Operation Albion SMS König

in september 1917, following german conquest of russian port of riga, german navy decided eliminate russian naval forces still held gulf of riga. admiralstab (the navy high command) planned operation seize baltic island of Ösel, , russian gun batteries on sworbe peninsula. on 18 september, order issued joint operation army capture Ösel , moon islands; primary naval component comprise flagship, moltke, along iii battle squadron of high seas fleet. v division included 4 könig-class ships, , time augmented new battleship bayern. vi division consisted of 5 kaiser-class battleships. along 9 light cruisers, 3 torpedo boat flotillas, , dozens of mine warfare ships, entire force numbered 300 ships, supported on 100 aircraft , 6 zeppelins. invasion force amounted approximately 24,600 officers , enlisted men. opposing germans old russian pre-dreadnoughts slava , tsesarevich, armored cruisers bayan, admiral makarov, , diana, 26 destroyers, , several torpedo boats , gunboats. garrison on Ösel numbered 14,000 men.

german troops landing @ Ösel

könig departed kiel on 23 september putziger wiek, ship remained until 10 october. operation began on 12 october; @ 03:00 könig anchored off Ösel in tagga bay , disembarked soldiers. 05:50, könig opened fire on russian coastal artillery emplacements, joined moltke, bayern, , other 3 könig-class ships. simultaneously, kaiser-class ships engaged batteries on sworbe peninsula; objective secure channel between moon , dagö islands, block escape route of russian ships in gulf. both grosser kurfürst , bayern struck mines while maneuvering bombardment positions, minimal damage former. bayern severely wounded, , had withdrawn kiel repairs. @ 17:30, könig departed area refuel; returned irben strait on 15 october.

on 16 october, decided detach portion of invasion flotilla clear russian naval forces in moon sound; these included 2 russian pre-dreadnoughts. end, könig , kronprinz, along cruisers strassburg , kolberg , number of smaller vessels, sent engage russian battleships. arrived morning of 17 october, deep russian minefield thwarted progress. germans surprised discover 30.5 cm guns of russian battleships out-ranged own 30.5 cm guns. russian ships managed keep distance wide enough prevent german battleships being able return fire, while still firing on german ships, , germans had take several evasive maneuvers avoid russian shells. however, 10:00, minesweepers had cleared path through minefield, , könig , kronprinz dashed bay. 10:13, könig in range of slava , opened fire. meanwhile, kronprinz fired on both slava , cruiser bayan. russian vessels hit dozens of times, until @ 10:30 russian naval commander, admiral bakhirev, ordered withdrawal. könig had hit slava 7 times; damage inflicted prevented escaping north. instead, scuttled , crew evacuated on destroyer. in course of engagement, könig struck cruiser bayan once. following engagement, könig fired on shore batteries on woi , werder.

on 20 october, könig towed mine sweepers kuiwast roadstead. könig transferred soldiers island of schildaum occupied. time, fighting on islands winding down; moon, Ösel, , dagö in german possession. previous day, admiralstab had ordered cessation of naval actions , return of dreadnoughts high seas fleet possible. on return voyage, könig struck bottom in heavy swell. ship repaired in kiel; work lasted until 17 november.

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