Mediterranean Division

Mediterranean Division
The battlecruiser Goeben after arriving in the Bosporus.
Active	1912 – 2 November 1918
Country	Germany
Branch	Navy
Size	3 ships
Engagements	Pursuit of Goeben and Breslau
Disbanded	2 November 1918

The Mediterranean Division (German: Mittelmeer-Division) was a division consisting of one battlecruiser (SMS Goeben) and one light cruiser (SMS Breslau) of the Kaiserliche Marine. It saw service in the First Balkan War, Second Balkan War, and First World War. It was disbanded after the ships were transferred to Turkey four years after their pursuit by the British battlecruisers Indomitable and Indefatigable and light cruisers Dublin and Gloucester.

When the First Balkan War broke out in October 1912, the German General Staff determined that a naval Mediterranean Division was needed to give Germany the ability to project power in the Mediterranean. Therefore, the staff dispatched the battlecruiser Goeben and the light cruiser Breslau to Constantinople. The two ships left Kiel on 4 November, and arrived on 15 November 1912. From April 1913, Goeben visited many Mediterranean ports, including Venice, Pola, and Naples, before sailing into Albanian waters. Following this trip, Goeben returned to Pola and remained there from 21 August to 16 October for maintenance.