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Action off Rügen
Part of the Franco-Prussian War
The Action off Rugen n 1870.
Date 17 August 1870 Location off Rügen in the Baltic Sea Result Indecisive
Belligerents
North German Confederation	France
Commanders and leaders
Franz von Waldersee	Édouard Bouët-Willaumez
Strength
1 aviso 3 gunboats	3 armoured frigates 1 armoured corvette 1 aviso
Casualties and losses
none	none

The Action off Rügen was a naval engagment between the French Navy and the North German Federal Navy during the Franco-Prussian War. A North German squadron attempted to attack a French squadron blockading off the coast of Rügen. The two sides battled inconclusively for several hours before the outgunned German squadron withdrew back to port.

Background

The French squadron under the command of Admiral Édouard Bouët-Willaumez consisted of several ironclads, the armoured frigate Surveillante the armoured frigate Gauloise, the armoured frigate Guyenne, and the ironclad corvette Thetis, the aviso L'Hermite and the yacht Jerome Boneparte.

The German squadron commanded by Franz Waldensee had at its disposal the aviso Grille and the gunboats Drache, Blitze, and Salamander. Grille was screw powered steamship which could make a best speed of 13.2 knots. Shewas armed with a pair of long 12 pound cannon annd had a complement of 70 men. The Salamander was a Jager class steam powered gunboat with a top speed of 9 knots, a complement of 40 men, and armed with a signle rifled breechloading 24 pounder and two rifled 12 pounder cannon. The Drache and Blitze were Camaleon class steam powered gunboats, each manned by a crew of 71 men. They both had top speeds of 9.1 knots and were each armed with a single rifled 64 pounder and two 12 pounder cannon. Aside from their relatively weak armament compared to the French ships, the German vessels were also structurally more vultnerable being unarmoured, with the three gunboats being constructed of copper sheathed oak and the Grille being of a composite construction consisting of iron walls on a mahogany frame.<ref>Erich Groner

Engagement

Waldensee took the Grille out to confront the French armed yacht Jerome Napoleon which had come close to shore. The yacht ran to the safety of the squadron of French ironclads further offshore and the Grille gave chase, before it too approached the French squadron and fired several rounds at the ships. The ironclads returned fire and attempted to close in on the Griffe. The Grille turned about and changed course for the shoreline, stopping occasionally to fire a few shots at its French pursuers. As his ship closed on the shore, Waldensee gave orders to his gunboat squadron to clear for action. The gunboats then promptly charged towards the approaching French ironclads and engaged them. Though the gunboats scored several hits, they fire was virtually ineffective as their cannon fire could not penetrate the armoured plates of the French vessels. The fire from the French squadron was equally ineffective, as the French cannon fire was consistantly overshooting and undershooting the positions of the German vessels. After five hours of combat, the Waldersee came to the conclusion that continueing the action was futile, as his force was vastly outgunned by the French, and withdrew his ships back to port.

Aftermath

At the end of the engagement, neither side had suffered any casualties nor had any ship incurred any signifigant damage. Despite the inconclusive nature of the action, Waldensee was commended for his actions by the German government and awarded the Iron Cross Second Class. Waldensee continuted to harass the French blockade despite the overwelming odds against his force. On August, he took the Griffe out at night with a towed torpedo and attempted to explode it near the French frigate

Order of Battle

Von Waldersee's squadron
Ship	Rate	Guns	Navy	Commander	Casualties			Notes
					Killed	Wounded	Total
Grille	aviso	2			0	0	0
Salamander	gunboat	3			0	0	0
Drache	gunboat	3			0	0	0
Blitze	gunboat	3			0	0	0
Casualties: none

Admiral Bouët-Willaumez's squadron
Ship	Rate	Guns	Navy	Commander	Casualties			Notes
					Killed	Wounded	Total
Thetis	Armoured Corvette	6 × 1 - 194 mm (7.6 in) Mle 1864 4 × 1 - 120 mm (4.7 in)			0	0	0
L'Hermite	aviso
Jerome Napoleon	Yacht
Note: Several French vessels took hits, but none incurred any significant damage
Casualties: none
Sources: James, pp. 20–21, Clowes, p. 486

Key

• = North German Federal Navy, = French Navy.

References

• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6. OCLC 22101769.
• Sondhaus, Lawrence (1997). Preparing for Weltpolitik: German Sea Power Before the Tirpitz Era. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-745-7.