Battle of Coronel 1914
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 1 November 1914 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1914 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | World War I era (1914–1918) | derived from year |
| Nearest landmass | At sea (nearest continent: South America) | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | South America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | World War I | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | -36.9836, -73.8136 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Coronel was a First World War naval battle that led to an Imperial German Navy victory over the Royal Navy on 1 November 1914, off the coast of central Chile near the city of Coronel. The East Asia Squadron (German: Ostasiengeschwader or Kreuzergeschwader) of the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) led by Vice-Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee met and overpowered a British squadron commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock.
The engagement probably took place as a result of misunderstandings. Neither admiral expected to meet the other in full force. Once the two met, Cradock understood his orders were to fight to the end, despite the odds being heavily against him. Although Spee had an easy victory, destroying two enemy armoured cruisers for just three men injured, the engagement also cost him almost half his supply of ammunition, which was irreplaceable.
Shock at the British losses led the Admiralty to send more ships, including two modern battlecruisers, which in turn destroyed Spee and the majority of his squadron on 8 December at the Battle of the Falkland Islands.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Coronel (revision 1370437660), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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