Black Sea Raid

The Black Sea Raid was an Ottoman naval sortie against Russian ports in the Black Sea at on 29 October, 1914. Conceived by Ottoman War Minister Enver Pasha, German Admiral Wilhelm Souchon, and the German foreign ministry, the attack was the incident that finally brought the Ottoman Empire into World War I.

Background

Ever since the ratification of the Ottoman–German alliance, Germany had been hoping to bring the Ottoman Empire into the war. This came even closer to fruition when the German battlecruiser SMS Goeben and the light cruiser SMS Breslau took shelter in Istanbul from the British, enraging the Russians. From that point on certain Ottoman officials began planning a strategy to provoke the Entente.

At the outbreak of war the Ottomans had been concerned Russia would attempt to seize their territory. Following Russia's failures in operations against Germany, this seemed unlikely. Enver Pasha, the pro-German Ottoman War Minister, began to move his defensive policy towards an aggressive one. On 26 September Enver Pasha ordered the closing of the Dardanelles to foreign shipping without the consultation of his advisers. The following week he informed Hans Freiherr von Wangenheim, the German ambassador to the Empire, that the anti-war Grand Vizier, Ahmet Tevfik Pasha, was no longer in control of the situation.

On 9 October Pasha told von Wangenheim that he had won the sympathy of Prime Minister Mehmed Talaat and Halil Bey, President of the Chamber of Deputies , and that he planned on securing the support of Djemal Pasha, Minister of the Navy. If that failed, he would provoke a Cabinet crises and create a pro-war government. After gaining Djemal's sympathies, the conspiring Ottomans informed the Germans that they would go to war as soon as they received the equivalent of two million lira in gold, money the Germans knew the Ottoman Empire would need to fund a war. The money was shipped through neutral Romania, and the last of it arrived on 21 October.

Informants working for Mikhail Nikolayevich von Giers, the Russian ambassador in Istanbul, forwarded the information about the payments to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Sazonov. Sazonov had suspected the Ottomans' and Germans' intentions, and warned the Russian naval commanders in Sebastopol to be prepared for an attack. On 21 October, Admiral Kazimir Ketlinski assured the foreign minister that the Black Sea Fleet was "completely ready" for action.

On 22 October, 1914, Pasha covertly presented a series of plans to the German ambassador on how to bring the country into the war. The Germans approved of an attack on Russian naval forces. At the last minute Talaat and Halil changed their minds and resolved that the Ottomans should keep the gold and remain neutral. Talaat soon reverted back to his old position. Pasha gave up on trying to unify the government to pass a declaration of war, and concluded that the Russians would to need to be provoked to declaring war to instigate desirable action. He told the Germans this on 23 October, and assured them that he would only need Minister Djemal's support. Pasha passed down attack orders to Wilhelm Souchon, captain of the Goeben, who, along with his ship, had been transferred to the Ottoman Navy.

On 25 October, Ambassador Girs forwarded one of his informant's predictions to Sazonov: the attack would take place on 29 October.

Raid

On 27 October, the Ottoman fleet put to sea under the guise of performing maneuvers. Pasha had originally envisioned an encounter at sea in which the Ottoman's would claim self-defence, but Admiral Souchon conceived a direct assault on Russian ports. He would later say his intention was "to force the Turks, even against their will, to spread the war." The German battlecruiser, now known as Yavuz Sultan Selim, was to sail with two destroyers and a gunboat to attack Sevastopol. The light cruiser Breslau, now known as Midilli, protected cruiser Hamidieh, and the torpedo cruiser Berk-i Satvet were to attack Novorossiysk and Feodosia. Three destroyers were detailed for Odessa. On the way, one of these destroyers experienced engine trouble and was forced to turn back.

Russian naval officers were under specific instruction not to fire first on the Ottomans in the event of a confrontation. The Russian government wanted to make it clear to any non-belligerents that the Ottomans would be the ones to instigate hostilities.

Odessa

Main article: Battle of Odessa (1914)

Shortly after 03:00 on 29 October, the destroyers Muavenet and Gairet entered the harbour of Odessa. From a distance of less than 70 yards, a torpedo was launched into the Russian gunboat Donetz. The two destroyers proceeded to damage shore installations, five oil tanks, and a sugar factory. Three Russian and one French steamer were also damaged.

The Russians managed to radio a warning to the forces in Sebastopol. By the time the Yavuz arrived, the coastal artillery would be manned.

Sebastopol

Just before 06:30, Yavuz sighted Sebastopol and proceeded to bombarded the port for 15 minutes. During this time she exchanged fire with the pre-dreadnought Georgii Pobedonosets and shore batteries. Three heavy caliber shells from the batteries managed to damage the Yavuz before she withdrew. The loaded Russian minelayer Prut happened upon the attack and scuttled herself to avoid being detonated. Three Russian destroyers attempted to pursue, but their attack dissolved after the lead ship was struck by the battlecruiser's secondary armament.

Feodosia

File:Midilli Raids Novorossiysk 2.jpg

Novorossiysk harbour bombarded by the cruiser Midilli

At around the same time Hamidieh arrived off of Feodosia. Seeing no signs of armed opposition, a German and a Turkish officer went ashore to warn the civilian population before proceeding to bombard the port.

Novorossiysk

Shortly before 10:50, Berk-i Satvet sent a shore party to warn the defenceless population of Novorossiysk, before opening up with artillery. She was soon thereafter joined by the Midilli, which had been busy laying mines in the Kerch Strait. Midilli fired a total of 308 shells, sinking 14 Russian grain cargo ships and destroying 50 or so oil tanks. On her way back to Ottoman territory, Midilli attempted to cut Sebastopol's undersea cable with Varna, Bulgaria, but failed.

Aftermath

On the afternoon following the raid, Souchon radioed Istanbul that Russian ships had "shadowed all movements of the Turkish fleet and systematically disrupted all exercises," and as such had "opened hostilities." The raiding force returned to Ottoman waters on 1 November.

Ramifications

A two-day political crisis ensued the raid. It was obvious to the Ottoman government what Enver Pasha had allowed to occur. As soon as the news of the attack reached Istanbul, the Grand Vizier and the Cabinet forced Pasha to wire a ceasefire order to Souchon. Several officials, including the Grand Vizier, threatened to resign in protest. Four later would, including Minister of Finance Mehmet Cavit Bey. Though many in the government thought it opportune to attack Russia, party unity was regarded as vital and a letter of apology was soon drafted. On 31 October Pasha informed the Germans of the planned apology and said there was nothing he could do.

The British, ill-informed of the situation in Istanbul, believed the entire Ottoman Porte was conspiring with the Germans. The British Cabinet sent an ultimatum to the Ottomans, demanding that they remove Admiral Souchon and his German subordinates from their posts and expel Germany's military mission, which composed of around 2,000 men. The Ottomans did not comply. On 31 October, First Sea Lord Winston Churchill, acting on his own initiative, ordered British forces in the Mediterranean to commence hostilities against the Ottoman Empire. This wasn't carried out immediately, so the Ottomans were unaware of what had transpired.

Meanwhile Enver Pasha, still fearing that the Russians would accept the Ottoman apology, decided to interfere. Just before the message was sent, Pasha inserted a passage that accused the Russians of instigating the conflict. On 1 November the message arrived in Petrograd. Foreign Minister Sergey Sazonov responded with an ultimatum, demanding that the Ottomans expel the German military mission. The Ottomans rejected this proposal.

That same day British forces in the Mediterranean finally responded to Churchill's orders by attacking Ottoman shipping off of the port of İzmir. That night at an Ottoman Cabinet meeting, the Grand Vizier's anti-war faction was forced to accept that the Empire was at war, and that there was little they could do to avoid conflict. The Russians declared war on the Ottoman Empire on 2 November, 1914. Admiral Andrei Eberhardt, who had been informed of the raid as it occurred, ordered Russia's fleet to put to sea and intercept the Ottoman battlecruiser. The belligerent forces would encounter each other on 18 November in the Battle of Cape Sarych.

On 3 November British warships bombarded outer forts in the Dardanelles. Two days later they extended their declaration of war to the Ottoman Empire, as did France.

Critics in Britain, including Prime Minster Lloyd George, blamed Winston Churchill for the war with the Ottomans for several years to come. In the meantime, Churchill tried to promote the advantages of the conflict, such as the possibility of territorial gains in the Middle East. This reason would ultimately bring Italy and Balkans nations like Greece into the war.

The Porte finally declared war on the Triple Entente on 11 November. Three days later Ottoman Sultan Mehmed V called for a Jihad campaign by Sunni and Shia Muslims against the Western powers.