Admiral Souchon takes command of the Turkish fleet

A British chronology of the war records under 17 September 1914 that Rear-Admiral Wilhelm Souchon of the German Kaiserliche Marine took command of the Turkish fleet. The takeover of the navy of the Ottoman Empire did not, however, happen in a single day. According to Turkish lists Souchon became commander of the fleet as early as 3 September, and on 23 or 24 September, depending on the source, he received the rank of Ottoman vice-admiral and formally took charge of the whole navy. The date in the British chronology coincides with the departure from Turkey of the British naval mission, which until August had directed the Ottoman fleet.

From fugitive to commander

Souchon ended up in Turkey by chance. At the start of the war he commanded the German Mediterranean Division, made up of the battlecruiser Goeben and the light cruiser Breslau. Pursued by the British, he took both ships into the Dardanelles. To avoid having to intern them, the neutral Ottoman government announced that it had bought them. On 16 August the Turkish ensign was hoisted on the ships. Goeben became Yavuz Sultan Selim and Breslau became Midilli. The German crews stayed on board, merely exchanging their sailors’ caps for fezzes.

Yavuz was the most powerful ship in the Black Sea, stronger than any single Russian battleship. Her commander overnight became one of the most important people in Constantinople. Souchon brought in more officers and sailors from Germany, put them aboard Turkish ships, trained the crews and prepared the fleet for operations. German specialists also strengthened the defences of the Dardanelles. On 27 September the German commandant of the straits’ fortifications closed them to shipping.

The road to war

Souchon made no secret of wanting to draw Turkey into the war on Germany’s side. The minister of war, Enver Pasha, had the same aim, although part of the government still preferred neutrality. On 25 October (according to some sources a day or several days earlier) Enver instructed Souchon to take the fleet out into the Black Sea and attack Russian ships if a “suitable opportunity” arose.

On 29 October 1914 ships under the Turkish flag, but largely with German crews, attacked Russian ports without a declaration of war. Yavuz shelled Sevastopol, torpedo boats attacked Odessa and sank the gunboat Donets, and other ships shelled Novorossiysk and Feodosia. On 2 November Russia declared war on Turkey, and on 5 November Britain and France did the same.

Souchon commanded the Ottoman fleet until September 1917. Few admirals of this war had such an influence on its course. His decision to flee to Constantinople, and then the attack in the Black Sea, opened new fronts: in the Caucasus, in Mesopotamia, in Palestine and at the Dardanelles.