Von Spee was
still master of the waters near the Horn, and till his ships had
again been met the British could not boast of being rulers of the
waves. Consequently Admiral Fisher detailed the two battle cruisers
_Invincible_ and _Inflexible_ to go to the Falkland Islands. They
left England November 11, 1914, and on the outward journey met
with and took along the light cruisers _Carnarvon, Kent_, and
_Cornwall_, the second-class cruiser _Bristol_, and the converted
liner _Macedonia_. The _Canopus_ and the _Glasgow_, now repaired,
all joined the squadron, which was commanded by Admiral Sturdee. The
vessels coaled at Stanley, Falkland Islands, and while so engaged
on December 8 were warned by a civilian volunteer watcher on a
near-by hill that two strange vessels had made their appearance
in the distance. British naval officers identified them and other
vessels which were coming into view as the ships of Von Spee's
squadron, the one which had been victorious off Coronel.
During the interval that had elapsed since that engagement these
German ships had not been idle. Von Spee knew that the _Glasgow_
had gone to the Falklands and that there were important wireless
stations there, but he put off going after those prizes and picked
up others. The _Nuernberg_ had cut communication between Banfield
and Fanning Islands. Two British trading ships had fallen victims
to the _Dresden_, and four more had met the same end at the hands
of the _Leipzig_.
Pages:
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320