The Royal Navy's Forgotten Baltic Submarine Fleet and its Heroic Commander

In October 1914 during WW1, Commodore Roger Keyes, in command of the Royal Navy’s new Submarine Service, despatched a number of E-class submarines to the Baltic in support of the Russian Navy.  Their mission was to prevent the German imports of iron ore from Sweden. 

Entry to the Baltic was extremely difficult.  Not only did the narrow and only 10-metre-deep water of the Skagerrak and the Kattegat present navigational perils, but under pressure from the Germans, the Danes had partially mined their waters to prevent just such an ingress of Royal Navy vessels into the Baltic.  The inherent difficulties were highlighted in August 1915 when HMS E-13 ran aground off Denmark and was subsequently and illegally fired upon by German destroyers.  Even so, six E-class submarines successfully navigated the hazards and formed the core of the RN’s Baltic Submarine Flotilla under Commander Francis Cromie.

The British submarines were enormously successful in waging war against both German warships and merchantmen supplying Germany with iron ore.  Indeed, four German steamers carrying the precious ore were sunk in a single day by HMS E-9 and another forced to wreck itself ashore, bring a halt to all such shipping for a week.  Moreover, the submarines denied the Baltic to the German Navy as a training ground for its High Seas Fleet.  Further pressure was applied by the Germans to the Danish government to close completely the entrance to the Baltic and accordingly, Britain had to send five small C-class submarines overland through Russia to supplement Cromie’s flotilla.  These submarines were able to operate much closer inshore.

For much of their operations in the Baltic, the flotilla was based in Reval (now Tallinn in Estonia), but as the German army achieved greater successes against the Russians, the RN submarines had to withdraw to Helsingfors in Finland.  The continued failures of the Russian Army put much strain on Cromie and the logistics support for his submarines, but by personal example he bolstered the Russian Navy such that, initially, the Russian Submarine Service continued to be effective.  He was highly regarded by the Russian Navy and ended up commanding the Russian submarine squadron in conjunction with his own flotilla.  However, by 1917, mutinies amongst the army and navy of Russia, and popular unrest amongst the Russian people were rife, leading eventually to the revolutions of March and November.  Following the latter revolution, the Russian Navy ceased to operate.  Many of its officers were removed from their ships and submarines, imprisoned or even murdered, including their admiral.  Cromie not only had to exercise adroit diplomatic skill in protecting his own men, but elements of the civilian population and even Russian officers.  It was a harrowing time for the whole flotilla and him especially.  Without the support of the Russians and with the icing up of the White Sea, the Royal Navy, too, ceased operations that winter.  Moreover, it was impossible, too, to obtain support from Britain and Cromie’s paymasters were forced to sell off naval stores to pay the men and buy food.

Even so, Cromie still had thoughts of resuming operations in the spring of 1918 and tried hard to chivvy the Russians to stay in the war, but to no avail.  The Bolshevik regime sued for peace and it became clear to Britain that the men of the Baltic Submarine Flotilla would have to return home.  However, there was no question of the submarines leaving the Baltic.  The Germans and Danes had the exits bottled up.  Accordingly, Cromie had to arrange for his flotilla and some British merchantmen loaded with cargo of value to the Germans, to be scuttled off the coast of Helsinki to avoid them falling into the hands of the advancing German army.  Prior to doing so, he refused a bribe of £5 million (over £300 million in today’s money) to sell a submarine to the Finnish White Bolsheviks.

When the men of the flotilla finally boarded a train to begin the long journey to Murmansk and home, Cromie stayed behind alone.  Such was his standing with the Russians and experience, the RN asked him to stay behind as the acting naval attaché and to organise an anti-Bolshevik intelligence network. 

There is far more to this tale of a forgotten hero and it can be found in my novel, Where the Baltic Ice is Thin.  It is a fascinating story based on the true history of submarine operations in the Baltic during WW1, the collapse of Russia, political intrigue and espionage, the sequel of which will complete my WW1 Royal Navy series, For Those in Peril.