The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-10-18
GERMANS TAKE
10000 CAPT|vES
ON RUSS ISLAND
Berlin Claims Russian Navy Is
Trapped in Riga Gulf.
Bottled Up by Naval Units
North of OeSel Island.
RUSSIAN BATTLESHIP SUNK
SIava Hit Below Water Line in
Desperate Sea Battle.
Most of S25 Crew Saxea-Cars
ried FOuy. 19-Tnch GunS.
RUSSIAN BATTLESHIP SUNK
SIava Hit Below Water Line III
Desperate Sea Battle.
Most of s25 Crew Saved-Cars
ried Four 12-Inch Guns.

Berlin, oct. 1S.-The Germans have
taken 900 prisoners and fifty guns
on Oesel island. the war office re-
ports.
The Russian naval forces in the
Gulf of Riga have been trapped by
the Germans. according to the an
nouncement. It says German naval
units are lying in the eastern portion
of Kassar bay, north of Oesel island,
and are barring passage westward.
Russians Forced to Retire.
Petrograd, Oct. 18.-"Our ships de-
Tended for considerable time the en-
trance to Moon and the Riga gulf"
the war office stated, "and only Sc
we're damage caused by dreadnoughts
forced US to retire to Moon sound.
THE Slava was sunk by hits below
the water line and nearly all of her
crew was saved.
"Oesel is completely occupied by
the enemy, but before our retreat
everything of military utility was de-
stroyed."
Official Story of Big Battle.
The announcement follows:
After depriving us of control of
Irbe channel, the enemy at night
penetrated the Gulf of Riga, where at
discovered by our patrol ships, which
were pressed back to Moon sound by
enemy cruisers and torpedo boats
Our ships of the line Grayhdanin
and Slava and the cruiser Bayan
went out to meet the enemy in the
Gulf of Riga and drove back his van
guard by their fire They soon en-
countered the principal enemy fight
ing units and engaged them. Among
the latter were two dreadnaughts of
the Grosser Kurfuerst type (25,OOO
tons).
During the battle the enemy
adopted the tactics of firing at dis
tances beyond the range of our guns,
his artillery range being much su-
perior to the artillery of our old ships
of the line.
Silence Coast Batteries, Too.
Tn spite of the superiority of the
enemy our ships defended the en-
trance for a considerable time and
only severe damage caused by the
fire of his dreadnaughts forced us to
retire to the waters of Moon sound.
As a result of several hits beneath
! the water line. the Slava sank Nearly
all the crew were saved by our tor
pedo boats.
'During this engagement our coast
batteries at the entrance to Moon
sound dispersed by their fire enemy
torpedo boats which attempted to
approach our ships Afterward the
fire of one of the enemy dreadnaughts
was directed on those batteries and
they were put out of action in a short
time.
/ Another detachment of our naval
t forces in Moon sound kept back fierce
enemy attacks from the north in the
rear of our combating forces The
enemy attempts did not succeed"
| The Russian battleship SIava was a
class C battleship of 1856 tons and
a length over all of $40 feet. She
had a speed of is knots and carried
| a heavy belt of krupp armor. Her
main armament before the war in
cluded four twelve-inch guns, twelve
six-inch guns and four torpedo tubes
/ She had a complement of S25 men.
1 Four Sister Ships Sunk by Japan.
| Three sister ships of the Slava. the
/ Imperator. Aleksandr III, the Boro-
dino and the Knyaz Suvorov. were
sunk during the Russo japanese wal
! in the battle of the Sea of Japan
| May. 1905.