| Action of 8 January 1916 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofWorld War I | |||||||
 Russian stamp depictingImperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Russian Empire |  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 RussiandreadnoughtImperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya and the Ottoman battlecruiserYavuz Sultan Selim encountered one another in theBlack Sea. After a brief exchange of fire the Ottomans withdrew.
On 8 January 1916,Yavuz Sultan Selim was scheduled to arrive off ofZonguldak to cover the entrance of the empty 4,400-gross register ton (GRT)collierSS Carmen. Early that morning the collier was intercepted by the Russian destroyersPronzitelny andLeytenant Shestakov off ofKirpen island and sunk.[2] As she was returning to theBosporus,Yavuz spotted the two destroyers and gave chase. The destroyers retreated and radioed a warning to the recently commissioned dreadnoughtImperatritsa 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, forcingYavuz 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 theYavuz was faster and outran them.
The engagement was the only ever battle between dreadnoughts on the Black Sea.[3][4] Though the incident was only a minor confrontation, it solidified Russia's naval superiority and deeply troubled Admiral Souchon.[1] Already outnumbered and outclassed incruisers, destroyers, andtorpedo boats, the Ottomans no longer held a dreadnought advantage over the Russian Empire. From then on Russia would continue consolidate its hold on the Black Sea andYavuz would eventually shift her operations to theDardanelles.