Английская Википедия:Battle off Texel

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Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Use British English Шаблон:Other uses Шаблон:Use dmy dates Шаблон:Warbox The Battle off Texel, also known as the Action off Texel or the Action of 17 October 1914, was a naval battle off the coast of the Dutch island of Texel during the First World War. A British squadron, comprising one light cruiser and four destroyers on a routine patrol, encountered the German 7th Half Flotilla of torpedo boats which was en route to the British coast to lay mines.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Efn The British forces attacked and the outgunned German force attempted to flee and then fought a desperate and ineffective action against the British force, which sank all four German boats.Шаблон:Sfn

The battle resulted in the loss of the German torpedo boat squadron and prevented the mining of busy shipping lanes, such as the mouth of the River Thames. The British had few casualties and little damage to their vessels. The battle influenced the tactics and deployments of the remaining German torpedo boat flotillas in the North Sea area, as the loss shook the faith of their commanders in the effectiveness of the force.Шаблон:Sfn

Background

After the opening naval Battle of Heligoland Bight, the German High Seas Fleet was ordered to avoid confrontations with larger opposing forces, to avoid costly and demoralising reverses. Apart from occasional German raids and forays by German light forces, the North Sea was dominated by the Royal Navy which regularly patrolled the area.Шаблон:Sfn On 16 October 1914, information about activity by German light forces in the Heligoland Bight became more definite and the 1st Division of the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla (Harwich Force), consisting of the new light cruiser Шаблон:HMS (Captain Cecil Fox) and four Шаблон:Sclass destroyers, Шаблон:HMS, Шаблон:HMS, Шаблон:HMS and Шаблон:HMS was sent to investigate. At 13:50 on 17 October, while steaming northwards, about Шаблон:Convert to the south-west of the island of Texel, the 1st Division encountered a squadron of German torpedo boats, comprising the remaining vessels of the 7th Half Flotilla (Korvettenkapitän Georg Thiele in Шаблон:SMS) Шаблон:SMS, Шаблон:SMS, Шаблон:SMS about Шаблон:Convert ahead.Шаблон:Efn The German ships were sailing abreast, about Шаблон:Convert apart, on a bearing slightly to the east of the 1st Division. The German ships made no hostile move against the British and made no attempt to flee; the British assuming that they had mistaken the ships for friendly vessels. The German flotilla was part of the Emden Patrol and had been sent out of the Ems River, to mine the southern coast of Britain including the mouth of the Thames but had been intercepted before reaching its objective.Шаблон:Sfn

A German Torpedo boat cruising at sea with smoke billowing from a stack amidships.
A Шаблон:Lang 1898 class torpedo boat, similar to those at Texel.

The British squadron out-gunned the German 7th Half Flotilla. HMS Undaunted—an Arethusa-class light cruiser—was armed with two BL 6 inch Mk XII naval guns and seven QF 4 inch Mk V naval guns, in single mounts (most without gun shields) and eight torpedo tubes. Undaunted was experimentally armed with a pair of 2-pounder anti-aircraft guns, something most of her class lacked and at best speed could make Шаблон:Convert. The four Laforey-class destroyers were armed with four torpedo tubes in two twin mounts, three 4-inch guns and a 2-pounder gun. The destroyers were slightly faster than the cruiser and could make about Шаблон:Convert at full power.Шаблон:Sfn The German vessels were inferior to the British in other areas, the 7th Half Flotilla was composed of ageing Шаблон:Lang 1898 class boats and had been completed in 1904. The German boats were nearly equal in speed to the British at Шаблон:Convert.Шаблон:Sfn Each of the German vessels was armed with three Шаблон:Convert guns, that were of shorter range and throw-weight than the British guns. The biggest danger to the British squadron was the five Шаблон:Convert torpedoes carried by each German boat.Шаблон:Sfn

Battle

Файл:Wadden - Texel.PNG
Island of Texel

Upon closer approach, the German vessels realised the nearby vessels were British and scattered, while Undaunted—which was closer to the Germans than the destroyers—opened fire on the nearest torpedo boat. This German vessel managed to dodge the fire from Undaunted by changing course but lost speed and the British force caught up. To protect Undaunted from torpedo attack and to destroy the Germans as quickly as possible, Fox ordered the squadron to divide. Lance and Lennox chased S115 and S119 as Legion and Loyal pursued S117 and S118.Шаблон:Sfn Fire from Legion, Loyal and Undaunted damaged S118 so badly that its bridge was blown off the deck, sinking her at 15:17. Lance and Lennox engaged S115, disabling her steering gear and causing the German vessel to circle. LennoxШаблон:'s fire was so effective that the bridge of S115 was also destroyed but the German torpedo-boat did not strike her colours.Шаблон:Sfn

Four German torpedo boats under fire from British ships off of the Dutch island of Texel.
German boats under fire off Texel

The two central boats in the German flotilla, S117 and the flotilla leader S119, tried to hit Undaunted with torpedoes but Undaunted outmanoeuvred the German boats and remained unscathed.Шаблон:Sfn When Legion and Loyal had finished off S118, they came to UndauntedШаблон:'s aid and engaged the two attackers. Legion attacked S117, which fired its last three torpedoes and continued to engage with gunfire. Legion pulverised S117, damaging her steering mechanism which forced her to circle before she was sunk at 15:30. At the same time, Lance and Lennox had damaged S115 to the point where only one of the destroyers was needed. Lance joined Loyal in bombarding S119 with lyddite shells.Шаблон:Sfn S119 managed to fire a torpedo at Lance and hit the destroyer amidships but the torpedo failed to detonate. S119 was sunk at 15:35 by gunfire from Lance and Loyal, taking the German flotilla commander down with it. S115 stayed afloat despite constant attacks from Lennox, which sent a boarding party, who found a wreck with only one German on board who happily surrendered. Thirty members of the crew were eventually rescued from the sea by the British vessels.Шаблон:Sfn The action ended at 16:30, with gunfire from Undaunted finishing off the abandoned hulk of S115.Шаблон:Sfn

Aftermath

Analysis

The German Seventh Half Flotilla cruising at sea consisting of five torpedo boats one of which did not take part in the Battle off Texel
The German 7th Half Flotilla in 1911 (S116 in the photograph was sunk on 6 October)

The battle was seen as a great boost of morale for the British as two days previous, they had lost the cruiser Шаблон:HMS to a U-boat. The effect on British morale is reflected in its inclusion in the 1915 novel The Boy Allies Under Two Flags, written by Robert L. Drake.Шаблон:Sfn The hospital ship Шаблон:Ship, which had been sent out to rescue survivors from the sunken boats, was seized by the British for violating the Hague Convention rules on the use of hospital ships.Шаблон:Sfn The loss of a squadron of German torpedo boats led to a drastic change in tactics in the English Channel and along the coast of Flanders. There were fewer sorties into the Channel and the torpedo boat force was relegated to coastal patrol and rescuing aircrew.Шаблон:Sfn The British received a bonus on 30 November, when a trawler pulled up the sealed chest thrown off S119 by Captain Thiele. The chest contained a codebook used by the German light forces stationed on the coast, allowing the British to read German wireless communication for long afterwards.Шаблон:Sfn

Casualties

Despite the odds, no German vessel struck her colours and the flotilla fought to the end. The four ships of the German Seventh Half Flotilla were sunk by Harwich Force and over two hundred sailors were killed, including the commanding officer. Thirty-one German sailors were rescued and taken prisoner; a captured officer died of wounds soon after.Шаблон:Sfn Two more German sailors were later rescued by a neutral vessel.Шаблон:Sfn Only four British sailors were wounded and three of their destroyers were lightly damaged.Шаблон:Sfn Legion had one Шаблон:Convert shell hit and one man was wounded by machine-gun fire. Loyal was hit twice and had three or four men wounded. Lance had superficial machine-gun damage and the other vessels were unscathed.Шаблон:Sfn

Order of battle

Royal Navy

3rd Destroyer Flotilla (detachment), Captain Cecil H. Fox, Captain (D)

1st division, 3rd Destroyer Flotilla

German Navy

7th Torpedoboat Half-flotilla, Korvettenkapitän Georg ThieleШаблон:KIA, commander

Notes

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Citations

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References

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Further reading

Шаблон:World War I Шаблон:Good article

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