Page:EB1922 - Volume 31.djvu/1134

1080 GERMAN OPERATIONS

OCT. 1917 TAGGA BAY & ARENSBURG

had resulted only in the loss of seven destroyers by mines and the abandonment of the enterprise. But in Sept. 1917 the capture of Riga by the German army (Sept. 3) opened the way for a combined operation, which was to prove the death-blow of Russia, then in the throes of revolution. The German navy's task was to transport an infantry division to the island of Osel and effect a landing there, with the object of capturing the island and its batteries, and opening the Straits of Irbin so as to give direct access by sea to the Gulf of Riga. Transport was prepared for 23,00x3 men and 5,000 horses, and it was decided to land at Tagga Bay on the northward side of the island. The naval force detached for the purpose under Vice-Adml. Ehr- hardt Schmidt consisted of the battle-cruiser "Moltke" (flag.), the 3rd and 4th Squadrons comprising ten of the latest battle- ships, and the 2nd Scouting Group, which with the Baltic light cruisers mustered eight light cruisers in all. A strong force of destroyers went with them, including the 2nd, 8th, and gih Flotillas and the 7th, I3th and I2th Half Flotillas, numbering altogether 47 boats under Comm. Heinecke.

Nineteen transports were requisitioned for the purpose, with a tonnage of 153,664 tons. Preparations for the enter- prise were begun on Sept. 12; on Oct. 9 the troops embarked and on Oct. n the fleet put to sea from Libau. Osel is an island of moderate size about 30 m. across at the entrance to the Gulf of Riga, with the Straits of Irbin running between it and the mainland. On the night of Oct. n the fleet was approaching Tagga Bay, with the minesweepers steaming slowly in front. But time was precious and rather than risk losing the chance of surprise at daylight Adml. Schmidt ordered the minesweepers out of the way and went straight in with his fleet. He reached Tagga Bay safely, and though the battle- ships " Bayern " and " Grosser Kurfiirst " struck mines in taking up their positions for bombarding the batteries in the Sound of Soelo between Dago and Osel, they were able to perform their task. The advanced troops got safely ashore in motor-launches and three small steamers at 5:30 A.M., and the transports entered the Bay at 6:30 A.M.

The German fleet's next task was to penetrate into Moon Sound. The 2nd Flotilla and izth and I3th Half Flotillas had pushed through Soelo Sound, and covered by the fire of the

" Kaiser " and " Emden " had driven their enemy back with a loss of only one boat sunk by a mine, and three damaged. But the tables were turned by the appearance of the Russian battle- ship " Slava " which put up an obstinate fight and drove them back in turn, a good instance of the power of heavy guns working behind a minefield. The Russian small craft were still sheltered by their battleships in Moon Sound, which now had to be approached by the S. of Osel through Irbin Straits. This channel was commanded by the batteries at Zorel on the S. point of Osel, but these were bombarded and silenced on Oct. 14 by four battleships and blown up by the Russians. A chart of the minefields had been captured ashore, and with its help the Straits of Irbin were swept. By the morning of Oct. 16 the fleet was inside the Straits before Arensburg, and facing the southern entrance to Moon Sound that evening. The Russian battleships " Slava " and " Grozdani " engaged the Germans and an action ensued, in which the " Slava " was sunk and the Russians driven off to the northward. By Oct. 17 the German force was in complete occupation of Osel, and Arensburg was being organized as a base for the fleet. Dago I. was now captured, and Vice-Adml. Schmidt proposed to push on through a big minefield in the N. of Moon Sound into the Gulf of Finland.

The operation was analogous in some degree to that of the Dardanelles and British raids on the Bight, namely the attack of a large intact minefield protected by heavy guns or supported by a fleet in being. British submarines were beginning to show themselves, and the " Konig Albert," the " Konig " and " Kron- prinz," had all been attacked. The detachment of so large a force had naturally given rise to some anxiety on the part of the German commander-in-chief in the North Sea, which had not been diminished by the mining of the " Bayern " and " Grosser Kurfiirst." It was decided to recall the 3rd and 4th Squadrons and the ist Squadron was sent to relieve them, but on Oct. 29, when the " Markgraf " struck a mine in Irbin Straits, an order was dispatched to bring the operations to an end, and the naval part of the campaign came to an abrupt conclusion.

This campaign offered a welcome opportunity of giving the fleet some active employment, for symptoms of the spirit which was to end in Germany's collapse were already beginning to appear. Sporadic outbreaks of mutiny had occurred in the 3rd Squadron as early as May 1917, and in Aug. the men in the " Prinz Regent Luitpold " refused to put to sea and were isolated with their ship in Schillig Roads. A mutiny broke out in the " Kaiserin " on the ostensible grounds of insufficient food and the " Kaiserin," " Kaiser," and " Konig Albert " were sent to Brunsbuttel for recreation and leave. The crew of the " West- falen " were reported to have killed their captain, and a light cruiser was said to have made for Norway and been turned back by a torpedo-boat flotilla. Certain it is that the spirit and courage of the German fleet were beginning to flag, though it was still far from collapse, as British convoys had good cause to know before the year was out. The convoy system, as one of the most effectual replies to the German policy of submarine warfare, was a natural target of attack, and on Oct. 17 the Scandinavian convoy received a severe blow. This convoy sailed regularly from Lerwick to the Norwegian coast and back, and on this occasion was on its way to Lerwick, consisting of 12 ships (two British, one Danish, five Norwegian, three Swed- ish), under the escort of only two destroyers, the " Strongbow " (Lt.'-Comm. Ed. Brooke) and " Mary Rose" (Lt.-Comm. Chas. L. Fox). It was about halfway across, going about eight knots, at dawn about 6 A.M. on Oct. 17, when two cruisers were seen two points before the port beam coming up at about 25 knots. These were the " Brummer " and " Bremse," two fast German light cruisers completed in 1916 and armed with four, 5-9-in. The " Strongbow " challenged thrice, and the enemy opened fire at 6:15 A.M., overwhelming her with the first salvo. A shell entered the engine-room, cutting the main steam-pipe and brought the ship to a stop; the bridge was wrecked, the captain badly wounded. The " Mary Rose " was also sunk after a short fight. Neither of them had time to make a wireless