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This page is about the naval operation. For film, see Moonzund (film).

Molenchuk/sandbox
Part of Eastern Front (World War I)
The Russian pre-dreadnought Slava sinking off Saaremaa, October 1917.
Date 16 October–3 November 1917 Location Baltic Sea Result German victory
Belligerents
German Empire	Russia
Commanders and leaders
Vizeadmiral Ehrhard Schmidt	Admiral Mikhail Bakhirev
Strength
1 battle cruiser, 10 battleships, 9 light cruisers, 1 Mine cruiser 50 destroyers, 6 submarines, transports	2 pre-dreadnoughts, 3 cruisers, 3 gunboats, 21 destroyers, 3 British submarines
Casualties and losses
2 torpedo boats, many ships damaged by mines	1 pre-dreadnought, 1 destroyer, 1 submarine

The Battle of Moon Sound was the only all fleet naval battle in the soviet navy during World War I, fought from October 16th 1917 until November 3rd 1917 between naval forces of the German Empire, and the then Russian Republic which was a short lived political group that occupied the territory of the former Russian Empire (and three British submarines) in the Baltic Sea. It was the German's intentions to destroy the Bolsheviks and occupy the Baltic Islands. The German Navy had 1 battleship cruiser, 10 battleships, 9 light cruisers, 1 mine cruiser, 50 destroyers and 6 submarines while the Bolsheviks had only 2 pre-dreadnoughts, 3 cruisers, 3 gun ships, 21 destroyers and 3 submarines.

Background

The Bolshevik were a group of Russians born out of Russia's Social Democrat Party. Bolshevik's leader was Vladimir Lenin. It was the German's intentions to destroy the Bolsheviks and occupy the Baltic Islands. The Germans captured the West Estonian archipelago (Moonsund archipelago), with its main islands of Saaremaa (Ösel), Hiiumaa (Dagö), and Muhu (Moon) during Operation Albion in September 1917. This left a Russian squadron consisting of the old Russo-Japanese War-era pre-dreadnought battleships Tsesarevich, and Slava, together with cruisers and destroyers, stranded in the Gulf of Riga. The Russian fleet escaped on 17 October 1917 by way of the Moon Sound, a strait separating the island of Muhu from the Estonian mainland.

Battle

At the start of the Battle of Moon Sound, there were two submarines at the Gulf of Riga. They were C27 Lt. Sealy and C32 Lt Satow. When the German's got there, Captain Cromie sent out another submarine called C26 Lt Downie. On the night of the 16th of October, Lt Sealy shot two torpedos at two German ships but missed at first. They shot two more and made contact. The C27 returned to Hango when it was not needed. The unit C32 attempted to take out a German ship but was seen and bombed. In the afternoon of October 16th, Gruppe Behncke travelled to the south exit of Moon Sound and dropped anchor around 8:30 pm. All German ships were anchored in a close line with a torpedo boat at each end. The Germans had a good day on shore on the 16th as far as progress goes. They took 120 officers and 400 men prisoner as well as 49 guns. By the end of the day, German forces were prepared to capture the Baltic Islands (Dago and Moon Sound)and the navy was ready to attack in the Kassar Wiek and Moon Sound.

The Russian battle strategy was changed at 4:30 am on October 17th. On the morning of the 17th, ships were on the move by 7:00. The 3rd M.S.H.F was heading east while the 8th H.f.F.l. was heading north bound 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. The 8th advanced but were under constant Russian fire. It was the 3rd M.S.H.F's duty to clear mines.

At 8:00 am Adm. Behncke ordered that the cruisers stay put and not advance any farther. At this point, Konig and Kronprinz headed East by the 3rd M.S.H.F, both under the command of Georg von der Marwitz. Slava was advancing so that she came between Paternoster and Werder and started firing upon any east bound German ship. While this was going on, the 3rd M.S.H.F. had reached Laura Bank and turned north, Konig and Kronprinz continued east and Slava was now heading north. Adm. Hopman was now heading west towards Kleinen Sound.

At 9:10, two Russian ships that had returned south opened fire on the 3rd M.S.H.F. The Russians now 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. Konig and Kronprinz now went forward. Around 10:13, Konig opened fire on Slava. By 10:17, Kronprinz followed Konig`s lead and opened fire on Graschdanin. Bayon was also atacked by Konig. Slava took many underwater hits, causing extensive damage. The battleship Graschdanin only got hit twice in all of the chaos. at 10:40, Germans ceased fire. The Russian`s continued to fire on the 3rd M.S.H.F. Around 10:30, Adm. Bachirev ordered all sea forces to withdraw to Northern Moon Sound. The ship Slava was now fatally wounded, destroyed by Turkmerec Strauropolski. The Russian`s were determined to make the channel impossible to pass through so they laid out more mine andused damaged ships to their advantage. At 10:46, the Werder Battery opened fire on German Battleships.

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

Around 1:35, Kolberg atacked Woi for approximately ten minutes but met no reply. At 3:45, Adm. Hopman`s flagleutnant 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 unservicable. By 3:00, Kommodore Heinrich took V100 toward the channel that would lead them to Moon Sound but were imediately under fire by gunboats under the control of Adm. Makarov.

At 10:00pm, Kptlt Zander began to go forward to Moon Sound. Marker boat S50 took up her position. At the end of the day, German's were in control over Southern Moon Sound, North and South Kleinen Sound and Kassar Wiek. On the night oc October 17th, Russians gave up trying to capture Moon Sound. Just after midnight on October 18th, the S64 shaken by a mine detonation and was rendered unmanoeverable.

By 1:00 am, it was completely sunk. Come dawn, German torpedo boats took up patrol stations in Kassar Wiek. The landing operations on Dago gained momentum between 7:15 and 8:00 am was able to take the area around Emmast. By 8:30, German minesweepers had worked forward to a mile south of Paternoster light house. 766 sank after a mine detonation. At 8:00, Behncke's group started east and went behind the 3rd M.S.H.F.

Just after 10:00, Behncke ordered Adm. 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 flottille confirmed that Slava was sunk along with two freight steamers. The Germans could see Russian destroyers laying mines, the Russians had not yet detected the Germans, so the Germans opened fire which was met with a reply. Two German torpedo boats opened fire as the Germans continued northward, two Russian gunboats and several destroyers took them under fire. They then turned south at high speed under the cover of a smoke screen. By the evening of the 18th, Arensburg had been made a supply base, the southern part of Dago under control of the second Cyclist Batallion and the S-Flottille landing section, Osel and Moon were now firmly in German hands.

It was on October 19th that the forces of Riga Gulf and numerous transport steamers and auxillaries, left northern Moon Sound under protection of minesweepers and destroyers. By mid-afternoon, German Forces had penetrated Moon Sound. The German losses were seven minesweepers, nine trawlers and small boats as well as one torpedo boat. The Imperial Navy had a total of 156 dead and 60 wounded. The navy had 54 dead and 141 wounded. The German Army captured 20 130 prisoners, 141 Russain guns including 47 heavy pieces and 130 machine guns.

Aftermath

Casualties of the Battle were far more extensive for the Germans than the Bolsheviks. 300 German soldiers were killed, and 200 were wounded while the Bolsheviks only suffered less than 100 deaths and around the same number of wounded. German destroyers S-46, S-64 and the Bolshevik destroyer Grom were sunk. All the four ships Slava, Citizen, Konig and Krunprinz were damaged but the Slava was in bad condition. German battleships Bayern and Grusser Kurfuerst were badly damaged, destroyers B-98 was damaged, the A-32 run aground, the auxiliary ship Corsika was damaged, 7 minesweepers and the destroyers S-65 and S-66 were sunk.

See also

• Moonsund Landing Operation (1944)

References

• Barrett, Michael B (2007). Operation Albion: the German conquest of the Baltic Islands. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-34969-9. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Halpern, Paul (1994). A Naval History of World War I. UCL Press. ISBN 1-85728-295-7. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

• Account of Russian naval activities in World War I; includes a short section on the Battle of Moon Sound
• Article in Russian Language on the Battle
• Article in English

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