East Asia Squadron

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The East Asian Cruiser Squadron was a ship association of the Imperial Navy to enforce and secure national interests in the East Asian and South Pacific region. Under the broader term East Asia Squadron , it developed in several stages from 1859 to 1897. At that time, the German Navy in the Pacific did not yet have its own bases. The ships were therefore dependent on foreign ports for repairs and fuel supply, which often resulted in waiting times and high costs. This changed in 1897. The East Asian cruiser division with the flagship Kaiser took over the bay of Kiautschou in 1897 . The East Asian Cruiser Squadron existed with a fixed base under this name and with cruisers as flagships from 1898 until its destruction in 1914.

Contemporary postcard: the tank frigate SMS Deutschland (1876) and the small cruiser SMS Gefion (1893), bottom left is the port entrance to Kiautschou

history

Emergence

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Asia-Pacific region came into the interests of European powers and the USA. Great Britain forced a large opening of China to foreign trade in the Opium Wars of 1839-1842 and 1856-1860 , and the United States similarly opened Japan in 1854 .

German shipping companies also took part in East Asia trade early on. As early as the middle of the 18th century, ships of the Prussian Emder East Asian trading company had been trading in the sea . The visit of the full ship mentor of the state Prussian maritime trade in the region in 1824 marked the beginning of regular shipping connections in the period after the coalition wars.

It quickly became apparent that foreign merchants in China found it very difficult to go about their business without military support from their homeland. German and above all Hamburg merchants were dependent on the help of other navies such as the British Royal Navy , since Germany, which was only loosely organized in the German Confederation , did not have its own navy (see History of the German Navy ). Only after the establishment of a Prussian navy could one fall back on one's own resources.

The thetis at anchor. The Thetis was a ship of the Prussian East Asia Expedition , which left Germany in 1859.

In 1859 Prussia sent a squadron of four ships for the first time , the Prussian East Asia Expedition , under the leadership of Count Friedrich zu Eulenburg, to East Asia in order to underline the military support for German trade and to conclude trade agreements. On September 2, 1860, the squadron got into a typhoon off Yokohama, in which the schooner Frauenlob sank with its entire crew of five officers and 42 men.

The association remained in the region until 1861. At the same time, efforts began to acquire a naval base in East Asia. These efforts were not completed until 1897 with the occupation of Kiautschou by an expeditionary force of the cruiser squadron of Rear Admiral Otto von Diederichs .

A permanent German naval presence in East Asia was established in 1869 with the creation of the "East Asian Ship Station", which was initially manned by only one ship, the Corvette Medusa . At this point in time, the Prussian Navy had already merged into the Navy of the North German Confederation , from which the Imperial Navy emerged in 1871 after the establishment of the Empire . The station was temporarily strengthened by small squadrons that visited the region for certain assignments, but were disbanded after they were completed.

On April 1, 1881, the covered corvette Stosch was put into service in order to take over the function of the flagship of the warships stationed there in East Asia . On September 3, 1881, the ships of the newly formed East Asia Squadron were united in Tschifu for the first time . Commodore Louis von Blanc was from 1881 to 1882 at the same time commander of the Stosch and first chief of the squadron. He was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1883. The East Asia Squadron was disbanded in early 1885 after the Stosch (now classified as a cruiser frigate ) had been moved to Mauritius to set up a new East African cruiser squadron .

The East Asian Cruiser Division

SMS Irene in China

In the following year 1886 the East African cruiser squadron was converted into a " permanent cruiser squadron " under Rear Admiral Eduard von Knorr , which operated in the region between the east coast of Africa , Australia and the west coast of South America . This squadron was disbanded on April 6, 1893 for cost reasons. However, the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 forced all the great powers to re-increase their presence in East Asia. The order to disband was then changed again and the remaining ships of the squadron, the cruiser corvettes Arcona and Alexandrine , the corvette Marie and the stationaries of the East Asian naval station , the gunboats Wolf and Iltis , formed the East Asian cruiser division . Arcona , the flagship of the division, Alexandrine and Marie did not arrive on site until autumn 1894 after a mission in Peru and were initially in Yantai, China . In February 1895 SMS Irene also arrived in Yantai and under Rear Admiral Paul Hoffmann, the Irene now became the division's flagship.

After the two German Catholic missionaries Franz Xaver Nies and Richard Henle of the Steyler Mission in China were murdered on November 1, 1897 , Emperor Wilhelm II, who was looking for a pretext for establishing a German base in China, ordered the occupation of Kiautschou Bay . Under Rear Admiral Otto von Diederichs, the cruiser division occupied the fishing village of Tsingtau with Kaiser , Prinzess Wilhelm and Cormoran on November 14th . The ships put a landing corps of 717 men under the commandant of the emperors , Sea Captain Hugo Zeye , on land and announced an ultimatum to the commander of the Chinese unit stationed there, which asked him to withdraw. On November 17th, the Arcona from Shanghai and on December 2nd also the Irene from Hong Kong arrived. All German warships were gathered on site. There was no military resistance and on December 2nd the Germans also hoisted the German flag in Kiautschou, 33 km away.

Since the German Reich government and the Reichsmarineamt expected considerable difficulties in enforcing the base issue, a second cruiser division under the Emperor's brother, Prince Heinrich of Prussia , was dispatched from home in 1897 . In May 1898, both cruiser divisions were combined to form the East Asian Cruiser Squadron and von Diederichs was appointed head of the newly formed East Asian Cruiser Squadron.

1900 to 1914

Chronicle of the most important events of the cruiser squadron up to its end in December 1914.

Admiral Bendemann in China (around 1901)
Soldiers of the Imperial Navy in Tsingtau
Tsingtau : port entrance (1912)
1900

The new armored cruiser Fürst Bismarck marches from Kiel to Tsingtau and is taken over as flagship by the squadron chief Vice Admiral Bendemann on August 17th . Bendemann puts his political and military test to the test with the leadership of the East Asian squadron in the Boxer War . For this purpose it is enlarged considerably (cruiser vulture , swallow , buzzard , sea ​​eagle , gunboat tiger, lynx , torpedo boats S 90 , S 91, S 92 and hospital ship Gera ). As a further reinforcement, a "detached division" , consisting of the liner ships Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm , Brandenburg , Weissenburg , Wörth and the small cruiser Hela , arrives in Hong Kong on August 28th. An international fleet with at times up to 250 warships from twelve countries, including 24 German and about 70,000 land troops, including around 17,000 German, are deployed to intervene. During the occupation of the fortified ports of Shan-hei-kwan and Chin-wan-tau, Bendemann called in the four ships of the line, but the warships were not used by artillery.

1901

Scheduled individual and association exercises are carried out. In June, the cruiser Hansa goes to Sydney and Melbourne to take part in the founding celebrations of the Australian Federation . Charter of the freighter Titania as a permanent escort steamer. The cruisers Hela , Irene and Gefion will be ordered back home in May. After the end of the Boxer War, the peace-based organization of the German land and naval forces came into force again in July. The Fürst Bismarck visits Japanese ports with Geier , S 91 and S 92 , then Tschifu and Port Arthur . In October the squadron goes on a cruise in Japanese waters, then the Fürst Bismarck goes to Nagasaki for repairs .

1902

In Singapore, Vice Admiral Bendemann hands over the command of the squadron to Vice Admiral von Geissler on February 15 . The cruiser Thetis joins the formation. The cruiser vulture replaces the swallow . In April, the vulture , swallow and lynx are used against unrest in the hinterland of Ning Po . This is followed by visits by the squadron to Japan , Singapore and the Dutch East Indies . The Fürst Bismarck spends the year mainly in the northern station area.

1903

The flagship with the Hansa and the Thetis will be in front of the Yangtze River until mid-March . It then pays a visit to Japan, and Emperor Mutsuhito grants the guests an audience . A visit to Vladivostok takes place at the beginning of August . On November 15, Rear Admiral von Prittwitz and Gaffron replaced the squadron chief. The Bismarck goes for overhaul to Nagasaki. The cruiser Sperber arrives in the station area.

1904

There is a hegemony dispute between Russia and Japan in the area of ​​the Sea of ​​Japan. Germany tries to maintain neutrality. Russian auxiliary cruisers wage war on the oceans from summer . Although German merchant ships are also affected, the intervention of German warships is limited to shooting down Russian drifting mines and interning Russian warships in Tsingtau. The Hertha is ordered to return home in the Dutch East Indies. The Fürst Bismarck cruises in the area of ​​the Yellow Sea.

1905

New unrest in the central Chinese provinces force warships to be stationed there by March. The vulture begins its journey home, the sparrowhawk moves to the West African station . When the Russian II Pacific Squadron approaches the Japanese fleet, the squadron chief pulls the German ships together to Tsingtau. After the naval battle of Tsushima , the German ships begin their cruises again. The white-tailed eagles and the thetis are called to East Africa. On November 11th, Rear Admiral Breusing took over the squadron. Unrest in Shanghai is forcing gunboat surveillance trips off the coast and landing operations.

1906

In January and February, the Fürst Bismarck cruises through the Indonesian archipelago. The ships stationed off Shanghai can be withdrawn. A visit to Japan takes place in May. From there a trip to Beijing and a reception by the Chinese emperor takes place. The cruiser Hansa begins its journey home. The Niobe replaces the Thetis . In December the cruiser Leipzig joins the squadron.

1907

Indonesia and Japan are toured. On April 13th, KAdm Coerper replaced the squadron chief. He first found out about German economic interests in China on a trip with the Tiger on the Yangtze River. He then visits Japan with his flagship. The new tender and mine- layer reaches Lauting , dismantled in parts, Tsingtao, is reassembled there and put into service. In October the cruiser Arcona joins the squadron.

1908

There is still no trip to the northern station area. The only thing worth mentioning is a visit to the King of Siam in January.

1909

At the beginning of the year the Leipzig , Arcona and Titania were detached to German Samoa to suppress unrest (see article Mau a Pule ). The Niobe and Prince Bismarck take the trip home. On April 29, the Scharnhorst in Colombo takes over from the Fürst Bismarck as a squadron flagship. On May 18, Rear Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl becomes the new squadron commander. In July and August there is a tour of the northern and in November of the southern station area. The squadron spends Christmas and the turn of the year in Hong Kong.

1910

In January the Scharnhorst , Leipzig and Luchs travel to Manila via Bangkok, Sumatra and Borneo. The cruiser Arcona is replaced by the Nürnberg . In April and May the Scharnhorst and Leipzig undertake an inspection in Japanese waters. Back in Tsingtau, Rear Admiral Erich Gühler takes over command of the squadron from Rear Admiral von Ingenohl on June 6th. Then the tour of the station area in the South Pacific takes place. There the small cruiser Emden joins the squadron. On September 19th, the Scharnhorst arrives back in Tsingtau with the Emden . A trip to Nanking and Hong Kong begins in November. Squadron commander Guehler breaks his foot and has to go to Hong Kong to the hospital; there he contracted a severe typhoid infection.

1911

The Nürnberg and Emden are sent to pacify the uprising of the Sokehs in Ponape . The Scharnhorst travels to the Southeast Asia station area to Saigon, Singapore and Batavia. The Xinhai Revolution begins in China. For this reason, the Scharnhorst returns to Tsingtau. Squadron commander Gühler dies in Hong Kong; he will be replaced on March 25 by Rear Admiral Günther von Krosigk . The Gneisenau joins the squadron. In April and May the Scharnhorst travels to Japanese waters, in July to the northern station area. She then visits ports on the Yellow Sea. In October, the revolutionary movement in China under Sun Yat-sen in the Nanking area comes to a full break. Squadron chief Krosigk drives the S 90 torpedo boat up the Yangtze to Hankau. It is not necessary, however, for the ships to intervene at the focal points of the revolution. The Scharnhorst visits Taku, Shifu and Shanghai.

1912

The revolution in China continues. Patrols are conducted off the central China coast. In April the Scharnhorst cruises in Japanese waters. Then the tour of the Yangtze River by Rear Admiral von Krosigk takes place on the Nuremberg . The Japanese Emperor Mutsuhito dies on July 30th . Representatives of the squadron attend the memorial service and the coronation of Emperor Yoshihito . In September General Inspector Prince Heinrich of Prussia visits the squadron in Tsingtau. Then Rear Admiral von Krosigk travels the Yangtze River on the Luchs . On December 4th, the squadron chief was replaced by Rear Admiral Count Maximilian von Spee .

1913

The Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau are on a Southeast Asia trip from Amoy to the Sunda Archipelago to Singapore and Batavia. A trip to Japan follows in April, where Emperor Yoshihito welcomes him. Then the Yangtze River is traveled via Nanking to Hankau on the Nuremberg . In July the squadron moves to the South Pacific station area. On July 21, it was recalled to China in Rabaul because of a trouble spot in the Shanghai-Wusung area and on the Nanking-Tientsin railway line. A strong international fleet is coming. The Chinese fleet remains loyal to Prime Minister Yüan Shih-Kai. The uprising is put down without the intervention of foreign forces. After political calm began, voyage to Japanese waters in November.

1914

The Scharnhorst takes a trip to the South Seas. She will return to Tsingtau on March 19th via Sumatra, Borneo and Manila. In May the now promoted Vice Admitral of Spee visits Port Arthur and Taku. The squadron then equips itself for a trip to the South Seas. Due to the political tensions in Europe (assassination of the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne in Bosnia-Herzegovina ), Graf von Spee pulls together the squadron in Ponape , where a large coal store is available to him. The mobilization order arrives on August 1st . Japan joins the Entente on August 13th . Then the squadron can no longer count on Tsingtau as a base. Graf von Spee decides to seek military confrontation with the British and leads the squadron to battle in South America. The small cruiser Emden was detached for the cruiser war and released from the East Asia squadron on August 14th.

First World War

Routes and stations of the East Asia Squadron 1914/15
The East Asia Squadron (in the background) leaves Valparaíso in Chile on November 4, 1914. Chilean cruisers in the foreground

Due to the imminent entry of Japan into the First World War , the squadron, consisting of the large cruisers Scharnhorst ( flagship ) and Gneisenau as well as the small cruisers Nuremberg , Leipzig and Dresden , marched from the East Asian region under the command of Vice Admiral Maximilian Graf von Spee from August 1914 towards the eastern Pacific.

In the months after the outbreak of war, the naval units of the Western Allies and Russia in the Western Pacific initially limited themselves to securing sea trade routes. Japan's entry into the war particularly pursued the annexation of German possessions in the South Seas, which is why the Japanese fleet initially supported the occupation of these areas. The Graf Spees squadron was therefore initially able to operate relatively unmolested. The fleet first appeared in front of the German colony of Samoa, which was now occupied by New Zealand troops, but, contrary to expectations, did not attack the enemy forces in the capital Apia and ran further east. Eventually Papeete, in Tahiti , France , was reached and shot at. The gunboat Zélée sank . Otherwise, in addition to target practice - the Scharnhorst was considered the best ship in the entire navy in this respect at that time - the supply of fuel (coal) was always in the foreground of all Graf Spees plans. In October 1914, a bay near Hanga Roa on Easter Island served as a supply meeting point for the delivery of coal from escort ships .

It was not until autumn 1914 that the Allies intensified their efforts to locate and locate the German units. Between the East Asia Squadron and a pursuing British unit under Vice Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock , it came to a sea ​​battle at Coronel on November 1, 1914 off Coronel ( Chile ) . The German squadron was able to sink the two outdated British armored cruisers Monmouth and Good Hope without any losses . This was the Royal Navy's first defeat since 1814. However, the German cruisers had used about half of their ammunition in this battle.

Because of the poor supply situation for the German squadron, Graf Spee decided, after a short stay in Valparaíso (Chile), to break into the Atlantic with Germany as his destination. However, the British Admiralty was determined to destroy the German association. The then First Lord of the Admiralty , Winston Churchill , sent a strong ship formation to the Falkland Islands to track down the German squadron in the South Atlantic and to provide it. The core of this association were the two modern battle cruisers Invincible and Inflexible .

On December 8, 1914, Graf Spee attempted to attack the British naval base at Port Stanley on the Falkland Islands in order to use the coal reserves suspected there for the planned march to Germany. After the destruction of Cradock's squadron at Coronel, Graf Spee expected to find the base empty. Instead, he met a far superior squadron under Vice Admiral Sir Frederik Doveton Sturdee , which had the order of the Falkland Islands to search the east coast of South America for the German squadron and only happened to be in Port Stanley. As soon as Graf Spee recognized the situation, he immediately turned away. Sturdee was surprised to find the enemy here and accordingly unprepared. So it took a while for the British ships to have enough steam pressure to be able to leave. That gave the East Asia Squadron a head start for the time being. When the British finally left, the two battle cruisers in particular were able to bring their high speed to bear and soon overtake Graf Spee's squadron. Graf Spee was forced to face the fight with Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in order to at least allow the small cruisers to escape.

Small cruiser SMS Dresden

So it came to the sea ​​battle in the Falkland Islands , in which four of the five German ships were sunk. Over 2,000 German seafarers, including Graf Spee and his two sons, were killed.

Only the small cruiser Dresden , with max. 26 kn the fastest ship of the German squadron with modern turbine propulsion, was initially able to escape with the help of a rising fog bank, but was on March 14, 1915 in a bay of the Robinson Island belonging to Chile by British ships, including the Glasgow , which the Had survived the battle in front of Coronel, discovered and fired upon in defiance of Chilean neutrality. Since the Dresden had hardly any ammunition left and only 80 tons of coal, neither a fight nor an escape were possible and the ship was sunk by the crew themselves. That ended the story of the East Asia Squadron.

Ships of the East Asia Squadron

Sailing corvette SMS Arcona

1859 to 1861

Under Commodore Henrik Ludvig Sundevall

In 1862 the remaining ships returned to Germany.

SMS Vineta
The cruiser corvettes SMS Olga and SMS Carola in dry dock in Singapore , 1880s
Cruiser corvette SMS Arcona
Large cruiser SMS Kaiserin Augusta

1876, June to August

Under Commodore Count Alexander von Monts

1881 to 1893

1894 to 1900

In October 1894, the East Asian Cruiser Division was established.

In December 1897, the 2nd Cruiser Division was set up.

  • Great cruiser Germany --- flagship December 1897 to May 1898
    • Large cruiser SMS Deutschland ; December 1897 to 1900
    • Large cruiser SMS Kaiserin Augusta ; December 1897 to March 1902
    • Small cruiser SMS Gefion ; December 1897 to April 1901

In May 1898, both cruiser divisions were combined to form the East Asian cruiser squadron.

Large cruiser (armored cruiser) SMS Fürst Bismarck

1899 to 1914

  • Large cruiser SMS Hertha ; February to August 1900 flagship of the squadron
  • Large cruiser SMS Fürst Bismarck ; August 1900 to April 1909 flagship of the squadron.
    • Large cruiser SMS Kaiserin Augusta ; Leaving Smyrna for East Asia on November 8, 1897, on March 6, 1902, starting his journey home.
    • Large cruiser SMS Hertha ; April 11, 1899 to East Asia, February to August 1900 flagship, December 31, 1904 start of the journey home.
    • Large cruiser SMS Hansa ; August 16, 1899 to East Asia, July 4, 1906 departure for home.
    • Large cruiser SMS Fürst Bismarck ; June 30, 1900 to East Asia, August 1900 to April 1909 flagship, started on April 8, 1909 home.
    • Small cruiser SMS Irene ; November 17, 1894 to East Asia, June 27, 1901 journey home with the Gefion .
    • Small cruiser SMS Gefion ; December 16, 1897 to East Asia, travel home on June 27, 1901.
    • Small cruiser SMS Thetis ; December 1, 1901 to East Asia, August 28, 1905 journey home via East Africa ,
    • Small cruiser SMS Sperber ; Commanded from East Africa to East Asia on October 9, 1903, commanded to West Africa on April 25, 1905.
    • Small cruiser SMS Niobe ; July 9, 1906 to East Asia, started on January 31, 1909, journey home.
    • Cargo ship Titania (1916 GRT); chartered on May 4, 1901 by the German Reich as escort steamer for the East Asia Squadron (correspondence shipping company H. Diederichsen). Bought March 28, 1910 and used up by 1914.
Large cruiser SMS Scharnhorst
  • Large cruiser SMS Scharnhorst ; April 1, 1909 to East Asia, April 1909 to December 1914 flagship of the squadron, sunk in a naval battle in the Falkland Islands on December 8, 1914
    • Large cruiser SMS Gneisenau ; November 10, 1910 to East Asia, December 8, 1914 sunk in a naval battle near the Falkland Islands
    • Small cruiser SMS Leipzig ; 8 September 1906 to East Asia, 8 December 1914 sunk in a naval battle near the Falkland Islands
    • Small cruiser SMS Arcona ; August 27, 1907 to East Asia, started home travel March 24, 1910, canceled in 1930, anti-aircraft battery during the war
    • Small cruiser SMS Nuremberg ; February 14, 1910 to East Asia, December 8, 1914 sunk in a naval battle near the Falkland Islands
    • Small cruiser SMS Emden ; April 12, 1910 Arrival via South America and the Pacific. Discharged from the East Asia Squadron on August 14. Sunk 9 November 1914 near the Cocos Islands
Gunboats
  • Gunboat SMS Iltis ; February 6, 1899 to East Asia, 1914 scuttled in the port of Kiautschou
  • Gunboat SMS Jaguar ; June 1, 1899 to East Asia, 1914 scuttled in the port of Kiautschou
  • Gunboat SMS Tiger ; June 17, 1900 to East Asia, 1914 self-sinking in the port of Kiautschou
  • Gunboat SMS Luchs ; July 7, 1900 to East Asia, 1914 scuttled in the port of Kiautschou
  • Steam launch SMS Schamien ; October 1900 in service on Pearl River , sold February 1904
  • River gunboat SMS Tsingtau ; In service on Pearl River in February 1904, launched in 1914, submerged in 1917
  • River gunboat SMS Vorwärts ; March 1901 in service on Yangtze , sold June 1910
  • River gunboat SMS Vaterland ; May 1904 in service on the Yangtze, launched in 1914, confiscated in 1917
  • River gunboat SMS Otter ; In service on the Yangtze in February 1910, launched in 1914, confiscated in 1917
Torpedo boats
Small cruiser SMS Schwalbe
Reinforcements in the Boxer War
  • Small cruiser SMS Schwalbe ; Ordered from East Africa to China on July 5, 1900, journey home on August 16, 1902.
  • Small cruiser SMS Bussard ; Ordered July 10, 1900 from East Africa to China, April 26, 1904 return to East Africa station
  • Small cruiser SMS Geier ; Ordered from Acapulco to China on July 9, 1900 , travel home on January 14, 1905
  • Small cruiser SMS Seeadler ; August 1900 detached from the South Seas Station to the East Asia Squadron, released again as a South Seas Stationary on June 28, 1905.
  • Torpedo boat S 91 ; 26 July 1900 departure, 6 March 1902 journey home with Empress Augusta and S 92 started
  • Torpedo boat S 92 ; July 26th 1900 departure, March 6th 1902 journey home with S 91 and Empress Augusta started
  • Hospital ship SMS Gera , from July 26th 1900 to May 24th 1901 the chartered steamship of the NDL served the East Asian Expeditionary Corps as a hospital ship; on her departure (reached Shanghai on October 6th) she was carried by the torpedo boats S 90 , S 91 and S 92 accompanied.
The ship-of-the-line division in Chinese waters sent in 1900 to reinforce the East Asia Squadron in East Asia
Small cruiser SMS Hela
Detached division

1914

Sunk on December 8, 1914 in battle near the Falkland Islands :

the other ships had the following fate:

numerous supply ships, most recently

Chiefs of the East Asia Squadron

Spee was to be replaced by Rear Admiral Friedrich Gädeke in autumn 1914 , but this prevented the outbreak of war.

See also

literature

  • Geoffrey M. Bennett: Coronel and the Falklands. BT Batsford, London 1962, (In German: The sea battles of Coronel and Falkland and the sinking of the German cruiser squadron under Admiral Spee (= Heyne-Buch. 5697). Translated from English, supplemented and with an afterword by RK Lochner. Heyne , Munich 1980, ISBN 3-453-01141-4 ).
  • Barry Bingham: Falklands, Jutland and the Bight. J. Murray, London 1919, ( digitized version ).
  • British Naval Staff (ed.): Review of German Cruiser Warfare, 1914-1918 (= OU 6337 (40)). The Admiralty, London 1940, ( digitized version ).
  • Robin Bromby: German Raiders of the South Sea. Doubleday, Sydney et al. 1985, ISBN 0-86824-093-1 .
  • E. Keble Chatterton: The Sea Raiders. Hurst & Blackett, London 1931.
  • Julian S. Corbett : History of the Great War. Naval Operations. Volume 1-2. Longmans, Green & Co., London et al. 1920–1921.
  • Carl Dick: The cruiser squadron, its becoming, victory and demise. Mittler, Berlin 1917.
  • Arno Dohm: Squadron Spee. Bertelsmann, Gütersloh 1939.
  • Heiko Herold: The flying cruiser squadron of the Imperial Navy as an instrument of German colonial policy 1886-1893. In: Tanja Bührer , Christian Stachelbeck , Dierk Walter (eds.): Imperial Wars from 1500 to today. Structures - actors - learning processes. Schöningh, Paderborn et al. 2011, ISBN 978-3-506-77337-1 , pp. 383-400.
  • Heiko Herold: Imperial violence means sea violence. The cruiser squadron of the Imperial Navy as an instrument of German colonial and world politics from 1885 to 1901 (= contributions to military history. 74). Oldenbourg, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-486-71297-1 (partly also: Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, phil. Dissertation, 2010).
  • Hans H. Hildebrand, Albert Röhr, Hans-Otto Steinmetz: The German warships. Biographies. A mirror of naval history from 1815 to the present day. 7 volumes. Koehler, Herford 1979-1983.
  • Lloyd Hirst: Coronel and After. Davies, London 1934.
  • Richard Hough: The Pursuit of Admiral von Spee. Allen & Unwin, London 1969, ISBN 0-04-943013-0 .
  • John Irving: Coronel and the Falklands. Philipot, London 1927, (In German: Coronel and Falkland. The cruiser war on the ocean. Koehler, Leipzig 1928).
  • Hermann Kirchhoff (Ed.): Maximilian Graf von Spee. Coronel's winner. The life picture and memories of a German seaman (= Our Seehelden. 1, ZDB -ID 520190-1 ). Marinedank-Verlag, Berlin 1915.
  • Andreas Leipold: The German naval warfare in the Pacific in the years 1914 and 1915 (= sources and research on the South Seas. Series B: Research. 4). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2012, ISBN 978-3-447-06602-0 .
  • Joachim Lietzmann: At a losing position. Under the flag of Count Spee. H. Lhotzky, Ludwigshafen am Bodensee 1922.
  • Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division (Ed.): The Atlantic Ocean 1914-1915, including the Battles of Coronel and the Falkland Islands (= Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). 9). The Admiralty, London 1923.
  • Hans Pochhammer: Graf Spee's last trip. Memories of the cruiser squadron. Verlag der Tälichen Rundschau, Berlin 1918, ( digitized version ).
  • Erich Raeder : The sea war 1914–1918. The cruiser war in foreign waters. Volume 1: The cruiser squadron. 2nd, improved edition. Mittler, Berlin et al. 1927.
  • Henry Spencer-Cooper: The Battle of the Falkland Islands. Before and after. Cassell, London et al. 1919, ( digitized version ).
  • Rudolf Verner (Ed.): The Battle Cruisers in the Action of the Falkland Islands. Edited by Willoughby Verner. Bale & Danielsson, London 1926.
  • Hugo von Waldeyer-Hartz : The cruiser war 1914-1918. The cruiser squadron. Emden, Koenigsberg, Karlsruhe. The auxiliary cruiser (= naval archive . Individual representations of the naval war 1914–1918. 2, ZDB -ID 1157553-0 ). Stalling, Oldenburg 1931.
  • Heinrich Walle : Germany's fleet presence in East Asia 1897–1914. The pursuit of a “place in the sun” against the background of economic, power-political and church interests. In: Yearbook for European Overseas History. Vol. 9, 2009, ISSN  1436-6371 , pp. 127-158.
  • Gerhard Wiechmann (ed.): From foreign service in Mexico to the sea battle of Coronel. Sea captain Karl von Schönberg. Travel diary 1913–1914 (= Small series of publications on military and naval history. 9). Winkler, Bochum 2004, ISBN 3-89911-051-X .
  • Keith Yates: Graf Spee's Raiders. Challenge to the Royal Navy, 1914-1915. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD 1995, ISBN 1-557-50977-8 .

Movies

Web links

Commons : German East Asia Squadron  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ The entourage of the East Asia Squadron in World War I also included u. a. the ships Ahlers , Amasis , Göttingen , Gouverneur Jaeschke , Mark , Prinz Waldemar and Yorck .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "SMS Irene" as "coal eater" in East Asia. In: Fehntjer Kurier. Edition of March 8, 1990 ( online ).
  2. ↑ Report on the union of the cruiser Nuremberg with the cruiser squadron (August 6, 1914) in the Federal Archives, accessed on August 12, 2016. ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bundesarchiv.de
  3. ^ Report of the commander of the Nuremberg about the sinking of the British armored cruiser Monmouth (November 1, 1914) in the Federal Archives, accessed on August 12, 2016. ( Memento of the original of March 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bundesarchiv.de
  4. ↑ Overview of the ammunition consumption of the cruiser squadron in the sea battle of Coronel in the Federal Archives, accessed on August 12, 2016. ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bundesarchiv.de
  5. ↑ Telegram to the Admiral's staff about the sinking of the cruiser squadron in the sea battle near the Falkland Islands in the Federal Archives, accessed on August 12, 2016. ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked . Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bundesarchiv.de