Battle of the Falkland Islands - Von Spee's Last Stand

After Coronel, one last roll of the dice awaiting von Spee, but a mixture of bad luck and politics had sent of the RN's best Admiral's to opposed him...

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[SynchroScore]

There is a story I've read that, after the battle, the Governor of the Falklands hosted the British captains to a dinner, and proposed a toast, declaring "Damnation to the German Navy!" The captains all remained seated and silent. Then a senior officer (possibly Sturdee) proposed another toast, "We drink to the memory of brave sailors who had gone to the bottom" and the other captains joined him.

[bRiAn]

The British officers record of becoming friends with the germans and talking about how they did not want to fight each other but had to adds an important level of humanity to these naval engagement that is normally lost due to their scale. Really appreciate those additions from crew experiences.

[ladyofolyas]

That French ship coming upon an active naval engagement and just saying "nope" had me crying.

[Gothmog]

What a devastating moment it must have been when the German squadron saw the tripod masts rising from the harbor . . . they had traveled half way around the world, smashed a comparable British force, the first British first naval defeat in over a century, and now in that one instant, Spee knew their fate was sealed.

[austinlange]

Not even halfway through and it’s already sounding like “Bismarck: The Prequel”.

German admiral kicks hornet’s nest, Royal Navy responds with “ok, send _all_ the ships”.

[simonrisley]

Very good, as usual.
Winston Churchill later wrote of von Spee "He was like a cut flower in a vase: beautiful to look at, but bound to die."

[Alex-cwrz]

That is just such a funny image, of just pottering about on a boat to stumble on a major naval battle, during a war you didn't know existed

[hmshood]

Here we have an example of Battlecruisers doing things within their mission profile. That being smashing up cruisers. The polar opposite of this is Jutland outside their mission profile engaging other capital ships with explosive results.

[glennricafrente]

"A no win scenario is a possibility every commander may face." Von Spee's turn to face a Kobayashi Maru scenario.

[Billy_Annizarry]

When presented with flowers after his victory at Coronel, Von Spee remarked "this will do nicely for my grave".

CMIIW

[josephthomas]

Drach. My life has taken a serious downturn the last few weeks and it's been really rough. But when I see these Wednesday specials pop up in my notifications, I feel a rare bit of genuine happiness. Thank you.

[johnfisher]

Thanks Drach It is strange just how similar the fates of Craddock and Von Spee are.
Both faced opponents with vastly superior ships and numbers and displayed outstanding courage and determination to do their duty.
This battle also proved that Jackie Fishers "Dreadnought Armoured Cruisers" were excellent ships when used for the role they were designed for, not against the fast Battleships that was Hipper's 1stSG. Wonder how faster the battle would have been if the British ships had fully working AP shells?
A flaw Jellicoe noted when he was 3rd Sea Lord but sadly did not pursue the matter after he left that position.

[wildancrazy]

Once again you have more than excited any expectations. When I see you have posted a new Battle after action report/post it fills me with joy. Not because of the death and destruction, but the concise but entertaining, humorous but not loss of humanity, university level historical documentary.
Every damn time.
No one else comes close to this channel, and it will be a dark day for all if and when this treasure ends.
Thank you drachinifel, for all you do.

[falklandsgamer]

An interesting extra if anyone’s interested: The hill Canopus fired over was granted its name shortly after this engagement (Canopus Hill), and is the site of a shore battery originally built to protect the islands against further attack in ww1. The guns there now are not ones mounted on Canopus, but from Lancaster, another Monmouth cruiser.

Also I’m genuinely surprised at the lack of troll comments so far, they must be sleeping in today.

[L.J.Kommer]

Imagine what the crew of that French merchant ship must've been thinking. Thousands of tonnes of steel are slugging it out around you and all you have to escape is some giant cloths tied to a pole.

[chironpl]

In the battle, the von Spee family lost not only the husband and father, but two sons as well.

[falloutghoul]

Man, even if Von Spee managed to get past this blockade, it would've been impossible for him to make it home like this.

[simoncampbell-smith]

While I was in the Falklands I visited Port Stanley and the memorial to this battle. Now all but forgotten, Coronel and the Falklands are battles that are an important part of the history of WW1.

[alephalon]

The rusting but still floating hulk of SS Great Britain is a great cameo.

[oteliogarcia]

What a lonely voyage that must have been for von Spee. He learns of the SMS Emden's fate, learns of the loss of Tsingtao, and after he deals the RN an embarassing defeat, realizes he's depleted his ammunition and that his squadron probably wouldn't last long out there.

and then he finds himself in the same situation as Cradock, but just like his counterpart, bravely faces his doom.