All the area of Cape Zerel was ploughed up by craters, but the battery itself was untouched by either the German guns, or those of Graschdanin. The guns, magazines and constructions all turned out to be in good order. The demolition charges had not detonated, only the charge on gun No 1 had partially exploded. As Leitenant Bartinev examined the No 1 gun a German reconnaissance floatplane flew low overhead. It was found that the fuses were faulty and therefore it was decided that it would be easier to blow up the magazines and hope the explosions would damage the guns. The charges were laid and set and after just twenty minutes, as the Russian party ran to the No 3 magazine, there was a great explosion as magazine No 1 blew up. ‘There was a huge column of black smoke and logs, rails, carriages and empty cases rose to a height of 100 sazhen….the magazine was finally destroyed’, wrote Leitenant Bartinev. Next the No 3 magazine was fired, but only half the magazine was destroyed, whilst the remaining half lay smoking beneath a pile of earth. The No 2 diesel generator and some buildings were burned, followed by the No 1 diesel generator. Soon after, the other half of the No 3 magazine finally blew up. By 1400hrs the demolition party counted the business as finished and the group made its way back to Mento. Leitenant Bartinev was taken into captivity by the Germans.
At 0800hrs on 16 October, 131 Regt began to advance down the Sworbe Peninsula with orders not to fire on Russian columns on the road showing the white flag. SMS Friedrich der Grosse was also requested to hold fire, unless the Zerel battery opened fire. The situation remained unclear for the Germans.
Towards 1000hrs, 131 Regt pushed onto the approaching Russian 425th Infantry Regiment, at whose head marched the officer corps. Oberstleutnant Fischer called to the Russian commander: ‘I regret your military misfortune, Herr Colonel’. Fischer’s regiment captured 150 officers and 5,100 men. Also captured were 54 machineguns, 27 light and 8 heavy guns and supplies, 150 vehicles and horses, four 12-inch cannon, four 6-inch cannon, 20 anti-aircraft guns, 10 revolver cannon and huge amounts of provisions and war materials.
General von Kathen’s chief of staff, Oberst von Tschischwitz wrote:
The Russian garrison came up the Sworbe Peninsula onto the narrows at the north and took position near the sea. The prisoners were allowed to move freely about the German area. The officers were assigned to a special area; they were happy and appeared reconciled with the men. As evening came and the last rays of sunshine disappeared a happy picture emerged. The camp fires burned, the balalaikas spoke and the dances began. They played until well into the next day when the long prisoner column covered the road to Arensburg.
If the Russian battle spirit was as of old, then how long could they have prevented the opening of the Irben Straits! This was the result of the revolution!
Admiral Bakhirev could not overstate the importance of the loss when he wrote:
The traitorous delivery of the 12-inch batteries had great significance not only for the defense of the Riga Gulf, but also for the Moon Sound. Therewith the Irben position lost any value; the supervision of our mine barriers ceased because of the insignificant number of our units, and we had to hold the better half of them in the Kassar Wiek. Our air reconnaissance service ceased as the air stations were lost. Due to the loss of our bases, our launches and shallow draught steamers did not have the opportunity to lay mines in the enemy’s cleared routes. Thus the enemy could clear a passage along the coast and easily enter the Riga Gulf, and with excellent knowledge of our mine fields could operate freely. At the same time dispatching our ships to the Gulf had become extremely complicated.
Nevertheless, the Russian forces were still capable of counterattack. Vice Admiral Bakhirev asked the chief of I Division Minesweeper-launches, Captain 2nd Rank Chetverukhin, to undertake an operation with his shallow-draught minesweepers to render assistance to the Russian troops on the southeast of Ösel, at Kubassar. At midnight on the night of 15/16 October the minesweepers Gruz, Kapsyul and Krambol, together with some minesweeping motor launches, departed to land thirty-two light infantry. They were screened to seaward by the destroyers Deyatel’nyi and Del’nyi. When the infantry encountered German troops they were supported by the fire from the minesweepers. Further support was received from the 6-inch battery No 32 on Moon. From Russian stragglers it was learned that the 107th Division and General Ivanov had been surrounded at Peude.
Even if the revolution had debilitated many of the functions of the Imperial Russian Navy, it seems as if the Intelligence Service was still working efficiently. At about 1030hrs on 16 October the commander of the fleet, Rear Admiral Razvozov, advised the commander of the Naval Forces of the Riga Gulf, Vice Admiral Bakhirev, that it was expected that during the night German steamers would land 2,000 men on the part of Moon in the Kassar Wiek. It seems that the Russians had been able to intercept and decipher the following order, issued by General von Estorff on the afternoon of 15 October: ‘If it is not possible to seize Moon by darkness tonight, I order the 17th and 138th Infantry Regiments, and Sturmkompanie 18, under the Command of Oberst Matthiass, to push forward onto Moon during the night of the 17th of October’.
Therefore Vice Admiral Bakhirev ordered all forces of the Riga Gulf to concentrate and attempt to cut off the landing force. Admirals Bakhirev and Stark gathered the division chiefs and torpedoboat commanders aboard the steamer Libau in Kuiwast, to discuss a plan of action. It was determined to dispatch paired groups of torpedoboats into the Kassar Wiek during the night. The ten coal-fired torpedoboats of the IV, V and VI Div TBD were to be used for this task. Nevertheless, the chief of the VI Division, Captain 1st Rank Ekimov, and the chief of the IV Division, Captain 1st Rank Postelnikov, met aboard Steregushchi and entered into further discussions with the torpedoboat commanders. They unanimously decided the planned operation was impracticable, due to navigational difficulties and due to the presence of large numbers of German torpedoboats on the Kassar Wiek. This decision was reported to Vice Admiral Bakhirev.
The coming of the morning of 16 October also saw a resumption of activity in the Kleinen Sound. At dawn the A-boats again pressed forward into the sound and just as on the previous day, the stone dam, its base on Moon Island and other positions on the island were taken under fire. The supply of munitions, provisions and materiel to Orrisar was maintained through the entire day. In addition preparations were undertaken to transport 2,000 men to Moon Island, although a message from the commander of the Special Unit, Vizeadmiral Schmidt, postponed the planned invasion of this island until 17 October.
Meanwhile, the larger torpedoboats were again occupied defending the Kassar Wiek against the Russian sea forces. At daybreak the 4th Torpedoboat Half Flotilla replaced the 13th Half Flotilla in the eastern part of the Kassar Wiek. Kommodore Heinrich had decided not to keep all the boats continuously on the move owing to navigational difficulties and hazards, danger from mines and the over-exertion of personnel and material. Therefore a squad of torpedoboats cruised to the east and the remainder anchored 1.7 nautical miles northwest of Keinast with short anchor chains. Here they were outside the range of Russian gunboats off Kumora Reef, but were near enough to intervene should the Russians move west.
During the night, the three Russian gunboats, Chrabry, Chivinetz and Grozyashchi, and the torpedoboats Vsadnik, Moskvityanin, Samson, Leitenant Il’in and Desna remained at the entrance to the Kassar Wiek. On the morning of 16 October Chrabry was detached to Kuiwast to replenish her supply of ammunition and Desna went to Rogekul for maintenance. When at around 0830hrs the squad of German torpedoboats advanced to the east, the Russian unit went to Cape Seanina and the gunboats Grozyashchi and Chivinetz opened fire. The two German boats developed a smoke screen and Kommodore Heinrich’s remaining boats weighed anchor and moved east in support. After about an hour the action was broken off and both the Russian and German groups pulled back.