Humphrey, duque de Gloucester

The battles of Falklands is a naval Bataille of the First World War which took place with broad of the Falkland Islands ( Falkland Islands in English). The German squadron of cruisers be-Asian, with the orders of the Vice-admiral Maximilian von Spee, victorious the previous month with the Battle of Coronel, was destroyed there by the forces of the admiral Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee. This crushing victory of the Royal Navy put an end to any German hope to threaten commercial navigation in the British Empire, otherwise than with means Sous-marin S.

Involved context and forces

After its victory against the forces of the Rear-admiral Christopher Cradock and the triumphal reception that it received from the German-speaking populations to the Chile, Maximilian von Spee hesitates over the control which it must hold. It received orders of Berlin, asking him to return in metropolitan Germany by forcing the blockade of the Royal Navy, but its chances to succeed must seem to him very mean. He tergiversates thus during a month before installing Valparaiso with all his forces, and crossing the Cape Horn. Once in the Atlantic , it decides, with the passage, to lead a raid against the British base of Port Stanley to the Falkland Islands, before sinking towards north.

This time wasted by the German admiral will make it possible the British Admiralty to react. It dispatches its chief of staff Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee which orders the two florets of the Royal Navy, the ships '' Invincible '' and '' Inflexible '', the two of whole new cruisers of battle which, in addition to one battery of eight guns of 305 mm, exceed all the German ships of speed. These two powerful ships, left the November 11th, join the December 7th the fleet already present in the zone and which is far from being negligible. The old battleship pre-dreadnought HMS Canopus was installed in defensive position to protect the port, with a system of watchtowers placed on the surrounding heights and the remainder of the fleet is occupied remaking the full of one its compartments with coal.

Unfolding

The December 8th in the morning, Spee detaches two of its cruisers, the Gneisenau and the Nurnberg, to bombard the radio station and the deposit of coal of Port Stanley. They are accommodated by a well adjusted salvo of HMS Canopus . Sturdee, defendant of the approach of German, calmly gave the order to light fires of its ships and to install as soon as loan, then it went to have its breakfast. The German cruisers having seen the tripod masts characteristic of the large units and surprised by the answer of HMS Canopus , make half-turn. Having missed the occasion surprising the British fleet in the port, they seek their safety in the escape.

With 9:45, the HMS Bristol-board leaves the port, follow-up fifteen minutes afterwards by the remainder of the British squadron. The Germans have from fifteen to twenty thousand S in advance, but the day is likely to last eight more hours and the watchtowers of Spee finally identified the cruisers of battle, which they know faster with their 25 node S. the German admiral then seeks a grain to escape the continuation while coming to south-east. But the cruisers of battle broke the formation to give their full speed and, with 12:47, they open fire and their shootings, initially vague, end up framing the Leipzig . Maximilian von Spee, being known wedged, decides to carry out with its two armoured cruisers a despaired retarding combat, to give a chance to the other ships.

Accompanied by the Carnarvon , the two cruisers of battle thus engage the Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau . Engagement with place first of all at long distance, the Germans touch the British ships with many recoveries, but without much damage because of range. The impacts of shell of 305 mm, fewer, are on the other hand much more devastators, although the buildings of the Royal Navy, under the wind, are obstructed by smoke. While trying to eliminate this disadvantage, Sturdee gives the opportunity to the Germans to escape some time the shooting, but their speed being definitely higher, they can with 14:50 carry out a turn to use all their armament, Spee then tries the combat at short distance to be able to use its secondary armament. The shooting of the British becomes precise and fatal then. The Scharnhorst , having boxed at least fifteen shells of 305 mm, is on fire, takes lodging and, with 16:04, it capsizes, then runs with 16:17. Any rescue being made impossible by the combat which continues, it has no survivor there. The Gneisenau continues this unequal fight valiantly but, with 17:15, court of ammunition, it ends up being scuttled, 190 German sailors will then be collected. The Invincible boxed 22 shell and has only one wounded. The Inflexible , touched only three times, counts a death and three wounded.

During this time, the remainder of the fleet of Sturdee gives hunting to the German light cruisers. The Leipzig in tail is the first victim. Slowed down by the shootings of the Glasgow , it ends up being with range of the Cornwall and, with 19:00, it is on fire, two chimneys and its principal mast having fallen, with court of ammunition, it tries an attack with the torpedo against the Cornwall and its crew prepares with the evacuation. The Glasgow approaches then and the death-blow gives him, the Leipzig capsizes and runs with 21:20, only 18 survivors will be fished out. However, the two impacts which it inflicted with the Glasgow damaged the boilers of this one, removing any chance to him to join the Dresden .

The Nurnberg left only towards south-east with ten thousand S in advance on its prosecutor, the Kent , theoretically slower than him. But, through wonders, the British mechanics, burning all wood available on board, are able to make him give 25 nodes and the German ship, to the sea for several months, has not been able to give its maximum speed. With 17:00, the artillery battle begins, initially with the advantage of the Nurnberg , but the distance weakening, the better armed British and armoured better takes the advantage and, towards 17:30, two boilers of the Nurnberg explode, leaving it at the thank you of its enemy maintaining much higher of speed. With 19:26, it ends up capsizing, leaving only twelve survivors. The Kent , underwent thirty-eight impacts and account to him sixteen dead.

Consequences

No ship of the Royal Navy suffered serious damage: it only ten had not died there and nineteen wounded in its rows. On the other hand, 1 871 German sailors found death and 215 were fished out and made captive. Of the five committed German ships, only one survives the day, the Dresden . He manages to escape the continuations until the March 14th 1915, when the HMS Kent and the Glasgow discover it with its broken down machines, in the archipelago Juan Fernández. The last German ship operating overseas at that time, is the Königsberg , locked up in the Estuaire of the Fleuve Rufiji in Tanzania.

The defeat of Coronel being largely avenged, the German navy does not have any more naval forces of surface to threaten navigation along the sea routes of the British Empire. The remainder of the German imperial fleet will thus be used to fix the Royal Navy in the North Sea. Some attempts will be realized with camouflaged trading vessels, like the cruising of the Seeadler, but the principal effort will refer on the underwater weapon. The underwater war without restriction started in 1915, will cause the torpedoing of the '' Lusitania '', which will precipitate the entry in war of the the United States in 1917.

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