Battle of the Gulf of Riga
{{short description|World War I naval operation}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| image = Slava cuirasse russe.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption = Russian battleship Slava, circa 1915
| conflict = Battle of the Gulf of Riga
| partof = World War I
| date = 8–20 August 1915
| place = Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea
| result = Entente victory
| combatant2 = {{tree list}}
- {{flagcountry|German Empire}}
- {{navy|German Empire|name=Imperial Navy}}
{{tree list/end}}
| combatant1 = {{Tree list}}
- {{flagicon image|Flag_of_Russia_(1914-1917).svg}} Russian Empire
- {{navy|Russian Empire|name=Imperial Navy}}
- {{flagcountry|UKGBI}}
- {{navy|United Kingdom}}
{{Tree list/end}}
| commander2 = {{flagdeco|German Empire|naval}} Franz von Hipper
| commander1 = {{flagdeco|Russian Empire|naval}} Vasily Kanin
| strength2 = 4 battleships
3 battlecruisers
1 armoured cruiser
5 light cruisers
56 torpedo boats
14 minesweepers
| strength1 = 1 battleship
1 armoured cruiser
16 destroyers
4 gunboats
1 minelayer
6 submarines
| casualties2 = 65 killed and wounded
1 torpedo boat sunk
2 minesweepers sunk
1 battlecruiser damaged
| casualties1 = 150 killed, wounded and captured
2 gunboats sunk
1 battleship damaged
1 destroyer damaged
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Baltic Sea 1914-1918}}
}}
The Battle of the Gulf of Riga was a World War I naval operation of the German High Seas Fleet against the Russian Baltic Fleet in the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea in August 1915. The operation's objective was to destroy the Russian naval forces in the Gulf in preparation for landing German troops to facilitate the fall of Riga in the later stages of the Central Powers' offensive on the Eastern Front in 1915. The German fleet, however, failed to achieve its objective and was forced to return to its bases; Riga remained in Russian hands until it fell to the German Army on 1 September 1917.
Prelude
In early August 1915, several powerful units of the German High Seas Fleet were transferred to the Baltic to participate in the foray into the Riga Gulf. The intention was to destroy the Russian naval forces in the area, including the pre-dreadnought battleship {{ship|Russian battleship|Slava||2}}, and to use the minelayer {{SMS|Deutschland|1914|2}} to block the entrance to Moon Sound with mines. The German naval forces, under the command of Vice Admiral Franz von Hipper, included the four {{sclass|Nassau|battleship|0}} and four {{sclass|Helgoland|battleship|2}}s, the battlecruisers {{SMS|Moltke}}, {{SMS|Von der Tann||2}}, and {{SMS|Seydlitz||2}}, and a number of smaller craft.Halpern, p. 196
Battle
File:Театр боевых действий в Рижском заливе 3 (16) – 8 (21) августа 1915 г. Схема.jpg
On 8 August, the first attempt to clear the gulf was made; the old pre-dreadnought battleships {{SMS|Braunschweig||6}} and {{SMS|Elsass||2}} kept Slava at bay while minesweepers cleared a path through the inner belt of mines. During this period, the rest of the German fleet remained in the Baltic and provided protection against other units of the Russian fleet. However, the approach of nightfall meant that Deutschland would be unable to mine the entrance to the Suur Strait in time, and so the operation was broken off.Halpern 1995, pp. 196–197
In the meantime, the German armored cruisers {{SMS|Roon||6}} and {{SMS|Prinz Heinrich||2}} were detached to shell the Russian positions on the Sõrve Peninsula in the south of the island of Saaremaa. Several Russian destroyers were anchored off Sõrve, and one was slightly damaged during the bombardment. The battlecruiser Von der Tann and the light cruiser {{SMS|Kolberg||6}} were sent to shell the island of Utö.Halpern 1995, p. 197
On 16 August, a second attempt was made to enter the gulf. The dreadnoughts {{SMS|Nassau||6}} and {{SMS|Posen||2}}, four light cruisers, and 31 torpedo boats breached the defenses to the gulf. On the first day of the assault, the German minesweeper T46 was sunk, as was the destroyer {{SMS|V99||2}}. On 17 August, Nassau and Posen engaged in an artillery duel with Slava, resulting in three hits on the Russian ship that prompted her withdrawal. After three days, the Russian minefields had been cleared, and the flotilla entered the gulf on 19 August, but reports of Allied submarines in the area prompted a German withdrawal from the gulf the following day.Halpern 1995, pp. 197–198
Throughout the operation, the German battlecruisers remained in the Baltic and provided cover for the assault into the Gulf of Riga. On the morning of 19 August, Moltke was torpedoed by the British E-class submarine {{HMS|E1||6}}; the torpedo was not spotted until it was approximately {{convert|200|yd|m|abbr=on}} away. Without time to manoeuver, the ship was struck in the bow torpedo room. The explosion damaged several torpedoes in the ship, but they did not detonate themselves. Eight men were killed, and {{convert|435|t|ST|lk=on|abbr=on}} of water entered the ship. The ship was repaired at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, between 23 August and 20 September.Staff 2006, p. 15
Four large, flat-bottomed barges loaded with German troops attempted to land at Pernau on 20 August, but were repelled by small Russian warships. The Russian gunboat {{ship|Russian gunboat|Sivuch|1907|2}} was destroyed in an engagement with the German light cruiser {{SMS|Augsburg||2}} and eight destroyers.{{cite book |last=Halsey |first=Francis Whiting |date=1920 |title =The Literary Digest History of the World War |url=https://archive.org/details/literarydigesthi10halsiala |volume =X: The Naval Battles Off Heligoland, South America, the Dogger Bank, and Jutland... |location=New York |publisher=Funk & Wagnalls Company |pages=[https://archive.org/details/literarydigesthi10halsiala/page/35 35]–37 |oclc=1101507660}}
Order of battle
{{Expand section|date=December 2007}}
=Russia=
- Battleship: {{ship|Russian battleship|Slava||2}}
- Cruiser: {{ship|Russian cruiser|Rurik|1906|2}}
- Gunboats: {{ship|Russian gunboat|Grozyashchiy||2}}, {{ship|Russian gunboat|Khrabry||2}}, {{ship|Russian gunboat|Sivuch|1907|2}}, {{ship|Russian gunboat|Korietz||2}}
- Minelayer: {{ship|Russian minelayer|Amur||2}}
- Flotilla of 16 destroyers
- Submarines: {{ship|Russian submarine|Kaiman||2}}, {{ship|Russian submarine|Alligator||2}}, {{ship|Russian submarine|Krokodil||2}}, {{ship|Russian submarine|Drakon||2}}, {{ship|Russian submarine|Makrel||2}}, {{ship|Russian submarine|Okun||2}}, {{ship|Russian submarine|Minoga||2}}
=Germany=
- Battleships: {{SMS|Nassau}}, {{SMS|Posen}}, {{SMS|Braunschweig}}, {{SMS|Elsass}}
- Battlecruiser: {{SMS|Moltke}}, {{SMS|Seydlitz}}, {{SMS|Von der Tann}}
- Cruisers: {{SMS|Augsburg}}, {{SMS|Bremen}}, {{SMS|Graudenz}}, {{SMS|Pillau}}, {{SMS|Roon}}, {{SMS|Prinz Heinrich}}
- Minelayer: {{SMS|Albatross|1907|6}}
- Flotilla of 56 destroyers
Notes
{{reflist|30em}}
References
- {{cite book |last=Halpern|first=Paul G.|title=A Naval History of World War I|year=1995|location=Annapolis|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=1-55750-352-4}}
- {{cite book |last=Staff|first=Gary|title=German Battlecruisers: 1914–1918|year=2006|location=Oxford|publisher=Osprey Books|isbn=978-1-84603-009-3}}
External links
- [http://www.neva.ru/EXPO96/book/chap11-2.html Account of Russian WWI naval operations in the Baltic Sea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114064847/http://www.neva.ru/EXPO96/book/chap11-2.html |date=2016-11-14 }}
{{coord|57.7500|N|23.5000|E|source:wikidata|display=title}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riga, Battle of the Gulf of}}
Category:Baltic Sea operations of World War I
Category:Naval battles of World War I involving the United Kingdom
Category:Naval battles of World War I involving Russia
Category:Naval battles of World War I involving Germany