Battle of the Falkland Islands 8 December 1914

After their victory off central Chile in the Battle of Coronel, the German fleet sped to the Falkland Islands to sabotage the British radio station and supply base in Port Stanley. Anticipating the German offensive and determined to reverse the Coronel defeat, the British had installed seven cruisers in the waters around the port. Their cruisers had superior firepower to the Germans, with the Invincible and Inflexible being the fastest and most powerful. Admiral von Spee’s two armoured cruisers and three light cruisers attacked Vice-Admiral Sturdee’s British fleet on 8 December 1914. Spee, outgunned, turned towards open sea, where his ships were outrun by the faster British cruisers. At 1.20 pm the Germans and British again engaged in fire, with the Invincible being hit. Once the British fleet were within close range they issued a barrage of firepower, sinking five German cruisers. Only the Dresden escaped.