There was no escape for the "SMS Scharnhorst": On December 8, 1914, almost exactly 105 years ago, the flagship of a German squadron in World War I suddenly faced a superior force of the Royal Navy.
The naval battle in the Falkland Islands went down in the history of war. For the "Scharnhorst" and other German ships, it ended in disaster: Shortly after 16.00 clock sank the 144 -meter battleship with the commander Admiral Maximilian Graf von Spee and 860 man crew. The wreck was never found - until now.
British researchers have reportedly located it in the South Atlantic. The remains of the German warship lie in the Falkland Islands, said the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust. With submarine robots, the flagship of the East Asian Staff of the Imperial Navy 98 Nautical miles southeast of Stanley was found at a depth of 1610 meters.
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"The moment of discovery was extraordinary, we often hunt shadows on the sea floor, but when the 'Scharnhorst' first appeared, there was no doubt that it was one of the German ships," said expedition leader Mensun Bound. "We sent an underwater robot down to explore and almost immediately found ourselves in a rubble field of war, suddenly emerging from the darkness with big guns pointing in all directions."
Contrary to the advice of his leadership, Admiral Graf von Spee had decided on a risky surprise attack on Port Stanley. However, he had not expected the superiority of the British, who were superior to the Germans with their faster ships and 305-millimeter guns. When von Spee realized that he could not escape with his squadron of eight ships, he decided to attack with the "SMS Scharnhorst" and the "Gneisenau", another battleship. That should give the other German ships the necessary lead to escape.
In fact, the British were initially surprised by the attack and received some hits. But the tide quickly turned. At around 3 pm, the British made decisive hits on the port side of the "Scharnhorst", some guns were destroyed and many were killed. About an hour later Spee's "Gneisenau" signaled with reference to the mission's doubts: "Admiral to Commander: You were right." Shortly thereafter, the "Scharnhorst" launched despite a strong list to a final desperate attack before it went down.
2200 dead soldiers
In addition to the battleship, the British submerged under the command of Admiral Doveton Sturdee in this naval battle five more ships:
- the armored cruiser "Gneisenau"
- the small cruisers "Leipzig" and "Nuremberg"
- and the two utilities "Santa Isabel" and "Baden".
Only the small cruiser "Dresden" and a hospital ship escaped the British ships. During the battle, the British ships fired about 1200 305-millimeter grenades. In total, around 2200 soldiers were killed in the fighting. Admiral Count von Spee and his two sons were also killed.
"As one of the many families affected by the heavy losses on 8 December 1914 in the Battle of the Falkland Islands, the discovery of 'SMS Scharnhorst' is bittersweet for us," said the descendant of the Admiral, Wilhelm Graf von Spee.
"We console ourselves with the knowledge that the final resting place has been found by so many and can now be preserved, while at the same time reminding us of the unspeakable loss of human life."
