Action of 10 March 1917 The Action of 10 March 1917 was a single - ship action during World War I fought between SMS " Möwe " , a German commerce raider , and an armed New Zealand Shipping Company cargo ship SS " Otaki " . Although the " Otaki " was sunk , the " Möwe " was badly damaged . Background . SMS " Möwe " was already famous . Her commander " Kaptain " Count Nikolaus zu Dohna - Schlodien had taken " Möwe " around the world in 1915 and early 1916 , sinking several vessels and fighting one engagement with the British . With a veteran crew and ship , " Kaptain " Dohna - Schlodien ran the British blockade of Germany in December 1916 and headed for the mid - Atlantic , taking several vessels along the way . " Möwe " was armed with four 150 - millimeter gun s , one 105 - millimeter gun and two 503 - millimeter torpedo tube s . She had a complement of 235 officers and men ; also on board were hundreds of sea mines . Action . On March 10 , 1917 , after months at sea and now returning to Germany , the SMS " Möwe " was in open ocean . At about 2 : 00 am she encountered the 4 , 491 - ton Pacific Steam Navigation Company vessel SS " Esmerelda " , which was sailing west to Baltimore . The " Esmerelda " was stopped , her crew was taken off and then she was scuttle d with explosives . Just then a second merchant ship , SS " Otaki " , appeared on the horizon . She was a 7 , 420 - gross - ton refrigerated cargo ship of the New Zealand Shipping Company sailing from London to New York . Her defence was a single 4 . 7 inch gun mounted aft with a Royal Navy commander and gun crew of two . " Otaki " carried a wireless and could have alerted the British to the " Mowe " s position . In heavy seas and squalls Dohna - Schlodien immediately gave chase , and when the " Möwe " drew near ( 2 , 000 yards ) , Dohna - Schlodien signalled " Otaki " to stop . Her master , Archibald Bisset Smith , refused to surrender his ship . The Germans fired warning shots and were answered with heavy fire from " Otaki " s bow 155 - millimeter gun . Shot after shot pounded the " Möwe " at a range of 2 , 000 yards ; the New Zealanders badly damaged the raider before the Germans were capable of firing a shot in return . When " Möwe " began counter firing , her 150 - millimeter shells were accurately directed . Several shells struck the " Otaki " , and after a battle that lasted around twenty minutes , she capsized and sank . The British colours were never struck ; Lieutenant Smith directed his crew to abandon ship but he stayed behind . By the end of the action , the German auxiliary cruiser was on fire , so her crew had to extinguish the flames as a matter of priority . Five crewmen and Smith went down with the SS " Otaki " ; the survivors were quickly rescued by the Germans . One of the dead was a fifteen - year - old midshipman ; a plaque in Scotland commemorates his falling in action . Well over 200 prisoners were taken from the " Esmerelda " and " Otaki " . " Möwe " suffered heavily as well ; most of the " Otaki " s rounds struck topside ; five men were killed , another ten were wounded . Aftermath . The damage caused by " Otaki " started fires in the " Mowe " s coal bunkers , which burned for two days and nearly reached the ship ' s magazine . She had already suffered serious flooding after being holed by " Otaki " s shells ; this had required counter - flooding to correct the list , and more was let in to quench the fires . Due to the damage his ship sustained , Dohna - Schlodien was forced to consider returning to Germany . Within a month the raider was back in friendly waters after running the British blockade a fourth and final time . Once again Dohna - Schlodien was rewarded accordingly . The survivors of " Otaki " and the crew of " Esmerelda " were taken to Brandenburg , where they remained prisoners for the rest of the Great War . " Möwe " spent the remainder of the war serving with the German fleet in the Baltic Sea as a minelayer . Archibald Smith ' s actions were not fully recognized until after the end of the war . For " conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty " , he was given a posthumously promotion to ( temporary ) Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve so that he could be awarded the Victoria Cross , which as a civilian he was otherwise ineligible for .