Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

(8 December 1914) At the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German East Asiatic squadron, consisting of the armoured cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the light cruisers Nürnberg, Leipzig, Emden , and Dresden , was commanded by Vice-Admiral von Spee. After detaching the Emden to attack commerce in the Bay of Bengal, he decided to attempt to return to Germany by way of the South Pacific and the Atlantic. Von Spee bombarded Papeete (Tahiti) on 22 September before making for Chile. Off Coronel on 1 November, he met and defeated a British squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock, sinking two cruisers, the Good Hope and the Monmouth . Von Spee next decided to destroy the British wireless station and coaling stocks on the Falkland Islands. Approaching the islands on 8 December, he was surprised to find a British squadron of two battle-cruisers, the Invincible and the Inflexible , besides other cruisers, in the harbour at Port Stanley. These had been dispatched under Vice-Admiral Sturdee by the British Admiralty on receiving news of Coronel. Von Spee was presented with a unique opportunity as the British ships were coaling and at two hours’ notice for steam. Missing this golden chance, von Spee did not attack but hurriedly withdrew. Sturdee was thus able to leave his anchorage and, benefiting from exceptionally good visibility and the greater speed of his ... log in or subscribe to read full text