A British submarine flotilla operated in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

for three years during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. The squadron of nine submarines was attached to the Russian

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

. The main task of the flotilla was to prevent the import of

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the ...

from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

Imperial Germany The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. The success of the flotilla also forced the German Navy in the Baltic to keep to their bases and denied the German

High Seas Fleet The High Seas Fleet (''Hochseeflotte'') was the battle fleet of the German Imperial Navy and saw action during the First World War. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet (''Heimatflotte'') was renamed as the High Seas ...

a training ground. The flotilla was based in

Reval Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ''m ...

(Tallinn), and for most of its career commanded by Captain

Francis Cromie Captain (Acting) Francis Newton Allen Cromie, CB, DSO, (30 January 1882 – 31 August 1918, Petrograd) was a distinguished British Royal Navy Commander, and the de facto chief of British Intelligence operations in northern Russia for the Br ...

. The flotilla originally consisted of six E-class and five C-class submarines. The smaller C-class submarines reached the Baltic Sea from the White Sea via northern rivers; the long-range E-class submarines managed to enter the German backwaters by passing undetected through the narrow and shallow

Danish Straits The Danish straits are the straits connecting the Baltic Sea to the North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak. Historically, the Danish straits were internal waterways of Denmark; however, following territorial losses, Øresund and Fehmarn B ...

. Two submarines were lost to stranding and one went missing, now presumed sunk by a mine. In 1918, the German occupation of Tallinn and the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty forced the flotilla to move to

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, under the protection of the

Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic The Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (FSWR), more commonly referred to as Red Finland, was a self-proclaimed Finland, Finnish socialist state that ruled parts of the country during the Finnish Civil War of 1918. It was outlined on 29 January 1 ...

. The German intervention in the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...

and the landing of the 10,000-strong German

Baltic Sea Division The Baltic Sea Division () was a 10,000 man German military unit commanded by Rüdiger von der Goltz. The core of the division comprised two army brigades from the German Eastern Front: 95. Reserve Infantry Brigade (led by Colonel K. Wolff) and 2 ...

in Hanko forced the crew to scuttle the eight remaining submarines and the three support ships, ''Cicero'', ''Emilie'' and ''Obsidian'', outside Helsinki harbour. A similar fate awaited the flotilla's Russian counterpart. The Ice Cruise of the Baltic Fleet had left four Russian

Holland type The American Holland-class submarines, also AG class or A class, were Holland 602 type submarines used by the Imperial Russian and Soviet Navies in the early 20th century. The small submarines participated in the World War I Baltic Sea and Bla ...

submarines without support in Hanko. The arrival of German troops under

Rüdiger von der Goltz Gustav Adolf Joachim Rüdiger Graf von der Goltz (8 December 1865 – 4 November 1946) was a German army general during the First World War. He commanded the Baltic Sea Division, which successfully intervened in the Finnish Civil War in the spr ...

on 3 April, forced the Russians to hastily scuttle the submarines—including and —in Hanko harbour.

Submarines

E class

The E-class submarines entered the Baltic Sea through the

through waters only deep. On 19 August 1915, was stranded in The Sound near Saltholm. In a breach of Danish neutrality, she was destroyed by German torpedo boat '' G132'', with a loss of 15 of her crew. The other subs managed to enter the Baltic without being intercepted by the Germans. and made the passage to Reval safely in September 1915.War in the Baltic – 1915
*—commanded by

Max Horton Admiral Sir Max Kennedy Horton, (29 November 1883 – 30 July 1951) was a British submariner during the First World War and commander-in-chief of the Western Approaches in the later half of the Second World War, responsible for British partici ...

—intercepted four German steamers on 18–19 October 1915. * was lost in the

in May 1916 while operating out of Reval. Examination of the wreck, discovered off

Hiiumaa Hiiumaa (, ) is the second largest island in Estonia and is part of the West Estonian archipelago, in the Baltic Sea. It has an area of 989 km2 and is 22 km from the Estonian mainland. Its largest town is Kärdla. It is located within ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...

, in 2009, suggests that it struck a mine while sailing on the surface. *—commanded by

—intercepted four German steamers on 10–11 October 1915. She also sank the German ''Gazelle''-class warship . The last four E-class submarines—, , , and —were scuttled outside

, south of the Harmaja Light, in 1918 to prevent capture by German troops who had landed nearby.C 26
– contains information on the wrecks

C class

Four C-class submarines were sent there in September 1915 by a tortuous route—towed around the North Cape to

Archangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near ...

and taken by

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels. ...

Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for " crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...

, by way of the Dvina and Sukhona rivers to

Vologda Vologda ( rus, Вологда, p=ˈvoləɡdə) is a city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. Population: The city serves as a major transport hu ...

then via

Lake Onega Lake Onega (; also known as Onego, rus, Оне́жское о́зеро, r=Onezhskoe ozero, p=ɐˈnʲɛʂskəɪ ˈozʲɪrə; fi, Ääninen, Äänisjärvi; vep, Änine, Änižjärv) is a lake in northwestern Russia, on the territory of the Repu ...

and

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga (; rus, Ла́дожское о́зеро, r=Ladozhskoye ozero, p=ˈladəʂskəjə ˈozʲɪrə or rus, Ла́дога, r=Ladoga, p=ˈladəɡə, fi, Laatokka arlier in Finnish ''Nevajärvi'' ; vep, Ladog, Ladoganjärv) is a fresh ...

Petrograd Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. , , and reached

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

on the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and ...

in 9 September 1916, but due to difficulties with the batteries became fully operational only in the 1917 sealing season. * stranded on a mudbank near

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet ...

on the north-eastern side of the

Gulf of Riga The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia ( lv, Rīgas līcis, et, Liivi laht) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. The island of Saaremaa (Estonia) partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic Sea. The main c ...

on 24 October 1917 while trying to prevent

Operation Albion Operation Albion was a World War I German air, land and naval operation against the Russian forces in October 1917 to occupy the West Estonian Archipelago. The land campaign opened with German landings at the Tagalaht bay on the island o ...

, the German operation in October to invade the Estonian islands of

Saaremaa Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring . The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the isla ...

and

Muhu Muhu (also called Muhumaa in Estonian), is an island in the West Estonian archipelago of the Baltic Sea. With an area of it is the third largest island belonging to Estonia, after Saaremaa and Hiiumaa. Together with neighbouring smaller is ...

. Three of these boats—, , and —were also scuttled outside

in 1918.

Aftermath

The crews of the scuttled submarines were evacuated by Soviet ships to

and by rail to Murmansk, to join with the Allied intervention forces in North Russia, only weeks before hostilities cut railway lines to Murmansk. Among the officers were future admirals and commanders of the British Submarine Service, Sir Noel Laurence and Sir

and Vice Admiral

Leslie Ashmore Vice Admiral Leslie Haliburton Ashmore, (21 February 1893 – 10 January 1974) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Flag Officer commanding the Reserve Fleet from 1945 to 1947. Naval career Ashmore joined the Royal Navy in 1906 and was promo ...

. Admiral Aksel Berg also served as Liaison Officer from the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...

, before going on to become the Deputy Minister of Defence for the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

(1953–57). In 1935, the

Anglo-German Naval Agreement The Anglo-German Naval Agreement (AGNA) of 18 June 1935 was a naval agreement between the United Kingdom and Germany regulating the size of the '' Kriegsmarine'' in relation to the Royal Navy. The Anglo-German Naval Agreement fixed a ratio whe ...

(AGNA) concluded between

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and Germany, allowed Germany to increase the size of its

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

to one-third the size of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

, which would have had the effect of allowing the Kriegsmarine to dominate the Baltic. Some Finns raised some parts of the scuttled British submarines before World War II but recognized that they were beyond feasible repair and returned them back into the sea. It is believed that the remains were raised in 1953 by the German company Beckedorf Gebryder and used as

scrap metal Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered m ...

. Wreck of ''Cicero'' is believed to have been located in 1995.''Cicero''
at hylyt.net

References

Literature

* *

External links

* *{{Cite web , url = http://www.seayourhistory.org.uk/content/view/822/1055/ , title = The Baltic Campaign , work = Sea Your History , publisher =

Royal Naval Museum The National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth, formerly known as the Royal Naval Museum, is a museum of the history of the Royal Navy, history of the Royal Navy located in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard section of HMNB Portsmouth, Portsmou ...

in Portsmouth , accessdate = 2009-05-16 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090814091722/http://www.seayourhistory.org.uk/content/view/822/1055/ , archive-date = 14 August 2009 , url-status = dead Conflicts in 1915 Conflicts in 1916 Conflicts in 1917 Conflicts in 1918 Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War British submarine History of the Royal Navy Military history of the United Kingdom during World War I Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War I Finnish Civil War 1910s in Helsinki Military history of the Baltic Sea History of Tallinn Soviet Union–United Kingdom relations 1910s in Estonia