Study Barn

At the outbreak of war, the British seized two battleships constructed for the Ottoman Empire which were still in British shipyards, while also refusing to refund payment made on the vessels. In response, Germany made a gift of two ships, the battlecruiser SMS Goeben and the light cruiser SMS Breslau, as replacements. While still operated by their German crews, these ships, renamed Yavuz Sultan Selim and Midilli respectively, became the backbone of the Ottoman navy. Through possession of the Goeben, the Ottoman Empire controlled the most powerful ship in the Black Sea