SMS Oldenburg

The High Seas Fleet's disposition on the morning of 16 December 1914, during the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby

Oldenburg was present during the first sortie by German fleet into the North Sea, which took place on 2–3 November 1914. No British forces were encountered during the operation. A second operation followed on 15–16 December.[10] This sortie was the initiation of a strategy adopted by Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl, the commander of the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Ingenohl intended to use the battlecruisers of Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) Franz von Hipper's I Scouting Group to raid British coastal towns in order to lure out portions of the Grand Fleet where they could be destroyed by the High Seas Fleet.[19] Early on 15 December the fleet left port to raid the towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby. That evening, the German battle fleet of eight pre-dreadnoughts and twelve dreadnoughts, including Oldenburg and her three sisters, came to within 10 nmi (19 km; 12 mi) of an isolated squadron of six British battleships. Skirmishes between the rival destroyer screens in the darkness convinced Ingenohl that he was faced with the entire Grand Fleet, so Ingenohl broke off the engagement and turned the battle fleet back toward Germany, under orders from Kaiser Wilhelm II to avoid risking the fleet unnecessarily.[20]

The Battle of Dogger Bank, in which Vice Admiral David Beatty's 1st and 2nd Battlecruiser Squadrons ambushed the I Scouting Group battlecruisers, occurred on 24 January 1915.[21] Oldenburg and the rest of I Squadron were sortied to reinforce the outnumbered German battlecruisers; I Squadron left port at 12:33 CET,[lower-alpha 6] along with the pre-dreadnoughts of II Squadron. They were too late, however, and they failed to locate any British forces. By 19:05, the fleet had returned to the Schillig Roads outside Wilhelmshaven.[10] In the meantime, the armored cruiser Blücher had been overwhelmed by concentrated British fire and sunk, while the battlecruiser Seydlitz was severely damaged by an ammunition fire. As a result, Kaiser Wilhelm II removed Ingenohl from his post and replaced him with Admiral Hugo von Pohl on 2 February.[22]

From 22 February to 13 March 1915, I Squadron was in the Baltic for unit training. Following their return to the North Sea, the ships participated in a series of uneventful fleet sorties on 29–30 March, 17–18 April, 21–22 April, 17–18 May, and 29–30 May. The fleet was largely inactive until 4 August, when I Squadron returned to the Baltic for another round of training maneuvers. From there, the squadron was attached to the naval force that attempted to sweep the Gulf of Riga of Russian naval forces in August 1915.[10] The assault force included the eight I Squadron battleships, the battlecruisers Von der Tann, Moltke, and Seydlitz, several light cruisers, 32 destroyers and 13 minesweepers. The plan called for channels in Russian minefields to be swept so that the Russian naval presence, which included the pre-dreadnought battleship Slava, could be eliminated. The Germans would then lay minefields of their own to prevent Russian ships from returning to the Gulf.[23] Oldenburg and the majority of the other big ships of the High Seas Fleet remained outside the Gulf for the entirety of the operation, to prevent possible intervention by the Russian fleet outside the Gulf. The dreadnoughts Nassau and Posen were detached on 16 August to escort the minesweepers and to destroy Slava, though they failed to sink the old battleship. After three days, the Russian minefields had been cleared, and the flotilla entered the Gulf on 19 August, but reports of Allied submarines in the area prompted a German withdrawal from the Gulf the following day.[24] By 26 August, I Squadron had returned to Wilhelmshaven.[10]

On 23–24 October, the High Seas Fleet undertook its last major offensive operation under the command of Admiral Pohl, though it ended without contact with British forces.[10] Weakened by hepatic cancer and unable to carry out his duties, he was replaced by Vice Admiral Reinhard Scheer in January.[25] Scheer proposed a more aggressive policy designed to force a confrontation with the British Grand Fleet; he received approval from the Kaiser in February.[26] Scheer's first operation was a sweep into the North Sea on 5–7 March, followed by two more on 21–22 March and 25–26 March.[10] During his next operation, Oldenburg supported a raid on the English coast on 24 April 1916 conducted by the German battlecruiser force. The battlecruisers left the Jade Estuary at 10:55 and the rest of the High Seas Fleet followed at 13:40. The battlecruiser Seydlitz struck a mine while en route to the target, and had to withdraw.[27] The other battlecruisers bombarded the town of Lowestoft unopposed, but during the approach to Yarmouth, they encountered the British cruisers of the Harwich Force. A short gun duel ensued before the Harwich Force withdrew. Reports of British submarines in the area prompted the retreat of I Scouting Group. At this point, Scheer, who had been warned of the sortie of the Grand Fleet from its base in Scapa Flow, also withdrew to safer German waters.[28]

Maps showing the maneuvers of the British (blue) and German (red) fleets on 31 May – 1 June 1916

Oldenburg was present during the fleet operation that resulted in the battle of Jutland which took place on 31 May and 1 June 1916. The German fleet again sought to draw out and isolate a portion of the Grand Fleet and destroy it before the main British fleet could retaliate. During the operation, Oldenburg was the fourth ship in I Division of I Squadron and the twelfth ship in the line, directly astern of her sister ship Helgoland and ahead of Posen. At the center of the German line was I Squadron, behind the eight König- and Kaiser-class battleships of III Squadron. The six elderly pre-dreadnoughts of III and IV Divisions, II Battle Squadron, formed the rear of the formation.[29]

Shortly before 16:00, the battlecruisers of I Scouting Group encountered the British 1st Battlecruiser Squadron under the command of David Beatty. The opposing ships began an artillery duel that saw the destruction of Indefatigable, shortly after 17:00,[30] and Queen Mary, less than half an hour later.[31] By this time, the German battlecruisers were steaming south to draw the British ships toward the main body of the High Seas Fleet. At 17:30, the crew of the leading German battleship, König, spotted both I Scouting Group and the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron approaching. The German battlecruisers were steaming to starboard, while the British ships steamed to port. At 17:45, Scheer ordered a two-point turn to port to bring his ships closer to the British battlecruisers, and a minute later, the order to open fire was given.[32][lower-alpha 7]

At first, Oldenburg was too far away to effectively engage any British ships.[33] Shortly before 18:30, the German line came across the British destroyers Nestor and Nomad, which had been disabled earlier in the engagement. Naval historian John Campbell states that "Thüringen and Helgoland, and possibly Oldenburg and Posen, fired turret guns", as well as secondary weapons, at Nestor. The ship was destroyed by several large explosions and sank at 18:35; most of her crew was rescued by German torpedo boats.[34] Shortly after 19:15, the British dreadnought Warspite came into range; she was the first major warship Oldenburg could engage. She fired her 30.5 cm guns briefly during the 180-degree turn ordered by Scheer to disengage from the British fleet. Oldenburg claimed to have straddled Warspite once, though her gunners had difficulty discerning the British battleship in the growing haze.[35]

At around 23:30, the German fleet reorganized into the night cruising formation. Oldenburg was now the fifth ship, stationed toward the front of the 24-ship line.[36] At around 01:10, the German line encountered the six destroyers of the British 4th Destroyer Flotilla. Oldenburg fired on several of the destroyers at close range, including Fortune and Porpoise. Fortune scored a single hit on Oldenburg with her 4-inch guns. The shell struck a forward searchlight above the bridge and caused serious casualties. The officer responsible for directing the 8.8 cm guns was killed, along with three other officers on the bridge. The helmsman was incapacitated and the ship's commander, Captain Höpfner, was wounded. Oldenburg was briefly steaming unsteered, and was in danger of ramming Posen and Helgoland until Captain Höpfner managed to reach the wheel and take control of the ship.[37] Oldenburg and several other battleships then took Ardent under fire; the destroyer was reduced to a flaming wreck. In the darkness, Fortune and Ardent were sunk and the remaining four ships were scattered.[38][39]

Despite the ferocity of the night fighting, the High Seas Fleet punched through the British destroyer forces and reached Horns Reef by 4:00 on 1 June.[40] A few hours later, the fleet arrived in the Jade; Thüringen, Helgoland, Nassau, and Westfalen took up defensive positions in the outer roadstead and Kaiser, Kaiserin, Prinzregent Luitpold, and Kronprinz anchored just outside the entrance locks to Wilhelmshaven. Oldenburg and the other seven remaining dreadnoughts entered port, where those that were still in fighting condition restocked ammunition and fuel.[41] In the course of the battle, Oldenburg fired fifty-three 30.5 cm, eighty-eight 15 cm, and thirty 8.8 cm shells.[42] The hit from Fortune was the only damage the ship incurred from enemy action,[43] though a misfire occurred in the Number 4 port-side 15 cm gun.[44] In total, Oldenburg's crew suffered eight men killed and fourteen wounded.[45]

After Jutland, Oldenburg was assigned to guard duties in the German Bight. The damage incurred at Jutland was quickly repaired in Wilhelmshaven from 30 June to 15 July.[46] On 18 August, Admiral Scheer attempted a repeat of the 31 May operation. Moltke and Von der Tann, the two serviceable German battlecruisers, were supported by three dreadnoughts in a mission to bombard the coastal town of Sunderland in an attempt to draw out and destroy Beatty's battlecruisers. The rest of the fleet, including Oldenburg, would trail behind and provide cover.[47] On the approach to the English coast during the action of 19 August 1916, Scheer turned north and aborted the bombardment after receiving a false report from a zeppelin about a British unit in the area.[48] By 14:35, Scheer had been warned of the Grand Fleet's approach and so turned his forces around and retreated to German ports.[49]

On 25–26 September, Oldenburg and the rest of I Squadron covered an advance conducted by the II Führer der Torpedoboote (Leader of Torpedo Boats) to the Terschelling Bank. Scheer conducted another fleet operation on 18–20 October in the direction of the Dogger Bank, though again they failed to find British forces.[50] For the majority of 1917, Oldenburg was assigned to guard duty in the German Bight. During Operation Albion, the amphibious assault on the Russian-held islands in the Gulf of Riga, Oldenburg and her three sisters were moved to the Danish straits to block any possible British attempt to intervene. On 28 October the four ships arrived in Putzig Wiek, and from there steamed to Arensburg on 29 October. On 2 November the operation was completed and Oldenburg and her sisters began the voyage back to the North Sea. A final abortive fleet sortie took place on 23–24 April 1918.[50] Scheer had intended to intercept a British convoy to Norway and destroy the escorting battleships.[51] During the operation, the battlecruiser Moltke suffered mechanical problems and had to be towed back to port.[46] Oldenburg took the ship in tow, and the main body of the fleet turned back to Germany while Hipper searched in vain for the convoy. German intelligence had incorrectly placed the date for the scheduled convoy on 24 April, and after several hours of fruitless steaming, Hipper turned for port as well.[51] By 18:37, the fleet was outside the Jade and Moltke had been repaired enough to allow her to enter port under her own power.[52]

Oldenburg and her three sisters were to have taken part in a final fleet action at the end of October 1918, days before the Armistice was to take effect. The bulk of the High Seas Fleet was to have sortied from their base in Wilhelmshaven to engage the British Grand Fleet. Scheer—by now the Grand Admiral (Großadmiral) of the fleet—intended to inflict as much damage as possible on the British navy to improve Germany's bargaining position, despite the expected casualties. But many of the war-weary sailors felt that the operation would disrupt the peace process and prolong the war.[53] On the morning of 29 October 1918, the order was given to sail from Wilhelmshaven the following day. Starting on the night of 29 October, sailors on Thüringen and then on several other battleships mutinied.[54] The unrest ultimately forced Hipper and Scheer to cancel the operation.[55] Informed of the situation, the Kaiser stated "I no longer have a navy".[56]

Following the capitulation of Germany in November 1918, the most modern capital ships of the High Seas Fleet, under the command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, were interned in the British naval base in Scapa Flow,[55] but Oldenburg, commanded by Hermann Bauer, and the rest of I Squadron remained in Germany.[46][6] On the morning of 21 June 1919, the British fleet left Scapa Flow to conduct training maneuvers, and in their absence Reuter ordered the crews to scuttle the ten battleships and five battlecruisers interned at Scapa Flow.[57] Oldenburg was stricken from the naval register on 5 November 1919 and placed out of commission.[7] The fate of the eight remaining German battleships was determined in the Treaty of Versailles, which stated that the ships were to be disarmed and surrendered to the governments of the principal Allied powers.[58] She was surrendered to Japan as "M" on 13 May 1920. The Japanese Navy had no need for the ship; she was sold to a British ship-breaking firm in June 1920 and broken up for scrap the following year in Dordrecht.[7]