A farkon watan Satumba 1917, bayan da Jamus ta mamaye tashar jiragen ruwa ta Riga, sojojin ruwa na Jamus sun yanke shawarar fitar da sojojin ruwan Rasha da ke rike da Gulf of Riga. Don wannan dalili, Admiralstab (High Command) ya fara shirin aiki don kama tsibirin Baltic na Ösel, musamman batirin bindigogin Rasha a kan Sworbe peninsula. A ranar 18 ga Satumba, an ba da umarnin don aikin haɗin gwiwar Sojoji-Navy don kama Ösel da Moon Islands; babban bangaren na ruwa ya ƙunshi jirgin ruwa mai suna Moltke da III Battle Squadron na High Seas Fleet. A wannan lokacin, Rukunin V ya haɗa da Bayern da König-class guda huɗu. Rukunin na VI ya ƙunshi yaƙe-yaƙe na Kaiser-class guda biyar. jirgin ruwa mai sauƙi 9 tare da cruisers, 3 jirgin ruwa na torpedo, da dama na jiragen ruwa na yaki, wasu jiragen ruwa na yaki, sun shiga cikin Gulf of Riga.
Tsibirin Baltic na Ösel, musamman batirin bindigogi na Rasha a kan tsibirin Sworbe