The Goeben & the Breslau

The unsuccessful pursuit of two German Imperial navy warships

The Goeben-Breslau Incident was a naval action which took place in 1914 in the Mediterranean at the outbreak of the First World War. Ships of the Royal Navy Mediterranean fleet attempted to intercept the German battle cruiser SMS Goeben and the light cruiser SMS Breslau. The pursuit raced eastwards across the ‘middle sea’ until the German warships passed the Dardanelles to safely reach Constantinople (Istanbul) in Ottoman Turkey, at which point they were handed over to the Turkish Government and renamed Yuvaz Sultan Selim and Midili. The ships subsequently engaged Russian military positions bringing Turkey into the war as a German ally. The Goeben-Breslau affair was believed to have far reaching consequences for the allied cause and the failure of the allied naval commanders engaged effectively ended their careers. This Leonaur edition gathers together information on this little-known naval action from several sources and the text is supported by maps and photographs which were not included in the original publications.

Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.