pursuit of Goeben and Breslau

Overview

The pursuit of Goeben and Breslau was a naval action that occurred in the Mediterranean Sea at the outbreak of the First World War when elements of the British Mediterranean Fleet attempted to intercept the German Mittelmeerdivision consisting of the battlecruiser SMS Goeben and the light cruiser SMS Breslau. The German ships evaded the British fleet and passed through the Dardanelles to reach Constantinople, where they were eventually handed over to the Ottoman Empire. Renamed Yavuz Sultan Selim and Midilli, the former Goeben and Breslau were ordered by their German commander to attack Russian positions, in doing so bringing the Ottoman Empire into the war on the side of the Central Powers.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The pursuit of Goeben and Breslau opened World War I in the Mediterranean with a British failure to intercept the German Mittelmeerdivision. SMS Goeben and SMS Breslau evaded the British Mediterranean Fleet and passed through the Dardanelles to reach Constantinople. There the two vessels were handed over to the Ottoman Empire, renamed Yavuz Sultan Selim and Midilli, and subsequently used under their German commander to attack Russian positions. Those attacks brought the Ottoman Empire into the war on the side of the Central Powers, a strategic consequence that extended the conflict across the Middle East and the Caucasus and opened fronts that would shape the war's outcome well beyond the Mediterranean theater.

Commanders (4)