In late June, the Russian naval command planned a bombardment operation to support the garrison at Windau (in what is now Latvia) during a German attack on the port. Initial plans called for an attack on the city of Rostock, well behind German lines, in part to demonstrate the strength of the Russian fleet, but Vice Admiral Vasily Kanin, who had replaced Essen as the fleet commander, refused to grant permission to send "Rurik" that far into enemy territory. The target of the operation was therefore changed to Memel. Bakhirev, by now promoted to rear admiral, led the bombardment force, the composition of which is unclear. According to Paul Halpern, it consisted of the cruisers "Admiral Makarov", "Bayan", , and , while "Rurik" and the destroyer covered them and a group of submarines screened ahead. But Gary Staff indicates that "Rurik", "Oleg", and "Bogatyr" were to conduct the bombardment while "Admiral Makarov" and "Bayan" covered them. The ships departed port shortly after midnight on 1 July. Heavy fog forced Bakhirev to cancel the bombardment since they could no longer reliably locate Memel and his cruisers became separated from "Rurik" and "Novik".