The Battle of the Falkland Islands
The Battle of the Falkland Islands
Before and After
Author: Henry Edmund Harvey Spencer-Cooper
To the Memory
of the
Officers and Men
of the Royal Navy and the Royal Naval Reserve
who so gallantly gave their lives in the actions
described in this book
CONTENTS
Part I.--Exploits off South America
CHAPTER PAGE
1. GERMAN MEN-OF-WAR IN FOREIGN SEAS 3
2. THE POLICY OF ADMIRAL COUNT VON SPEE 13
3. BRITISH MEN-OF-WAR OFF SOUTH AMERICA 19
4. LIFE AT SEA IN 1914 28
5. THE SINKING OF THE "CAP TRAFALGAR" 35
6. THE ACTION OFF CORONEL 45
7. CONCENTRATION 60
8. POSSIBILITIES AND PROBABILITIES 67
Part II.--The Battle of the Falklands
9. AWAY SOUTH 79
10. ENEMY IN SIGHT 87
11. THE BATTLE-CRUISER ACTION 96
12. THE END OF THE "LEIPZIG" 110
13. THE SINKING OF THE "NÜRNBERG" 124
14. AFTERMATH 134
15. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE SAILOR IN ACTION 141
16. VON SPEE'S AIMS AND HOPES 151
17. THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 158
18. THE LAST OF THE "DRESDEN" 163
Part III.--Official Dispatches
1. THE ACTION OF H.M.S. "CARMANIA" 169
2. THE ACTION OFF CORONEL BY H.M.S. "GLASGOW" 172
3. REPORT BY VICE-ADMIRAL COUNT VON SPEE 174
4. THE BATTLE OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS 178
5. THE SURRENDER OF THE "DRESDEN" 194
Appendix
A LIST OF THE OFFICERS SERVING IN THE
ACTIONS RECORDED 197
INDEX 221
MAPS AND CHARTS
PAGE
THE WAR ZONE IN WESTERN SEAS 5
CHART OF COURSE IN "CARMANIA"--"CAP TRAFALGAR"
DUEL 39
THE CORONEL ACTION: POSITION WHEN ENEMY
SIGHTED 49
THE CORONEL ACTION: POSITION AT SUNSET 51
CHART OF "CORNWALL" ACTION (_Inset_) 79
CHART OF BATTLE-CRUISER ACTION (_Inset_) 79
STANLEY HARBOUR: POSITIONS OF WARSHIPS 83
BATTLE OF THE FALKLANDS: POSITIONS AT 1.20 P.M. 94
BATTLE OF THE FALKLANDS: POSITIONS AT 2.45 P.M. 112
DUEL BETWEEN "KENT" AND "NÜRNBERG" 127
INTRODUCTION
This plain, unvarnished account, so far as is known, is the first
attempt that has been made to link with the description of the
Falkland Islands battle, fought on December 8th, 1914, the events
leading up to that engagement.
In order to preserve accuracy as far as possible, each phase
presented has been read and approved by officers who participated.
The personal views expressed on debatable subjects, such as strategy,
are sure to give rise to criticism, but it must be remembered that
at the time of writing the exact positions of the ships engaged in
overseas operations were not fully known, even in the Service.
The subject falls naturally into three divisions:
PART I. deals briefly with the movements of British and German
warships, and includes the duel fought by the _Carmania_, and the
action that took place off Coronel.
PART II. describes the Falkland Islands battle itself, and the
subsequent fate of the German cruiser _Dresden_.
PART III. contains the official dispatches bearing on these exploits.
The words of Alfred Noyes have been referred to frequently, because
they are in so many respects prophetic, and also because of their
influence in showing that the spirit of Drake still inspires the
British Navy of to-day.
The author takes this opportunity of expressing his warmest thanks
to those who have helped him in collecting information and in the
compilation of this book.
PART I
EXPLOITS OFF SOUTH AMERICA
"Meekly content and tamely stay-at-home
The sea-birds seemed that piped across the waves;
And Drake, bemused, leaned smiling to his friend
Doughty and said, 'Is it not strange to know
When we return, yon speckled herring-gulls
Will still be wheeling, dipping, flashing there?
We shall not find a fairer land afar
Than those thyme-scented hills we leave behind!
Soon the young lambs will bleat across the combes,
And breezes will bring puffs of hawthorn scent
Down Devon lanes; over the purple moors
Lav'rocks will carol; and on the village greens
Around the maypole, while the moon hangs low,
The boys and girls of England merrily swing
In country footing through the flowery dance.'"
--ALFRED NOYES (_Drake_).
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