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The Battle of Río de Oro was a
The battle of 26 August 1914 began when the German raider ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' was caught by surprise in a harbour, taking on coal from three German and Austro-Hungarian colliers. ''Highflyer'', greatly outgunning the German auxiliary cruiser, first demanded surrender, but the German commander argued that the British had violated Spain's neutrality.
The British disregarded this because the Germans had already violated Spain's neutrality by taking over a week to resupply in a neutral port. So a battle began: from 15:10 to 16:45 the two ships bombarded each other, sometimes dodging the shots. Eventually, ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' exhausted her ammunition and sought to flee the battle. The crew then scuttled the ship, made it to shore and escaped into the
British sources at the time insisted the German auxiliary cruiser was sunk by ''Highflyer''s crew but eventually stories from the surviving German seamen began to circulate, thus ending Britain's claim. Regardless of whether the ship was sunk by the British or scuttled by the Germans, the British were still responsible for the raider's demise.
''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' became the first passenger liner to sink during World War I. The wreck of the German commerce raider was identifiable because its starboard side remained above the waterline until the ship was scrapped in 1952. One British soldier was killed in the battle and six others were wounded. German casualties are unknown.
The Great Ocean Liners: ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse''
Lostliners: ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse Conflicts in 1914 Naval battles of World War I involving Germany Naval battles of World War I involving the United Kingdom Atlantic operations of World War I 1914 in Spanish Sahara August 1914 events Germany–United Kingdom military relations
single-ship action
A single-ship action is a naval engagement fought between two warships of opposing sides, excluding submarine engagements; called so because there is a single ship on each side. The following is a list of notable single-ship actions.
Single-shi ...
fought in August 1914 during the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, when attacked the German off Río de Oro on the coast of Northwest Africa.
Background
Under the command of Max Reymann,Imperial German Navy
The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...
ship was originally a passenger liner
A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...
, built in 1897, part of the German merchant fleet until requisitioned for service at the outbreak of World War I and fitted with six 4-inch guns and two 37-millimeter guns. The German vessel set steam for a commerce raiding
Commerce raiding (french: guerre de course, "war of the chase"; german: Handelskrieg, "trade war") is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than en ...
mission in the Atlantic Ocean.
Commanded by Henry T. Buller, Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
ship was a protected cruiser built in 1898 with eleven 6-inch guns, nine 12-pounder gun 12-pounder gun or 12-pdr, usually denotes a gun which fired a projectile of approximately 12 pounds.
Guns of this type include:
*12-pounder long gun, the naval muzzle-loader of the Age of Sail
*Canon de 12 de Vallière, French cannon of 1732
* Can ...
s, six 3-pounder gun 3-pounder gun, 3-pounder, 3-pdr or QF 3-pdr is an abbreviation typically referring to a gun which fired a projectile weighing approximately 3 pounds. It may refer to :
*The Grasshopper cannon : of the 18th century
*QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss : Hotchkiss ...
s and two torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s. She had been detached to support the 5th Cruiser Squadron in hunting the German raider.
Battle
The battle of 26 August 1914 began when the German raider ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' was caught by surprise in a harbour, taking on coal from three German and Austro-Hungarian colliers. ''Highflyer'', greatly outgunning the German auxiliary cruiser, first demanded surrender, but the German commander argued that the British had violated Spain's neutrality.
The British disregarded this because the Germans had already violated Spain's neutrality by taking over a week to resupply in a neutral port. So a battle began: from 15:10 to 16:45 the two ships bombarded each other, sometimes dodging the shots. Eventually, ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' exhausted her ammunition and sought to flee the battle. The crew then scuttled the ship, made it to shore and escaped into the Saharan Desert
, photo = Sahara real color.jpg
, photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972
, map =
, map_image =
, location =
, country =
, country1 =
, ...
.
Aftermath
British sources at the time insisted the German auxiliary cruiser was sunk by ''Highflyer''s crew but eventually stories from the surviving German seamen began to circulate, thus ending Britain's claim. Regardless of whether the ship was sunk by the British or scuttled by the Germans, the British were still responsible for the raider's demise.
''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' became the first passenger liner to sink during World War I. The wreck of the German commerce raider was identifiable because its starboard side remained above the waterline until the ship was scrapped in 1952. One British soldier was killed in the battle and six others were wounded. German casualties are unknown.
See also
* Battle of TrindadeReferences
Further reading
*External links
The Great Ocean Liners: ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse''
Lostliners: ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse Conflicts in 1914 Naval battles of World War I involving Germany Naval battles of World War I involving the United Kingdom Atlantic operations of World War I 1914 in Spanish Sahara August 1914 events Germany–United Kingdom military relations