Maximilian Johannes Maria Hubert Reichsgraf von Spee (22 June 1861 – 8 December 1914) was a naval officer of the German ''
Kaiserliche Marine
{{italic title
The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control.
The term wa ...
'' (Imperial Navy), who commanded the
East Asia Squadron
The German East Asia Squadron (german: Kreuzergeschwader / Ostasiengeschwader) was an Imperial German Navy cruiser Squadron (naval), squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the mid-1890s until 1914, when it was destroyed at th ...
during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Spee entered the navy in 1878 and served in a variety of roles and locations, including on a colonial
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-steam ...
in
German West Africa
German West Africa (''Deutsch-Westafrika'') was an informal designation for the areas in West Africa that were part of the German Colonial Empire between 1884 and 1919. The term was normally used for the territories of Cameroon and Togo. German W ...
in the 1880s, the East Africa Squadron in the late 1890s, and as commander of several warships in the main German fleet in the early 1900s. During his time in Germany in the late 1880s and early 1890s, he married his wife, Margareta, and had three children, his sons Heinrich and Otto and his daughter Huberta. By 1912, he had returned to the East Asia Squadron as its commander, and was promoted to the rank of ''
Vizeadmiral
(abbreviated VAdm) is a senior naval flag officer rank in several German-speaking countries, equivalent to Vice admiral.
Austria-Hungary
In the Austro-Hungarian Navy there were the flag-officer ranks ''Kontreadmiral'' (also spelled ''Kont ...
'' (Vice Admiral) the following year.
After the outbreak of World War I in July 1914, Spee led his squadron across the Pacific to the coast of South America. Here on 1 November, he defeated the British
4th Cruiser Squadron under Rear Admiral
Christopher Cradock
Rear Admiral Sir Christopher "Kit" George Francis Maurice Cradock (2 July 1862 – 1 November 1914) was an English senior officer of the Royal Navy. He earned a reputation for great gallantry.
Appointed to the royal yacht, he was close to the ...
in the
Battle of Coronel
The Battle of Coronel was a First World War Imperial German Navy victory over the Royal Navy on 1 November 1914, off the coast of central Chile near the city of Coronel. The East Asia Squadron (''Ostasiengeschwader'' or ''Kreuzergeschwader'') ...
, sinking two of Cradock's cruisers and forcing his other two ships to retreat. A month later, Spee decided to attack the British naval base in the
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
, but a superior British force surprised him. In the ensuing
Battle of the Falkland Islands
The Battle of the Falkland Islands was a First World War naval action between the British Royal Navy and Imperial German Navy on 8 December 1914 in the South Atlantic. The British, after their defeat at the Battle of Coronel on 1 November, sen ...
, Vice Admiral
Doveton Sturdee
Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee, 1st Baronet (9 June 18597 May 1925) was a Royal Navy officer. After training as a torpedo officer, he commanded two different cruisers and then three d ...
's squadron, which included two powerful
battlecruiser
The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...
s, destroyed the East Asia Squadron. Spee and his two sons, who happened to be serving on two of his ships, were all killed, along with about 2,200 other men. Spee was hailed as a hero in Germany, and several ships were named in his honor, including the
heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Tr ...
, which was built in the 1930s and was defeated in the
Battle of the River Plate
The Battle of the River Plate was fought in the South Atlantic on 13 December 1939 as the first naval battle of the Second World War. The Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser , commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff, engaged a Royal Navy squadron, commande ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Early career
Spee was born in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, Denmark, on 22 June 1861, though he was raised in the
Rhineland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhinelands ...
in Germany, where his family had an estate. He joined the ''
Kaiserliche Marine
{{italic title
The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control.
The term wa ...
'' (Imperial Navy) in 1878 and initially served in the main German naval base at
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
. He was commissioned an officer at the rank of ''
Leutnant zur See
''Leutnant zur See'' (''Lt zS'' or ''LZS'') is the lowest officer rank in the German Navy. It is grouped as OF1 in Ranks and insignia of officers of NATO Navies, NATO, equivalent to an Ensign (rank), Ensign in the United States Navy, and an Acti ...
'' (Lieutenant at Sea), and was assigned to the
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-steam ...
, which was sent to western Africa. During this voyage, the Germans signed treaties with local rulers in Togo and Cameroon, creating the colonies of
Togoland
Togoland was a German Empire protectorate in West Africa from 1884 to 1914, encompassing what is now the nation of Togo and most of what is now the Volta Region of Ghana, approximately 90,400 km2 (29,867 sq mi) in size. During the period kno ...
and
Kamerun
Kamerun was an African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon. Kamerun also included northern parts of Gabon and the Congo with western parts of the Central African Republic, southwestern p ...
, respectively. In 1887, Spee was transferred to Kamerun where he commanded the port at
Duala. He contracted
rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a streptococcal throat infection. Signs and symptoms include fever, multiple painful jo ...
while there, and had to be sent back to Germany to recover, though he occasionally suffered from
rheumatism
Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including art ...
for the rest of his life.
After returning to Germany in 1889, he married his wife, Margareta Baroness von der Osten-Sacken. With her he had two sons—Otto, born on 10 July 1890, Heinrich, born on 24 April 1893—and one daughter, Huberta, born on 11 July 1894. In December 1897, Spee was stationed in Germany's
East Asia Squadron
The German East Asia Squadron (german: Kreuzergeschwader / Ostasiengeschwader) was an Imperial German Navy cruiser Squadron (naval), squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the mid-1890s until 1914, when it was destroyed at th ...
after it seized the concession at
Kiautschou Bay
The Jiaozhou Bay (; german: Kiautschou Bucht, ) is a bay located in the prefecture-level city of Qingdao (Tsingtau), China.
The bay has historically been romanized as Kiaochow, Kiauchau or Kiao-Chau in English and Kiautschou in German.
Geogra ...
, with its port at
Tsingtao
Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...
. Here, he served on the staff of ''
Vizeadmiral
(abbreviated VAdm) is a senior naval flag officer rank in several German-speaking countries, equivalent to Vice admiral.
Austria-Hungary
In the Austro-Hungarian Navy there were the flag-officer ranks ''Kontreadmiral'' (also spelled ''Kont ...
''
Otto von Diederichs
Ernst Otto von Diederichs (7 September 1843 – 8 March 1918) was an Admiral of the Imperial German Navy (''Kaiserliche Marine''), serving in the Prussian Navy and the North German Federal Navy.
Early life
Diederichs was born 7 September 1843 in ...
. During the
Boxer Uprising
The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...
in China in 1900, Spee saw action at Tsingtao and on the
Yangtze
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
.
After arriving back in Germany, he was promoted to the rank of ''
Korvettenkapitän
() is the lowest ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies.
Austro-Hungary
Belgium
Germany
Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer rank () in the German Navy.
Address
The offici ...
'' (Corvette Captain) and assigned as the
first officer aboard the
pre-dreadnought battleship
Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, prote ...
. Between 1900 and 1908, Spee held command of several ships, including the
aviso
An ''aviso'' was originally a kind of dispatch boat or "advice boat", carrying orders before the development of effective remote communication.
The term, derived from the Portuguese and Spanish word for "advice", "notice" or "warning", an '' ...
, the
minelayer
A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controll ...
, and finally the pre-dreadnought . During this period, he was promoted to ''
Fregattenkapitän
Fregattenkapitän, short: FKpt / in lists: FK, () is the middle field officer rank () in the German Navy.
Address
In line with ZDv 10/8, the official manner of formally addressing military personnel holding the rank of ''Fregattenkapitän'' (O ...
'' (Frigate Captain) on 27 January 1904 and to ''
Kapitän zur See
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain.
Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...
'' (Captain at Sea) exactly a year later; his command of ''Wittelsbach'' followed the latter promotion. In 1908, he was assigned as the chief of staff to the commander of the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
Station, and in 1910 he was promoted to the rank of ''
Konteradmiral
''Konteradmiral'', abbreviated KAdm or KADM, is the second lowest naval flag officer rank in the German Navy. It is equivalent to '' Generalmajor'' in the '' Heer'' and ''Luftwaffe'' or to '' Admiralstabsarzt'' and ''Generalstabsarzt'' in the '' ...
'' (''KAdm''–Counter Admiral). Spee was then assigned as the deputy commander for the reconnaissance forces of the
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet (''Hochseeflotte'') was the battle fleet of the German Imperial Navy and saw action during the First World War. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet (''Heimatflotte'') was renamed as the High Seas ...
.
East Asia Squadron
![SMS Scharnhorst by Arthur Renard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/SMS_Scharnhorst_by_Arthur_Renard.jpg)
In late 1912, Spee was given command of the East Asia Squadron, replacing ''KAdm''
Günther von Krosigk Günther, Guenther, Ginther, Gunther, and the variants Günter, Guenter, Guenther, Ginter, and Gunter, are Germanic names derived from ''Gunthere, Gunthari'', composed of '' *gunþiz'' "battle" (Old Norse ''gunnr'') and ''heri, hari'' "army". Gund ...
on 4 December. Spee raised his flag on the
armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...
, and departed on a tour of the southwest Pacific along with ''Scharnhorst''s
sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
, during which Spee made visits to several ports, including
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
and
Batavia
Batavia may refer to:
Historical places
* Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands
* Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...
. Spee was promoted to ''Vizeadmiral'' the following year. Over the following year and a half, Spee met with the leaders of several East Asian countries. From 1 April to 7 May 1913, ''Scharnhorst'' took Spee to Japan to meet the
Taishō Emperor. Later in the year, Spee met with
Chulalongkorn
Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร ...
, the
King of Siam
The monarchy of Thailand (whose monarch is referred to as the king of Thailand; th, พระมหากษัตริย์ไทย, or historically, king of Siam; th, พระมหากษัตริย์สยาม) refers to the c ...
. In May 1914, Spee took ''Scharnhorst'' and the torpedo boat on a visit to
Port Arthur and then to
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...
; Spee continued on to
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, where he met with
Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 1859 – 6 June 1916) was a Chinese military and government official who rose to power during the late Qing dynasty and eventually ended the Qing dynasty rule of China in 1912, later becoming the Emperor of China. H ...
, the first
President of the Republic of China
The president of the Republic of China, now often referred to as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The position once had aut ...
. He came back aboard ''Scharnhorst'' on 11 May and the ship returned to Tsingtao.
Spee thereafter began preparations for a cruise to
German New Guinea
German New Guinea (german: Deutsch-Neu-Guinea) consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups and was the first part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , ...
; ''Scharnhorst'' departed on 20 June. The two armored cruisers proceeded to
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
, Japan, where they coaled in preparation for their tour. While en route to
Truk in the
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the centra ...
, they received news of the assassination of Archduke
Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
F ...
, heir to the throne of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
. On 17 July, the East Asia Squadron arrived in
Ponape
Ponape may refer to:
* Pohnpei, an island in the Federated States of Micronesia
* ''Ponape'' (barque), a German sailing ship
{{disambiguation ...
in the Carolines, where the ships remained while tensions steadily rose in Europe. In Ponape, Spee had access to the German radio network, and he learned of the Austro-Hungarian declaration of war on Serbia on 28 July, followed shortly thereafter by the Russian
mobilization
Mobilization is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the Prussian Army. Mobilization theories and ...
—tantamount to a
declaration of war
A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state (polity), state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the signing of a document) by an authorized party of a nationa ...
—against Austria-Hungary and possibly Germany. On 31 July, word came that the German ultimatum that Russia demobilize its armies was set to expire; Spee ordered his ships' crews to prepare for war. On 2 August,
Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...
ordered German mobilization against Russia and its ally, France. Following Germany's violation of neutral Belgium during its
invasion of France
France has been invaded on numerous occasions, by foreign powers or rival French governments; there have also been unimplemented invasion plans.
* the 1746 War of the Austrian Succession, Austria-Italian forces supported by the British navy attemp ...
, Britain declared war on Germany.
World War I
![The German East Asia Squadron 1914 1915-en](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/The_German_East_Asia_Squadron_1914_1915-en.svg)
The East Asia Squadron consisted of ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' and the
light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...
s , , and . At the time, ''Nürnberg'' was returning from the west coast of the United States, where ''Leipzig'' had just replaced her, and ''Emden'' was still in Tsingtao. Spee recalled his ships to consolidate his forces; ''Nürnberg'' arrived on 6 August and the three cruisers plus their
colliers moved to
Pagan Island
Pagan is a volcanic island in the Marianas archipelago in the northwest Pacific Ocean, under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. It lies midway between Alamagan to the south, and Agrihan to the north. The islan ...
in the
Marianas
The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...
, at that time a German colony. ''Emden'' and the liner , which had been converted into an
auxiliary cruiser
An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...
, joined the squadron there on 12 August. The four cruisers, accompanied by ''Prinz Eitel Friedrich'' and several colliers, then departed the central Pacific, bound for Chile. On 13 August, Commodore
Karl von Müller
Karl Friedrich Max von Müller (16 June 1873 – 11 March 1923) was a German naval officer who was the captain of a commerce raider, the light cruiser SMS ''Emden'' during the First World War.
Early life and career
The son of a colonel in t ...
, captain of the ''Emden'', persuaded Spee to detach his ship as a commerce raider. On 14 August, the East Asia Squadron departed Pagan for
Enewetak Atoll
Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...
in the
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...
. While en route across the Pacific, Spee relaxed formalities aboard his ships, integrating the messes for officers and non-commissioned and engineering officers.
To keep the German high command informed, on 8 September Spee detached ''Nürnberg'' to
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
to send word through neutral countries. ''Nürnberg'' returned with news of the
Allied capture of German Samoa, which had taken place on 29 August. ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' sailed to
Apia
Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō ...
to investigate the situation. Spee had hoped to catch a British or Australian warship by surprise, but upon his arrival on 14 September, he found no warships in the harbor. Spee decided against attacking the Allied troops ashore, since doing so would risk killing Samoans and damaging German property. On 22 September, ''Scharnhorst'' and the rest of the East Asia Squadron arrived at the French colony of
Papeete
Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeete'', pronounced ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The Communes of France, commune of Papeete is located on the isl ...
. The Germans attacked the colony, and in the ensuing
Battle of Papeete
The Bombardment of Papeete occurred in French Polynesia when German warships attacked on 22 September 1914, during World War I. The German armoured cruisers and entered the port of Papeete on the island of Tahiti and sank the French gunboat ...
, they sank the French gunboat
''Zélée''. The ships came under fire from French shore batteries but were undamaged. Fear of mines in the harbor prevented Spee from seizing the coal in the harbor. Spee then continued across the Pacific, passing through the
Marquesas Islands
The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in th ...
, where his ships acquired supplies including fresh meat by barter, purchase, or confiscation. On 12 October, the squadron reached
Easter Island
Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...
, where it was reinforced by ''Leipzig'', , and four more colliers. Spee's ships were off the coast of Chile by 1 November, when he learned that the British cruiser was moored in
Coronel, ostensibly alone; he decided to try to sink the ship.
Battle of Coronel
''Glasgow'' was assigned to the
4th Cruiser Squadron, under Rear Admiral
Christopher Cradock
Rear Admiral Sir Christopher "Kit" George Francis Maurice Cradock (2 July 1862 – 1 November 1914) was an English senior officer of the Royal Navy. He earned a reputation for great gallantry.
Appointed to the royal yacht, he was close to the ...
; as it turned out, ''Glasgow'' was joined by the armored cruisers and and the auxiliary cruiser . After discovering the entire squadron off Coronel, Spee decided to engage the British ships, but he delayed the action using his ships' superior speed until later in the day, when the setting sun would silhouette Cradock's ships. The German ships would meanwhile be obscured against the Chilean coast, making the task of the British gunners more difficult. At 18:07, Spee issued the order to open fire, with his two armored cruisers battling Cradock's armored cruisers and his light cruisers engaging ''Glasgow'' and ''Otranto''. Cradock quickly detached ''Otranto'', as she had no place in the line of battle. By 18:50, ''Gneisenau'' had disabled ''Monmouth'' and so shifted fire to ''Good Hope''; the combined firepower of ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' neutralized ''Good Hope'' by 19:23. Spee then withdrew his two armored cruisers and sent in his light cruisers to finish off ''Monmouth'' and ''Good Hope''. The British had lost both ships and suffered more than 1,600 dead, including Cradock, though the German ships had expended around 40 percent of their ammunition supply. Spee had inflicted the first defeat on a
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
squadron since the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
a century earlier.
![Ostasiengeschwader Graf Spee in Chile](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Ostasiengeschwader_Graf_Spee_in_Chile.jpg)
After the battle, Spee took his ships north to Valparaiso. Since Chile was neutral, only three ships could enter the port at a time; Spee took ''Scharnhorst'', ''Gneisenau'', and ''Nürnberg'' in first on the morning of 3 November, leaving ''Dresden'' and ''Leipzig'' with the colliers at Mas a Fuera. There, Spee's ships could take on coal while he conferred with the
Admiralty Staff in Germany to determine the strength of remaining British forces in the region. In addition, Spee sought to counter British press reports that attempted to minimize their losses and exaggerate German casualties. A reception followed at the German Club of Valparaiso, though Spee insisted that the event be restrained in tone. He received a bouquet of flowers to celebrate the victory at Coronel; Spee replied that they would do nicely for his grave. He stated that,
While in port, Spee received the order from the Admiralty Staff to attempt to break through to Germany. The ships remained in the port for only 24 hours, in accordance with the neutrality restrictions, and arrived at Mas a Fuera on 6 November, where they took on more coal from captured British and French steamers. ''Dresden'' and ''Leipzig'' took their turn in Valparaiso, after which the re-formed squadron continued south and rounded
Cape Horn
Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...
into the South Atlantic. In the meantime, the Royal Navy sent a pair of
battlecruiser
The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...
s— and —commanded by
Vice Admiral Doveton Sturdee
Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee, 1st Baronet (9 June 18597 May 1925) was a Royal Navy officer. After training as a torpedo officer, he commanded two different cruisers and then three d ...
to hunt down Spee's squadron and avenge Cradock's defeat.
Battle of the Falkland Islands
On the morning of 6 December, Spee held a conference with the ship commanders aboard ''Scharnhorst'' to determine their next course of action. The Germans had received numerous fragmentary and contradictory reports of British reinforcements in the region; Spee and two other captains favored an attack on the
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
to destroy the British wireless station there, while three other commanders argued that it would be better to bypass the islands and attack British shipping off Argentina. Spee's opinion carried the day and the squadron departed for the Falkland Islands at 12:00 on 6 December. The ships arrived off the Falkland Islands two days later; ''Gneisenau'' and ''Nürnberg'' were delegated for the attack. As they approached, observers aboard ''Gneisenau'' spotted smoke rising from
Port Stanley
Stanley (; also known as Port Stanley) is the capital city of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2016 census, the city had a populat ...
, but assumed it was the British burning their coal stocks to prevent the Germans from seizing them. As they closed on the harbor, shells from the elderly battleship , which had been beached as a
guard ship
A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea.
Royal Navy
In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...
, began to fall around the German ships, which prompted Spee to break off the attack. As Spee withdrew, Sturdee quickly got steam up in his ships and sortied to chase the Germans.
By 13:20, the battlecruisers had caught up with Spee, who realized his armored cruisers could not escape the much faster battlecruisers. He ordered the three light cruisers to attempt to break away while he tried to hold off the British squadron with ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau''. Sturdee instead ordered his cruisers to chase down the fleeing German light cruisers while ''Invincible'' and ''Inflexible'' dealt with ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau''. Spee deftly maneuvered his ships, taking the
leeward
Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...
position; the wind kept his ships swept of smoke, which improved visibility for his gunners. This forced Sturdee into the windward position and its corresponding worse visibility. ''Scharnhorst'' straddled ''Invincible'' with her third salvo and quickly scored two hits on the British battlecruiser. The German flagship was herself not hit during this phase of the battle. Sturdee attempted to widen the distance by turning two points to the north to prevent Spee from closing to within the range of his numerous secondary guns. Spee counteracted this maneuver by turning rapidly to the south, which forced Sturdee to turn south as well to keep within range. This allowed ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' to turn back north and get close enough to engage with their secondary 15 cm guns. Their shooting was so accurate that it forced the British to haul away a second time.
The British gunfire became increasingly accurate, and by 16:00, ''Scharnhorst'' had begun to list badly, while fires raged aboard the ship. Spee ordered ''Gneisenau'' to try to disengage while he turned ''Scharnhorst'' toward his attackers in an attempt to launch torpedoes at them. At 16:17, ''Scharnhorst''
capsize
Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is upside down in the water. The act of recovering a vessel fro ...
d and sank, taking her entire crew with her, including Spee. The British, still focused on ''Gneisenau'', made no effort to rescue survivors. ''Gneisenau'', ''Leipzig'', and ''Nürnberg'' were also sunk. Only ''Dresden'' managed to escape, but she was eventually tracked to the
Juan Fernández Islands
The Juan Fernández Islands ( es, Archipiélago Juan Fernández) are a sparsely inhabited series of islands in the South Pacific Ocean reliant on tourism and fishing. Situated off the coast of Chile, they are composed of three main volcanic i ...
and sunk. The complete destruction of the squadron killed about 2,200 German sailors and officers, including both of Spee's sons; Heinrich died aboard ''Gneisenau'', and Otto was killed aboard ''Nürnberg''.
Legacy
Spee was hailed as a hero in Germany and the men of the East Asia Squadron were celebrated in the press, which emphasized their bravery and refusal to surrender. In September 1917, the second was named ''Graf Spee'', and was christened by Spee's widow Margarete. Construction of the ship had not been completed by the time of the
Armistice of 11 November 1918
The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...
, and she was
broken up for scrap by 1921. In 1934 Germany named the new heavy cruiser after him; as with the earlier vessel, a member of Spee's family christened the ship, this time his daughter. In December 1939, ''Admiral Graf Spee'' was
scuttled
Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...
by her crew after the
Battle of the River Plate
The Battle of the River Plate was fought in the South Atlantic on 13 December 1939 as the first naval battle of the Second World War. The Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser , commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff, engaged a Royal Navy squadron, commande ...
off the coast of
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
. Between 1959 and 1964 the Federal German
Bundesmarine
The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...
operated the
training
Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
''Graf Spee''.
The wreck of Spee's flagship ''Scharnhorst'' was found off the Falklands on 5 December 2019, almost 105 years to the day after her sinking. Wilhelm Graf von Spee, head of the Graf von Spee family, called the location of the wreck "bittersweet", remarking that the family took comfort "from the knowledge that the final resting place of so many has been found, and can now be preserved, whilst also being reminded of the huge waste of life. As a family, we lost a father and his two sons on one day. Like the thousands of other families who suffered an unimaginable loss during the First World War, we remember them and must ensure that their sacrifice was not in vain."
Footnotes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Spee, Maximilian Von
1861 births
1914 deaths
Captains who went down with the ship
Imperial German Navy admirals of World War I
Counts of Germany
German military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion
German military personnel killed in World War I
People from Copenhagen
Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class
Vice admirals of the Imperial German Navy