Battle of Moon Sound

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

Battle of Moon Sound
Part of Eastern Front (World War I)
The Russian pre-dreadnought Slava sinking off Saaremaa, October 1917.
Date 16 October 1917 – 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 a naval battle in World War I, fought in the autumn of 1917 on October 17 between German and Russian forces (and three British submarines) in the Baltic Sea.

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-dreadnoughts 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.

Discovered during their retreat, the Russians were engaged by the German dreadnoughts SMS König and SMS Kronprinz. Slava was heavily damaged and had to be scuttled because she drew too much water to pass through the shallow strait.

References

• Barrett, Michael B (2007). Operation Albion: the German conquest of the Baltic Islands. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253349699. {{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