Operation Albion
Template:Short description Template:Expand German Script error: No such module "Infobox military conflict".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Script error: No such module "Military navigation". Script error: No such module "Military navigation".
Operation Albion was a German air, land and naval operation in the First World War, against Russian forces in October 1917 to occupy the West Estonian Archipelago. The campaign aimed to occupy the Baltic islands of Saaremaa (Ösel), Hiiumaa (Dagö) and Muhu (Moon). The three islands were part of the Russian Empire and strategically dominated the central and northern Baltic Sea. The land campaign opened with German landings at the Tagalaht (Tagga) bay on the island of Saaremaa (Ösel), on 12 October, after extensive naval operations to clear mines and subdue coastal artillery batteries. German forces secured the island by 16 October and the Russian army evacuated Muhu (Moon) on 20 October.
After two failed attempts, the German army landed on Hiiumaa (Dagö) on 12 October, capturing the island the following day. The Russian Baltic Fleet had to withdraw from the Suur Strait after its losses at the Battle of Moon Sound. The Germans claimed 20,000 prisoners and 100 guns captured during Operation Albion from 12 to 20 October 1917.
Strategic significance
At the beginning of the First World War, the islands were of little importance to the Russian Empire or Germany. After the revolutionary turmoil in Russia during the early part of 1917, the German high command believed capturing the islands would outflank Russian defences and lay Petrograd (St. Petersburg) vulnerable to attack.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Order of battle
German units
- Naval ForcesTemplate:Sfn(Sonderverband): Vice Admiral Ehrhard Schmidt
- Battlecruiser: Template:SMS (flagship)
- III Battle Squadron (III. Geschwader) (Vice Admiral Paul Behncke) dreadnought battleships: Template:SMS (flagship), Template:SMS, Template:SMS, Template:SMS, Template:SMS
- IV Battle Squadron (IV. Geschwader) (Vice Admiral Wilhelm Souchon) dreadnought battleships: Template:SMS (flagship), Template:SMS, Template:SMS, Template:SMS, Template:SMS
- II Scouting Group (II. Aufklärungsgruppe) (Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter) light cruisers: Template:SMS (flagship), Template:SMS, Template:SMS, Template:SMS, Template:SMS
- IV Scouting Group (VI. Aufklärungsgruppe) (Rear Admiral Albert Hopman) light cruisers: Template:SMS (flagship), Template:SMS, Template:SMS; minelayer: Template:SMS; tender: Template:SMS
- Torpedo Boats (Commodore Paul Heinrich) cruiser: Template:SMS (flagship)
- II Torpedo Boat Flotilla: B 98; 3rd Half-Flotilla: G 101, V 100, G 103, G 104; 4th Half-Flotilla: B 109, B 110, B 111, B 97, B 112
- VI Torpedo Boat Flotilla: V 69; 12th Half-Flotilla: V 43, S 50, V 44, V 45, V 46; 13th Half-Flotilla: V 82, S 64, S 61, S 63, V 74
- VIII Torpedo Boat Flotilla: V 180; 15th Half-Flotilla: V 183, V 185, V 181, V 184, V 182; 16th Half-Flotilla: S 176, S 178, G 174, S 179, V 186
- X Torpedo Boat Flotilla:: S 56; 19th Half-Flotilla: T 170, T 169, T 172, G 175, T 165; 20th Half-Flotilla: V 78, V 77, G 89, S 65, S 66
- VII Half-Flotilla: T 154, T 158, T 157, T 151, T 160, T 145, T 140, T 139
- Courland Submarine Flotilla (U-BootsFlottille Kurland): UC 56, UC 57, UC 58, UC 59, UC 60, UC 78
- Minesweepers (Minensuchdienst)
- II Minesweeper Flotilla: A 62; 3rd Half-Flotilla: T 136, M 67, M 68, M 75, M 76, M 77, T 59, T 65, T 68, T 82, T 85; 4th Half-Flotilla: T 104, T 53, T 54, T 55, T 56, T 60, T 61, T 62, T 66, T 67, T 69; 8th Half-Flotilla: M 64, M 11, M 31, M 32, M 39, A 35
- III Half-Flotilla of the Search Flotilla: T 141, 15 motor-boats
- Mine-Searcher Group of the Outpost Half-Flotilla East: 6 fishing vessels
- I Minesweeper Division (Riga): 11 motor-boats
- II Minesweeper Division: 12 motor-boats
- III Minesweeper Division: 12 motor-boats
- IV Minesweeper Division: 10 motor-boats; outpost boat O 2
- Mine-barrage Breaker group (Sperrbrechergruppe): Rio Parbo, Lothar, Schwaben, Elass
- Anti-Submarine Forces (U-Bootsabwehr)
- Baltic Search Flotilla: T 144; 1st half-flotilla: T 142, A 32, A 28, A 30, 32 fishing vessels; 2nd half-flotilla: T 130, A 31, A 27, A 29, 24 fishing vessels
- Ground Forces: Generalleutnant Ludwig von Estorff
- 42nd Division
- 2nd Infanterie Cyclist Brigade
Russian units
- 425th, 426th and 472nd Infantry Regiments
- Battleships: Grazhdanin, Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Armored cruisers: Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Destroyers: Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Gunboats: Template:Ill, Template:Ill
- Blockship: Lavwija
- Minelayer: Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[1]
British units
- Submarines: Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities"., Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities"., Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".
See also
Citations and references
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Cited sources
- Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
External links
- 1 October entries on this site summarise Operation Albion
- Detailed account of Operation Albion
- "Oesel Genommen", film footage of the invasion in 1917 from the German Federal Archives
- Gregory Thiele "Operation Albion and Joint Amphibious Doctrine" Joint Forces Quarterly October 2010
Script error: No such module "Military navigation".
- Pages with script errors
- Pages with broken file links
- 1917 in Estonia
- 1917 in Russia
- Amphibious operations involving Germany
- Amphibious operations of World War I
- Baltic Sea operations of World War I
- Military history of Estonia
- Military operations of World War I involving Germany
- Military operations of World War I involving Russia
- Military operations of World War I involving the United Kingdom
- October 1917 in Europe
- Petrograd in World War I