The Germans had captured Yevstafiy in May only to be handed over to the British in December 1918. In August 1915 the ship was transferred to the 2nd Battleship Brigade while newer dreadnoughts replaced her and by March 1918 both ships of her class had entered the reserves. This was the last the Yevstafiy would see of the dreaded Yavuz. Assembled at last Eberhardt ordered the force to pursue Yavuz but the battlecruiser's great speed made this action unattainable. The Ioann Zlatoust had joined in the action at this time and the Yavuz was unable to "cross the T" of the two ships allowing more time for the larger Russian task force to join in. In a risky maneuver Yevstafiy captain, Admiral Eberhardt ordered the ship to slow to 5 knots while the Yavuz continued to over extend. Both ships followed parallel courses and engaged at more than 17000 yards scoring no hits. Again her initials actions were successful without resistance but by the 9th of May Yavuz had returned for another duel after being spotted by a Ottoman destroyer. Yevstafiy was repaired by the 29 of November and later sent to bombardment missions in Spring of 1915. Unable to break the ship’s will the Yavuz turned away and returned to port. Enemy fire was exchanged and Yevstafiy’s fire control radio was destroyed preventing her crew from sharing valuable ranging data to the other ships in the task force. The hit destroyed one of Yavuz’s 15cm casemates giving the Russians an early victory. The events that transpired next would be known as the Battle of Cape Sarych.ĭespite the abysmal weather conditions Yevstafiy got the first shot off on the Yavuz after her command ship, "Ioann Zlatoust" spotted her first in accordance with Russian naval doctrine.
Unfortunately, this was not met without resistance and the Yevstafiy soon encountered the Ottoman battlecruiser “Yavuz” in foggy conditions later in the day. On the 17th of November this was successfully achieved, and the task force sailed west to hunt Ottoman merchant shipping. When Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire Yevstafiy and a task force were set to bombard the port city of Trebizond on 15 November expecting little resistance.
By the eve of the First World War Yevstafiy was the newest battleship featured in the Black Sea Fleet under the command of Vice Admiral, Andrei Eberhardt.
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