LAND & WATF^ 
October it>, 1917 
Riga and the Western Front 
B> Hilaire Belloc 
THE action of. the German Fleet against the Gulf of 
Riga is (so far) only partially a military operation. 
It is (so far) the occupation "of a maritime point by 
troops under the cover of a fleet. But it falls 
sutticiently into the military province to merit a brief 
description in this week's article. 
The Gulf of Riga is a body of water roughly oval in shape, 
not quite go miles in breadth and rather over 100 in extreme 
length. It is almost completely land-locked and the great 
barrier Whieh cuts it off from the main sea is the island of 
Oesel followed in a chain bv the smaller islands of Diigo 
and \\'orms6. This island of Oesel, with a smaller adjoining 
island ciiUed Moon, from which it is only separated by a very 
shallow narrow arm, with less than six feet ofwaterin it, across 
which a ferry (now replaced by a mole) plied, forms upon the 
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north an almost complete barrier and, with Dago,, it forms one 
absolutely closed except to small boats. The width of the sound 
called Moon Sound between the latter island and the main land 
is no more than six or seven miles across and is broken by 
the island of Schildau in its midst. It is extremely shallow. 
There is but one vcr\' narrow fairway with some four fathoms 
of water in it. But even this is useless as an entry, for the 
northern side is blocked by the Kumonsky reef over which 
there is rarely more than 2I to 3 fathoms at the deepest points. 
In other words, it is a passage completely commanded In- 
shore batteries. But on the south, where a peninsula called 
Sworbe runs out from Oesel, there is a main passage into the 
Chilf of 18 miles, that is, nearly as wide as the Straits of Dove^. 
The fairway is much narrower, for long sands run out for miles 
southwards, awash for the most part and occasionally drying 
off. There are no tides here but the water drops slightly 
in level at different times, under the effect of thaws on land, of 
wind, etc., and also with that mysterious "swing" which 
sets up up)on inland bodies of water. 
The actual fairway between these sands and the Irben 
coast opposite is some 8 or 9 miles, completely overlooked 
from the Donieberg, 280 feet high, behind Irben. This fair- 
way is deep, with from 11 to 14 fathoms of water, but there 
is a sort of bar outside full of shoals, with a narrcw rnd 
tricky channel, having but 7 fathoms at its deepest. This 
passage the German Meet was unable to force m the days 
when the Russian Iimpire still existed and possessed a pro- 
perly organised military and naval force. It was pre- 
sumably 'thorouglily mined. Even as things now are the 
attack which has been launched has not yet attempted this 
passage, but has struck for the breakwater of the Gulf, the 
Island of Oesel. 
Method of Landing 
On October loth a number of enemy aircraft dropped 
Domiis upon the Russian shipping, lying presumably within 
the island on the side of the Gulf. Two days later, on Friday 
last, October 12th, two landings were effected under cover of 
the fleet. The first took place in the deep bay on tlie north of 
Oesel, called Tagclacht Bay. This injet is entirely com- 
manded from both sides and with proper shore batteries 
should be imapproachable. It has a good beach at the far 
end, shelving very gradually and suitable for landing. The 
second was effected near the village of Serro, the extreme 
southern point of the island of Dago, which lies to the north 
of Oesel and opposite the railway terminus of Hapsal. 
At the moment of writing, Monday, October 13th, there is 
no news received in London sufficiently precise to serve as 
a basis for judgment on the situation. \\'e do not even know 
approximately what is the strength of the German forces 
that have landed. Some talk of one division, some of two. 
The whole thing is pure conjecture. 
By the evening of that Friday, October 12th, German 
motor cyclist detachments were already appearing near 
Orrisar, itiore than 40 miles, by the sandy tracks they had 
followed, from the landing place. Orrisar is the village at 
the Oesel end of the ferry, not quite two miles long, crossing 
over the very shallow and narrow Strait to the island of Moon. 
The Russian despatches tent out last Sunday speak of some 
sort of fight for a crossing here, and tell us the Germans have 
not yet been able to force it. Meanwhile the German force 
which had landed near Serro met with unexpectedly strong 
resistance, and -according to the Russian account, was beaten 
back to its ships. 
■ On the next day, last Saturday. October 13th, some sort 
of inconclusive engagement seems to have taken place in the 
Soela Sound between Dago and Oesel, but there was apparently 
no further landing on Dago. Oesel, however, on which there 
appears to have been a quite insnfiticiem garrison, was in part 
overrun, all the northern part of the island being in German 
- hands by the Saturday e\ening ; while the enemy also re- 
ported that the principal town. Arensbourg (a small place of 
about 7,000 souls) was in flames. 
During these actions the enemy was also actively engaged 
in trying to clear the mines from the Irben Channel, the main 
entrance to the Gulf of Riga. It would seem therefore 
as though. the operation as a whole were designed for the 
mastery of the Gulf and .for further action upon its eastern 
shore behind the Russian lines, with the object of turning 
these and compelling the retirement of our Allies and 
thus uncovering all the marshy country to the north, 
including Reval, the chief base of the Russian Fleet. If we 
look at the map we can see what the effect of a landing in 
force north of. that is behind, the end of the Russian line would 
be. It would be completely turned. It could not suddenly 
extend itself by the hundred miles and more required to cover 
Reval. All listhonia would he exposed. This then is what 
would seem to be the enemy's intention : to master the Gulf 
of Riga with the object of landing on its eastern shore and 
turning the Russia-n line. 
But all this is mere conjecture, because we are ignorant of 
even such an elementary point as the strength in which the 
attack is being made. The Russians themselves apparently 
regard the movement as being directed against Hapsal, the 
railhcadffom Reval about sixty miles distant from that port. 
. It is not-ver-y.-Clear what advantages the enemy would obtain 
by the capture of this railhead. If he is free to land on Oesel 
he is equally free to land on any part of the Esthonian Coast 
■ and there would be no object, under such circumstances, in 
trying to fight one's way sixty miles forward against an enemy 
siipplied by a railway with such a base as Reval behind him. 
It is much more likely that the movement aims at turning the 
Russian line as I have said. 
But I repeat, all this is guesswork. The certain thing we 
have to bear in mind is the unfortunate fact that Germany in 
this region can do pretty well what she likes. She is limited 
