torpedoes however did strike their targets. C 27 then returned to Hanko. C 32 also attempted to attack a German ship but was spotted from the air and bombed.

On the morning of 17 October the Germans minesweeper's attempted to clear the Russian mines placed at the southern entrance to the Moon Sound Strait. Slava, Grazhdanin and the armored cruiser Bayan were ordered to sail south to stop the attempt, Vice Admiral Mikhail Bakhirev. They opened fire on the minesweepers at 8:05 a.m. The dreadnoughts König and Kronprinz were present to provide cover for the minesweepers, and Slava, engaged them 8:12 at her maximum range. The Grazhdanin, whose turrets had not been modified for extra elevation, remained with Bayan they continued to engage the minesweepers. The German ships returned fire on the Russian , but their shells fell short, at a range of 22,300 yards. Slava continued to fire on the German ships, but failed to scored even one hit, although some of her shells impacted the water only 160 ft from König. The German were suffering a severe disadvantage as they were then sailing in a narrow swept channel and could not maneuver. They were forced to reverse course to get out of the range of the Russian guns.

The German minesweepers made in the meanwhile made good progress, despite receiving minor damage from shell splinters and numerous near misses from the Slava, Grazhdanin, Bayan, as well as the Russian shore batteries. During this period Slava's front turret suffered mechanically when a bronze rack and pinion gear bent so that the gear wheel could not be moved. Only eleven shots had been fired between the two guns in the turret prior to this  breakdown. Slava and her consorts were then ordered north to permit the ships crews to eat lunch, but stomachs full, they returned to the fray and resumed their firing on the minesweepers at 10:04 (it was an early lunch!) with her only rear turret at an approximate range of 12,000 yards. The minesweepers had by this stage forgone a mid morning snack, and cleared a channel to the north whilst the Russians were dining and the dreadnoughts took advantage of the cleared passage to once more engage the Russian pre-dreadnoughts. König opened fire on Slava at 10:14 and struck hit her with three shells from her third salvo. The first hit Slava's bow, 10 to 12 feet below the waterline, and exploded in the bow dynamo room, flooding that room, the forward 12-inch magazine and other bow compartments. The second penetrated the capstan flat. The ship took on 1,130 metric tons of sea water which gave her a list of 8°, but this was later reduced to 4° by counter-flooding. This also increased her forward draft to 32 feet. The third shell hit the port side armor abreast the engine room, but failed to penetrate. Two further shells struck her at 10:24 in the superstructure near the forward funnel. They damaged a six-inch magazine and the forward boiler room, and started a fire which was put out after about fifteen minutes. However, the forward left six-inch magazine now flooded as a precaution. At 10:39 two further shells hit her, killing three men in the boiler room and flooding a coal bunker. Around this time Slava and her compatriots were ordered to retire to the north, but Bayan trailed behind to divert fire from the battleships.

The Russians transferred  the  Slava to Moon Sound to join the Admiral Makarov in keeping the German flotillas from coming out of the Kassar Wick. The Russians  listed both ships to increase the range of their guns.

By the 16th, the land fighting on Ösel had reached the point of mopping up for the Germans, and the main naval action had shifted to the southern tip of the island and the Irben Strait.

The Irben Strait needed  to be opened before the big German ships could access the Gulf of Riga and tackle the Russian battleships and cruisers there.  It was the Russian mine fields that gave them the biggest headache, although the powerful 30.5-cm battery at Zerel didn't help. On the night of 30 September the battery had been badly damaged  by an air raid in which a bomb destroyed a magazine, inflicting  heavy casualties. Despite  this Zerel was back in action when Operation Albion commenced , and for a number of days was able to keep the minesweepers from  sweeping.

The Russian fleets strategy was changed at 4:30 am on October 17 due to a mistake made in the transfer of an order. That morning the ships were on the move by 7:00. The 3rd M.S.H.F (?) was heading east while the 8th H.f.F (?) was heading north under command of Erich Koellner.

At 7:20, Russian battleships opened fire on the 8th H.f.F.l, the 3rd M.S. Dive(?) and the Sperrbrecher (auxiliary minesweeper). The 8th continued to advance  under the constant Russian fire. It was the 3rd M.S.H.F's duty to clear the mines.

At 8:00 am Admiral Behncke ordered that the cruisers stay where they where and not to advance any farther. König and Kronprinz proceeded eastward by the 3rd M.S.H.F, both under the command of Georg von der Marwitz. Slava was advancing and she came between Paternoster and Werder from where she opened fire onto any east-bound German ship. While this happening going on, the 3rd M.S.H.F (still?) had reached the 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, two Russian ships that had been returning south opened fire on the 3rd M.S.H.F. The Russians finally understood that if they could stop the minesweepers, they could stop the entire German attack. At 9:40, 3rd Ms. Dive (?) was brought over to the east side of Russian minefields to assist the 3rd H.f.F.l.
By 10:00, the minesweepers were on the northern edge of the rectangular minefield and both König and Kronprinz could now move  forward. At around 10:13 König opened fire on Slava. By 10:17, Kronprinz followed König`s action and between them they scored many  underwater hits, causing extensive damage. Grazhdanin was only hit twice in all of the chaos and at 10:40 the Germans ceased fire. The Russians continued however to fire on the 3rd M.S.H.F. at around 10:30, Admiral Bachirev ordered all  his naval forces to withdraw to the northern Suur Strait. Slava,  by now fatally wounded, was scuttled by Turkmerec Strauropolski. The Russians were determined to make the channel impassible to the Germans, so they laid more mines and used their damaged ships to their own advantage. At 10:46, the Werder Battery opened fire on the German battleships.

At 11:09 the two German battleships anchored while under fire at Võilaid and at 11.28 there was a false submarine alarm followed by a legitimate one at 12:08.

At around 1:35, Kolberg shelled Võilaid for approximately ten minutes, but met with no reply. At 3:45 Admiral Hopman`s flag lieutenant Obltz Keln led a landing party to take over Woi. At 5:30, white star shell could be seen which meant that the battery had successfully been taken but the guns were unserviceable. By 3:00, Kommodore Heinrich took V100 toward the channel that would lead them to the Suur Strait but they come immediately under fire by gunboats under the command of Admiral Makarov.
At 22:00, Kptlt Zander began to go forward into the Suur Strait. The V25-class torpedo boat S 50 took up position to safely mark the passage. At the end of the day, Germans were finally in control over the southern Suur Strait, the Väike Strait and the Matsalu Bay. On the night of 17 October 17 the Russians gave up trying to capture the Suur Strait. Just after midnight on October 18, V25-class torpedo boat S 64 hit a mine and was lost at 1 a.m. At dawn, German torpedo boats assumed their patrol stations in the Matsalu Baym and the landing operations on Hiiumaa gained momentum between 7:15 and 8:00 am. The area around Emmaste soon was secured. By 8:30, German minesweepers had worked forward to a mile south of the Viirelaid lighthouse. At 8:00, Behncke's group started east and went behind the 3rd M.S.H.F.

Soon after 10:00 Behncke ordered Admiral Hopman to dispatch Strassburg 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 the 3rd M.S.H.F. and two boats of the half-flotilla confirmed that Slava had been sunk, and in addition two merchant  steamers. The Germans could see Russian destroyers laying their mines, but the Russians had not yet to detected the Germans. The Germans opened fire, which was met with a return fire. Two German torpedo boats opened fire as the Germans continued northward, two Russian gunboats and a number of destroyers returned the fire. They then turned south at high speed under the cover of a smoke screen. By the evening of the 18th, Kuressaare had been made a German supply base, the southern part of Hiiumaa was under control of the second Cyclist Battalion and the S-Flotilla landing section, Saaremaa and Muhu were now firmly in German hands.

On the 18th October the Markgraf and Kronprinz ran aground. Markgraf grounded in the entrance to Kalkgrund  but was easily freed. The Kronprinz also escaped serious damage.

On the 20th October the König was towed by mine sweepers into the Kuiwast roadstead. Once there she transferred soldiers to the island of Schildaum which was then successfully occupied. By that time, the fighting on the islands was winding down. Botj Moon, Ösel, and Dagö were now in German possession.

Whilst steaming back to Germany, Konig briefly grounded on the seabed  (26th October) and as a result was in dry dock until 17th November.
On the 29th October Markgraf was detached from the task force to return to Germany. While on route in the Irben Straights, she struck a pair of mines in quick succession. She shipped  260 metric tons of water but continued on to Kiel via Neufahrwasser in Danzig. From kiel she went on to Wilhelmshaven, where the mine damage was repaired. She rejoined the fleet on 23rd November.