Admiral Souchon Taking Over the Command of the Fleet and the Bombardment of Russian Ports (29 October 1914)

An evaluation of the process by which the Ottoman Empire entered the First World War reveals the role and importance of its fleet in entering the war. The confiscation to Sultan Osman and Reşadiye armored ships by the British had had an adverse effect on the Ottoman fleet. Despite this, the purchase of Yavuz dreadnought and Midilli battle cruiser and Rear Admiral Souchon, the commander of the Mediterranean fleet of Germany, taking over the command of the Ottoman fleet provided the Ottoman fleet with its power and the inclusion of Yavuz dreadnought and Midilli battle cruiser into the Ottoman fleet put the Ottoman fleet ahead of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea. The Russian fleet, meanwhile, patrolled along the Ottoman coasts in the Black Sea and tried to lay mines in the vicinity of Bosphorus. Consequently, the Ottoman fleet, consisting of a total of 11 warships, sailed to Black Sea on 27th October 1914 and bombarded Sivastopol, Odessa, Novorosski and Kefe, Russian ports on the Black Sea coast, on 29th October 1914. This bombardment destructed these ports and sank Russian ships. After this incidence, the Ottoman Empire entered the First World War, which would last for four years