On December 8, 1914, one of the greatest naval battles of the First World War took place near the Falkland Islands, as a result of which the German naval forces, represented by Admiral von Spee, suffered a crushing defeat from the paramilitary English squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Doveton Sturdy.
The German squadron consisted of 8 ships - 2 battleships, three cruisers, two transport ships and one floating hospital. On November 1, it was this squadron that sank two English battleships, killing more than 1,600 people, including Rear Admiral Christopher Cradock. As a result of the attack, none of the ships of the German squadron was injured, which greatly infringed on English pride in their reputedly invincible fleet.
The unexpected defeat for the British created the conditions for the Germans to move the squadron to the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean, which in turn became a real threat to British trade both near the coast South America and in the South African coastal zone. The von Spee squadron cruised around Atlantic Ocean, creating obstacles for English merchant ships, sinking and taking their cargo and crews prisoner.
On October 29, 1914, in the UK, there was a change of ranks in the Naval Department, the post of First Sea Lord was taken by Fisher, a smart, resourceful and self-willed man who did not tolerate opposition and objections from juniors in rank. This was not the first time Fischer had held this post, so he entered his office like a master returning from a long vacation, while discovering that the old servant, whom he would like to dismiss, was still performing his duties. It was precisely such a servant that was Rear Admiral Doveton Sturdee, whom Fisher considered the culprit of the sinking of three English armored cruisers by a German submarine, as well as the death of Rear Admiral Christopher Cradock, due to incorrect instructions received by them just the same from Sturdee.
Fischer, who did not like Sturdy for a very long time, did not find any way to get rid of him, but after the German squadron appeared in the Atlantic, such an opportunity presented itself. Sturdee, who served as chief of the naval staff in order to avoid further confrontation of his interests with the interests of Fisher, was sent at the head of the English squadron in search of German warships. The composition of the squadron he led, by personal order of the first Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, included battlecruisers and auxiliary vessels. While the two battlecruisers Invincible and Inflexible were to proceed straight to the South Atlantic, the arc cruiser was obliged to proceed to the basin caribbean and prevent a possible breakthrough of German ships through the Panama Canal. In addition to these four ships, more than 30 transports took part in the combat operation to detect and destroy the German squadron, and some of them belonged to the allied Japanese fleet. Two dozen armored cruisers and several dozen reconnaissance ships also took part in the capture of von Spee's squadron.
On November 3, three German ships anchored in the neutral port of Valparaiso, two more anchored in the port harbor of Mas-a-Fuera. According to the law of war, it was possible to stay in neutral waters for no more than a day, while the number of ships of one of the warring parties should not have been more than three. Following this rule, von Spee left the port of Valparaiso after 24 hours and went to connect with another part of the squadron. During a short passage, he received intelligence information about the trap planned by the British and plans to capture him, as well as the recommendation of the high command, which said that the squadron should be withdrawn from the Atlantic closer to Europe, and it was best to head straight for Germany.
The road home was extremely dangerous, the ring around the German squadron was closing, but apparently von Spee still decided to postpone his return, hoping for a miraculous combination of circumstances that would soon follow - the admiral received news that part of the English squadron had been withdrawn to Africa to suppress Boer uprisings. The information received by the Germans was deliberately false, but they had their effect - the German admiral perked up and lingered in the waters of the Atlantic for a few more precious days, which allowed the English ships to arrive at his anchorage very timely.
German warships had undoubted combat power, modern weapons and a well-trained crew, the only thing they did not have was ammunition, there were just over 400 of them on each of the ships, which was extremely small. Having learned how small the supply of gunpowder, cartridges and shells was, von Spee began to harbor hopes for the approach of reinforcements sent at his request from Germany, therefore he continued to be in the port until November 15, when it became completely clear to everyone that there would be no reinforcements .
Realizing how dangerous the enterprise he had started for the German squadron was, the commander used a military trick, leaving an armed steamer in the port, the crew of which was supposed to negotiate on German, creating the appearance of being in the port of the German fleet.
On December 6, the ships of the German fleet anchored near Picton, and von Spee called their captains for a short meeting on the further actions of the squadron, at which it was decided to continue trying to break into Europe, but first attack the English base in the Falkland Islands, destroy the radio station there and capture the governor. This action was supposed to be a demonstrative revenge for the capture by the British of the governor of the island of Samoa. The operation was planned to be carried out on December 8, because most of the German squadron reached its intended goal at the beginning of the 3rd night of the designated date.
With the onset of prosperity, German ships moved close to the island and suddenly found that the harbor. Which, according to intelligence, was supposed to be free, was occupied by an English squadron under the command of Stoddart and Sturdee, who were supposed to pacify the Boers off the coast of Africa.
The order to retreat was heard throughout the German squadron, having received which the German ships hurried to turn around as quickly as possible and rush away from the trap that threatened to slam shut. Nevertheless, the German fleet still failed to carry out a swift flight, the light English cruisers were able to reach speeds several times greater than the heavy battleships, because Sturdee ordered to pursue and destroy the enemy before sunset.
In turn, the flight of the German squadron was not shameful, since it was clear to all the sailors and officers who were with her that that negligible amount of military supplies would be enough for only a few shots, most of which would never reach the target, which means that the German ships would be nothing more than a target for the British.
And yet, despite the measures taken regarding continuous flight, at about 11 a.m. the German fleet was overtaken and attacked. superior forces enemy. As a result of many hours of battle, most of the German ships and their crews were killed, the remaining afloat were flooded, and their crews were captured, while the two main armored cruisers of the British received only 15 hits, the result of which was the death of one and the wounding of three people. The British achieved a complete and unconditional victory, having avenged all the defeats inflicted on them before this. But Sturdy, hated by Fisher, was not only not removed from his position, but also granted title of nobility becoming an English baron.
Analyzing the Falklands battle that happened on December 8, many historians find in it a huge number of tactical and other mistakes made by both the British and German sides, discarding which one could have a completely different historical picture before their eyes. But despite this, the battle of the Falklands deserves to be called one of the most famous battles of the First World War.
BATTLE OFF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS
The die was cast. The German admiral made a fatal decision and doomed his squadron, himself and his two sons to death. He gave the order to carry out the operation, which was a gross strategic mistake. But if such an attack was to be made, it should have been carried out immediately after the battle at Coronel, without wasting time on rest and bunkering. Then events could have turned out quite differently. Sturdee could spend months looking for German cruisers lost in the ocean. And to be honest, he did everything. to the extent possible in order to miss Spee. Only blind luck, which led Admiral Spee for so long, at the most decisive moment went over to the side of the enemy. As Fischer poignantly remarked in 1919, “No man in history has been so undeservedly placed on a pedestal as Sturdee. If he were allowed to collect all the shirts he wanted to take with him, and if Egerton<адмирал сэр Джордж Эгертон, главнокомандующий базой в Плимуте>hadn't received a tough order, Sturdee would have been looking for von Spee still!"
On November 28, Sturdee's squadron left the Abrolhos cliffs. The battlecruisers followed Stoddart's cruisers, which were deployed on a wide front to intercept the enemy. In addition, they had to reckon with the possibility of meeting the auxiliary cruiser Kronprinz Wilhelm, which, according to the British, was operating in the La Plata area. The auxiliary cruiser "Orama" was accompanied by coal miners. Their arrival in the Falklands was expected on 11 December. The main force of the Sturdee squadron arrived in the Falklands on December 7 at 10.30. The governor and the commander of the Canopus, Captain 1st Rank Grant, were greatly relieved, as they expected the German ships to appear hourly. This hassle had been dragging on since November 25 as a result of an erroneous report that Spee had rounded Cape Horn.
Sturdee found that the people of the islands were as prepared for the defense as scarce resources would allow. Grant landed his ironclad on a sandbank, turning it into an unsinkable fort, and painted the sides to match the color of the surrounding shore. At coastal heights, observation posts were created, connected with the ship by telephone. He sent several 12-lb guns and a platoon of marines ashore. The governor, in turn, mobilized all combat-ready men, women and children were sent inland. But Sturdee was not going to linger in the Falklands, and in general he was not interested in the archipelago. He was sure that Spee was in the Valparaiso region, and hurried to the shores of Chile. Therefore, he informed the Admiralty that he would refuel with coal and, on the evening of December 8, would again go to sea.
The shallow draft Bristol and Glasgow went straight into Port Stanley, where the Canopus was aground. Linear and armored cruisers anchored in Port William. The auxiliary cruiser "Macedonia" patrolled at sea.
The Germans saw the shores of the archipelago at 2.30. The day promised to be exceptionally good, and this in an area where storms and fogs are considered normal weather, and the sun looks like a rare curiosity. At 0530, Spee ordered the ships to be alerted and steam raised to increase speed to 18 knots. The worn-out cars of armored cruisers could not give more. Gneisenau and Nuremberg separated to carry out the operation, but Merker immediately reported that due to a navigational error, his ships would not be 5 miles from Cape Pembroke until 9.30, that is, an hour later than planned. But so far, the Germans did not assume that this delay could have any significance. At about 8:30 a.m., Mercer made out the masts of a radiotelegraph, which was located between Stanley and Pembroke lighthouse. A column of smoke indicated that a ship was entering the harbor - it was the auxiliary cruiser "Macedonia". Merker also saw a thick cloud of smoke over the island, but decided that the British saw his ships and set fire to the coal depots. Only at about 0900, when the Gneisenau and Nuremberg were less than 10 miles from Port Stanley, Lieutenant Commander Boucher, who was on the Gneisenau fore, noticed the masts and pipes in the harbor.
Mercer immediately decided that he was right, and Stoddart's squadron did not leave for South Africa. But this could not cause serious concern. But Merker did not immediately believe another message from Bush. Over the low sandbar that linked Point Pembroke to Stanley, he saw three-legged masts moving slowly. Dreadnoughts in the South Atlantic! It was just incredible. It just couldn't be! And Merker radioed the admiral that there were probably 3 County-class armored cruisers and 1 light cruiser in the harbor, as well as 2 large ships like the Canopus. However, he continued to follow the intended point at Cape Pembroke. One of the Leipzig officers recalled:
“We followed to the Falklands. Our admiral did not expect to meet superior forces there, and the disappointment turned out to be all the more bitter.
Sturdy had only 2 colliers at his disposal. Therefore, by 7.50, only the Carnavon and Glasgow completed refueling, the battlecruisers took only 400 tons of coal. Kent, Cornwall and Bristol were just waiting their turn. Moreover, "Cornwall" and "Bristol" generally prepared to sort out the cars. Spee showed up at the most inopportune moment. However, this is what always happens in war. After all, the battle, as it is reliably known, is a process that takes place at the junction of two cards. The British squadron was completely unprepared for battle when at 7.56 the Glasgow's cannon rumbled, trying to draw attention to the signal raised on the Canopus mast: "I see the enemy!"
At 0800, Sturdee learned that Grant's lookouts from the top of Supper Hill had telephoned the sightings of German ships. The first message read: "Four-Tube and Twin-Tube Warships on SO Heading North." The British admiral had little doubt that this was Spee's squadron. But this message did not excite him at all. He calmly ordered the Kent to weigh anchor and leave the harbour. Invincible and Inflexible were to stop loading immediately. All ships were ordered to disengage steam and prepare to give 12 knots. After that, the admiral calmly went to breakfast. Grant's observers at about 0900 noticed the smoke of 2 more groups of ships in the south. Now 7 ships were approaching the islands, 5 of them military.
Another hour passed before the battlecruisers, the Carnavon and the Glasgow, managed to raise the anchors, it took even longer to put the engines of the Bristol and Cornwall in order. Churchill recalls it this way:
“I was working in my office when Oliver brought a telegram from the Governor of the Falklands. "Today at dawn Admiral Spee arrived with all the ships and is now engaged in battle with the entire fleet of Admiral Sturdee, which received coal." We have already received so many unpleasant surprises that the last words made me wince. Were we taken by surprise at anchor and, in spite of our superiority, defeated?
Admiral Spee really had a chance to approach the exit from the harbor, sink the Kent and fire on the rest of the British ships in port. In this case, the British could only use a small part of their artillery. Spee could inflict serious damage on the enemy and prevent him from chasing. But Sturdy had foreseen that too. He ordered the Canopus to open fire as soon as the Gneisenau and Nuremberg came within firing range. The battlecruisers were ordered "to be ready to open fire at any moment." "Carnavon" was supposed to "attack the enemy as soon as he rounds the cape."
Another 20 difficult minutes passed, during which the shadow of defeat hovered over the British squadron. At 0920, Sapper Hill reported that the Gneisenau and Nuremberg had aimed their guns at the radiotelegraph station. When the distance was reduced to 13,500 yards, a booming echo swept through the harbor. Raised to the maximum angle of elevation, the Canopus guns spat out 4 heavy shells. And again luck smiled at the British. One of the officers of the battleship recalls:
“The previous evening it was ordered to prepare for an artillery exercise. In the morning we had to show Doveton Sturdee that we had solved the problem of shooting blindly across the cape at targets at sea. The calculation of the stern tower, in order to get ahead of the eternal enemies from the bow, secretly loaded the guns with practical shells at night. But the next morning, the real battle began, and they did not have time to reload their guns. The result of this breach of discipline was curious. The Gneisenau was out of range. The live shells from my forward turret exploded as they fell into the water with short range. But the blanks from the aft tower ricocheted, and one of them hit the target!
When Merker saw the Kent leaving the harbour, he increased his speed to cut her off. But the unexpected hit of the Canopus projectile on the base of the fourth tube caused it to turn sharply to the east. As a result, Grant ordered a ceasefire after the second salvo. "Gneisenau" and "Nuremberg" raised their flags and headed for the entrance to Port Stanley. However, they did not have time to complete this turn, when Spee's order came: “Do not accept the fight. Turn on course O -t -N and leave full swing". "Canopus" did not have time to open fire again, but he played his role. At 0930, the German admiral turned the entire squadron to the east and released the supply ships, which began to leave to the southeast. They were later ordered to return to Picton Island. Spee's decision was influenced by 2 factors. He did not want to risk taking the fight with 2 ironclads, the presence of which was reported by Merker. Hitting the Gneisenau further strengthened Spee in this. In addition, he believed that his ships were faster than the British, which was rather strange, because the admiral knew perfectly well about the condition of the machines of his armored cruisers. Most likely, he did not think that “3 County-class cruisers would risk imposing a battle on his ships. Therefore, by 11.00, the German ships lined up in the wrong column: Gneisenau, Nuremberg, Scharnhorst, Dresden and Leipzig. They turned to the southwest and tried to develop 22 knots. Only now Spee realized that the British squadron had 2 battlecruisers that would have time to intercept it before sunset.
On this day, the engine crews of the British ships acted beyond praise. The Glasgow parted steam and weighed anchor at 9.45. It was followed 15 minutes later by Stoddart on Carnavon, followed by Invincible and Inflexible. The last to join the Kent waiting at Cape Pembroke was the Cornwall. When the Inflexible reported that "the enemy is leaving as fast as they can," Sturdee commanded: "Chase!" At 11.00, Bristol also managed to make a move. Sturdee had a clear idea of the situation from reports from Kent and Glasgow. Later, he himself saw the smoke of 5 ships, the hulls of which were still hiding behind the horizon. Sturdee understood that he had all the cards in his hands. His ships had a speed advantage of about 5 knots. Although the enemy was at a distance of about 20 miles, in 2 hours he would be under fire from the heavy guns of the Invincible and Inflexible. There will still be more than 8 hours before sunset, during which time he will have time to deal with the Germans.
With his usual icy calm, Sturdee assessed the tactical situation and decided not to rush into combat. To give maximum speed, battlecruisers burned oil and coal in their furnaces at the same time. The smoke from their chimneys was so thick that it was almost impossible to follow the enemy. Therefore, Sturdy reduced speed to 24 knots and ordered the Inflexible to enter the starboard conch of the admiral's ship. "Glasgow" at that time was 3 miles away from him on the left crumball, from where he followed the enemy. The admiral also ordered the "Kent" to take a place on his left beam. Shortly after 1100, Sturdee reduced speed to 19 knots. This would allow the slow-moving Cornwall, which barely squeezed 22 knots, to catch up with the battlecruisers. The Carnavon, which could only give 20 knots, also received a chance to join the squadron. In fact, canceling his order to chase, the admiral at 11.32 told all the ships that "the team has time to dine before the start of the battle." The ships left the harbor in a hurry, the battlecruisers were still covered with coal dust. The crews of the Spee ships also got time to dine, although the Germans were unlikely to get a piece in their throats. They understood that they had fallen into a trap, and for many of them this dinner would be the last.
At about 11.30 a.m., the Bristol, which had just left the harbor, reported seeing "coal miners or transports" approaching Port Pleasant. Sturdee decided that the Germans might try to land on the Falklands and ordered Fanshaw to take command of Macedonia and "destroy the transports". Since these 2 ships did not take part in the battle, we will briefly describe their actions. Around 1500 Fanshaw discovered the Baden and the Santa Isabel. Completely forgetting Sturdee's "Battle Instructions", which unequivocally demanded "use every opportunity to capture enemy colliers", Fanshaw, without bothering to think too much, literally carried out the last order of the admiral. He removed the crews and sank both ships with artillery fire. "Bristol" and "Macedonia" were transported with this until 19.00, which saved the "Seidlitz". Darkness fell, and the fastest of the German supply ships managed to escape. Having learned about the fate of the German squadron, its commander headed for San Jose Bay, where he intended to meet with the Dresden. When this failed, the Seydlitz arrived at the Argentine port of San Antonio on December 18, where it was interned.
On the Invincible, “at about 12.20 the captain came aft and said that the admiral had decided to start the battle. The sailors on deck shouted "Hurrah!" Seeing that the Carnavon was 6 miles astern of the battlecruisers and could not develop more than 18 knots, Sturdy decided to start the battle with only 2 battlecruisers and the Glasgow. He decided to leave even the 22-knot Kent and Cornwall behind. The speed was gradually increased to 26 knots, and at 12.47 the signal "Open fire and start fighting" took off on the mast. A few minutes later, "Inflexible" from a distance of 16,500 yards opened fire on the "Leipzig", closing the German column.
The senior gunner of the Inflexible recalled:
“It was an amazing picture: a blue cloudless sky above and a blue calm sea below. The air was exceptionally clear. Two battlecruisers were rushing at full speed along calm sea leaving tails of white foam behind. Boiling water often flooded the decks at the stern. A mass of oily black smoke billowed from the chimneys, and white topmast flags stood out sharply against its background. The bow turret guns rumble, and heavy clouds of chocolate-brown smoke rise from the forecastle. Then a long wait, and high white splashes rise from the sea behind the distant enemy.
The British ships were heading south-east, while the Germans were moving in an almost parallel course slightly to the right of the bow. This meant that each battlecruiser could only fire from 2 turrets, that is, fire 2 rounds every half a minute. The British had only the most primitive fire control devices, and therefore it took them about 20 minutes to aim.
But von Spee realized that the lagging Leipzig would still get hit soon, it was only a matter of time. It also became clear that his armored cruisers would not be able to evade combat with a fearsome enemy for too long. Walk through the whole Pacific Ocean led to great wear and tear on the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau machines, and they could not develop more than 18 knots. And then Spee made a decision that does honor to him and the entire German fleet, although, in fairness, it should be noted that this was the only tactical correct option. At 13.20, he signaled the Dresden, Leipzig and Nuremberg to "leave the line and try to escape." As soon as the light cruisers turned south, the admiral himself turned the armored cruisers sharply into ONO and opened fire on the British ships. But Sturdy, in addition to his icy equanimity, had another useful quality- the gift of foresight. In addition, "he specifically studied tactics" (A killer characteristic for the officers of the Royal Navy!). En route to the Falkland Islands, his ships conducted practice firing, the first since the start of the war. Before leaving the reef anchorage, Abrolhos Sturdy wrote "Battle Instructions" which stated:
“We can meet an enemy squadron consisting of 2 armored and 3 light cruisers and probably several coal miners. The main task of battlecruisers will be combat with armored cruisers. British armored and light cruisers must not attempt to engage enemy armored cruisers at the start of a battle. If enemy light cruisers separate and try to escape, their task is to engage enemy light cruisers ... Battlecruisers should attack enemy armored cruisers and fight at a distance of 12,000 to 10,000 yards, closing up to 8,000 yards when the fire becomes effective. Armored cruisers should not engage enemy armored cruisers until they are damaged.
As we have seen, Fanshaw had forgotten these instructions, but Luce, Ellerton, and Allen remembered them perfectly. As soon as they saw the German light cruisers turning, the Glasgow, Kent and Cornwall turned to starboard and chased after them without special orders from the admiral. Stoddart immediately realized that he would not keep up with them. In addition, 2 armored and 1 light cruisers were quite enough to destroy 3 German light cruisers, and therefore the Carnavon continued to follow the battlecruisers.
As a result, the battle broke up into 2 independent clashes. The Glasgow, Cornwall and Kent chased the departing German light cruisers, while the battlecruisers and the Carnavon that joined them pursued the main body of the German squadron. The battle began on parallel courses, when both squadrons were heading east. Invincible opened fire on Scharnhorst, and Inflexible opened fire on Gneisenau. The distance at this moment was 13,500 yards, the battlecruisers fired from 6 main battery guns. Although the disparity in power was colossal, the fight did not become target practice. The shooting of the Germans “was an excellent spectacle. The flash of a volley simultaneously ran across the entire silhouette of the ship. A puff of brown smoke with a bright dot in the middle marked the firing of each gun... Their shooting was excellent. They covered us over and over again, ”recalls one of the English participants in the battle. At 1344, the Invincible began to take damage. Then Sturdee realized that his intention to shoot the enemy, not approaching the range of his guns, was thwarted by the fact that the Germans were downwind. Therefore, the smoke from the chimneys of the battlecruisers and the powder smoke of the volleys carried on the enemy, which greatly interfered with the English gunners. Sturdy did not know that the Gneisenau had already received 2 hits, including in the underwater part, and that the Scharnhorst had also suffered. The admiral did not want to give the enemy even a shadow of a chance, so he turned 2 points to the left and increased the distance. Because of this, at 14.00 the battle was temporarily stopped. Sturdee attempted to move the battlecruisers into a more favorable position, but Spee parried his maneuver by turning into the wind and heading almost due south. Sturdy could only chase after him. At 14.45 the distance shortened again, and the battle resumed. On the this time Spee did not try move away from the enemy, but on the contrary, turned directly on the British battlecruisers. The range was quickly reduced to 10,000 yards, and the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were able to bring their 150 mm guns into action.
At that moment, a new member suddenly appeared on the battlefield. It was a large Norwegian sailboat, the Fairport, returning home. To their horror, the Norwegians suddenly found themselves in the midst of a cruel sea battle, and in such a remote area of \u200b\u200bthe ocean, where this could be least expected. The Norwegians raised all the sails and tried to get out as quickly as possible.
The shooting of the Germans was very well-aimed. Prize ships of the German fleet fully confirmed their reputation. At 15.15 Sturdee was forced to describe the circulation in order to get out of the thick cloud of smoke that interfered with the shooting. Range increased to 14,000 yards. At that moment, a fragment cut off the halyards on which the Spee flag was raised. Merker immediately asked the Scharnhorst: “Why is the admiral's flag at half mast? Is he killed? Spee immediately replied, “I’m fine. Have you received damage? Mercer replied, "The smoke interferes with observations." After this, Spee raised his famous signal, admitting that the attempt to attack the Falklands, which Merker had objected to, was a mistake. "You were absolutely right." And yet, no matter how well the Germans shot, the overwhelming superiority of the British in the weight of the volley - 6000 pounds versus 3000 pounds - began to affect. German official history says:
“Heavier shells easily pierced the decks of casemates<германских кораблей>and caused huge destruction in the lower compartments.<Хотя>the force of the explosion was less than could be expected from 305-mm shells, the damage was constantly growing, especially in the middle part of the Gneisenau. Casemates of 150-mm guns were badly damaged. Boiler room No. 1 was flooded as a result of a hit below the waterline, and it had to be abandoned. A leak was opened in the boiler room No. 3. Fires started in the unprotected parts of the ship at the bow and stern. Bursts of enemy shells falling near the side helped to extinguish them. Masses of water poured through holes in the decks.
Scharnhorst was also seriously damaged. He received large underwater holes in the bow and stern and sat down on 3 feet. Fires blazed in several places on the ship. At 15.30, the third chimney was demolished by an English shell. The fire of the German flagship noticeably weakened. At the same time, all the hits on the British battlecruisers did not reduce their combat power in the least.
Since many of the guns on the port side of the German cruisers were out of action, Spee turned 10 points to starboard to bring the guns of the other side into action. But this maneuver allowed Sturdee to pass under the stern of the Germans and finally take a leeward position. The admiral recalled:
“The impact of our fire on the Scharnhorst became-s; elk increasingly obvious. It was shrouded in smoke from fires and steam. When an exploding shell made a large hole in the side, the dim reflections of fires were visible through it. But, despite all the blows he received, his shooting was still frequent and well-aimed.
As a result of several turns, Invincible and Inflexible switched targets. The senior gunner of the Inflexible recalled:
“Although many of our shells hit the Scharnhorst, I could not force it to cease fire. Through the wall of spray from undershoots, we clearly saw the flashes of his shots. The guns fired in regular volleys. I asked my assistant, "What the hell else can we do?" But then the shooting of the Scharnhorst stopped abruptly, as if someone had flipped a switch. It turned towards us and we saw that it had a strong roll. The pipes have been demolished. Since he was clearly sinking, we ceased fire.
Sturdy recalls:
“At 16.04, the Scharnhorst, with a raised flag, listed sharply to the port side. In a minute it became clear that he was doomed. The list increased, and he lay on board. At 16.17 he sank.
This happened 5 minutes after the Carnavon finally managed to enter the battle and fire several volleys from its 190-mm guns. The German flagship sank with the entire crew, including the brave admiral.
Unfortunately, Sturdy could not stop the fight and start rescuing the sailors from the wrecked ship - there was still one opponent in front of him. Merker managed to receive Spee's last order: "Try to escape if your machines are still active." But all the sailors aboard the Gneisenau were well aware that the fate of their ship was sealed. The cruiser's first tube collapsed onto the second, and a large hole gaped in the fourth. The foremast was demolished. Damage to the boilers reduced her speed to 16 knots, and yet the Gneisenau turned southwest in an attempt to get away. But 3 British ships, lining up in a wake column (Invincible, Inflexible, Carnavon), opened fire on him from a distance of 10,000 yards. Thick smoke floated over the sea, making shooting extremely difficult. But Sturdee stubbornly kept the ships in close formation, which made it almost impossible for the Inflexible to fire. At about 17.00, its commander, Captain 1st Rank Phillimore, in desperation, turned 16 points to get out of the smoke of the flagship. For a while he fought on the counter courses, and then again entered the wake of the Invincible (This act of Phillimore led to a small scandal. The Invincible team was outraged that the Inflexible tried to allegedly get away. Phillimore after the fight demanded a judicial inquiry, but Sturdee stated that he was completely satisfied with the actions of Inflexible, and the trial did not take place). The battered Gneisenau held out as long as its guns were in action. At 17.15, he achieved his last hit in the Invincible armor belt.
“At 5:30 p.m., he turned straight for our flagship with a strong list to starboard and stopped, venting steam. Flames and smoke from hits rose everywhere. I had already given the order "Cease Fire", but before it could be raised, the Gneisenau began firing. Sporadic fire was led by one gun. At 17.40 three ships approached him. The flag flying on the fore-topmast was lowered, but the flag on the gaff remained. At 17.50 the order "Cease fire" was given.
As we approached, the Gneisenau listed heavily and began to sink. He slowly got on board, and the crew got enough time to leave the ship. Then he rolled over. In this position, he swam for another 10 seconds, and then<около 18.00>slowly disappeared under the water. There were no explosions, but steam and smoke continued to escape from under the water and formed a small cloud in the place where she sank. A few minutes later we began to pick up the survivors. About 200 people were swimming, holding on to the wreckage and life belts.”
"Gneisenau" shot all the ammunition and lost speed, about 600 people of his team were killed and wounded. And only then the captain of the 1st rank Merker gave the order to flood the cruiser. He shouted "Hurrah!" three times. in honor of His Majesty, and the crew left the ship. The sailors, holding on to the floating wreckage, sang patriotic songs: "The Song of the Flag", "Glory to you in the crown of victory" and others. One of the officers estimated that about 270 to 300 people escaped, but since the water temperature was only 39 ° F, few survived. In total, "Invincible" saved 108 people, "Inflexible" - 62 people, "Carnavon" - 20 people.
In the evening, Sturdy sent a letter to Captain 2nd Rank Pochhammer, the eldest of the surviving German officers:
“The Commander-in-Chief is very glad that you survived. We all acknowledge that Gneisenau fought with exceptional courage to the very end. We are very pleased with the good shooting of both your ships. We regret the death of your admiral and such a large number of officers and sailors. Unfortunately, our two countries are at war. The officers of both fleets, who could consider themselves friends, are obliged to do their duty to the country. And your admiral, commander and officers nobly performed it until his death.
Pochhammer's reply was no less noble.
“On behalf of all our rescued officers and sailors, I thank Your Excellency for your kind words. We deplore, as you do, the battle that took place, because in peacetime we got to know the English fleet and its officers well. We are extremely grateful for your warm welcome."
For the first time after the battle, Pochhammer behaved nobly. After returning to the harbor, Sturdee invited him to dinner. At the end of the meal, the admiral told the guest that he should offer the traditional toast "To the King!", but he would correctly understand Pochhammer if he did not drink. The German officer replied that, in accepting the admiral's invitation, he perfectly remembered the tradition of the Royal Navy. It is therefore unfortunate that Pochhammer later offered a different version of this episode. Say, when Sturdy proposed his toast, he could hardly resist the desire to break a glass on the deck.
What were the results of the battle? Invincible used 513 305 mm shells, and Inflexible - 661 of the same shell, which accounted for about 66% of the ammunition. The armored cruiser "Karnavon", despite its short participation in the firefight, fired 85 shells of 190 mm caliber and 60 shells of 152 mm caliber - almost all of them on the Gneisenau. The British flagship Invincible was the most heavily shelled by the Germans and received 22 hits, including 12 210 mm shells, 5 150 mm shells and 5 shells of an unknown caliber. 11 hits fell on the side armor, 2 below the waterline, 1 on the "A" turret, 1 on the foremast. The ship was not seriously damaged, 1 person was injured on it. The strangest thing is that the most damage was caused by shells that did not explode. One hit the bow below the waterline and flooded 2 compartments. Another hit 10 feet below the waterline under the "P" turret, made a large hole and split on the internal armored bulkhead opposite the cellar. The coal bunker was flooded, and the ship received a slight roll. Inflexible was hit by 3 shells, which caused minor damage to the 102-mm guns on the towers "A" and "X". On this ship, 1 person was killed and 3 wounded.
Thus, Sturdee's decision to fight at long range had a twofold effect. His ships escaped serious damage, but the consumption of ammunition was monstrous. Quite unexpectedly, the British found out that peacetime firing practice did not even remotely resemble a battle. We have already spoken about the suffering of the Inflexible, which was prevented from firing by the smoke of its own flagship. The senior gunner of the Invincible, Lieutenant Dannreiter, complained that the terrible vibration did not allow him to use rangefinders. As a result, Dumaresque's calculators (a primitive fire control system) turned out to be just as useless.
Now let's see how the pursuit of the Kent, Cornwall and Glasgow for the light cruisers of the Germans ended. Immediately after the admiral's order to "try to escape," they turned to the right and began to fan out, leaning south. They probably should have tried to disperse altogether. different sides, but von Schoenberg, Gaun, and Ludeke thought their best chance was to try to get to Tierra del Fuego, where they could replenish their coal supply. The Dresden, although its speed was nominally only 1 knot more, quickly broke away from its comrades. Leipzig, whose cars were in the worst condition, began to fall behind. The Kent turned out to be the most left of the British cruisers, the Cornwall was in the center, the Glasgow was on the right flank. So Ellerton relayed to Allen and Luce: "I'll take the center target (Leipzig) if Cornwall take the left (Nuremberg) and Glasgow take the right (Dresden)." But Luce, as the most senior of the commanders, had his own opinion. He relayed to Ellerton, “I'm afraid I'm moving too slowly. Having started the fight with Leipzig, I think that I should stay with you. Luce feared that Glasgow could not catch up with Dresden and Cornwall could not catch up with Leipzig. In addition, he perfectly remembered the effectiveness of the German fire. Therefore, he decided to delay the Leipzig first, so that the well-armored Cornwall could engage him. Luce slowed down a little so as not to get too far away from Ellerton, and at 1450, from a distance of 12,000 yards, he opened fire on the Leipzig with a bow 152-mm gun. Realizing that his ship would not get away from the Glasgow, Gown turned to bring the artillery of the entire side into action. In response, Luce also turned to engage the aft 152 mm gun.
“20 minutes after the fire was opened, Leipzig received the first hit. A 152-mm shell hit the superstructure in front of the third funnel, pierced the upper deck and exploded in the bunker used by the stokers. This led to a temporary pressure drop in boiler rooms No. 3 and No. 4<и временному снижению скорости. Мы сумели заделать пробоину матами и тяжелой кадкой с водой. Нашей стрельбе сильно мешало то, что можно было использовать только 3 орудия по правому борту и временами готовое орудие левого борта. На таком большом расстоянии вести наблюдение было очень трудно, и залпы следовали с большими промежутками».
However, as Luce closed to 11,000 yards, the Leipzig's marksmanship prevented him from getting any closer to bring the 102 mm guns into action. The commander of the Glasgow decided to wait until the Cornwall approached. The chase continued for about an hour, and the distance was reduced to 9,000 yards. Glasgow got 2 hits. Luce's tactics were so cautious that he was later directly accused of cowardice. But Luce was partly right. If he decided to pursue only the Leipzig and wait until the Cornwall opened fire, then he should not have risked his ship in vain. He did not know what damage the enemy had received, although one of the Glasgow shells caused a large fire in the stern of the Leipzig, which the team was unable to extinguish. But he saw that the "Leipzig" fired from the guns of the left side, chasing the "Nuremberg" "Kent", when he passed by.
Ellerton managed to give the order to open fire only at 16.17, and he had enough time to destroy the Leipzig before dark. But Luce no longer had a chance to catch up with the Dresden, as the German cruiser disappeared in a rain squall. In addition, one of the Glasgow's boilers was damaged, which prevented the cruiser from reaching full speed. One way or another, but the cruiser Lüdecke left, which Gaun's ship could not do. So he turned straight for the Cornwall and until the end of the battle he fired only at her, not paying attention to the Glasgow. Ellerton wrote:
“At 16.42, Cornwall hit him in the fore-mars and demolished him. At 17:03 I turned to starboard and opened fire with all sides from a distance of 8275 yards. As a result, the distance began to increase again, and at 17.13 I turned to the left to get closer. The weather conditions were getting worse... Temporarily we could not adjust the fire, but at 17.27 the cruiser resumed firing from a distance of 10,300 yards. Then we closed up to 9100 yards, and when I saw that we were hitting the target, I turned again to shoot with the whole side ... Now we were constantly getting hits ... At 18.06 the distance was already 8000 yards. Shortly thereafter, we noticed that the enemy was on fire."
All this time, no one fired at the Glasgow, and the cruiser received no new damage. Luce helped Ellerton as best he could, firing at the Leipzig from the same side. As the British ships closed in, their fire became effective. On the Leipzig, a large fire was blazing in the area of \u200b\u200bthe main mast, and a fire started in the bow. But the German cruiser continued to fire on the Cornwall until 1930. Senior artilleryman "Leipzig"
“Went through the guns and found out that there was no ammunition left. He said that Leipzig's defenses had been exhausted. Fires in the superstructures and on the lower decks made it impossible to stay there ... Therefore, Gaun turned to the mine officer Lieutenant Schwig and said: "Go, it's your turn." The starboard torpedo tube was prepared for firing ... From 19.50 to 19.55 3 torpedoes were fired, but there were no hits, as the enemy kept too far away. We have used our last weapon..."
The Glasgow and Cornwall ceased fire and moved closer to make sure the Leipzig was sinking. The topmast flags were lowered, but the cruiser's flag was still flying on the gaff, and Luce again opened fire at close range to finish off the Leipzig (Now he is bolder!). However, this was superfluous, Gaun had already ordered the opening of the kingstones. According to the Leipzig navigator, the behavior of the crew was excellent. Everyone was proud that the cruiser did not lower the flag. The commander made a short speech and shouted "Hurrah!" three times. in honor of His Majesty the Kaiser.
The consequences of British firing at close range were dire, although it was justified by Gaun's unwillingness to surrender.
“She literally mowed down crowded groups of people and led to a horrific massacre. Many tried to take cover behind the gun shields, but were cut to pieces by shell fragments ricocheting off the conning tower... Others jumped into the water and swam towards the enemy, but the cold water killed them. None of them escaped... In the meantime, a wave rose, and the ship began to sway... The thickened darkness and fog made it difficult to see the enemy. The survivors, led by the captain, gathered on the forecastle.
It was to them that at 20.30 Luce transmitted: "I am lowering the boats to save the crew." When the Leipzig began to list to port, Gaun gave the order to leave the ship. The cruiser was sinking rapidly. Finally, his right screw rose into the air, and the Leipzig went to the bottom with a raised flag, taking the captain with him. "I deeply regret that this brave officer was not rescued," Ellerton wrote. In total, 7 officers and 11 sailors were rescued from the Leipzig crew.
Ellerton and Luce paid tribute to the behavior of the enemy. Luce told his team: “After the battle of November 1, our only thought was to destroy those who had defeated His Majesty's weapons. And we should feel satisfaction, because we managed to take part in the destruction of the enemy squadron, which defeated us. Glasgow and Cornwall sank Leipzig at an exceptionally small cost. Luce's cruiser took 2 hits, killing 1 and wounding 4. Although Ellerton's cruiser took 18 hits, her damage was negligible - only 2 coal bunkers flooded. However, there was one small but very significant “but”. The Dresden was gone, and chasing it now was simply pointless.
However, so far it remained a mystery what ended the pursuit of "Kent" for "Nuremberg". Shortly after 1800, Sturdee radioed that he had sunk the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and requested information from the rest of his ships. Fanshawe was the first to answer. He reported that the "Macedonia" was returning to Port Stanley with the crews of 2 German coal miners. Asked what the Bristol should do, Fanshaw was ordered to link up with the flagship. But no one else responded to Sturdee's request. Then the admiral decided to move with battlecruisers to Cape Horn. He sent Stoddart to help the Orama so that the Carnavon, along with an auxiliary cruiser, could cover the British colliers, whose arrival in the Falklands was expected on December 10, from a possible attack by one of the missing German cruisers. At 2130 hours Sturdee received a message from Luce that the Leipzig had sunk and ordered the Glasgow and Cornwall to proceed to the Strait of Magellan. When the admiral learned that the cruisers had almost completely used up their ammunition, and the Cornwall, in addition, was experiencing a shortage of coal, he ordered them to return to Port William. Here he became aware of another unpleasant news - "Cornwall" can not start loading coal until the flooded bunkers are drained. Just in case, Sturdee sent the Bristol to inspect the shores of the sparsely populated island of West Falklands. He suspected that German cruisers might try to use it for temporary parking.
On the afternoon of December 9, on the approaches to Staten Island, the Invincible and Inflexible fell into thick fog. Therefore, Sturdee decided that further searches in the Tierra del Fuego region would be useless, and turned north. Gradually, the admiral began to be seriously disturbed by the complete absence of news from the Kent. So he ordered Luce to stop bunkering, take the Glasgow and Macedonia, and go in search. But before they left the harbor, Allen's ship was spotted from the top of Sapper Hill. At 3:30 p.m., the Kent dropped anchor in the harbor, and Sturdee finally learned the reason for such a long silence. The best description of the Kent's actions will be the report of its commander. Allen wrote:
“I went right behind him, ordering the engine room to develop the maximum possible speed. Officers and sailors of the engine crew made determined efforts to intercept the enemy. All available wood - ladders, chicken cages, lockers, vymbovki - was broken into pieces and sent to the fireboxes. The stokers responded perfectly to my order to increase speed. The maximum power of the machines, shown in the tests, was exceeded by 5000 HP, and the speed was supposed to exceed 25 knots. It was an absolutely incredible achievement. Shortly after the distance to the Nuremberg began to clearly decrease, at 17.00 he opened fire on the Kent from two poop guns and the left stern. I responded with a volley from the bow tower at the highest elevation, but it fell short. The first few Nuremberg shells flew over the Kent and fell astern, but the Nuremberg quickly zeroed in, the distance was 12,000 yards, but now her shooting was remarkably accurate. Shells fell into the sea around us very close to the ship. One shell hit the stern of the Kent on the starboard side and exploded on the upper deck. I fired volleys of 2 guns every few minutes at the highest elevation, trying to reach the enemy. At the same time, I performed turns in order to put into action 2 guns of the starboard bow casemate. The distance was constantly shrinking, and at 17.09 the enemy was within range of my guns. After that, I switched to shooting in volleys.
We gradually drew closer until the distance was reduced to 7,000 yards. The Nuremberg turned 8 points to port to bring all the guns on the port side into action. I also turned to the left and managed to bring him straight to the traverse. The range was reduced to 6,000 yards and I opened fire with all my starboard guns. For about a quarter of an hour we walked on a slightly converging course until the distance was reduced to 3,000 yards. The shooting of the Kent was excellent. Our shells burst, hitting the Nuremberg.
At 18:02 both ships turned to starboard and the range increased to 4,000 yards. The nose of the "Nuremberg" was engulfed in fire, and he began to lose speed. At 18.13 I passed under his nose at a distance of 3450 yards, firing several longitudinal volleys with the starboard guns. I continued turning to the right, and for some time we walked on counter courses. When he was about 2 points ahead of my starboard beam, I commanded starboard to stay on his starboard crumball. At the same time, all my guns on the left side could fire. He practically stopped and at 18.35 ceased fire. Seeing this, I ordered a ceasefire.
I went straight for him, and when I was 3,350 yards away, I saw that his flag was still raised. Since it was not noticeable that he was sinking, I ordered to open fire again from all guns. After 5 minutes, he lowered the flag. I immediately ceased fire and stopped the vehicles. He strongly sat stern with a roll to starboard and began to sink. I ordered all the surviving boats to be prepared for launching and prepared to rescue the survivors.
At 19.26 he lay down on the starboard side, capsized and sank. I saw a small group of people on the quarterdeck waving the German flag. I did my best to save as many people as possible. 3 of my boats were riddled with shells and shrapnel, and the carpenters were ordered to repair the least damaged ones. After about 20 minutes we lowered 2 boats. Although 12 people were picked up, only 7 survived. The rest died shortly after they were taken aboard (Spee's younger son Otto was not among those rescued).
I remained in the battle area until 2100, when it was almost completely dark, then I took the boats and went to the Falkland Islands. I could not transmit anything on the radio, as the projectile hit the radio room and damaged the transmitter.
I regret to report that during the battle 4 people were killed and 12 wounded. In total, "Kent" received 38 hits that did not cause serious damage. We used up 646 shells.
I am very sorry if the reason for such high losses was my approach to the enemy at a short distance. If I made the mistake of bringing my ship too close to the enemy, it was because of my too strong desire to sink him before he could escape, since there was too little time before sunset (Unlike Luce, Allen was fully acquitted in that brought his ship close to the enemy."Kent" was booked and could not expect help). I cannot adequately express my gratitude and admiration for the conduct of my officers and sailors. From the moment the enemy was first sighted to the end of the battle, they acted in the best traditions of the British fleet.
During the battle, there was one fire on board in casemate A3. The shell flew into the gun port and exploded. Several caps caught fire inside the casemate. At that moment, there was also a cap on the elevator, but, fortunately, Marine Corps Sergeant Charles Myers, who was there, showed courage and presence of mind. He dropped his cap and flooded the compartment, preventing the spread of fire (For this act of heroism, he was awarded the Medal for Outstanding Courage.). There is no doubt that the ship nearly exploded. If the cap on the elevator caught fire, the flash might well set fire to the rest of the charges, and the fire could reach the cellar before the watertight doors were battened down.
I also want to express my admiration for the brave and resolute behavior of the captain, officers and sailors of the Nuremberg in battle, which they demonstrated until the very moment of the death of their ship. They continued to fire with great accuracy and speed even after their ship had taken many hits and caught fire. The courage and discipline of officers and sailors in this battle is beyond doubt. Artillery and the organization of service on the enemy ship were delivered very effectively.
Thus, 6 weeks after his departure from the Admiralty, Sturdee completed the task assigned to him. Although the enemy took him by surprise, which would have made many admirals lose their heads and make enough mistakes, he achieved a decisive victory. It is with such complete and final victories that the history of the Royal Navy is rich. It was almost the last battle, the outcome of which was decided by one artillery. Neither aviation nor submarines took part in it, and the ships did not use torpedoes.
Churchill wrote to Fischer: “This is your merit and your good fortune. I should was to send only one hound<то есть battlecruiser> and Defense. That would be enough. But the prize was amazing. Your instinct was absolutely right." To this Fisher replied: "Your letter was pleasant ..." Nevertheless, the First Lord of the Admiralty did not doubt the significance of Sturdee's success. Churchill wrote:
“The consequences were far-reaching and affected our position literally around the world. All general tension subsided. All our activities, both military and commercial, were now carried out without the slightest interference. Within a day, we were able to recall dozens of ships to domestic waters.”
Sturdee's victory echoed loudly in all world capitals. The inhabitants of the Falkland Islands were especially pleased with her. The governor's adjutant recalled: “It was an amazing victory. Last night all the volunteers and the so-called cream of the society of Port Stanley arrived at the Governor's Mansion to drink to His Majesty the King and the Royal Navy." King George V conveyed to the admiral: "I heartily congratulate you, your officers and sailors on a decisive victory." The Admiralty echoed him: "Our thanks to you, your officers and sailors for the brilliant victory that you reported." When the Invincible and Inflexible returned to Port Stanley for bunkering on 11 December, Sturdee received similar congratulations from Jellicoe and the French and Russian Admiralties. Many of his old friends, not knowing where he was, sent their congratulations through his wife. Among them was Admiral Lord Beresford.
“Please accept my warmest congratulations on this wonderful achievement from my old friends and Chief of Staff. He perfectly used the given chance and very cleverly immediately found the enemy. He has fully avenged the death of a fine officer, Admiral Cradock..."
However, having come to his senses from the first joy, Sturdy did not forget those to whom he owes his victory. And the fact that Dresden is gone.
“This order must be read to the crews of ships built on a large scale. The Commander-in-Chief wishes to congratulate all the ships of the squadron on their success in the general battle with the enemy squadron and thanks the rear admiral, captains, officers and sailors for their personal contribution to achieving this great success. Particularly noteworthy were the zeal and steadfastness shown by all under enemy fire. But the victory will not be complete until the surviving cruiser is destroyed. As soon as the acceptance of coal is completed, further searches will be organized.”
During his stay in the Falklands, Sturdee said nothing about Luce, but treated him with exceptional coldness. Other people's mistakes unpleasantly reminded him of his own sluggishness during the transition to the south, due to which he almost missed the enemy.
Dresden lost sight of its pursuers on December 8 at about 17.00. A couple of hours later, from the intercepted radio messages, Ludeke learned that the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Leipzig were sunk. There was no news about the fate of Nuremberg. With British ships chasing the Baden and Santa Isabel, Lüdecke decided that they could not follow Spee's orders and return to Picton Island. Since he thought that the British would guard him at the entrance to the Strait of Magellan, he turned south at dusk and rounded Cape Horn. The next morning, the Dresden was at the entrance to the Cockburn Strait on the western coast of Tierra del Fuego. In the afternoon, Lüdecke anchored in Scholl Bay, where he considered himself in relative safety.
Only 160 tons of coal remained on the cruiser, so Lüdecke sent sailors to get firewood in order to have at least some kind of fuel supply. But on the evening of December 11, quite inopportunely, the Chilean destroyer Almirante Condell appeared and reminded him that he could stay in neutral waters for no more than 24 hours. Ludeck had no choice but to head to Punta Arenas, where the Dresden arrived on 12 December. Since at one time the auxiliary cruiser Otranto had received permission to stay in the port for 51 hours, Ludeke hoped to get permission to remain in the port until the Dresden filled the empty coal pits. He got a little lucky here. The order of the Chilean government, generally prohibiting refueling "Dresden" with coal, came to Punta Arenas only on December 13th. But Ludecke himself was not going to linger in the port for too long. He didn't want to be caught by the British.
Indeed, the English consul immediately announced the arrival of the German cruiser. Sturdee received his report early on the morning of 13 December and sent the Inflexible, Glasgow, and Bristol at once to Punta Arenas. The detachment was commanded by Captain 1st Rank Phillimore. A little later, Stoddart suggested sending the Carnavon and the Cornwall to survey the coast in case the Dresden eluded Phillimore and tried to slip into the South Atlantic. Sturdee agreed, and Stoddart also put to sea.
On December 8, 9 and 10, Sturdee sent a series of reports to the Admiralty describing the battle, and also informed that the Dresden had slipped away. He also said that after replenishing coal reserves, he intended to divide the squadron into 3 detachments, which would search the shores of Tierra del Fuego, Patagonia and Brazil. He also added that the ships have enough ammunition to destroy a light cruiser, but will not be able to fight the heavy ships of the enemy. Fisher and Churchill wanted to return the Invincible and Inflexible to the waters of the mother country as soon as possible. But Fischer at the same time wanted to leave Sturdee on
Falklands, although the hunt for a lone cruiser did not require the leadership of a vice admiral. Churchill easily guessed the secret motives of such a proposal. The vengeful First Sea Lord did not want to see the rain of honors that would fall on the hated Sturdee. Fischer wanted him to return only when the first enthusiasm faded. But on December 13, the Admiralty ordered Sturdee to return to England with battlecruisers. "Kent" and "Orama" were supposed to go to the Pacific Ocean, "Canopus" was supposed to guard the reefs of Abrolhos. Hunt for "Dresden" was to Stoddart with the rest of the ships.
When the Admiralty learned that the Dresden had refueled at Punta Arenas, it was forced to convey to Sturdy: "Your goal is not internment, but destruction ... Continue the pursuit." To this, the admiral replied that on December 16 he was leaving for England on the Invincible, leaving the Inflexible to look for the Dresden until December 29, when the battlecruiser was supposed to return to the Falklands for a new refueling.
But Ludecke slipped away. And then Fischer's anger flared up with renewed vigor. On December 18, the Admiralty ordered Sturdee to return immediately. The order ended with the ambiguous phrase: "Prepare a full account of the reasons for your actions after the battle ..." Although Sturdee won, this was not enough for Fisher. On December 20, he wrote to Jellicoe: “The criminal stupidity of Sturdy, who did not send a ship immediately after the battle to Punta Arenas, deprived us of the light cruisers that are now hunting for the Dresden. But Sturdy pretended not to notice the poison in Fisher's message. He calmly replied that the Inflexible would follow the Invincible to St. Vincent, where it would resupply. This was especially important, as the admiral received reports that "there are clear signs of the presence of Moltke, Seydlitz and Von der Tann within radio range of Montevideo." Sturdee offered to return the Invincible to the Falklands to link up with the Inflexible and Australia (This battlecruiser was ordered to go to England in December 1914 and stopped in the Falklands along the way.). But these precautions turned out to be unnecessary, since the Admiralty transmitted to Sturdee a few hours later: "The ships you mentioned were in the North Sea on December 16."
“Explain why the Invincible, Inflexible or some other of your ships did not go to Punta Arenas immediately after the battle to telegraph the Admiralty. And also to get information from the British Consul, given the unreliability of wireless telegraphy in your squadron.
Sturdee curtly replied: "The reasons are given in my report of 18 December." Fisher repeated his question, pointing out that the explanations received did not satisfy him. Finally, Sturdy's patience snapped. Many admirals would have protested in more restrained terms, but Fisher simply got him.
“First, the report on the battle was transmitted by wireless telegraph through the station on the Falkland Islands in Montevideo, and from there directly to the Admiralty ... If the ship had been sent to Punta Arenas, the Admiralty would not have received a report as quickly as it actually happened deed. Further, if the ship arrived there, it would be forced to leave the port after 24 hours, that is, before the arrival of the Dresden.
Second: In Punta Arenas, there was less information about the movements of the German ship than I could get.
Third: All signs indicated that the Dresden would hide for some time. As I understand it, he did this in the uninhabited regions of Tierra del Fuego, where he was discovered by the Almirante Condell, who sent him to Punta Arenas.
Fourth: Since it was expected that<судно снабжения>"Seidlitz" was with the German coal miners, it was necessary first of all to inspect the areas of Cape Horn and the Falklands before the ships returned to bunkering. Only after that it was possible to organize regular searches.
Fifth, the Invincible and Inflexible were required to survey these vast areas, and I thought it unlikely that the Dresden would proceed to Punta Arenas.
I was chosen by their Lordships as commander-in-chief to destroy 2 enemy armored cruisers, and I put all my abilities to carry out their orders. I respectfully inform you that 3 separate telegrams demanding an explanation of my actions after the battle were unexpected for me.
The Invincible was forced to call at Gibraltar for minor repairs at the dock, and arrived there on January 1st. On January 16, Sturdee's detailed report was received by the Admiralty, and Churchill decided that the winner did not deserve any criticism, but, on the contrary, was worthy of promotion. On January 21, Sturdee received an order from the First Lord of the Admiralty to be appointed commander of the 4th Battleship Squadron. But Fischer's anger has not yet subsided. When Sturdee arrived in London and appeared at the Admiralty, the First Sea Lord kept him in the waiting room for several hours and allocated only 5 minutes for a conversation! In doing so, he managed not to say a word about Sturdee's success. He only pointed out the flight of the Dresden and the fact that he had to transmit an order to return 3 times. Upon learning that Sturdee was invited to Buckingham Palace for an audience with the king, Fisher lost his head altogether. He ordered Sturdy to leave Scapa Flow immediately to the new duty station. But Sturdy still stayed in London for two days.
After the publication of Sturdee's report in the London Gazette, Fisher again fell into hysterics, but he did not succeed in seriously belittling Sturdee's merits. Ordinary Englishmen took the news of the victory with delight and pride. Sturdee received a lot of letters like this:
“The news of your victory is the best news I have ever received ... That all this was done so quickly makes your success triumphant. I share your joy to a greater extent than I can express it in words ... "
The first in the list of those awarded by the king for this battle was, of course, Sturdee. He was promoted to baronets and became the first naval officer in over 100 years to receive a title of nobility for winning a battle. The further service of Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdy proceeded smoothly, but was not marked by special events. He was promoted to admiral of the fleet in 1921 and died in 1925 at the age of 66.
The search for Dresden dragged on for another 3 months after the departure of Inflexible. Ludecke diverted significant enemy forces, but could not do anything else, he clearly lacked the talents of von Müller. Unlike the commander of the Emden, Ludecke preferred not to look for coal, but to wait for the fuel to be delivered to him. However, he still rejected the proposal of the German consul in Punta Arenas to intern the cruiser. Instead, he went to the inconspicuous Hewitt Bay, where he stayed until 26 December. After that, Lüdecke moved to the even quieter Weichnacht bay. On January 19 he was joined by the supply ship Sierra Cordoba, which on December 26 was lucky enough to elude the Carnavona. A British cruiser spotted a German transport in Chilean waters, but a Chilean destroyer was spinning right there. However, according to Ludeke, the coal reserves at the Sierra Cordoba were too small. He decided to wait for the arrival of at least one neutral collier, who were to be sent to him by German agents. Indeed, Gladstone, Josephine, Helena Wuhrmann, Bangor and Gottia went to sea. But a mutiny broke out on board the first, the second was captured on January 6 by the Carnavon near the Falkland Islands, the third was sunk by the Australia in the same area, and the last 2 were simply too late.
On January 21, Berlin transmitted orders to Dresden to attempt to return to Germany. Lüdecke refused for many reasons, but the main one was still the same problem with coal. He transmitted that he would try to break through to the western shores of South America in order to wage a cruising war in the West Indies. He would much more willingly continue to defend himself off the coast of Chile, but he was afraid that the British cruisers would find him sooner or later. Therefore, on February 14, together with the Sierra Cordoba, he went to sea. On February 19, the cruiser was 200 miles south of the island of Juan Fernandez. For some reason, Ludecke thought he would find plenty of British merchant ships here. But for 3 weeks he met only one sailing ship "Conway Castle" with a cargo of barley. Having received the last coal from the Sierra Cordoba, Ludecke sent the transport to Valparaiso, from where it again went to sea on March 3 with a cargo of 1200 tons of coal, allegedly in Callao.
It is this extreme caution that explains the failure of all attempts by the British to catch the Dresden. When it became known on 14 December that the cruiser had left Punta Arenas, Phillimore assumed she was heading for the Pacific. Inflexible, Glasgow and Bristol searched the Chilean coast, but found no one. "Carnavon" and "Cornwall" ransacked first the coast of South America, and then Tierra del Fuego. Stoddart, who led the search, began to methodically inspect every stretch of the coast, which required a lot of strength.
When Carnavon returned to the Falklands for bunkering on 9 January, Stoddart was completely baffled. It's been a month of fruitless searching. The Glasgow guarded the eastern entrance to the Strait of Magellan, and the Bristol guarded the western one, but they did not find any signs of the Dresden's presence. The admiral also had to remember that the auxiliary cruiser Prinz Eitel-Friedrich was hanging around somewhere. Another auxiliary cruiser, Kronprinz Wilhelm, was too close to the most important Pernambuco area, where regular patrols had not been conducted since the appearance of the Spee squadron. The Admiralty ordered him to send the Cornwall to the island of St. Helena hunt for the ghost of "Karlsruhe". The unfortunate Stoddart was literally torn to pieces.
Stoddart searched along the east coast of South America to the Abrolhos cliffs. But the result was not what the admiral expected. On February 22, his flagship cruiser ran into an underwater rock and, in order not to sink, was forced to run aground. But at this time, the British consul reported that the Germans in Punta Arenas continue to collect various supplies, so the Dresden must be somewhere nearby. Stoddart sent Kent, Glasgow and Bristol to search.
Finally, the British were lucky. The Admiralty deciphered a telegram from a German agent stating that on March 5 the Dresden would meet with a collier 300 miles west of Coronel. A drowning man clutches at straws, and Luce sent "Kent" to verify this message, although hopes were more than illusory. Allen arrived in the specified area only on March 7 and found nothing. However, the next day, "Kent" noticed the enemy. It turned out not to be a collier, but the Dresden itself. Although the British cruiser reached a speed of 21 knots, Lüdecke got away from the chase.
Meanwhile, Luce was joined by the auxiliary cruiser Orama, and he decided to explore the island of Mae a Tiera in the Juan Fernandez archipelago. But then Luce intercepted another German radio message, which said that the Dresden was waiting for a collier on the main island of the Mas-a-Fuera archipelago. The German cruiser did indeed anchor in Cumberland Bay on March 9 at 0800. The Chilean governor boarded the cruiser and informed Ludeka that he could stay there for no more than 24 hours. Ludecke replied that he simply could not go to sea, since only 100 tons of coal remained in the Dresden bunkers. On the same night, a radiogram came from Berlin: “His Majesty the Kaiser leaves it at your discretion to lower the flag” (that is, internment). For Ludeke, that was enough. He informed the governor that he would wait for the arrival of the Chilean warship to finish the formalities. However, at the same time, he refused to disable the Dresden machines. On March 12, he sent 4 officers on a sailboat to Valparaiso so that they could avoid internment. At dawn on March 14, the Glasgow and Orama approached the island from the west, while the Kent approached from the east. They saw the Dresden, standing right on the shore in Cumberland Bay. Luce at one time escaped after the death of Cradock's squadron, and his actions in the battle near the Falklands caused Sturdy's sharp displeasure, since it was he who allowed the Dresden to escape. Therefore, now he did not hesitate and immediately forgot all sorts of empty pieces of paper, such as international laws. Luce remembered the Admiralty's order: "The goal is extermination, not internment." At 0850, the Glasgow came within 8,400 yards and opened fire and scored hits with the first two salvos. The only thing Luce did was make sure that the buildings of the Chilean village were not in the line of fire. "Dresden" could well have agreed to an honorable surrender, but this was contrary to German traditions. When the Kent entered the battle, Ludecke returned fire. However, the German cruiser was at anchor, and her tactical position was simply hopeless. After 3 minutes, he received serious damage, and Lüdecke raised the white flag.
The German crew began to leave the ship, and Luce ordered a ceasefire. He decided to wait for the boat with the truce to negotiate. There are two versions of what happened aboard the Glasgow after the arrival of Lieutenant Canaris. The Germans claim that Canaris protested against the attack in neutral waters. According to him, the Dresden could not go to sea due to damage to the cars. To this, Luce replied that he had orders to destroy the German cruiser, wherever he is, and let the governments consider questions of international law. He asked if the Dresden had lowered the flag, to which Canaris replied that the flag was still raised on the flagpole. The English version says that Canaris protested the attack on the grounds that "Dresden" was interned. Luce replied that this was a blatant lie, and that he demanded unconditional surrender.
Which version is closer to the truth does not matter. Lüdecke sent Canaris into negotiations with the sole purpose of buying time to destroy the cruiser. He could not allow the Dresden to fall into the hands of the British. While Canaris was bickering with Luce, Ludecke brought the entire crew ashore. At 10.45, with a terrible roar, the forward cellar of the Dresden exploded. The British cruisers came within one mile to observe the sinking of the Dresden. The German team, standing on the shore, burst into joyful cries, seeing the death of their ship. But the English teams did the same. "Dresden" sank under two flags - white and German.
8 people from the Dresden team were killed, 16 were injured. Since there was no hospital on the island, Luce nobly sent them to Valparaiso aboard the Orama without insisting on internment. Ludecke and the rest of the German officers had to wait for the arrival of a Chilean warship, which transported them to an internment camp. However, the orders there were rather soft, and many Germans managed to escape. The first was, of course, Lieutenant Canaris. The international scandal subsided rather quickly. The British government pointed out that the Dresden repeatedly violated Chilean neutrality, so Captain 1st Rank Luce was forced to also violate it. However, His Majesty's Government sincerely regrets what has happened. The apologies were accepted, and with this the odyssey of the squadron of Admiral von Spee ended.
The sea mistress received a slap in the face: in the battle of Coronel, the Germans sank the British flagship and cruiser, killing 1654 sailors; which is a shame, the enemy did not suffer losses. But Germany did not savor the victory for long: revenge took place on December 8, 1914 near the Falkland Islands.
This naval battle (the world war was actively fought both on land and at sea) became another battle in the confrontation between the powerful German fleet and Great Britain claiming dominance.
Find and neutralize
After the loss of two battleships at Coronel on November 1, 1914, the naval superiority of the mother country was in big question. Now German ships could safely walk around the South Atlantic, threatening British merchant and warships.
The Royal Navy received a tangible blow to prestige, the wounded British were thirsty for retribution. More than two dozen armored cruisers, reconnaissance ships and transport ships went in search of the enemy. In the waters of the South Atlantic, to the place of the last battle, a squadron under the command of Doveton Sturdy took a course. The admiral was disliked in the department for tactical mistakes, including under Coronel, this campaign meant a lot for his future career. Another expedition was sent by the British Admiralty to the Caribbean Sea to block the Germans from passing through the Panama Canal.
Uninvited guests
Meanwhile, the German squadron of Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee, having completed its unkind mission, decided to break through the Atlantic Ocean home. Under the command of Spee were two armored cruisers, three light cruisers, as well as transport ships for transporting coal and a floating hospital. Before a long journey, it was necessary to have a little refreshment, stock up on coal and ammunition, so the Germans decided to attack the British naval base of Port Stanley, located on the Falkland Islands.
According to intelligence, at that moment no British ships were observed at the base and nearby, supposedly the British went to Africa to calm down the Boer uprising. The Germans planned to attack the radio station and rob the coal depots. In addition, they intended to take the governor of the Falklands as a prisoner - as an indicative flogging for a similar case in Samoa, where the British had arrested the German manager. A raid on the Falkland Islands seemed like a good idea, since it was assumed that the port was guarded only by the old armored cruiser Canopus. But it was not there.
From dawn to dusk
The German cruisers reached the Falkland Islands on the night of 8 December. At dawn, Spee gave the alarm and sped up. When the Germans saw the black puffs of smoke, they believed that a fire had started in the coal depots. But then pipes and masts were seen in the harbor, and then it became clear that the British never reached the Boers.
The naval battle began. The world war was a hungry abyss absorbing new victims. The first to fire was the old Canopus, a participant in the recent Battle of Coronel. The German cruisers "Geisenau" and "Nuremberg" turned on in reverse in surprise. This gave Sturdee and Stoddart squadrons time to set up a couple, have breakfast, and only then rush in pursuit of the Germans. Fearing a trap, Spee turned his ships around and ran in all four directions.
Sturdee gave the order to pursue the divided squadron and capture it before sunset. It did not cost the British much work, because their light cruisers were much more mobile and could reach high speed, unlike the heavy German battleships.
Blame Maximilian von Spee for cowardice is also not worth it. The retreat was the only right decision, because after a long journey, the Germans were running out of ammunition. They would be enough for a couple of shots, and then the cruisers would become a glorious target for the ships of the mother country.
However, the Germans did not manage to get out of the water dry. After a couple of hours, the British overtook and attacked the fugitives. The fight lasted until the evening. The squadrons were moving in a parallel course, maneuvering on the orders of the captains. Shots rumbled, many of which did not reach the target or did not cause serious damage to the enemy. The ships were shrouded in thick black smoke coming from the chimneys of coal and oil furnaces. Finally, the German ships began to roll, the sailors were waiting for ice water. As a result, most of the German ships were damaged, and those that remained afloat were sunk by the British. The German fleet lost 2110 sailors, 212 people were taken prisoner.
The two main British cruisers "Invisible" and "Inflexible" suffered from 15 accurate shots, one person was killed, three were injured. It was an English triumph, a long-awaited revenge - a dish best served cold.
Royal thanks
The British went through many battles of the First World War, but they consider the Falklands Battle to be one of the most key battles.
The results of the battle were of great importance and later reflected on the position of Britain in every corner of the world. The tension in the society subsided. English activities, both military and commercial, subsequently proceeded without any interference. And the next day we got the opportunity to recall dozens of ships of our ships to their native open spaces.
The winners of the naval battle - captains, officers, sailors - were congratulated by the English King George V. Sturdy, exiled in pursuit of the Germans, whose position was precarious in the Admiralty due to previous misses, restored his rights to the post and received the title of baron.
How different was this naval battle? World War bitterly punishes mistakes in the tactics of each battle. It must be admitted that ships of unequal class competed against the Falkland Islands. The British were in the lead not only in speed and armor, but also in the severity of volleys, so the newspapers wrote about the "battle of giants and dwarfs." British historians have sometimes blamed Sturdee for being cautious and running out of ammunition, though other World War I battles show that his tactics were justified.
The Falklands battle was an indisputable strategic victory for the British. After the crushing defeat, the German fleet was never able to regain its former power. Only one German ship "Dresden" managed to survive and escape. The peak of cruising battles came to naught.
The British and Germans made many tactical mistakes that could change the outcome of the battle, say experts in naval battles. However, history has no subjunctive mood. Misses notwithstanding, the Battle of the Falklands is deservedly included in the great naval battles of the First World War.
The German squadron did not suffer losses, and this circumstance caused serious damage to the prestige of the British Royal Navy. German cruisers were able to cross into the South Atlantic, threatening both British trade in that area and troop transports off the coast of South Africa that were being transferred to the European theater.
On the eve of the battle, on 29 October, there was a change of leadership in the British Admiralty. Lord Fisher became the first sea lord instead of Prince Louis of Battenberg. The chief of the naval staff under Louis Battenberg was Rear Admiral Doveton Sturdy. He was given primary responsibility for the sinking of the armored cruisers Hog, Aboukir, Cressy by the German U-boat U-9 and the confused instructions, together with the insufficient allocation of forces to Cradock, which led to the defeat at Coronel. Fisher had a difficult relationship with Sturdee, and immediately after his return to the position of First Sea Lord, Fisher began to press for Sturdee's resignation as Chief of Staff. To avoid rekindling old feuds, it was decided to send Sturdy at the head of a squadron to search for and destroy Spee, appointing Rear Admiral Oliver to his post.
Fisher took responsibility for weakening the line forces of the Home Fleet. On November 4, in agreement with the First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, two battlecruisers were included in the Stardee squadron - Invincible and Inflexible. The cruisers were ordered to move to Davenport. They were supposed to follow the South Atlantic. Another battlecruiser - "Princess Royal" - went to the Caribbean Sea, in case the Spee squadron broke through the Panama Canal [approx. 3]. November 12 "Princess Royal" left Cromarty (Eng. Cromarty) to Halifax.
This maneuver by the battlecruisers was quite risky, because in the North Sea, as opposed to the four German battlecruisers ("Von der Tann", "Moltke", "Seidlitz" and "Derflinger") there were only three combat-ready British battlecruisers - "Lyon" , "Queen Mary" and "New Zealand". To the fears of the commander of the Grand Fleet battlecruisers, Admiral Beatty, Winston Churchill replied that Derflinger was not yet combat-ready enough, Beatty had at his disposal the recently commissioned Tiger, and the commissioning of the high-speed battleship Queen Elizabeth was expected soon. .
The British Admiralty also redeployed other ships. The allied Japanese squadron, consisting of the armored cruisers Kurama, Tsukuba, and Ikoma, each with four 305-mm guns, was moving east from the central Pacific Ocean to the Panama Canal. The British battlecruiser Australia was heading for Cape Horn. The armored cruiser "Defense" was ordered to go to the Cape of Good Hope to connect with the cruisers "Minotaur", "Dartmouth", "Weymouth" and the battleship "Albion". In West African waters were the battleship Vinjens, the armored cruisers Warrior, Black Prince, Donegal and Cumberland, and the cruiser Highflyer. The Caribbean Sea was guarded by the battleship Glory and the armored cruisers Berwick, Lancaster and Conde. The battleship Canopus was sent to guard the base in the Falkland Islands, and off the coast of Brazil, off the reefs of Abrols, the Sturdy squadron was expected by the armored cruisers Defense (pending shipment to South Africa), Carnarvon, Cornwall, Kent and light cruisers Glasgow and Bristol. To intercept the German squadron, not counting the French and Japanese ships, the Admiralty had to attract almost 30 ships, 21 of them armored, not counting the auxiliary cruisers involved in reconnaissance.
On November 3, two days after Coronel, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Nuremberg came to Valparaiso. International laws forbade more than three ships of any of the warring parties from being in a neutral port, so Dresden and Leipzig were sent to Mas-a-Fuer. In Valparaiso, Spee received information about Japanese ships going to South America with the aim of cutting off the German ships from the Panama Canal. From Berlin came a message with advice to break through home. After standing in Valparaiso for the legally required 24 hours, the German ships reached Mas-a-Fuera.
Spee was in thought. Unlike his journey across the Pacific Ocean, when he did not stay long in ports, the German squadron spent a long time on Mas-a-Fuera. Spee knew that the ring around him was tightening, and Britain would have to send ships to the South Atlantic to capture him. The exact plans of Spee and the course of his reasoning are not known, but presumably he was going to cruise to the last, until he was caught, understanding the difficulty of breaking through to Germany. A possible reason for his delay was the rumors about the alleged breakthrough into the Atlantic "Moltke" and "Seydlitz" with ammunition for the Spee ships. The ships were loaded with coal from transports, and the combat stock on armored cruisers was equalized, as a result of which each had 445 rounds of 210-mm caliber and 1100 of 150-mm rounds. To dispel rumors of the sinking of two German ships under Coronel, the Dresden and Leipzig were sent to Valparaiso.
In response, Spee transmitted a message that his armored cruisers had used up half of their ammunition, and light cruisers even more, and he would be returning home. According to German intelligence, Rear Admiral Stoddart's unit was sent to South Africa to suppress the Boer uprising. Although this was not true, British radio communications in the area had ceased, so Spee believed the report to be true.
On the morning of December 6, at the parking lot at Picton, Spee gathered a meeting on the Scharnhorst flagship, where he brought a plan of further action to his captains. According to intelligence reports, there were no British ships in the Falkland Islands, so the Gneisenau and Nuremberg, under the cover of the rest of the ships, were supposed to destroy the radio station, coal warehouses, and also - as retribution for the capture and mistreatment of the governor of Samoa - capture the governor of the island. The operation was scheduled for December 8th. Stanley Harbor harbor consisted of two anchorages, outer - Port William and inner - Port Stanley, connected by a narrow channel. Gneisenau and Nuremberg were to reach Cape Pembroke, located at the entrance to Port William, by 8:30. "Gneisenau" was to deal with the capture of the governor and the destruction of structures in Port William, and "Nuremberg" - in Port Stanley. Both cruisers were supposed to join the squadron no later than 19:30.
The opinions of the officers regarding the proposed plan differed - the chief of staff of the captain-zur-see Filis and the captain of the "Nuremberg" captain-zur-see von Schoenberg advocated the operation, and the captain of the "Gneisenau" captain-zur-see Merker, the captain of the "Dresden" captain-zur See Lüdecke and the captain of the Leipzig, the frigate-captain Haun, considered it strategically correct to bypass the islands. The captain of the Leipzig specifically pointed out that the message about the departure of the British was obviously a provocation and that the best reaction to it would be to pass somewhere 100 miles south of the island and unexpectedly appear near La Plata.
Invincible and Inflexible departed Cromarty on 5 November and arrived at Davenport on 8 November. Before the cruise, the ships were examined in the dock, and it turned out that the Invincible was in need of urgent repairs, which should continue until Friday, November 13, until the laying of jumpers and refractory bricks between the boilers was completed. This date did not suit Fisher, and according to his order, the sea was to take place no later than November 11, and the shipyard workers, if necessary, could continue repairs on board the cruiser after going to sea.
Invincible and Inflexible left Davenport on 11 November 1914 at 16:45. Due to the remoteness of the naval base from crowded areas and censorship of newspapers, their withdrawal remained a secret. On November 17, battlecruisers replenished the supply of coal in St. Vincent, on the Cape Verde Islands. On November 24, a German radio message was intercepted, and it became clear that the Spee squadron was in San Quentin Bay on its way to the South Atlantic. Sturdee was ordered, after linking up with Stoddart's squadron, to go to the Falkland Islands.
The protection of the Falkland Islands by that time was provided only by the obsolete battleship Canopus, located in Port Stanley. Since nothing was known about the exact location of the Spee squadron after the battle at Coronel, the Admiralty believed that there was a high probability of an attack by German cruisers on a base in the Falkland Islands. On 28 November, Sturdee's squadron departed for Port Stanley. Faster colliers were sent to the Falkland Islands to get there on their own, while the rest went to the Falkland Islands under the escort of "Orama". Sturdee intended to fight at long distances, at which the 210-mm shells of the German armored cruisers could not penetrate the side of his cruisers. Therefore, battlecruisers conducted training firing at a distance of 60 cables. "Invincible", firing 32 shells, achieved one hit, "Inflexible", firing 32 shells, - three. On November 29, during firing practice, the Invincible wound a tow cable around its propeller, and the whole day was lost to release it.
For some time, the squadron was distracted by an unsuccessful search for the German auxiliary cruiser Kronprinz Wilhelm. These delays resulted in Sturdee's squadron reaching the Falkland Islands at 10:30 on 7 December instead of the Admiralty's scheduled 3 December.
The battleship Canopus was grounded in Port Stanley on November 16 and turned into a kind of coastal battery. For the ships that came in, there were only three colliers in the Falkland Islands. Carnarvon, Bristol and Glasgow began loading coal. Then the battlecruisers were supposed to load coal, with the expectation of reaching Cape Horn on December 9 to intercept the Spee squadron. "Kent" and "Cornwall" were supposed to be loaded last and then independently catch up with the squadron. According to Sturdee's plan, the Invincible and Inflexible were to take on the German armored cruisers. The slower Carnarvon was to go with the battlecruisers, while the rest of the cruisers were to be taken over by the German light cruisers.
At Bristol, in addition to loading coal, urgent repairs were carried out - a bulkhead of mechanisms. The entire squadron, excluding the Bristol, was supposed to be in two hours of readiness for a 12-knot move, one of the ships was assigned to be on duty with a half-hour readiness to develop a 14-knot move. Until Tuesday, Inflexible was on duty, then Kent was to take over. The auxiliary cruiser "Macedonia" remained on patrol, being 10 miles from the entrance to the harbor.
On Tuesday, December 8 at 6 am, Carnarvon and Glasgow completed loading, and the battlecruisers began loading. Cornwall also began dismantling one of the cars. He, "Kent" and "Macedonia" have not yet started loading coal. In this position, the squadron was caught at 7:50 by a message from an observation post on Mount Sapper Hill that two warships were approaching from the south. Sturdee ordered to stop loading and all ships to go to sea.
The German cruisers sighted the Falkland Islands at 2:30. The day was supposed to be clear and sunny, which is quite a rare occurrence for these places. At 5:30, Spee ordered a combat alarm to be played and the speed increased to 18 knots. The captain of the Gneisenau Merker reported that, due to a navigational error, she would not reach Cape Pembroke until 9:30, an hour later than planned.
At 8:30 a.m., Merker noticed thick smoke over the harbor and assumed that it was the coal depots that had been set on fire. Around 9:00 the Germans saw masts and pipes in the harbor, it became clear that Stoddart's squadron had not left for Africa. Lieutenant Commander Boucher, who was on the fore-Mars, transmitted to the Gneisenau bridge that he saw three-legged masts. Merker did not believe this report and told Spee that there were three armored cruisers, one light cruiser and two large ships like the battleship Canopus in the harbor, continuing to move towards Cape Pembroke.
At 09:25, the first volley of 305-mm guns at the Gneisenau was fired by the Canopus, forcing the German ships to turn sharply to the east. Seeing the Kent going out to sea, Merker tried to cut it off from the entrance to the harbor. But then the Gneisenau received an order from Spee to leave at full speed to the northeast. The German transports were ordered to separate and leave to the southeast, and then to Picton Island.
Spee decided not to accept the battle and leave, lining up the entire squadron heading east. By 11:00, the ships were moving in a column in the following order: Gneisenau, Nuremberg, Scharnhorst, Dresden and Leipzig. Meanwhile, the British ships were urgently breeding pairs. The Glasgow weighed anchor at 0945, followed 15 minutes later by Stoddart on the Carnarvon and the battlecruisers. At 10:00 the Germans clearly saw the three-legged masts of the Invincible and Inflexible moving towards the sea. Cornwall came out last. Sturdy gave the signal for general pursuit. The worn-out mechanisms of the German armored cruisers did not allow them to develop a speed of more than 18 knots. Sturdy understood that he had a speed advantage of 4-5 knots and it was a matter of time to catch up with the enemy. Although at 11:00 there were 19 miles between the opponents, in two hours the guns of the battlecruisers would be able to open fire, and there would still be 8 hours before sunset - enough time for a battle.
Meanwhile, the British ships continued to pursue the Spee cruisers. The Glasgow maintained contact with the German cruisers, being three miles ahead and slightly to the left of the Invincible. "Inflexible" followed the flagship's stern to the right. The battlecruisers burned coal and oil in their furnaces, and behind them curled a plume of thick black smoke. At 11:29, Sturdee ordered the speed to be reduced to 20 knots, deciding to assemble the sprawling squadron, lower the smoke, and give the crews time to dine. At 12:20, the speed was again increased and brought to 25 knots. The Carnarvon, which could not give more than 18 knots, the Kent and Cornwall, which made 22 knots, were left behind.
The battlecruisers fired 20 rounds at the German light cruiser. Leipzig began to cover bursts of close gaps. Spee, realizing that it would not be possible to evade the battle, decided to give the light cruisers the opportunity to leave and gave the order to “crumble”. Gneisenau and Scharnhorst turned 6 points (about 68 °), changing course to the northeast. "Nuremberg", "Dresden" and "Leipzig" began to go south. Sturdee provided for this in his instructions, so without a signal, Glasgow, Kent and Cornwall were turned away after the German light cruisers. And the Carnarvon, following the Invincible and Inflexible, continued to chase the armored cruisers Spee. The battle broke up into separate parts.
Some time after 13:20, Invincible fired at the leading Gneisenau, and Inflexible fired at the flagship Spee. During the turn, the Gneisenau slowed down, letting the Scharnhorst go ahead. Following the armored cruisers of Spee, the British battlecruisers also turned 7 points. After rebuilding Spee, Invincible fired at Scharnhorst, and Inflexible fired at Gneisenau. The German ships returned fire at 13:25.
The maximum firing range of the British 305-mm guns was 82.5-85 cables, the distance of actual fire was 60-70 cables. 210-mm German turret guns had a maximum range of 82.5 cables, and two casemates - 67.5 cabs. 150-mm guns had a maximum firing range of 75 cables. However, German 210-mm armor-piercing shells could penetrate the armor of battlecruisers at a distance of only 70 cables, while German ships were hit by 305-mm shells at any distance.
The distance between the opponents at that time was about 70 cables, and the German shells fell short. British ships at that moment could fire from three towers. The distance was closing as Spee turned 4 points (45°) inward. After the distance decreased to 65 cables, the German ships took a parallel course. Despite the huge difference in the weight of the broadside, the battle did not promise to be easy. At 13:44 "Invincible" received the first hit. Sturdy turned two points to the left to increase the distance and give no chance to the enemy. The distance began to increase, and by 14:00, when it reached 80 cables, the fight stopped temporarily.
Shooting at the maximum distance was ineffective, especially at the Inflexible, which was greatly hampered by the smoke from the Invincible's chimneys. Having fired 210 shells in half an hour of battle, the British cruisers achieved two hits each on the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. The destructive power of 305-mm shells was not as great as expected, and the German cruisers were practically not affected. One of the guns of tower "A" [approx. 7] The Invincible stopped firing due to a bolt malfunction.
To resume the battle, at 14:05 Sturdee's ships turned right 4 points (45 °), then another 4 points. But at that time, the German ships hid in the smoke, and when the smoke cleared, it turned out that Spee had turned and was heading south, increasing the distance to 85 cables. Sturdy increased his speed and turned on the enemy. At 14:45, when the distance was reduced to 75 cables, the British ships lay down on a parallel course and opened fire again. Spee at first followed the same course, but then after 5 minutes he turned 9 points towards the British, obviously wanting to reduce the distance in order to bring medium artillery into action. At 14:59, the distance was reduced to 62.5 cables, and the German cruisers opened fire with 150-mm guns. Sturdy maneuvered to keep a distance of at least 60 cables. The fight reached maximum tension. "Invincible" and "Inflexible" switched to rapid fire, while "Invincible" fired from all guns - the opposite tower fired across the deck.
The difference in the power of the airborne salvo began to affect. By 15:10, the Gneisenau was listing as a result of damage below the waterline, and the Scharnhorst was on fire in several places and lost its rear chimney. At 15:15, when everything was shrouded in smoke, Sturdy was forced to turn back, describing the circulation. The Inflexible became the leader for a while, the smoke no longer interfered with it, and its shooting became more effective.
The flag of Spee was cut off by a fragment, and Gneisenau sent a request: “Why is the admiral's flag lowered? Is he killed? Spee replied that he was in order, and admitted to Merker the error of his decision to go to the Falklands, raising the signal "You were absolutely right."
The shooting of the Germans was accurate, but their hits did little to reduce the combat power of the British battlecruisers. Meanwhile, the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau themselves suffered greatly from the fire of 305-mm guns. Heavy shells pierced the decks of the casemates and caused great damage to the lower compartments. At Gneisenau, casemates of 150-mm guns were badly damaged, boiler room No. 1 was flooded, a leak began in boiler room No. 3, as a result of which the speed dropped to 16 knots. Fires broke out at the bow and stern.
The Scharnhorst's situation was even more difficult. It sank 1 meter, lost the third chimney (No. 3), fires blazed in several places, and its fire noticeably weakened. Many of the casemate guns on the left side of the armored cruisers were damaged, and at 15:30 the German ships turned 10 points, becoming the port side of the enemy, resuming firing from 150-mm guns. But this did not change the situation.
By 16:00 it became clear that the Scharnhorst was dying. He noticeably slowed down, his stern was on fire, only one of the chimneys survived, but he continued to fire. Around this time, the Carnarvon joined the shooting at the Scharnhorst, but this was not for long. At 16:04, the Scharnhorst abruptly ceased fire and, with the flag raised, began to roll. His roll increased, he went on board and sank at 16:17. Since the Gneisenau was still fighting, the British ships did not stop to pick up the drowning people from the water. The water temperature was 6-7 °, and no one survived from the Scharnhorst crew.
The battlecruiser Inflexible during the operation to rescue the crew of the Gneisenau
Going head "Inflexible" tried, firing on the counter-courses on the "Gneisenau", to go behind his stern in order to go to the leeward position. But this maneuver was not supported by the flagship, which continued to go the same course. The British ships lined up in a wake column - in close formation the Invincible was the first, followed by the Inflexible and Carnarvon. The British ships were approaching the Gneisenau, but they were greatly hindered by smoke, and Sturdee had to turn west, while going on diverging courses with the ships of Spee. Visibility conditions were especially poor for the Inflexible, which, without Sturdee's order, turned 14 points to port around 17:00 and went out of action, firing under the stern of the Gneisenau. For some time, he continued to fight like that, turning to the enemy with either his right or left side, then he nevertheless returned to the wake of the Invincible.
All this time, Gneisenau fired on the Invincible. Despite the fact that it began to rain and visibility deteriorated, his fate was sealed. Fires raged in the bow and stern of the Gneisenau, its speed decreased to 8 knots, and the firing of the guns gradually subsided. At 17:15, the last hit in the Invincible armor belt was recorded. By 17:30, the German cruiser fired all 210-mm shells, turned towards the Invincible and stopped.
The British ships moved closer. The Gneisenau banked but did not lower the flag. Periodically opening fire, he received volleys from British ships in response. At 17:50 the British ships ceased fire. Gneisenau slowly boarded and capsized, sinking around 18:00. There were about 270-300 people in the water, the British ships approached the place of the death of the German ship and lowered the boats to save the people in the water. The water was very cold, and due to hypothermia and heart failure, even people raised from the water died. In total, about 200 people were raised from the water, but many of them died and were buried with honors the next day. The rescue of the victims continued until 19:30, after which Sturdy radioed for the location of the remaining cruisers, but only the Glasgow responded.
At 13:25, when the German cruisers began to leave to the southeast, the distance between them and the pursuers was 10-12 miles. The maximum speed of Dresden was 24 knots, Nuremberg - 23.5 and Leipzig - 22.4. But the machines of the German cruisers were worn out, and their real speed was less. Dresden gave 22-23 knots, Nuremberg a little less, while Leipzig was the slowest, with difficulty developing 21 knots. The German ships were in bearing formation. In the center of Nuremberg, far ahead of Dresden on the left, Leipzig was on the right.
The fastest of the British ships was the Glasgow, which gave out more than 25 knots on trials. The maximum speed of the "Kent" and the "Cornwall" of the same type with it was about 23 knots. At the same time, the Kent was considered the slowest among the ships of its type. The British armored cruisers were much better armed and armored than the German armored cruisers. The Glasgow was nominally considered stronger than any of the German cruisers.
The first among the British cruisers was the Glasgow. Behind him is "Cornwall", and the closing "Kent". At the suggestion of the captain of the Cornwall, Ellerton, the British ships were to share the targets - he took on the Leipzig, the Kent followed the Nuremberg, the Glasgow was supposed to chase the Dresden. But the captain of the Glasgow Luce, who was the most senior among the British captains in rank, decided to do otherwise. Glasgow left the outgoing Dresden and began to pursue Leipzig [approx. 8] .
At 14:53, being 4 miles ahead of their armored cruisers and 60 cables from Leipzig, Glasgow opened fire from a bow 152-mm gun. "Leipzig" joined the battle and turned to the right, opening fire. It turned out that, unlike the German 105 mm guns, this distance was greater than the firing range of the British 102 mm guns, so the British cruiser could only use one bow 152 mm gun. Glasgow also turned to the right, increasing the distance. The battle stopped temporarily, and the chase continued. Performing a similar maneuver several times, the Glasgow ensured that the Leipzig was overtaken by armored cruisers.
By 16:00, Glasgow approached Leipzig at a distance of 45 cables to bring 102-mm artillery into action. At 16:15, the British armored cruisers opened fire, but their firing range was still not enough. Kent and Cornwall shared goals. "Kent" left behind "Nuremberg", which deviated to the left, and "Cornwall" hurried to the aid of "Glasgow". The Dresden, left unattended, went to the right and soon disappeared from sight. "Leipzig" at the beginning of the battle fired at the "Glasgow". Soon the Glasgow leaned to the right, crossed the wake of the Leipzig and joined the Cornwall, firing at the German cruiser with her port side. "Leipzig" transferred the fire to the "Cornwall". The battle was fought at distances of 35-50 cables. The captain of the Cornwall maneuvered, going in relation to the Leipzig, either converging or diverging courses, in order to use the onboard guns.
The Leipzig suffered greatly from the crossfire of the British cruisers. By 18:00, it began to rain, and Cornwall, in order to speed things up, went to rapprochement and switched to liddite shells [approx. nine] . "Leipzig" caught fire, but continued to fight. By 19:30 it ran out of shells and ceased fire. At 19:50-19:55, he fired three torpedoes at the approaching British cruisers, but they did not even notice it.
The British cruisers, which had temporarily ceased fire, resumed it at 19:50, as the Leipzig had not lowered the flag. By this time, by order of the commander of the German cruiser, the kingstones were opened, and the crew gathered on deck, preparing to leave the ship. The fire of the British ships caused heavy casualties among the unarmored crew.
At 20:30 the British ships ceased fire and at 20:45 they lowered their lifeboats to remove the crew of the Leipzig. The German cruiser slowly sank to port, rolled over and sank at 21:23. The water was icy, and only a few of the escaping German sailors were able to fish out of it. As the Glasgow was lifting the last boat, Sturdee's signal reached her. After numerous course changes, the Glasgow was unable to report its coordinates, just as it could not say anything about the fate of the Kent and Nuremberg.
Damage to the armored cruiser Kent received during the Battle of Falklands
In the process of chasing the Nuremberg, the Kent squeezed everything they could out of their cars. Having reached, according to the readings of the instruments, a power of 5000 liters. from. - more than on trials - he had to go at a speed of 24-25 knots. In order to keep the pressure of the steam, additional people were involved in the work in the boiler rooms, and even the peeled wood had to be burned in the furnaces. At 17:00 "Kent" opened fire on the "Nuremberg", but its volleys fell short.
At 17:35 the situation changed dramatically. Due to wear and tear, two boilers failed at the Nuremberg, and its speed dropped to 19 knots. The distance began to shrink rapidly, and a heated battle broke out. Unlike the Cornwall, the Kent approached the German cruiser, and the distance was quickly reduced to 30 cables. When it was reduced to 15 cables, Nuremberg tried to increase it, but by this time it had already practically lost its course, and Kent overtook it, passing in front of its nose, covering Nuremberg with a longitudinal volley from a distance of 17.5 cables. By 18:25 Nuremberg had completely lost its course. Since the flag was not lowered, "Kent" opened fire from a distance of 15 cables.
By 19:00 the flag was lowered, and the Kent ceased fire, lowering the two surviving lifeboats. "Nuremberg" at 19:30 lay down on the starboard side, rolled over and sank. The search for drowning people continued until 21:00, but not everyone was saved. During the battle on the Kent, the radio room was damaged, so he could not report on the results of the battle by radio. Sturdee did not learn of the Kent's fate until the next day, when she anchored at Port Stanley at 15:30.
The fate of the auxiliary German courts was decided even earlier. "Bristol" and "Macedonia", having passed Port Pleasant and not finding transports there, went further. After 14:00 they found the Baden and the Santa Isabella at anchor. The Seydlitz, which kept closer to its squadron, was able to escape in a south-westerly direction. The Bristol overtook the Baden and the Santa Isabella and forced them to stop with shots. Fulfilling Sturdee's last order, the Bristol removed their crews and sank the ships. As it turned out later, this was a mistake, as the order was interpreted by them too formally, and Sturdee's original instructions called for the delivery of transports to Port Stanley.
In total, Invincible fired 513 305-mm shells - 128 armor-piercing, 259 semi-armor-piercing and 126 high-explosive. "Inflexible" fired 75% of the ammunition - 661 shells, including 157 armor-piercing, 343 semi-armor-piercing and 161 high-explosive. "Carnarvon" fired 85 190-mm and 60 152-mm shells. The exact number of hits on the German cruisers is not known, but it was estimated that there were about 40 each [approx. 10] .
On both battlecruisers, before the battle, they did not have time to install central guidance artillery fire control devices. Despite a fairly high percentage of hits (6-8%), the consumption of shells needed to sink two armored cruisers was enormous. For example, during the Battle of Tsushima, 4 Togo battleships used up only 446 305-mm shells. By the end of the battle, the Invincible even began to feel a shortage of shells. After the battle, only 257 shells remained on it - 12 shells in the tower "A", 112 in "P", 104 in "Q" and 29 in "X".
In total, 22 hits were recorded in Invincible - twelve 210-mm, six 150-mm and four shells of an unknown caliber. Two bow compartments and a coal pit at the P turret were flooded, which led to a list of 15 ° to the port side. 11 hits fell on the deck, two of them completely turned the wardroom, 4 hit the armor belt, four hit the unprotected side, one hit hit the "A" turret between the guns, without penetrating the armor, one hit the starboard anchor, one hit the forefoot tripod -masts, and one of the shells cut off the barrel of a 102-mm gun. Only one sailor was injured.
The Inflexible received only three hits, damaging the 102mm guns on the A and X turrets. One sailor was killed and three wounded. No hits on Carnarvon were recorded. No one escaped from the Scharnhorst crew. A total of 187 people were rescued from the Gneisenau crew - 10 officers and 52 sailors were taken aboard the Inflexible, 17 people were raised on the Carnarvon, and the rest were saved by the Invincible.
Glasgow had 2 hits, one person was killed and four wounded. 18 hits were recorded in Cornwall, while there was not a single wounded or killed. From the Leipzig crew, 7 officers and 11 sailors were rescued [approx. eleven] .
12 people were picked up from Nuremberg, but only 7 of them survived. The Kent expended 646 shells, receiving the most severe damage among British ships. He was hit by 38 shells, killing four and injuring 12 people.
Among the dead German sailors were Admiral Spee and his two sons, one of whom served on the Scharnhorst, and the second on the Nuremberg.
The Falklands battle has always been seen in British historiography as a retribution for the defeat at Coronel. Churchill, like the British public, praised Sturdee's actions and the results of the battle:
The consequences were far-reaching and affected our situation literally around the world. The general tension subsided. All our activities, both military and commercial, were now carried out without the slightest interference. Within a day, we were able to recall dozens of ships to domestic waters.
The success of Sturdy was also noted by the King of England George V, who congratulated the admiral, officers and sailors on their victory. For this battle, Sturdy, the first of the naval officers in the last 100 years, was granted a title of nobility - received a baronetcy.
Fisher and other critics of Sturdee blamed him for overly cautious tactics that led to huge overruns of shells. But, as the experience of the Battle of Jutland showed, in which three British battlecruisers took off into the air after an explosion of ammunition, a rapprochement "in the spirit of Nelson" with excellent-shooting German cruisers at a distance where their 210-mm shells could penetrate the side armor of the battlecruisers could have fatal consequences. At the same time, an increased combat distance was noted, significantly exceeding pre-war expectations. The high consumption of shells at distances of the order of 12,000 m was the result of a lack of experience in such firing and revealed the imperfection of artillery fire control devices.
The British noted the high survivability of German warships and the fact that their ammunition did not explode, as happened on the Cradock cruisers at Coronel. However, the British did not attach much importance to the poor quality of their shells. When falling into the water and hitting the hull, they often did not break, which reduced their combat effectiveness.
The actions of Glasgow captain Luce were criticized, including by Sturdee himself. Due to the fact that the Dresden got away from the chase, the British victory was not complete. The German cruiser had to arrange a new hunt. On March 14, 1915, it was discovered by the Glasgow and the Kent in the Cumberland harbor of Mas a Tierra and the Revenge class in battlecruisers. The Ripals and Rinaun that entered service, although they had high speed and powerful weapons from 381-mm guns, but, as the experience of the Battle of Jutland showed, during which three British battlecruisers took off into the air, they had too thin armor and dubious combat value. In further hostilities, the Rinaun and Repulses were used with caution by the Admiralty, and the commander of the battlecruisers, Admiral Beatty, declared that he refused to lead them into battle.
After the battle, many were puzzled as to why Admiral Spee decided to attack the Falklands base. Official British and German documents do not give an answer to this question. Kaiser Wilhelm II asked this question. German Naval Minister Tirpitz wrote in his memoirs:
It may be asked: what made this fine admiral go to the Falkland Islands? The destruction of the English radio stationed there would not have been of much use, for by reporting that "the German squadron is here," it would have completely fulfilled its purpose. Perhaps this undertaking was due to the fact that brave sailors, unaware of the state of affairs, feared that the war would end before they could again prove themselves. The victory at Coronel made our German countrymen all over the world even more proud of their origin, and the death of the crews of the ships, which, led by Count Spee and his two sons, refused to surrender, filled all hearts with respect and regret.
In 1933, a former German military intelligence officer who moved to Britain (English ) in 1915. According to this source, the reason for Spee's actions was a direct order from Berlin. The fake telegram was encoded in German naval code and sent by a British intelligence officer from the Berlin telegraph office.. In this telegram, the admiral allegedly ordered to destroy the radio station and capture the governor in the Falkland Islands. The deciphering of the German secret codes became possible thanks to the receipt of a signal book from the German light cruiser Magdeburg, which landed on stones near the island of Odensholm at the mouth of the Gulf of Finland. Documents found by Russian divers were handed over to the British Allies.
The Dark Invader. Wartime Reminiscences of a German Naval Intelligence OfficerHowever, this version contains a number of flaws, which some historians draw attention to, for example Yezhov M. Yu. First, there are inconsistencies in time. The secret department of the British Admiralty, the so-called "room 40", was organized only on November 8, 1914. It took Russian specialists about a month to decipher the code. Approximately the same time should have been needed for British specialists. And the telegram had to be sent before December 6th. At the same time, it still took some time to bring the agent to Germany. Therefore, there was simply not enough time to decrypt the code and send a telegram. An indirect sign is also called the fact that the first decrypted telegram is considered to be the decoding on December 14 of the message about the departure of German battlecruisers to shell the British coast, which was already after the Falkland battle.
Secondly, as Winston Churchill noted, knowledge of the German naval cipher was one of the most closely guarded secrets of the British Admiralty. In order not to show the enemy that the code was deciphered, the British Admiralty did not even pay attention to some of the operations of the German fleet. The operation in the minor theater that was the Battle of Falklands was not worth the risk of the enemy realizing that his code had been deciphered. Thirdly, the Admiral Staff gave Spee greater freedom of action, as early as November 8, allowing Spee to act at his own discretion. Therefore, a direct indication of the commission of a risky action could arouse the suspicions of the German admiral.
In German and British historiography, the version that Spee was misled by incorrect intelligence data, which showed that there were no British ships in Stanley, is the most widespread version. The British historian Wilson believes that information about the capture of the German governor in Samoa could have influenced Spee's decision, and therefore, in retaliation, he decided to capture the governor of the Falkland Islands. German Rear Admiral Raeder also points out that at least the first impetus for the decision to attack the Falkland Islands was the message that an English squadron was sent to South Africa, and the message from the Amasis steamer received before moving to Picton, confirming it, most likely became decisive . Although this operation was not optimal in terms of inflicting maximum damage on the British (compared to the covert passage to La Plata and the subsequent attack on English merchant ships), however, Count Spee, like his chief of staff, Captain zur See Filis, considered it necessary use every opportunity to win a military victory in order to provide the squadron with an honorable part of the success of the fleet. In the light of the situation on the ocean fronts and the prospects for further supply of coal and ammunition to his cruisers, Spee was quite critical of the remaining viability of his cruisers and, accordingly, the possibility of a long cruising war or a successful return to the North Sea. He expressed this point of view in informal conversations to the commanders of his ships, which is confirmed by both survivors - the captain of the Dresden, captain zur see Ludeke and the captain of the Prinz Eitel Friedrich, corvette captain Tirichens.
In favor of the version of the coincidence of the meeting of both squadrons near the Falkland Islands, the fact that the Sturdee squadron was supposed to leave for Cape Horn the next day also speaks. And the Spee squadron, according to the original plans, was supposed to approach the Falkland Islands a few days earlier, and only an unforeseen delay at Picton Island for refueling with coal led to the attack on Port Stanley on December 8th.
December 8 was declared a public holiday in the Falkland Islands. Every year on this day there is a grand parade and ceremony, which includes a demonstration of the air force and the navy. On February 26, 1927, a memorial dedicated to the Falklands battle, built with funds raised, was opened in Port Stanley on Ross Road. On June 30, 1934, while launching, Spee's daughter, Countess Hubert, broke the traditional bottle of champagne on board. Designed specifically for raider operations, Graf Spee was also in the spring of 1945, and Scharnhorst took part in attacks on Arctic convoys going to the Soviet Union, and during one of them was sunk in December 1943 in
The Falklands War is a confrontation between England and Argentina for control of the Falkland Islands. Interestingly, neither Argentina nor Great Britain formally declared war on each other, from the point of view of both sides, the hostilities represented the restoration of control over their legal territory.
On the night of May 21, 1982, British ground forces landed in San Carlos Bay, where the Argentines least expected an enemy landing attack. Almost a month later, the war ended. The victory was won by Great Britain, which controls the islands to this day.
We present you a small photo chronicle of this confrontation.
Tens of thousands of Argentines gathered at the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires to show their support for President Leopoldo Galtieri on April 10, 1982.
On March 19, 1982, several dozen Argentine workers landed on the uninhabited island of South Georgia, administered from the Falkland capital Port Stanley, on the pretext that they needed to dismantle an old whaling station. They raised the Argentine flag on the island. English soldiers tried to expel the Argentines, but troops came to the aid of the workers.
Aftermath of the Battle of Goose Green, Falkland Islands
On April 2, 1982, Argentine troops landed on the islands and, after a short battle, forced the capitulation of the small garrison of British marines stationed there. After that, a large British naval formation was immediately sent to the South Atlantic with the aim of returning the islands.
Argentine soldiers make military deliveries shortly after the invasion of the Falklands, April 13, 1982.
On April 7, 1982, the British Minister of Defense announced the establishment of a blockade of the Falkland Islands from April 12, 1982 and the establishment of a 200-mile zone around the islands, while staying within which the ships of the Argentine Navy and merchant fleet would be sunk. In response, the Argentine government imposed a ban on making payments to English banks, and in response to economic sanctions from the West, Buenos Aires banned Lufthansa, Air France, KLM and a number of other airlines from flying to the country.
The Argentine cruiser General Belgrano is wrecked after being hit by a torpedo from the British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror on May 1, 1982. Argentine and Chilean courts managed to save 770 people while 323 were killed
Helicopter delivers ammunition to the British Army
On April 25, British forces landed on the island of South Georgia. The Argentine garrison capitulated without putting up any resistance.
British frigate HMS Antelope after being hit by an Argentine missile
Argentine soldiers take up positions near the San Carlos Strait in May 1982.
The Argentine-British conflict lasted 74 days. The decisive battle took place on May 2, 1982, when a British nuclear submarine sank the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano. 323 people died. After that, the Argentine navy capitulated.
An Argentine army general who was considered governor in Stanley during the 73 days of the war addresses his troops in Darwin, May 25, 1982.
Gunsmiths prepare torpedoes on the British aircraft carrier HMS Hermes, while Sea King helicopters monitor the possible appearance of Argentine submarines, May 26, 1982
Thick smoke rises from the British frigate HMS Antelope in Ajax Bay on May 24, 1982. Four Argentine A-4B Skyhawks attacked a British frigate the day before. During the attack, a bomb was dropped on the ship, which British technicians unsuccessfully tried to neutralize. It exploded, starting a fire and killing 2 crew members.
Argentine military patrol the Falkland Islands, the city of Port Stanley
Hundreds of Argentines gathered outside a store in Buenos Aires to get the latest military news, May 21, 1982.
On June 14, 1982, Argentina capitulated (the war officially ended on June 20). During the conflict, 258 Britons (including three islanders) and 649 Argentines died.
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
The Falklands War led to a surge in Margaret Thatcher's popularity and her re-election as prime minister in 1983.
Argentine POWs at Port Stanley, June 17, 1982. By the end of the conflict, over 11,000 Argentines had been taken prisoner.
British flag near Ajax bay
In March 2013, the Falkland Islanders took part in a referendum on the political affiliation of the archipelago. 99.8% of those who voted were in favor of retaining the status of a British Overseas Territory for the Falklands