herakles
06-01-2008, 03:21
These two German ships comprised the German Mediterranean fleet in 1914, commanded by Rear Admiral Souchon.
Initially their task was to harass French troop ships that were carrying troops from Algeria to France.
At the time, WW1 had not started so Churchill commanded Admiral Milne - commander of the British Mediterranean fleet, to shadow these two ships.
The Mediterranean Fleet, based at Malta, comprised three fast, modern battle cruisers, HMS Inflexible, Indefatigable and Indomitable, as well as four armoured cruisers, four light cruisers and a flotilla of 14 destroyers.
Initially Milne disobeyed these orders. It wasn't until hostilities broke out that the two German ships were at last shadowed.
By having to respect Italian neutrality at the time, the British ships had to stay out of Messina where the German ships were bunkering.
The British expected the German ships to then sail east to attack the French. Instead they went west, shadowed only by the heavily out-gunned Gloucester. Milne had the fleet sail east having been sent an incorrect message from the Admiralty that Britain had declared war on Austria. At the time, the Austrian navy was considerable. Only some time later was it realised this was not happening so at last the Fleet was sent to find the Germans in the west.
In the meantime, the Goeben and Breslau reached the Dardanelles and awaited permission to enter. The German government put great pressure on the Turks - then neutral - to allow their passage and to attack any British ships that followed. Pascha, the Turkish Minister of war agreed to this, thus infuriating the Russians as the Dardanelles was its only all weather shipping route. And thereby causing Turkey to declare itself an ally of the Germans.
The Goeben and Breslau reached Constantinople and were handed over to the Turks, which meant that the German crews donned fez's and hoisted new colours.
At the time. the Turks were bitterly angry with Britain as at the outbreak of war with Germany two ships ordered by them, the Sultan Osman and the Reshadieh were confiscated without compensation. (and later became HMS Agincourt and HMS Erin.) These two ships had been paid for by public contribution. Even the children in schools had raised money for their purchase. Previously the Turks had purchased 40 ships from the British as the Turkish navy was strongly pro-British. At the time Turkey was neutral.
When the British and French fleets eventually attacked the Turks in the Dardanelles, the two German ships remained at Constantinople. They weren't needed as the combined fleet was heavily defeated on March 18th 1915. It's interesting to reflect what might have happened had they moved out to attack. They were well equipped and Roebuck the British fleet commander, kept plenty of reserves in hand in case they did. This defeat caused the ill-fated landing on the Gallipoli peninsula to happen.
Later that year, the Goeben and Breslau did attack Russian ports in the Black Sea, causing Russia to declare war on Turkey.
Consequences:
1. The British commanders were heavily censured and one court-martialled for failing to engage the German ships.
2. Forcing Turkey to ally itself with Germany opened up several new fronts, notably Gallipoli, Palestine and Iraq. Without these war zones to have to cope with, it's possible the war in France could have been concluded in 1916. Thus the Battle of the Somme and the USA changing its neutral stance might never have occurred.
3. When Turkey eventually collapsed, the European powers were able to carve up the Ottoman Empire. It was at this time that Palestine, Iraq and Iran were created and the first thoughts given to the creation of a Jewish state.
4. With the all weather passage denied the Russians, their economy suffered greatly and their war effort was severely hampered. It was one of the critical factors that brought about the Russian revolution.
Cancelling the ship building contract, made the decision for Turkey to ally itself with Germany much easier. This in turn created some if not all of the major problems facing the world today.
(I am indebted to an article in Wikipedia for this thread)
Initially their task was to harass French troop ships that were carrying troops from Algeria to France.
At the time, WW1 had not started so Churchill commanded Admiral Milne - commander of the British Mediterranean fleet, to shadow these two ships.
The Mediterranean Fleet, based at Malta, comprised three fast, modern battle cruisers, HMS Inflexible, Indefatigable and Indomitable, as well as four armoured cruisers, four light cruisers and a flotilla of 14 destroyers.
Initially Milne disobeyed these orders. It wasn't until hostilities broke out that the two German ships were at last shadowed.
By having to respect Italian neutrality at the time, the British ships had to stay out of Messina where the German ships were bunkering.
The British expected the German ships to then sail east to attack the French. Instead they went west, shadowed only by the heavily out-gunned Gloucester. Milne had the fleet sail east having been sent an incorrect message from the Admiralty that Britain had declared war on Austria. At the time, the Austrian navy was considerable. Only some time later was it realised this was not happening so at last the Fleet was sent to find the Germans in the west.
In the meantime, the Goeben and Breslau reached the Dardanelles and awaited permission to enter. The German government put great pressure on the Turks - then neutral - to allow their passage and to attack any British ships that followed. Pascha, the Turkish Minister of war agreed to this, thus infuriating the Russians as the Dardanelles was its only all weather shipping route. And thereby causing Turkey to declare itself an ally of the Germans.
The Goeben and Breslau reached Constantinople and were handed over to the Turks, which meant that the German crews donned fez's and hoisted new colours.
At the time. the Turks were bitterly angry with Britain as at the outbreak of war with Germany two ships ordered by them, the Sultan Osman and the Reshadieh were confiscated without compensation. (and later became HMS Agincourt and HMS Erin.) These two ships had been paid for by public contribution. Even the children in schools had raised money for their purchase. Previously the Turks had purchased 40 ships from the British as the Turkish navy was strongly pro-British. At the time Turkey was neutral.
When the British and French fleets eventually attacked the Turks in the Dardanelles, the two German ships remained at Constantinople. They weren't needed as the combined fleet was heavily defeated on March 18th 1915. It's interesting to reflect what might have happened had they moved out to attack. They were well equipped and Roebuck the British fleet commander, kept plenty of reserves in hand in case they did. This defeat caused the ill-fated landing on the Gallipoli peninsula to happen.
Later that year, the Goeben and Breslau did attack Russian ports in the Black Sea, causing Russia to declare war on Turkey.
Consequences:
1. The British commanders were heavily censured and one court-martialled for failing to engage the German ships.
2. Forcing Turkey to ally itself with Germany opened up several new fronts, notably Gallipoli, Palestine and Iraq. Without these war zones to have to cope with, it's possible the war in France could have been concluded in 1916. Thus the Battle of the Somme and the USA changing its neutral stance might never have occurred.
3. When Turkey eventually collapsed, the European powers were able to carve up the Ottoman Empire. It was at this time that Palestine, Iraq and Iran were created and the first thoughts given to the creation of a Jewish state.
4. With the all weather passage denied the Russians, their economy suffered greatly and their war effort was severely hampered. It was one of the critical factors that brought about the Russian revolution.
Cancelling the ship building contract, made the decision for Turkey to ally itself with Germany much easier. This in turn created some if not all of the major problems facing the world today.
(I am indebted to an article in Wikipedia for this thread)