Postcard of the ships of the German South Seas Squadron, commanded by Vice-Admiral Graf von Spee: S.M.S. Nürnberg, Leipzig, Scharnhorst, Dresden, and Gneisenau.
Das Deutsche Südsee-Geschwader.Graf v. Spee, Vice-Admiral.S.M.S. NürnbergS.M.S. LeipzigS.M.S. ScharnhorstS.M.S. DresdenS.M.S. GneisenauThe German South Sea Squadron.[S.M.S. - Seiner Majestäts Schiff - His Majesty's Ship]A 142
"At 7 o'clock the sun set, and Spee, having now every advantage of light, opened fire at 12,000 yards. The Good Hope in reply made a hit or two, but her forward 9.2 gun was soon knocked out, and the ship was on fire. The Monmouth was also burning within three minutes. The Glasgow was engaged by both the Leipzig and the Dresden, but was saved by the German smoke which drifted towards her. With the sunset glow behind them, our ships were a fair target, while the British gunners could no longer see anything but the flash of the enemy's guns. Both the Good Hope and the Monmouth were continually on fire, and at 7.45 the flagship blew up with an explosion which sent up flames 200 feet high. By 8 o'clock the Monmouth too was silenced and sinking in the heavy sea; as the moon rose the German ships could just be seen closing on her."
On November 1, 1914, a British squadron under Rear-Admiral Craddock encountered German Vice-Admiral von Spee's East Asiatic Squadron, which had sailed from Tsingtao, China, off the coast of Chile in the Battle of Coronel. The five German ships and crews outmatched the four British ships: Monmouth, Good Hope, Otranto, and Glasgow. The British Admiralty expected Craddock to go into battle with Canopus, an older, slower, more heavily armored battleship with guns superior to those of the German battleships. Inexplicably he did not. All hands, including Craddock, were lost on the two sunken British ships.
Days To Remember: The British Empire in the Great War by John Buchan and Herny Newbolt , page 131, publisher: Thomas Nelson and Sons, Ltd., publication date: 1922
Battle of Coronel, Coronel, 1914, November, 1914-11-01, von Spee, South Seas Squadron, East Asiatic Squadron, German East Asiatic Squadron, East Asia Squadron, Monmouth, Good Hope
