SMS Breslau - Re-named Midilli for the Ottoman Fleet - WW1

SMS Breslau was a Magdeburg-class cruiser of the Imperial German Navy, built in the early 1910s. Following her commissioning, Breslau was assigned to the Mittelmeerdivision (Mediterranean Division) in response to the Balkan Wars. After evading British warships in the Mediterranean to reach Constantinople, Breslau (along with the SMS Goeben) was transferred to the Ottoman Empire in August 1914, to entice the Ottomans to join the Central Powers in World War I. The Breslau was renamed Midilli and saw extensive service with the Ottoman fleet, primarily in the Black Sea against the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The ship was mined and sunk in January 1918 during the Battle of Imbros, with the loss of the vast majority of her crew

Picture No

11064283

Media ID

46703592

Size

5654px x 3589px (2.8MB)

Credit

Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection

Source

Unattributed postcard

Date

circa 1915