Pershing Lecture Series - The Last Cruise: German East Asian Squadron - John Kuehn

Based in Qingdao, China at the outset of WWI, the German East Asian Squadron participated in two major naval battles that culminated with its destruction during the Battle of the Falkland Islands. Sail along with John T. Kuehn as he examines the short lifespan of the Squadron under Admiral Graf von Spee’s leadership and its defeat against the British Royal Navy in late 1914.
For more information about the National WWI Museum and Memorial visit theworldwar.org

[@tobiasgoldberg8190]

Oh that was a good lecture and a nice Q&A round too.

[@joeyj6808]

I'll always think of it as Tsingtao, but I'm old. Great lecture on a subject very dear to me. I've read everything I can get my hands on concerning the Imperial German colonies, the South Seas Fleet, the Emden, the Konigsberg, etc. Thank you John, for treating the subject with respect and accuracy!

[@ocrow8079]

Thanks, that was interesting. Several years ago John Gorkowski designed a boardgame depicting the events of the German East Asia Squadron during WWI. Published by Hollandspiele, the game is called Empire at Sunrise: The Great War in the East, 1914. This presentation makes clear the operational constraints the Germans were under, and helps explain to me some of the reasons/design choices behind particular rules in this game.

[@bobkitchin8346]

It's my understanding the reason why the British fleet was off the Chilean coast was to guard/blockade the sodium nitrate deposits (aka Chilean Saltpeter or guano). Sodium nitrate is a vital ingredient in gun powder and high explosives. At the time, Chile held most of the world's deposits of sodium nitrate. Did vonSpee consider attacking and destroying the sodium nitrate mining infrastructure?

[@bobneuman8033]

Great lecture about a little known part of the war.