MAPS AND CHARTS PAGE THE WAR ZONE IN WESTERN SEAS 5 CHART OF COURSE IN "CARMANIA"--"CAP TRAFALGAR" DUEL 39 THE CORONEL ACTION: POSITION WHEN ENEMY SIGHTED 49 THE CORONEL ACTION: POSITION AT SUNSET 51 CHART OF "CORNWALL" ACTION (_Inset_) 79 CHART OF BATTLE-CRUISER ACTION (_Inset_) 79 STANLEY HARBOUR: POSITIONS OF WARSHIPS 83 BATTLE OF THE FALKLANDS: POSITIONS AT 1.20 P.M. 94 BATTLE OF THE FALKLANDS: POSITIONS AT 2.45 P.M. 112 DUEL BETWEEN "KENT" AND "NÜRNBERG" 127 INTRODUCTION This plain, unvarnished account, so far as is known, is the first attempt that has been made to link with the description of the Falkland Islands battle, fought on December 8th, 1914, the events leading up to that engagement. In order to preserve accuracy as far as possible, each phase presented has been read and approved by officers who participated. The personal views expressed on debatable subjects, such as strategy, are sure to give rise to criticism, but it must be remembered that at the time of writing the exact positions of the ships engaged in overseas operations were not fully known, even in the Service. The subject falls naturally into three divisions: PART I. deals briefly with the movements of British and German warships, and includes the duel fought by the _Carmania_, and the action that took place off Coronel. PART II. describes the Falkland Islands battle itself, and the subsequent fate of the German cruiser _Dresden_. PART III. contains the official dispatches bearing on these exploits. The words of Alfred Noyes have been referred to frequently, because they are in so many respects prophetic, and also because of their influence in showing that the spirit of Drake still inspires the British Navy of to-day. The author takes this opportunity of expressing his warmest thanks to those who have helped him in collecting information and in the compilation of this book. PART I EXPLOITS OFF SOUTH AMERICA "Meekly content and tamely stay-at-home The sea-birds seemed that piped across the waves; And Drake, bemused, leaned smiling to his friend Doughty and said, 'Is it not strange to know When we return, yon speckled herring-gulls Will still be wheeling, dipping, flashing there? We shall not find a fairer land afar Than those thyme-scented hills we leave behind! Soon the young lambs will bleat across the combes, And breezes will bring puffs of hawthorn scent Down Devon lanes; over the purple moors Lav'rocks will carol; and on the village greens Around the maypole, while the moon hangs low, The boys and girls of England merrily swing In country footing through the flowery dance.'"