Action of 10 May 1915

Part of World War I

Date

May 10, 1915

Location

Black Sea, 25 miles from the Bosphorus

Result

Tactically inconclusive;
Strategic Ottoman victory

Russian operations disrupted

Belligerents

Russian Empire

Ottoman Empire

Commanders and leaders

Andrei Eberhardt

Richard Ackermann

Strength

5 pre-dreadnought battleships

1 battlecruiser

Casualties and losses

None

1 battlecruiser lightly damaged

Tactically inconclusive;
Strategic Ottoman victory

The Action of 10 May 1915 was a naval encounter between the Russian pre-dreadnought squadron and the Ottoman battlecruiser Yavuz Sultan Selim in the Black Sea. After a brief exchange of fire the Ottomans withdrew.

On May 9, 1915, a Russian squadron attacked Ottoman shipping between Kozlu and Eregli, sinking four steamers and many sailing ships. The battlecruiser Yavuz Sultan Selim, under Captain Richard Ackermann, immediately put to sea in order to intercept the Russians. Early on the morning of May 10, a bombardment force detached from the Russian squadron in order to attack the Bosphorus forts. This consisted of the obsolete pre-dreadnoughts Tri Sviatitelia and Panteleimon, the seaplane carriers Almaz and Imperator Alexander I, as well as a screen of destroyers and minesweepers.

The Ottoman torpedo boat Numune-i Hamiyet, acting as a guard ship at the mouth of the Bosphorus, sighted the bombardment force and radioed a warning to Yavuz. Captain Ackermann promptly set his ship on a course to intercept at 26 knots (48 km/h). The torpedo boat proceeded to engage the minesweepers but was forced to withdraw under heavy fire from the battleships. The protected cruiser Pamiat Merkuria then spotted Yavuz and reported it to the fleet, giving the bombardment force time to break off before it was sighted.

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Wikipedia