PEACEFUL ANCHORAGE

Description

At the outbreak of World War I, Germany’s East Asiatic squadron, consisting of two large armored cruisers and three light cruisers under the command of Vice Admiral Graf Spee, travelled from their base at Tsingtao in northern China, across the Western Pacific to the coast of Chile.  On November 1st they were intercepted off the Chilean port of Coronel by a British squadron where, enjoying a large advantage in firepower, the encounter ended with a resounding victory for Admiral Graf Spee.

The British Admiralty reacted swiftly, dispatching a powerful naval force to the South Atlantic to confront the German Squadron, and on December 9th battle commenced some 120 miles south west of the Falkland Islands.  Outnumbered, outgunned and outpaced by the British force, the Battle of the Falklands was over by nightfall.  Von Spee and the entire crew of his flagship Scharnhorst perished, and with Leipzig, Nurnberg and Gneisenau also sunk, the East Asiatic Squadron was routed.  Only Dresden escaped and when she was scuttled in Chilean waters four months later, the East Asiatic Squadron ceased to exist.

Robert Taylor’s stunning painting shows ships of the East Asiatic Squadron at anchor in a Pacific island bay prior to the outbreak of hostilities in 1914.  The ships are, left to right, the light cruisers Nurnberg and Dresden, cruiser Gneisenau and Von Spee’s flagship Scharnhorst.  This spectacular limited edition print is an image that will attract admiration and comment whether hung in the home, office, boardroom, or on board a ship.