Battle of Coronel: Difference between revisions

From Citizendium
Jump to navigation Jump to search
imported>Howard C. Berkowitz
(New page: The '''Battle of Coronel''', fought on 1 November 1914, pitted the German East Asia Squadron, under Admiral Maximilian von Spee, against a weaker British unit under Admiral [[Christoph...)
 
mNo edit summary
 
(7 intermediate revisions by one other user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
The '''Battle of Coronel''', fought on 1 November 1914, pitted the German East Asia Squadron, under Admiral [[Maximilian von Spee]], against a weaker British unit under Admiral [[Christopher Cradock]]. 1,654 British sailors were killed, versus only  three German wounded.  It was the worst British naval defeat in centuries.
{{subpages}}
Early in [[World War I]], the '''Battle of Coronel''', fought on 1 November 1914 off the coast of [[Chile]], pitted the German East Asia Squadron, under Admiral [[Maximilian von Spee]], against a weaker British unit under Admiral [[Christopher Cradock]]. The British intended to stop the [[commerce raiding]] of von Spee's unit. 1,654 British sailors were killed, versus only  three German wounded.  It was the worst British naval defeat in centuries.


The British, under lost both of their [[armored cruiser]]s, ''[[HMS]]'' [[HMS Good Hope|Good Hope]]] with 9.2 inch guns and [[HMS Monmouth]] had 6 inch, who stood a rear guard to let their weaker vessels escape. Monmouth was especially ineffective, as many of her guns were in casemates rather than turrets, too low to engage targets. ''HMS Canopus'', too slow to keep up with the other ships, was not involved in the battle; one of Cradock's options had been to turn his other ships and run to Canopus, which did have potent guns.
Prior to the mainbattle, ''HMS Glasgow'' scouted the area and found the Germans on October 29th. ''HMS Canopus'', too slow to keep up with the other ships, was not involved in the battle; one of Cradock's options had been to turn his other ships and form on Canopus, which did have potent guns.
 
The British, under lost both of their [[armored cruiser]]s, ''[[HMS (naval prefix)|HMS]]'' [[HMS Good Hope|''Good Hope'']] with 9.2 inch guns and ''[[HMS Monmouth]]'' had 6 inch, who stood a rear guard to let their weaker vessels escape. ''Monmouth'' was especially ineffective, as many of her guns were in casemates rather than turrets, too low to engage targets. He chose not to turn for ''Canopus'' because the light was fading and he worried about losing the Germans in the dark. It also was not a given the Germans would pursue.


The German armored cruisers, [[SMS (naval prefix)|''SMS'']] [[SMS Scharnhorst|''Scharnhorst'']] and ''[[SMS Gneisenau]]'', had 8.2 inch guns of long range. An early shot disabled the forward 9.2 inch gun of ''Good Hope'', cancelling the main British advantage.
The German armored cruisers, [[SMS (naval prefix)|''SMS'']] [[SMS Scharnhorst|''Scharnhorst'']] and ''[[SMS Gneisenau]]'', had 8.2 inch guns of long range. An early shot disabled the forward 9.2 inch gun of ''Good Hope'', cancelling the main British advantage.
Line 12: Line 15:
|-
|-
| ''[[SMS Scharnhorst]]''
| ''[[SMS Scharnhorst]]''
|  
| armored cruiser (flagship)
|   
|   
|-
|-
Line 38: Line 41:
!   
!   
|-
|-
| ''[[HMS Good Hope]]'' (flagship)
| ''[[HMS Good Hope]]''  
| armored cruiser
| armored cruiser (flagship)
|   
|   
|-
|-
Line 59: Line 62:
|}
|}


Von Spee's squadron was subsequently destroyed at the [[Battle of the Falklands]].
Von Spee's squadron was subsequently destroyed at the [[Battle of the Falklands]].[[Category:Suggestion Bot Tag]]

Latest revision as of 06:00, 17 July 2024

This article is developing and not approved.
 Main Article
 Discussion
Related Articles  [?]
Bibliography  [?]
External Links  [?]
Citable Version  [?]
 
https://en.citizendium.org/wiki/index.php?title=Battle_of_Coronel&printable=yes
This editable Main Article is under development and subject to a disclaimer.

Early in World War I, the Battle of Coronel, fought on 1 November 1914 off the coast of Chile, pitted the German East Asia Squadron, under Admiral Maximilian von Spee, against a weaker British unit under Admiral Christopher Cradock. The British intended to stop the commerce raiding of von Spee's unit. 1,654 British sailors were killed, versus only three German wounded. It was the worst British naval defeat in centuries.

Prior to the mainbattle, HMS Glasgow scouted the area and found the Germans on October 29th. HMS Canopus, too slow to keep up with the other ships, was not involved in the battle; one of Cradock's options had been to turn his other ships and form on Canopus, which did have potent guns.

The British, under lost both of their armored cruisers, HMS Good Hope with 9.2 inch guns and HMS Monmouth had 6 inch, who stood a rear guard to let their weaker vessels escape. Monmouth was especially ineffective, as many of her guns were in casemates rather than turrets, too low to engage targets. He chose not to turn for Canopus because the light was fading and he worried about losing the Germans in the dark. It also was not a given the Germans would pursue.

The German armored cruisers, SMS Scharnhorst and SMS Gneisenau, had 8.2 inch guns of long range. An early shot disabled the forward 9.2 inch gun of Good Hope, cancelling the main British advantage.

Ship Type
SMS Scharnhorst armored cruiser (flagship)
SMS Gneisenau armored cruiser
SMS Leipzig light cruiser
SMS Dresden light cruiser
SMS Nuremberg light cruiser
Ship Type
HMS Good Hope armored cruiser (flagship)
HMS Monmouth weak armored cruiser
HMS Glasgow light cruiser
HMS Otranto armed merchant cruiser
HMS Canopus pre-dreadnought battleship

Von Spee's squadron was subsequently destroyed at the Battle of the Falklands.

Retrieved from "https://citizendium.org/wiki/index.php?title=Battle_of_Coronel&oldid=963866"