Greetings all. Just thought I'd post for your entertainment and amusement a different take on the Battle of the Falklands in 1914. In this AU the German presence in Chile has contacts through an Irish officer on a Chilean steamer that has a regular transport contract for Mutton from the Falklands and learns of the arrival of the Canopus early and passes this information on to Von Spee after the battle of Coronel. Familiar with Canopus'es limitaions from shared time in the China station and with thisnew intelligence Admirla Von Spee arives off Port Stanley already expecting to commit to an action with a British Presence. Unlike IRL where he broke off at the unexpected presence of RN units, he commits to a closing action. It's often been speculated what the result would have been had he closed with the unprepared RN ships at anchor and with cold boilers and this is Part One of my take on subsequent events.
CHAPTER 13 - Graf Spee and the Falklands.
0445hrs 8 December 1914 - South Atlantic: SMS Scharnhorst
Coming through the doorway of the bridge of the Armoured Cruiser Scharnhorst, Vice Admiral Maximillian Von Spee was unconsciously ordered “As you were”, before he even cleared the hatch, pre-empting the Officer of the Watch even as he was straightening. Catching his eye with a brief nod, he then continued on past the dimly lit compass platform with a brief glance at the heading before continuing on by the suddenly rigidly attentive helmsman out to into the darkness of the bridge wing. With the ease of long familiarity of the current commission the crew by now were well aware of his preferences and avoided unwelcome displays of regimentation were possible nowadays, which found favour with all parties.
Hidden by the darkness he smiled slightly to himself as his trailing flag-lieutenant, remained on the dimly lit bridge and struck up a quiet conversation with the Officer of the Watch, and silently to himself began to count. The slight smile broke into a grin as less than three minutes later another darkened figure appeared and softly moved to join him on the bridge wing. “You can tell we’ve become creatures of habit,” he greeted the greatcoated figure of his Flag-Captain as he silently moved to join him from his sea cabin behind the bridge. He saw the pale flash of a matching grin and the faint movement of his nod, but his sally was met with continued silence as expected. By now the partnership of the two of them was a well-practiced balance of friendship and routine, symptomatic of the best of professional relationships, both efficient and comfortable. After a moment or two of silence, as expected came the considered, “You haven’t changed your mind, have you?” the humour detectable in the voice.
“Have you thought of any new ideas which might make me?” came the response.
“Aside from the risk involved… No.”
“Oh good, I thought for a moment we might not have been in agreement,” he quipped, before allowing the exchange to die. In reality the two of them had already discussed the available options facing them in great detail long before reaching this point, the exchange simply now a well-worn method of displaying agreement between the two of them.
With this interplay done the two of them resumed their companionable silence again, for a time simply enjoying the moment, the wind of the passage and gentle movement of the ship underfoot unnoticed. In a rare display of clarity, the complete array of southern stars arched overhead, sharp and brilliant, an unusual event this far south in the hemisphere, and in contrast to many of the preceding foul dawns of recent days. With such a sight and the mirror like state of the surrounding seas, von Spee was suddenly moved to comment,” It’s shaping up to be a marvelous morning, whatever we may make of it,” and received a grunt of confirmation, before turning to conduct a professional scan of the surrounding horizon.
This quiet interlude lasted only a moment before the anticipated interruption arrived as the duty officer appeared, stating, “Sir, it’s 0500 hours… continue as planned?” and Captain von Schultz responded, “Carry on,” with a nod of assent. Disappearing back into the wheelhouse, the two officers remained on the wing, listening to a brief announcement then hearing an increased background bustle in the darkness, as the Scharnhorst crew moved to their action stations around them. Well aware of the anticipated order and already having fed early, this process went ahead seamlessly with the calm certainty that was the sign of an experienced and well-trained crew.
With the faintest of predawn glow just beginning to give a hint of the line of the horizon behind the ships, they could feel the thrum of the engines underfoot increase as the Scharnhorst slowly began to gain speed. Above the clatter of a signal lamp flashed to the accompanying vessels and the faint lumps in the darkness that were the three trailing cruisers began to diverge and move up to form a line abreast upon their flagship as previously planned. Watching on wordlessly, von Spee noted without surprise, the noticeably greater cascades of red sparks emitted from the three funnels of the light cruiser Leipzig as it moved to its position to port at the southern end of the forming line. He was well aware of the deteriorating state of its machinery and this display was just another visible symptom of the known engineering issues, not worth signaling about. Fortunately, the upcoming action would not be fought at night, and this would not be a give-away, otherwise with no lights visible the only indication of its presence was the growing white of its bow wave gleaming slightly as it steadily moved up. Satisfied it would be soon in position, he gave the horizon one more sweep, now discernible as the faintest of lines against the paler eastern sky, before heading through the wheelhouse to check on the other two cruisers forming line abreast to starboard as they closed on the unsuspecting Port of Stanley. Once on the starboard wing, he could clearly see the dark silhouette of Scharnhorst’s sistership Gneisenau, sans sparks, almost in in position, and possibly beyond the faint impression of the bow wave of the last vessel, the light cruiser Nurnberg. All appeared to be in hand and as the last ship reached its position the line began to accelerate to 18 knots on its run west towards the still invisible loom of the Falkland Islands. They were now in position to implement his planned attack. It all depended to a degree now on how accurate his information was.
He recast his thoughts back to his final meeting with the German Minister to Chile, von Eckert and the naval attaché at the Consul-Generals office in Valparaiso some days earlier. There they had updated the latest intelligence from a Chilean steamer visiting Port Stanley that confirmed the location of the guardship, the old pre-dreadnaught Canopus and that it had been grounded deliberately in the inner harbor. Without this knowledge then his plan of action would have been totally different, and much less formalized.
For a start just the fact that Canopus was a familiar presence from their shared time before the war in the China station had acted as the spur for his initial considerations. He had dined aboard her as a visiting guest several times during their shared period on station, and was well aware of the ageing ships limitations, slow speed, and worn guns with limited elevation and range. This knowledge gave him more confidence in going into action against it, combined with its reported location in the inner harbor had been one of the factors in selecting their current approach from the east. Without this then they would have probably come from the south-east to gain a view through the low ground into the inner harbor of the port, to best view what ships were present. As it was the third light cruiser of the squadron, Dresden, was to approach from that direction to observe the fall of shot of the squadron and provide range corrections. By using their current approach, the high ground of Point Pembroke would mask Canopus, whose low elevation main guns would not be able to clear the terrain, hopefully allowing the German ships free-rein to employ indirect fire against their stationary opponent, a major advantage. Other factors weighing in his decision was that by approaching from the east at dawn with the rising sun behind, it would act to dazzle and hamper any observers trying to spot his approach, looking directly at the rising orb. The last consideration was simply one of prudence. This approach allowed observation into the outer harbor, not immediately possible in an approach from the south-east. He could not assume that Canopus would be the sole Royal Naval presence, and he needed to know what, if any, additional opposition they would face as soon as possible. The final positive that this approach offered was he could see what if any other ships may be present.
Despite having already accepted the committing of his forces to battle this day, he still revisited his thoughts in reaching this decision. In the captains meeting just two days earlier where he had outlined his plan, it was obvious that there was some disagreement with the planned action, but he had outlined his rationale and gained a consensus from those present. It was unlikely that they could return to Germany undetected, and already machinery issues were rising the longer they had to cruise. Despite having capture sufficient vessels in recent times to potentially have sufficient coal supplies to return home, it remained a doubtful prospect. Beyond coal, they had used much of their ammunition, particularly armour piercing rounds, in the recent victory at Coronel. This was one logistic limitation that could not be replaced, and severely impact their chances if they encountered a stronger foe. If contact came it would likely be with a superior force, one which they could not outrun, without sacrificing one or more of their lame ducks to escape. As squadron commander he faced the dilemma that his force was too large to easily avoid detection, but probably not large enough to triumph against a significant foe. It was better to commit to an attack a known older foe that was beatable in this situation. Already they had the propaganda victory of Coronel and the defeat of Admiral Christopher Craddock’s squadron, under their belt, and to add a further victory, regardless of its nature, would better serve the Father land rather than any ignominious losses while pursuing the unlikely objective of returning home.
His greatest fear was to what degree, if any, that the Canopus would have been reinforced after the recent loss. He quite expected that the light cruiser Glasgow and armed Merchant Cruiser Ontario, which had both escaped the defeat at Coronel could be present. That intelligence had also advised that the large Armoured Cruiser Defence in South American waters. Add this presence to those other ships and this was his worst-case fear. Ultimately, he thought that his ships could triumph in this case, but only at the cost of most of his fighting power. In some ways his acceptance of this possibility would simplify any future planning issues. If the squadron was reduced to one or two combat effective ships, which was quite possible if the worst-case scenario eventuated, then these could be freed to more effectively operate independently as commerce raiders. As a professional naval officer, he had long accepted the risk of being killed, but if the action was to be fought at Port Stanley, then having its proximity to help cope with any resulting casualties was also a consideration. He had resolved that facing combat at Port Stanley was the most likely prospect to attain a positive victory for Germany, even if at great cost.
As his thoughts churned through these options again, he could feel no intrinsic need to change, confident in his own mind in this course of action, it was now a matter of simply adapting to whatever tactical events were thrown at him as the day developed. By now the sky was considerably lightened to the east with the stars rapidly disappearing, and he could see turret below him briefly traversing left and right slightly as the muzzles moved up and down, its crew checking its movements as they assumed action stations. He was aware as he was joined by von Schultz again,” All set?” he posed, and receiving an affirmative, he once more cast his eyes around the entire horizon, now a clear line in the pale pre-dawn light. “Well then, we shall see, what we shall see," he finished almost rhetorically to himself.
So, for the next brief while he stoically tried to be calm, glancing up briefly to sight the first glow of the rising sun catching the top of the foretop above, before raising his glasses to get the first glimpse of the low line of darkness hardening out of the western horizon, now firming and becoming visibly land as the light improved. Initially little could be distinguished beyond that first loom of land, when suddenly came a hail from the lookout above. “Ships in the harbor…, several ships in the harbor, anchored.” Even as he looked up and heard the captain ask for more detail, came a second cry,” Ship under steam outside the harbor, turning this way…, followed by increasing bad news, at least five warships at anchor…, and then the words he feared to hear, “Fighting tops visible sir, one… no two sets of fighting tops at anchor,” came the dread news.
Even as he traded an aghast look with his Flag Captain, catching an equally dismayed look and caught the softly muttered profanity “Schiss”. That shared weight of dismay at the realization for that their worst-case scenario had been far exceeded. As his shocked mind attempted to juggle what his options where he could hear the captain demanding more details from the rangefinder above, "Where they Dreadnaughts or Battlecruisers?" he emphatically demanded. After moments pause, he heard the gunnery officers reply, " I think they are battlecruisers…, yes, two battlecruisers," then firming up with conviction, "Yes two battlecruisers, "I-class I'm pretty sure from what I can see of them, at anchor and I can' see no sign of visible smoke on either," came the elaboration.
Both still reeling from this worst of news he and von Schultz hastily conferred. "Cold start, with no steam raised…, it could take up to two hours to get under way. Should we make a break for it?" he offered. "No, look at the sea state," with a sweeping hand gesture, "They've probably got a good 3 to 4 knots on us, and with conditions like this and all day, nothing is going to slow them down, damn it!" Then realizing his irritation at the news was being shown in his voice, he more calmly continued, "In this latitude at this time of year they'll have at least 14 more hours of daylight to chase us down, even with a start it will be impossible to avoid an action if we flee, they would simply be too fast. Not to count that we will have to sacrifice at least the Leipzig in her state."
"Scatter?" posed von Schultz.
"What are the other ships?" he asked seeking more information.
"Three other ships in the outer harbor beyond the Battlecruisers, one already raising steam or with steam up by the looks of it," came the reply from above, " I make three armored cruisers, one with four funnels, I'd call it Devonshire class, the others are three funneled, probably Monmouth's. Also looks to be several storeships or colliers present as well, some alongside the warships so numbers are unclear."
"A major task group then, just for us. How thoughtful,"
"Scattering won't do much then, one on one at least, and they'll outgun us individually… it's not going to work," he concluded with grim finality.
"Has Dresden signaled yet?"
"Not yet"
"Try raise her. If she has visibility into the inner harbor yet, then report status. If not, she is released for independent action as detailed in the contingency orders. Also pass onto the colliers they are to break off, rendezvous at Point B as per plan."
"So, we fight then?' von Schultz asked rhetorically.
"It's the best choice I think, now that I've put us in this situation," was all he could say, "Or can you suggest something different?"
"No, we've obviously caught them totally by surprise, what with only one appearing to have steam up, aside from the guardship. All we can do is try and pound them while they can't move. Do enough damage and we may be able to make a clean break."
Von Spee grunted in agreement, raising his glasses to his eyes again. "Bloody Battlecruiser all the way down here," shaking his head slightly in chagrined disbelief. "We will just have to make them pay for my mistake."
"What of the guardship, the liner, is it the Otranto?" naming the merchant cruiser that survived their previous encounter at Coronel.
"I think not," came back the response, "Black hull, buff uppers, twin funnels, black… about 10,000 tons. P and O colors, I'd say it's one of their M-class liners converted, probably half a dozen 125-150mm guns fitted. It's definitely closing to engage."
"Direct Nurnberg, to break off and engage independently," he ordered, glancing to port where the lagging Leipzig was now a couple of cables behind Scharnhorst, "and order Leipzig to join her. Once they have engaged and stopped her, they are both released to operate independently."
At that point the signals officer approached them announcing, "Sir Dresden has responded and it's only moment or two from opening up vision of the inner harbor. Submits that it completes that task before breaking off to follow existing instruction. It reports that our colliers are still some 15 miles to its south and have acknowledged their orders and are disengaging as directed."
"Signal Dresden, Concur. Report the inner harbor situation then proceed as previously directed. they are not to engage, confirm," and with a nod the officer turned away.
Von Spee was briefly distracted by the sight of the Leipzig cutting across the stern, and moving to join Nurnberg, both now diverging slightly north to close with the now advancing merchant cruiser which had obviously been at the northern end of a patrol circuit off Port Stanley. By now it was obvious that the British were well aware of the German Presence, with all the visible warships now starting to belch vast clouds of black coal smoke as they frantically fired up their cold boilers in a rush to raise steam and get under way, with a similar cloud now beginning to rise above the masked inner harbor. Having a clear view of the outer harbor he asked, "Has Dresden, given an update yet?"
At this point the first shots came from the distant Merchant cruiser, aimed at the Nurnberg, soon raising three shell splashes short of its target, marking the start of the engagement a little after 8am local time.
Leaving this sideshow to his two light cruisers, von Spee confirmed final tactical details with his flag captain as the range to the still anchored ships in the outer harbor dropped to 20,000 meters. His two armored cruisers would commence fire when it had dropped to 16,000m. With both ships only having around 160 rounds apiece remaining of Armour-piercing ammunition for the main guns, the initial ranging shots would be with common or HE rounds until the range was gained on the targets. While it was still long range, with both vessels being noted gunnery ships and their targets stationary, he was confident that they would rapidly become effective despite the extreme range the action was commencing at. His flagship would engage the more distant of the two anchored vessels, while the Gneisenau would take the nearer. The resulting 'crossing' of each ships LOT, Line Observer to Target, rather than being parallel, would make any 'overs' of the fall of shot obvious and easily identified as specific to that ship. Long competitors in the excellence in gunnery stakes, he was sure that this would result in both crews striving for their best.
While listening to this coordination being confirmed with Captain Maerker of the Gneisenau, he was approached by the signals officer. "Admiral, the Dresden reports that there appear to be three warships in the inner harbor. The Canopus appears to be either anchored or aground at the eastern end as earlier reports indicated. It opened fire at the Dresden's approach, but the rounds are falling several thousands of yards short. The other two ships are both four-funneled light cruisers, probably town-class light cruisers, and Dresden is almost certain one is the Glasgow from the Coronel fight. It has reversed course and is heading south now, and will continue in accordance with previous orders unless otherwise instructed. Message ends sir."
"Thank you." Send to it "Proceed as directed. God Speed and good hunting," before turning his attention back to their own pending engagement.
At this point von Spee found himself in a short hiatus before the range dropped and fire could commence, and for a period reviewed the decisions leading up to this moment. All options were now moot except perhaps even at this late moment disengaging and trying to escape. One more sweeping glance around the horizon, studying the calmness of the day he couldn't see any other course open, as he again found himself unconsciously shaking his head at the presence of the battlecruisers being this far south. Being too fast and too strong made this a suicidal course unless he could inflict maximum damage while they were still at a disadvantage. No, they would just have to create the maximum havoc possible while the British were unable to maneuver, all other plans offered even less palatable results. So, it was with a degree of stoic reluctant acceptance that he responded to the announcement "Range 16,000 meters Admiral," that he ordered, "Permission to open fire," at a little past 0825 hours local time.
In an act of almost unconscious concert, he and his flag captain raised their glasses and watched as with the thump and jar of recoil, the forward guns of the armored cruiser, barrels cocked at maximum elevation, commenced a slow deliberate fire. The familiar brown smoke from the muzzle blast, smelling of cordite drifted back through the bridge as the polished drill of alternating shots with the guns commenced. Again, more could not be realistically asked with both ships finding the range by the third salvo, excellent practice at this range. While Gneisenau achieved a straddle on the nearer ship, what von Spee was not to know was that the third salvo of his own flagship, while not a straddle was to burst less than 40m from the side of the British flagship Invincible. In one of those rare vagaries of military action upon which battles turn, the resulting scythe of shrapnel was to catch the British commander Vice-Admiral Sturdee as he moved forward to his ships conning tower. Severely wounded he was to take no part in the following events, and the head of the British Force was removed before it had even commenced to return fire.
Unaware of this, both German ships continued to engage, with the first British shots being returned even as this was occurring. The very next salvo from Gneisenau would gain its first hit forward on the Inflexible, followed by a hit from Scharnhorst on its fifth, starting a fire near the ships rear funnel. Despite their grim situation, Admiral von Spee found himself fighting the urge to smile as he heard Captain Schultz beside him muttering to himself in a brief moment of distraction, "Maerker's going to be insufferable," referring to Gneisenau's captain as he watched the gunnery performance. While remaining friendly, the sense of competition between the two sister ships had remained intense and enduring, one of the reasons both were renowned as crack gunnery ships. Even in the cauldron of battle it seemed that this legacy of competition lingered. With both ships now having the range and having scored hits upon their stationary targets they now switched to the Armour piercing rounds, maintaining the same deliberate fire for maximum accuracy. Having achieved this as the range dropped to 14,000m, von Spee gave the order for his two armoured cruisers to change course two-points to port, separating them further from the light cruisers, but opening up the arcs for his after guns to join in. At the same time as these cruisers were diverging north, they both now had opened fire to engage the closing Merchant Cruiser. By now both were in range and had already scored several hits on the unarmored vessel, starting a severe fire on board her by appearances.
With their full broadside available, despite still maintaining a deliberate rate of fire, both British battlecruisers were soon being hit regularly, literally sitting targets for the experienced German gunners. Both of them were now returning fire, but had yet to effectively range on the closing and so far, the return fire was as yet ineffectual, having failed to score a hit. Despite this initial success and the obvious fire still burning on the second battlecruiser, neither German officer on the bridge of the Scharnhorst expected little at this early stage of the engagement. German battlecruisers were well armored and built to take their place in the line of battle, and they largely expected that their British opponents would be of a similar nature. So, it came as a total shock when shortly after 0841 Gneisenau's eighth salvo again straddled Inflexible, appearing to score two hits amidships. What followed was clearly visible and subsequently reported by observers from both ashore and on nearby vessels, who saw a flash at the base of the middle funnel, followed by candle of flame from the midships Q-turret reaching the height of the fighting tops. This was followed almost immediately by a catastrophic detonation of its midships magazines, tearing the ship in two, and throwing debris hundreds of feet into the air and leaving a huge billowing chocolate coloured mushroom cloud, drifting south towards Stanley as it billowed up.
From the distant German perspective much of the detail of this catastrophic destruction of the Inflexible was lost, but the brilliant red flare of flame, followed by the rising cloud of the explosion was unmistakable even as it began to disperse. The report of the lookout was superfluous in its blandness "Target has blown up." But the simple banality in detailing the obvious, somehow highlighted its very unexpectedness to the German observers. For a moment or two fire paused aboard both ships as they sought to adjust their minds to the unexpectedness of it. Even as von Spee lowered his glasses and met the equally surprised look of his flag captain a further report came down from above. "Debris from the explosion appears to have damaged the nearest Monmouth class ship. It's lost its foremast and the first funnel appears crumpled," Came the elaboration.
"What targets should Gneisenau engage now?" asked von Schulz, engage the damaged cruiser of both concentrate on the Battlecruiser?"
"Battlecruiser I think, while we still have AP rounds. Order the Gneisenau to switch targets, and we shall continue to close to 10,000 meters to employ the secondary armament," he directed before continuing, "Maybe we can repeat that or cause sufficient damage to prevent pursuit," then again raising his glasses to study the enemy ships in view.
Even as he waited for these instructions to be passed, he used the several minutes before firing would recommence to study the wider developing picture. He briefly ruminated his options if the second battlecruiser also succumbed, should he continue the engagement of the stationary targets at his mercy or disengage the squadron? Still slightly disbelieving the initial destruction, such a repetition was highly unlikely in his professional mind, so he quickly discarded this speculation. As he watched he could see the northern anchored Monmouth class vessel (Kent) now getting under way. Obviously from how quickly it was working up speed it had already been raising steam before their appearance. He watched the slowing growing bow wave as it gained momentum and steered towards the northern edge of the harbor mouth, wondering at its movement. "Minefield?" he speculated to himself, thinking back to his past interactions with Captain Grant of the Cornwallis on the China station. "A thoughtful and capable officer, it was quite possible given time to prepare," before turning his attention to the light cruiser's engagement also to the north.
The Macedonia, armed with 8 4.7-inch guns had boldly closed while he had concentrated on the battlecruiser action. Initially engaging the Nurnberg on the wing of the cruiser line, its boldness had been unrewarded, scoring only a single hit before the Nurnberg, soon joined by the lagging Leipzig, and combined had overwhelmed the unarmored merchant cruiser in less than half an hour with over forty hits. Now powerless, silenced and burning fiercely it was obvious that the mobile cruiser was heading to engage his two cruisers to the north. Now that it had attained sufficient steam to get under way it appeared intent to close with the two German light cruisers, and there was nothing he could do to influence this new action.
At this point the sharper crack of his 5.9-inch secondary armament joined the more deliberate fire of the main armament as they had closed to within 10,000m. He had more AP rounds for these and hopefully they would have greater impact now that the supply of these was running low for his largest guns. At this point he gave the order to reverse course back to a more northern heading, as for the first time the Invincible found range. He felt the deck shiver underfoot as a 12-inch shell impacted on the Scharnhorst, striking well aft. Even as he watched Captain von Schultz turning to hear the damage reports he couldn't help but feel a degree of professional disdain at how long it had taken for this to happen. In the same time his two ships had probably scored over fifteen to twenty hits. Obviously not been keeping up much time on the ranges during peacetime was the only deduction, or perhaps an influx of reserve personnel, he mused distractedly to himself as for the second time in a few minutes another round came aboard. Listening to the reports received it was obvious the difference in damage the heavier guns caused, inflicting severe damage on with each strike on their German opponent.
This was forcing von Spee to reconsider his plan of closing to effective range of his secondary guns, with the counter fire of the Invincible suddenly seemed more accurate and effective at this shorter range, both the British ships on the southern side of the harbor began getting underway. Even as the two German Armored Cruisers expended the last of their limited AP supply and attempted to again open the range, it became apparent that this was no longer an option as the Invincible slowly began to work up to full speed. By 1000 both the Invincible and Cornwall were underway, and despite both being hit now over thirty times, with the majority of those on the Invincible. With both now well under way they began to consistently hit their German opponents. Slowly but surely von Spee could feel that the tide of battle was beginning to swing against his ships, as they lost the initial advantages of the opening stages of the engagement. Looking ahead to the north he could also see that the engagement between the now hard charging British cruiser there and the Leipzig and Nurnberg to the north was also not developing well.
This cruiser, the Kent, having attained sufficient steam to get under way had closed with the two German light cruisers while they were engaging the Macedonia. In the ferocious action that ensued she would be hit over fifty times, but the lighter guns of the German vessel where largely unable to penetrate the Kents armour belt to cause major damage. Nevertheless, her upper works were riddled and several casement guns destroyed by direct hits, the upper bridge wrecked, and one funnel partially knocked over limiting her speed and resulting in over 80 casualties in her crew. This came at great cost with her heavier guns inflicting severe damage on her smaller German opponents. Over the next hour the Leipzig would be silenced and rendered immobile by a number of damaging hits, and leaving the badly damaged Nurnberg, now limping north as it lost speed and only able to reply with two guns. At this point, in pursuit of the retreating Nurnberg, the Kent was to pass within 2000 meters of the stationary and burning Leipzig. While immobile it was still able to take advantage of the opportunity this proximity presented to launch two torpedoes undetected at the passing ship. One of which would hit, striking within 10 feet of the bow, and blowing a large hole and immobilizing it. Rapidly losing speed as water surged into the hole, the Kent would resume engaging the Leipzig hitting it a further 15-20 times before the cruiser would roll over and sink shortly before noon, taking over three-quarter of her crew with her. At this point the largely immobilized Kent, now unable to pursue the Nurnberg, was to concentrate on recovering Leipzig survivors from the freezing waters with its single surviving boat, taking no further part in the battle.
For von Spee, he now was facing the fact that the battle had indisputably turned against him, particularly as the surviving British battlecruiser, despite the number of hits suffered, continued to close with his two armored cruisers. Now that both had exhausted their remaining armored piercing rounds, limited to the less effective HE shells, their hits appeared to be largely achieving little, even as his own guns were steadily being silenced and the number of hits dropped. Both pursuers after skirting the southern end of the narrows, confirming in his mind the presence of mines there, had now settled in on a stern chase.
After initially withdrawing on a course to the NE, he had swung his ships heading to the SE to place the smoke from his laboring ships to best mask their opponents fire, but as the range had dropped, this had proved less effective. The course change had allowed them to cut the corner and close more quickly. By now the enemy was engaging his ship with two turrets whilst the stern turret was firing at the trailing Gneisenau. This weight of fire and the size of shell was now beginning to tell badly on his flagships ability to continue to fight. Already the second funnel had been shot away and the midships guns silenced. As water continued to enter the ship and she lost speed, he could see that his hope that the damage to the Invincible were not eventuating and it was continuing to close remorselessly. Already he could see the Gneisenau would soon overtake her flagging sister ship. He was a little belated in recognizing that he would have best been served by releasing her to proceed independently earlier, but now was the time. With smoke and his own flagships wrecked midships to a degree limiting his vision in that direction, he briefly stepped out of the conning tower on the lee side and confirm with his own eyes her status, before giving the final command to separate. Even as he was doing this and turning back from the bridge wing to give that command, a 12-inch Armour piercing shell fired by Invincibles A-turret would strike and penetrate the Scharnhorst's conning tower at 1125, killing her Captain and all within it. Vice Admirals von Spee's last conscious impression of the action would be of a blinding flash, before he knew no more.
CHAPTER 13 - Graf Spee and the Falklands.
0445hrs 8 December 1914 - South Atlantic: SMS Scharnhorst
Coming through the doorway of the bridge of the Armoured Cruiser Scharnhorst, Vice Admiral Maximillian Von Spee was unconsciously ordered “As you were”, before he even cleared the hatch, pre-empting the Officer of the Watch even as he was straightening. Catching his eye with a brief nod, he then continued on past the dimly lit compass platform with a brief glance at the heading before continuing on by the suddenly rigidly attentive helmsman out to into the darkness of the bridge wing. With the ease of long familiarity of the current commission the crew by now were well aware of his preferences and avoided unwelcome displays of regimentation were possible nowadays, which found favour with all parties.
Hidden by the darkness he smiled slightly to himself as his trailing flag-lieutenant, remained on the dimly lit bridge and struck up a quiet conversation with the Officer of the Watch, and silently to himself began to count. The slight smile broke into a grin as less than three minutes later another darkened figure appeared and softly moved to join him on the bridge wing. “You can tell we’ve become creatures of habit,” he greeted the greatcoated figure of his Flag-Captain as he silently moved to join him from his sea cabin behind the bridge. He saw the pale flash of a matching grin and the faint movement of his nod, but his sally was met with continued silence as expected. By now the partnership of the two of them was a well-practiced balance of friendship and routine, symptomatic of the best of professional relationships, both efficient and comfortable. After a moment or two of silence, as expected came the considered, “You haven’t changed your mind, have you?” the humour detectable in the voice.
“Have you thought of any new ideas which might make me?” came the response.
“Aside from the risk involved… No.”
“Oh good, I thought for a moment we might not have been in agreement,” he quipped, before allowing the exchange to die. In reality the two of them had already discussed the available options facing them in great detail long before reaching this point, the exchange simply now a well-worn method of displaying agreement between the two of them.
With this interplay done the two of them resumed their companionable silence again, for a time simply enjoying the moment, the wind of the passage and gentle movement of the ship underfoot unnoticed. In a rare display of clarity, the complete array of southern stars arched overhead, sharp and brilliant, an unusual event this far south in the hemisphere, and in contrast to many of the preceding foul dawns of recent days. With such a sight and the mirror like state of the surrounding seas, von Spee was suddenly moved to comment,” It’s shaping up to be a marvelous morning, whatever we may make of it,” and received a grunt of confirmation, before turning to conduct a professional scan of the surrounding horizon.
This quiet interlude lasted only a moment before the anticipated interruption arrived as the duty officer appeared, stating, “Sir, it’s 0500 hours… continue as planned?” and Captain von Schultz responded, “Carry on,” with a nod of assent. Disappearing back into the wheelhouse, the two officers remained on the wing, listening to a brief announcement then hearing an increased background bustle in the darkness, as the Scharnhorst crew moved to their action stations around them. Well aware of the anticipated order and already having fed early, this process went ahead seamlessly with the calm certainty that was the sign of an experienced and well-trained crew.
With the faintest of predawn glow just beginning to give a hint of the line of the horizon behind the ships, they could feel the thrum of the engines underfoot increase as the Scharnhorst slowly began to gain speed. Above the clatter of a signal lamp flashed to the accompanying vessels and the faint lumps in the darkness that were the three trailing cruisers began to diverge and move up to form a line abreast upon their flagship as previously planned. Watching on wordlessly, von Spee noted without surprise, the noticeably greater cascades of red sparks emitted from the three funnels of the light cruiser Leipzig as it moved to its position to port at the southern end of the forming line. He was well aware of the deteriorating state of its machinery and this display was just another visible symptom of the known engineering issues, not worth signaling about. Fortunately, the upcoming action would not be fought at night, and this would not be a give-away, otherwise with no lights visible the only indication of its presence was the growing white of its bow wave gleaming slightly as it steadily moved up. Satisfied it would be soon in position, he gave the horizon one more sweep, now discernible as the faintest of lines against the paler eastern sky, before heading through the wheelhouse to check on the other two cruisers forming line abreast to starboard as they closed on the unsuspecting Port of Stanley. Once on the starboard wing, he could clearly see the dark silhouette of Scharnhorst’s sistership Gneisenau, sans sparks, almost in in position, and possibly beyond the faint impression of the bow wave of the last vessel, the light cruiser Nurnberg. All appeared to be in hand and as the last ship reached its position the line began to accelerate to 18 knots on its run west towards the still invisible loom of the Falkland Islands. They were now in position to implement his planned attack. It all depended to a degree now on how accurate his information was.
He recast his thoughts back to his final meeting with the German Minister to Chile, von Eckert and the naval attaché at the Consul-Generals office in Valparaiso some days earlier. There they had updated the latest intelligence from a Chilean steamer visiting Port Stanley that confirmed the location of the guardship, the old pre-dreadnaught Canopus and that it had been grounded deliberately in the inner harbor. Without this knowledge then his plan of action would have been totally different, and much less formalized.
For a start just the fact that Canopus was a familiar presence from their shared time before the war in the China station had acted as the spur for his initial considerations. He had dined aboard her as a visiting guest several times during their shared period on station, and was well aware of the ageing ships limitations, slow speed, and worn guns with limited elevation and range. This knowledge gave him more confidence in going into action against it, combined with its reported location in the inner harbor had been one of the factors in selecting their current approach from the east. Without this then they would have probably come from the south-east to gain a view through the low ground into the inner harbor of the port, to best view what ships were present. As it was the third light cruiser of the squadron, Dresden, was to approach from that direction to observe the fall of shot of the squadron and provide range corrections. By using their current approach, the high ground of Point Pembroke would mask Canopus, whose low elevation main guns would not be able to clear the terrain, hopefully allowing the German ships free-rein to employ indirect fire against their stationary opponent, a major advantage. Other factors weighing in his decision was that by approaching from the east at dawn with the rising sun behind, it would act to dazzle and hamper any observers trying to spot his approach, looking directly at the rising orb. The last consideration was simply one of prudence. This approach allowed observation into the outer harbor, not immediately possible in an approach from the south-east. He could not assume that Canopus would be the sole Royal Naval presence, and he needed to know what, if any, additional opposition they would face as soon as possible. The final positive that this approach offered was he could see what if any other ships may be present.
Despite having already accepted the committing of his forces to battle this day, he still revisited his thoughts in reaching this decision. In the captains meeting just two days earlier where he had outlined his plan, it was obvious that there was some disagreement with the planned action, but he had outlined his rationale and gained a consensus from those present. It was unlikely that they could return to Germany undetected, and already machinery issues were rising the longer they had to cruise. Despite having capture sufficient vessels in recent times to potentially have sufficient coal supplies to return home, it remained a doubtful prospect. Beyond coal, they had used much of their ammunition, particularly armour piercing rounds, in the recent victory at Coronel. This was one logistic limitation that could not be replaced, and severely impact their chances if they encountered a stronger foe. If contact came it would likely be with a superior force, one which they could not outrun, without sacrificing one or more of their lame ducks to escape. As squadron commander he faced the dilemma that his force was too large to easily avoid detection, but probably not large enough to triumph against a significant foe. It was better to commit to an attack a known older foe that was beatable in this situation. Already they had the propaganda victory of Coronel and the defeat of Admiral Christopher Craddock’s squadron, under their belt, and to add a further victory, regardless of its nature, would better serve the Father land rather than any ignominious losses while pursuing the unlikely objective of returning home.
His greatest fear was to what degree, if any, that the Canopus would have been reinforced after the recent loss. He quite expected that the light cruiser Glasgow and armed Merchant Cruiser Ontario, which had both escaped the defeat at Coronel could be present. That intelligence had also advised that the large Armoured Cruiser Defence in South American waters. Add this presence to those other ships and this was his worst-case fear. Ultimately, he thought that his ships could triumph in this case, but only at the cost of most of his fighting power. In some ways his acceptance of this possibility would simplify any future planning issues. If the squadron was reduced to one or two combat effective ships, which was quite possible if the worst-case scenario eventuated, then these could be freed to more effectively operate independently as commerce raiders. As a professional naval officer, he had long accepted the risk of being killed, but if the action was to be fought at Port Stanley, then having its proximity to help cope with any resulting casualties was also a consideration. He had resolved that facing combat at Port Stanley was the most likely prospect to attain a positive victory for Germany, even if at great cost.
As his thoughts churned through these options again, he could feel no intrinsic need to change, confident in his own mind in this course of action, it was now a matter of simply adapting to whatever tactical events were thrown at him as the day developed. By now the sky was considerably lightened to the east with the stars rapidly disappearing, and he could see turret below him briefly traversing left and right slightly as the muzzles moved up and down, its crew checking its movements as they assumed action stations. He was aware as he was joined by von Schultz again,” All set?” he posed, and receiving an affirmative, he once more cast his eyes around the entire horizon, now a clear line in the pale pre-dawn light. “Well then, we shall see, what we shall see," he finished almost rhetorically to himself.
So, for the next brief while he stoically tried to be calm, glancing up briefly to sight the first glow of the rising sun catching the top of the foretop above, before raising his glasses to get the first glimpse of the low line of darkness hardening out of the western horizon, now firming and becoming visibly land as the light improved. Initially little could be distinguished beyond that first loom of land, when suddenly came a hail from the lookout above. “Ships in the harbor…, several ships in the harbor, anchored.” Even as he looked up and heard the captain ask for more detail, came a second cry,” Ship under steam outside the harbor, turning this way…, followed by increasing bad news, at least five warships at anchor…, and then the words he feared to hear, “Fighting tops visible sir, one… no two sets of fighting tops at anchor,” came the dread news.
Even as he traded an aghast look with his Flag Captain, catching an equally dismayed look and caught the softly muttered profanity “Schiss”. That shared weight of dismay at the realization for that their worst-case scenario had been far exceeded. As his shocked mind attempted to juggle what his options where he could hear the captain demanding more details from the rangefinder above, "Where they Dreadnaughts or Battlecruisers?" he emphatically demanded. After moments pause, he heard the gunnery officers reply, " I think they are battlecruisers…, yes, two battlecruisers," then firming up with conviction, "Yes two battlecruisers, "I-class I'm pretty sure from what I can see of them, at anchor and I can' see no sign of visible smoke on either," came the elaboration.
Both still reeling from this worst of news he and von Schultz hastily conferred. "Cold start, with no steam raised…, it could take up to two hours to get under way. Should we make a break for it?" he offered. "No, look at the sea state," with a sweeping hand gesture, "They've probably got a good 3 to 4 knots on us, and with conditions like this and all day, nothing is going to slow them down, damn it!" Then realizing his irritation at the news was being shown in his voice, he more calmly continued, "In this latitude at this time of year they'll have at least 14 more hours of daylight to chase us down, even with a start it will be impossible to avoid an action if we flee, they would simply be too fast. Not to count that we will have to sacrifice at least the Leipzig in her state."
"Scatter?" posed von Schultz.
"What are the other ships?" he asked seeking more information.
"Three other ships in the outer harbor beyond the Battlecruisers, one already raising steam or with steam up by the looks of it," came the reply from above, " I make three armored cruisers, one with four funnels, I'd call it Devonshire class, the others are three funneled, probably Monmouth's. Also looks to be several storeships or colliers present as well, some alongside the warships so numbers are unclear."
"A major task group then, just for us. How thoughtful,"
"Scattering won't do much then, one on one at least, and they'll outgun us individually… it's not going to work," he concluded with grim finality.
"Has Dresden signaled yet?"
"Not yet"
"Try raise her. If she has visibility into the inner harbor yet, then report status. If not, she is released for independent action as detailed in the contingency orders. Also pass onto the colliers they are to break off, rendezvous at Point B as per plan."
"So, we fight then?' von Schultz asked rhetorically.
"It's the best choice I think, now that I've put us in this situation," was all he could say, "Or can you suggest something different?"
"No, we've obviously caught them totally by surprise, what with only one appearing to have steam up, aside from the guardship. All we can do is try and pound them while they can't move. Do enough damage and we may be able to make a clean break."
Von Spee grunted in agreement, raising his glasses to his eyes again. "Bloody Battlecruiser all the way down here," shaking his head slightly in chagrined disbelief. "We will just have to make them pay for my mistake."
"What of the guardship, the liner, is it the Otranto?" naming the merchant cruiser that survived their previous encounter at Coronel.
"I think not," came back the response, "Black hull, buff uppers, twin funnels, black… about 10,000 tons. P and O colors, I'd say it's one of their M-class liners converted, probably half a dozen 125-150mm guns fitted. It's definitely closing to engage."
"Direct Nurnberg, to break off and engage independently," he ordered, glancing to port where the lagging Leipzig was now a couple of cables behind Scharnhorst, "and order Leipzig to join her. Once they have engaged and stopped her, they are both released to operate independently."
At that point the signals officer approached them announcing, "Sir Dresden has responded and it's only moment or two from opening up vision of the inner harbor. Submits that it completes that task before breaking off to follow existing instruction. It reports that our colliers are still some 15 miles to its south and have acknowledged their orders and are disengaging as directed."
"Signal Dresden, Concur. Report the inner harbor situation then proceed as previously directed. they are not to engage, confirm," and with a nod the officer turned away.
Von Spee was briefly distracted by the sight of the Leipzig cutting across the stern, and moving to join Nurnberg, both now diverging slightly north to close with the now advancing merchant cruiser which had obviously been at the northern end of a patrol circuit off Port Stanley. By now it was obvious that the British were well aware of the German Presence, with all the visible warships now starting to belch vast clouds of black coal smoke as they frantically fired up their cold boilers in a rush to raise steam and get under way, with a similar cloud now beginning to rise above the masked inner harbor. Having a clear view of the outer harbor he asked, "Has Dresden, given an update yet?"
At this point the first shots came from the distant Merchant cruiser, aimed at the Nurnberg, soon raising three shell splashes short of its target, marking the start of the engagement a little after 8am local time.
Leaving this sideshow to his two light cruisers, von Spee confirmed final tactical details with his flag captain as the range to the still anchored ships in the outer harbor dropped to 20,000 meters. His two armored cruisers would commence fire when it had dropped to 16,000m. With both ships only having around 160 rounds apiece remaining of Armour-piercing ammunition for the main guns, the initial ranging shots would be with common or HE rounds until the range was gained on the targets. While it was still long range, with both vessels being noted gunnery ships and their targets stationary, he was confident that they would rapidly become effective despite the extreme range the action was commencing at. His flagship would engage the more distant of the two anchored vessels, while the Gneisenau would take the nearer. The resulting 'crossing' of each ships LOT, Line Observer to Target, rather than being parallel, would make any 'overs' of the fall of shot obvious and easily identified as specific to that ship. Long competitors in the excellence in gunnery stakes, he was sure that this would result in both crews striving for their best.
While listening to this coordination being confirmed with Captain Maerker of the Gneisenau, he was approached by the signals officer. "Admiral, the Dresden reports that there appear to be three warships in the inner harbor. The Canopus appears to be either anchored or aground at the eastern end as earlier reports indicated. It opened fire at the Dresden's approach, but the rounds are falling several thousands of yards short. The other two ships are both four-funneled light cruisers, probably town-class light cruisers, and Dresden is almost certain one is the Glasgow from the Coronel fight. It has reversed course and is heading south now, and will continue in accordance with previous orders unless otherwise instructed. Message ends sir."
"Thank you." Send to it "Proceed as directed. God Speed and good hunting," before turning his attention back to their own pending engagement.
At this point von Spee found himself in a short hiatus before the range dropped and fire could commence, and for a period reviewed the decisions leading up to this moment. All options were now moot except perhaps even at this late moment disengaging and trying to escape. One more sweeping glance around the horizon, studying the calmness of the day he couldn't see any other course open, as he again found himself unconsciously shaking his head at the presence of the battlecruisers being this far south. Being too fast and too strong made this a suicidal course unless he could inflict maximum damage while they were still at a disadvantage. No, they would just have to create the maximum havoc possible while the British were unable to maneuver, all other plans offered even less palatable results. So, it was with a degree of stoic reluctant acceptance that he responded to the announcement "Range 16,000 meters Admiral," that he ordered, "Permission to open fire," at a little past 0825 hours local time.
In an act of almost unconscious concert, he and his flag captain raised their glasses and watched as with the thump and jar of recoil, the forward guns of the armored cruiser, barrels cocked at maximum elevation, commenced a slow deliberate fire. The familiar brown smoke from the muzzle blast, smelling of cordite drifted back through the bridge as the polished drill of alternating shots with the guns commenced. Again, more could not be realistically asked with both ships finding the range by the third salvo, excellent practice at this range. While Gneisenau achieved a straddle on the nearer ship, what von Spee was not to know was that the third salvo of his own flagship, while not a straddle was to burst less than 40m from the side of the British flagship Invincible. In one of those rare vagaries of military action upon which battles turn, the resulting scythe of shrapnel was to catch the British commander Vice-Admiral Sturdee as he moved forward to his ships conning tower. Severely wounded he was to take no part in the following events, and the head of the British Force was removed before it had even commenced to return fire.
Unaware of this, both German ships continued to engage, with the first British shots being returned even as this was occurring. The very next salvo from Gneisenau would gain its first hit forward on the Inflexible, followed by a hit from Scharnhorst on its fifth, starting a fire near the ships rear funnel. Despite their grim situation, Admiral von Spee found himself fighting the urge to smile as he heard Captain Schultz beside him muttering to himself in a brief moment of distraction, "Maerker's going to be insufferable," referring to Gneisenau's captain as he watched the gunnery performance. While remaining friendly, the sense of competition between the two sister ships had remained intense and enduring, one of the reasons both were renowned as crack gunnery ships. Even in the cauldron of battle it seemed that this legacy of competition lingered. With both ships now having the range and having scored hits upon their stationary targets they now switched to the Armour piercing rounds, maintaining the same deliberate fire for maximum accuracy. Having achieved this as the range dropped to 14,000m, von Spee gave the order for his two armoured cruisers to change course two-points to port, separating them further from the light cruisers, but opening up the arcs for his after guns to join in. At the same time as these cruisers were diverging north, they both now had opened fire to engage the closing Merchant Cruiser. By now both were in range and had already scored several hits on the unarmored vessel, starting a severe fire on board her by appearances.
With their full broadside available, despite still maintaining a deliberate rate of fire, both British battlecruisers were soon being hit regularly, literally sitting targets for the experienced German gunners. Both of them were now returning fire, but had yet to effectively range on the closing and so far, the return fire was as yet ineffectual, having failed to score a hit. Despite this initial success and the obvious fire still burning on the second battlecruiser, neither German officer on the bridge of the Scharnhorst expected little at this early stage of the engagement. German battlecruisers were well armored and built to take their place in the line of battle, and they largely expected that their British opponents would be of a similar nature. So, it came as a total shock when shortly after 0841 Gneisenau's eighth salvo again straddled Inflexible, appearing to score two hits amidships. What followed was clearly visible and subsequently reported by observers from both ashore and on nearby vessels, who saw a flash at the base of the middle funnel, followed by candle of flame from the midships Q-turret reaching the height of the fighting tops. This was followed almost immediately by a catastrophic detonation of its midships magazines, tearing the ship in two, and throwing debris hundreds of feet into the air and leaving a huge billowing chocolate coloured mushroom cloud, drifting south towards Stanley as it billowed up.
From the distant German perspective much of the detail of this catastrophic destruction of the Inflexible was lost, but the brilliant red flare of flame, followed by the rising cloud of the explosion was unmistakable even as it began to disperse. The report of the lookout was superfluous in its blandness "Target has blown up." But the simple banality in detailing the obvious, somehow highlighted its very unexpectedness to the German observers. For a moment or two fire paused aboard both ships as they sought to adjust their minds to the unexpectedness of it. Even as von Spee lowered his glasses and met the equally surprised look of his flag captain a further report came down from above. "Debris from the explosion appears to have damaged the nearest Monmouth class ship. It's lost its foremast and the first funnel appears crumpled," Came the elaboration.
"What targets should Gneisenau engage now?" asked von Schulz, engage the damaged cruiser of both concentrate on the Battlecruiser?"
"Battlecruiser I think, while we still have AP rounds. Order the Gneisenau to switch targets, and we shall continue to close to 10,000 meters to employ the secondary armament," he directed before continuing, "Maybe we can repeat that or cause sufficient damage to prevent pursuit," then again raising his glasses to study the enemy ships in view.
Even as he waited for these instructions to be passed, he used the several minutes before firing would recommence to study the wider developing picture. He briefly ruminated his options if the second battlecruiser also succumbed, should he continue the engagement of the stationary targets at his mercy or disengage the squadron? Still slightly disbelieving the initial destruction, such a repetition was highly unlikely in his professional mind, so he quickly discarded this speculation. As he watched he could see the northern anchored Monmouth class vessel (Kent) now getting under way. Obviously from how quickly it was working up speed it had already been raising steam before their appearance. He watched the slowing growing bow wave as it gained momentum and steered towards the northern edge of the harbor mouth, wondering at its movement. "Minefield?" he speculated to himself, thinking back to his past interactions with Captain Grant of the Cornwallis on the China station. "A thoughtful and capable officer, it was quite possible given time to prepare," before turning his attention to the light cruiser's engagement also to the north.
The Macedonia, armed with 8 4.7-inch guns had boldly closed while he had concentrated on the battlecruiser action. Initially engaging the Nurnberg on the wing of the cruiser line, its boldness had been unrewarded, scoring only a single hit before the Nurnberg, soon joined by the lagging Leipzig, and combined had overwhelmed the unarmored merchant cruiser in less than half an hour with over forty hits. Now powerless, silenced and burning fiercely it was obvious that the mobile cruiser was heading to engage his two cruisers to the north. Now that it had attained sufficient steam to get under way it appeared intent to close with the two German light cruisers, and there was nothing he could do to influence this new action.
At this point the sharper crack of his 5.9-inch secondary armament joined the more deliberate fire of the main armament as they had closed to within 10,000m. He had more AP rounds for these and hopefully they would have greater impact now that the supply of these was running low for his largest guns. At this point he gave the order to reverse course back to a more northern heading, as for the first time the Invincible found range. He felt the deck shiver underfoot as a 12-inch shell impacted on the Scharnhorst, striking well aft. Even as he watched Captain von Schultz turning to hear the damage reports he couldn't help but feel a degree of professional disdain at how long it had taken for this to happen. In the same time his two ships had probably scored over fifteen to twenty hits. Obviously not been keeping up much time on the ranges during peacetime was the only deduction, or perhaps an influx of reserve personnel, he mused distractedly to himself as for the second time in a few minutes another round came aboard. Listening to the reports received it was obvious the difference in damage the heavier guns caused, inflicting severe damage on with each strike on their German opponent.
This was forcing von Spee to reconsider his plan of closing to effective range of his secondary guns, with the counter fire of the Invincible suddenly seemed more accurate and effective at this shorter range, both the British ships on the southern side of the harbor began getting underway. Even as the two German Armored Cruisers expended the last of their limited AP supply and attempted to again open the range, it became apparent that this was no longer an option as the Invincible slowly began to work up to full speed. By 1000 both the Invincible and Cornwall were underway, and despite both being hit now over thirty times, with the majority of those on the Invincible. With both now well under way they began to consistently hit their German opponents. Slowly but surely von Spee could feel that the tide of battle was beginning to swing against his ships, as they lost the initial advantages of the opening stages of the engagement. Looking ahead to the north he could also see that the engagement between the now hard charging British cruiser there and the Leipzig and Nurnberg to the north was also not developing well.
This cruiser, the Kent, having attained sufficient steam to get under way had closed with the two German light cruisers while they were engaging the Macedonia. In the ferocious action that ensued she would be hit over fifty times, but the lighter guns of the German vessel where largely unable to penetrate the Kents armour belt to cause major damage. Nevertheless, her upper works were riddled and several casement guns destroyed by direct hits, the upper bridge wrecked, and one funnel partially knocked over limiting her speed and resulting in over 80 casualties in her crew. This came at great cost with her heavier guns inflicting severe damage on her smaller German opponents. Over the next hour the Leipzig would be silenced and rendered immobile by a number of damaging hits, and leaving the badly damaged Nurnberg, now limping north as it lost speed and only able to reply with two guns. At this point, in pursuit of the retreating Nurnberg, the Kent was to pass within 2000 meters of the stationary and burning Leipzig. While immobile it was still able to take advantage of the opportunity this proximity presented to launch two torpedoes undetected at the passing ship. One of which would hit, striking within 10 feet of the bow, and blowing a large hole and immobilizing it. Rapidly losing speed as water surged into the hole, the Kent would resume engaging the Leipzig hitting it a further 15-20 times before the cruiser would roll over and sink shortly before noon, taking over three-quarter of her crew with her. At this point the largely immobilized Kent, now unable to pursue the Nurnberg, was to concentrate on recovering Leipzig survivors from the freezing waters with its single surviving boat, taking no further part in the battle.
For von Spee, he now was facing the fact that the battle had indisputably turned against him, particularly as the surviving British battlecruiser, despite the number of hits suffered, continued to close with his two armored cruisers. Now that both had exhausted their remaining armored piercing rounds, limited to the less effective HE shells, their hits appeared to be largely achieving little, even as his own guns were steadily being silenced and the number of hits dropped. Both pursuers after skirting the southern end of the narrows, confirming in his mind the presence of mines there, had now settled in on a stern chase.
After initially withdrawing on a course to the NE, he had swung his ships heading to the SE to place the smoke from his laboring ships to best mask their opponents fire, but as the range had dropped, this had proved less effective. The course change had allowed them to cut the corner and close more quickly. By now the enemy was engaging his ship with two turrets whilst the stern turret was firing at the trailing Gneisenau. This weight of fire and the size of shell was now beginning to tell badly on his flagships ability to continue to fight. Already the second funnel had been shot away and the midships guns silenced. As water continued to enter the ship and she lost speed, he could see that his hope that the damage to the Invincible were not eventuating and it was continuing to close remorselessly. Already he could see the Gneisenau would soon overtake her flagging sister ship. He was a little belated in recognizing that he would have best been served by releasing her to proceed independently earlier, but now was the time. With smoke and his own flagships wrecked midships to a degree limiting his vision in that direction, he briefly stepped out of the conning tower on the lee side and confirm with his own eyes her status, before giving the final command to separate. Even as he was doing this and turning back from the bridge wing to give that command, a 12-inch Armour piercing shell fired by Invincibles A-turret would strike and penetrate the Scharnhorst's conning tower at 1125, killing her Captain and all within it. Vice Admirals von Spee's last conscious impression of the action would be of a blinding flash, before he knew no more.
