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.
Order of battle
German units
Naval Forces(Sonderverband): Vice Admiral Ehrhard Schmidt
Battlecruiser: Moltke (flagship)
III Battle Squadron (III. Geschwader) (Vice Admiral Paul Behncke) dreadnought battleships: König (flagship), Bayern, Grosser Kurfürst, Kronprinz, Markgraf
IV Battle Squadron (IV. Geschwader) (Vice Admiral Wilhelm Souchon) dreadnought battleships: Friedrich der Grosse (flagship), König Albert, Kaiserin, Prinzregent Luitpold, Kaiser
II Scouting Group (II. Aufklärungsgruppe) (Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter) light cruisers: Königsberg (flagship), Karlsruhe, Nürnberg, Frankfurt, Danzig
IV Scouting Group (VI. Aufklärungsgruppe) (Rear Admiral Albert Hopman) light cruisers: Kolberg (flagship), Strassburg, Augsburg; minelayer: Nautilus; tender: Blitz
Torpedo Boats (Commodore Paul Heinrich) cruiser: Emden (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, Slava
Armored cruisers: Admiral Makarov, Bayan
Destroyers: Desna, Novik, Pobeditel, Zabiyaka, Grom, Konstantin
Gunboats: Khivinets, Grozyashchy
Blockship: Lavwija
Minelayer: Pripyat
British units
Submarines: HMS C26, HMS C27, HMS C32
Citations and references
Cited sources
Barrett, M. B. (2008). Operation Albion: The German Conquest of the Baltic Islands. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34969-9.
Buttar, Prit (2017). Russia's Last Gasp: The Eastern Front 1916–17. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-47-282489-9.
Gagern, Ernst Freiherr von (1964). Der Krieg zur See 1914–1918: Der Krieg in der Ostsee Bd.3 [The War at Sea 1914−1918: The War in the Eastern Sea] (in German). Vol. III. Frankfurt: Mittler & Sohn. OCLC 1240432483.