Action of 8 January 1916

Action of 8 January 1916
Part of World War I
Russian stamp depicting Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya
Date 8 January 1916 Location Black Sea Result Russian victory[1]
Belligerents
Russia	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Andrei Eberhardt	Wilhelm Souchon
Strength
1 battleship 2 destroyers	1 battlecruiser 1 collier
Casualties and losses
None	1 collier sunk 1 battlecruiser damaged

On 8 January 1916 the Russian dreadnought Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya and the Ottoman battlecruiser Yavuz Sultan Selim encountered one another in the Black Sea. After a brief exchange of fire the Ottomans withdrew.

Battle

On 8 January 1916, Yavuz Sultan Selim was scheduled to arrive off of Zonguldak to cover the entrance of the empty 4,400-gross register ton (GRT) collier SS Carmen. Early that morning the collier was intercepted by the Russian destroyers Pronzitelny and Leytenant Shestakov off of Kirpen island and sunk.^[2] As she was returning to the Bosporus, Yavuz spotted the two destroyers and gave chase. The destroyers retreated and radioed a warning to the recently commissioned dreadnought Imperatritsa Ekaterina II, which increased speed to come to their aid.

Imperatritsa Ekaterina II opened fire at 18,500 meters (20,200 yd) with her 12-inch guns, forcing Yavuz to turn to the southwest to avoid being struck. The Russian battleship fired 96 rounds and scored no hits, though some near misses did cause splinter damage to the battlecruiser.^[2] The Ottomans fired 60 rounds, but couldn't bring their 11-inch guns into range, and withdrew after 30 minutes.^[3] The Russians attempted to pursue, but the Yavuz was faster and outran them.

Aftermath

The engagement was the only ever battle between dreadnoughts on the Black Sea.