Pacific war

Jul 31, 1914

SMS Emden puts to sea to get into a position to begin commerce raiding a few days before the actual start of the war. Her Captain is Karl von Müller, with his executive officer Hellmuth von Mücke

Location: Tsingtao

Aug 03, 1914

SMS Emden captures the Russian steamer Ryazan. She is sent back to Tsingtao to be converted into an auxiliary cruiser, which is then renamed Cormoran.

Location: Pacific ocean

Aug 05, 1914

von Spee sends a signal to Müller on SMS Emden ordering him to join the rest of the East Asian Station at Pagan Island in the Marianas Islands.

Location: Tsingtao

Aug 06, 1914

SMS Emden leaves Tsingtao with the auxiliary cruiser Prinz Eitel Friedrich and the collier Markomannia.

Location: Tsingtao

Aug 06, 1914

SMS Nürnberg meets up with Scharnhorst and move to the German colony of Pagan Island in the Marianas

Location: Pacific ocean

Aug 12, 1914

SMS Emden and Prinz Eitel Frierich join up with von Spee’s Squadron

Location: Pacific ocean

Aug 13, 1914

von Spee allows Karl von Müller to take detach the SMS Emden from the squadron to act as a commerce raider.

Location: Pacific ocean

Aug 14, 1914

SMS Emden and Markomannia leaves the East Asia Squadron for the Indian Ocean

Location: Pacific ocean

Aug 14, 1914

von Spee takes his squadron from Pagan Island and heads for Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands

Location: Pacific ocean

Aug 15, 1914

An expedition leaves New Zealand to take German Samoa

Location: Pacific ocean

Sep 1914

SMS Dresden moves into the Pacific in order to meet up wit von Spee's East Asia Squadron

Location: Pacific ocean

Sep 05, 1914

SMS Emden enters the Bay of Bengal

Location: Indian Ocean

Sep 08, 1914

von Spee sends SMS Nürnberg to Honolulu in order to send messages back to Germany through the United States, which was neutral at this time. She returns with news about the capture of German Samoa, so von Spee decides to investigate in the hope of finding some British ships in the area.

Location: Pacific ocean

Sep 10, 1914

SMS Emden moves onto the Colombo–Calcutta shipping route. She captures the Greek collier Pontoporros, which was carrying equipment for the British. Captain Müller took the ship into his service and agreed to pay the crew.

Location: Indian Ocean

Sep 13, 1914

Captain Müller releases the steamer Kabinga that he had captured earlier, and then sinks two more British prizes.

Location: Indian Ocean

Sep 14, 1914

The East Asia Squadron reaches Samoa, but find not British warships there. Von Spee decides not to attempt shelling the troops in the harbour to avoid killing any civilans or damaging German property. They then leave for the French colony on the island of Tahiti.

Location: Pacific ocean

Sep 17, 1914

HMS Glasgow joins up with HMS Good Hope under Rear-Admiral Cradock

Location: South America

Sep 22, 1914

SMS Emden enters the port of Madras, which was completely illuminated despite a blackout order from the British. She came within 3000 yards of the piers before opening fire. She set fire to two tankers and damaged three others, and damaged a merchant ship in the harbor.

Location: India

Sep 22, 1914

The Germans attack the French colony at Papeete in order to raid it for coal supplies

Location: Pacific ocean

Sep 23, 1914

The British order that all shipping in the Bay of Bengal stops due to the danger from SMS Emden

Location: Indian Ocean

Sep 25, 1914

SMS Emden sinks a pair of British merchantmen

Location: Indian Ocean

Sep 27, 1914

SMS Emden captures the collier Buresk loaded with high grade steam coal and takes it as a prize. Later in the day she sinks two more British vessels.

Location: Indian Ocean

Sep 29, 1914

SMS Emden arrives in the Maldives in order to refill her fuel bunkers. She cruises looking for prizes for a few more days, and then goes to Diego Garcia for repairs. The British garrison there had not yet learned that Britain was at war with Germany and gave them a warm reception.

Location: Indian Ocean

Oct 04, 1914

The British intercept a radio message that von Spee was planning to attack the trade routes along the west coast of South America.

Location: South America

Oct 10, 1914

Having performed repairs, and cleaned her bottom of fouling to make her faster, SMS Emden leaves Diego Garcia.

Location: Indian Ocean

Oct 12, 1914

The British capture SMS Emden's collier Markomannia

Location: Indian Ocean

Oct 12, 1914

The East Asia Squadron reaches Easter Island were it joins up with SMS Leipzig and SMS Dresden, along with four more colliers.

Location: Pacific ocean

Oct 15, 1914

SMS Emden captures a British steamer off Minikoi and sank her the next day. Over the next five days, she captured five more vessels; one was used as a collier, three were sunk, and the fifth was sent to port with the crews of the other vessels.

Location: Indian Ocean

Oct 20, 1914

Captain Müller of SMS Emden decided it was time to move to a new area of operations

Location: Indian Ocean

Oct 22, 1914

Rear-Admiral Cradock sends a signal to the Admiralty that he intended to leave HMS Canopus at the Falkland Islands to look after his coilers because her slow speed was hampering the search for the German squadron under von Spee.

Location: Falkland Islands

Oct 27, 1914

SMS Emden coals in the Nicobar Islands on its way to Penang in British Malaya

Location: Indian Ocean

Oct 27, 1914

Admiral John Fisher at the Admiralty receives Rear-Admiral Cradock's message that he was leaving HMS Canopus behind when he rounded Cape Horn in his search for Admiral von Spee's German East Asia Squadron.

Location: Britain

Oct 28, 1914

SMS Emden raids Penang and attacks the Russian cruiser Zhemchug

Location: Indian Ocean

Oct 28, 1914

Admiral Fisher sends an order from the Admiralty to Rear-Admiral Cradock not to engage Spee without HMS Canopus. It will not reach him in time to do any good.

Location: Britain

Oct 30, 1914

SMS Emden stops the British steamer Newburn and put the French sailors aboard her after the promise not to return to the war.

Location: Indian Ocean

Oct 31, 1914

HMS Glasgow enters Coronel harbour to pick up messages from the British consul. There was a German supply ship in the harbour at the time which immediately sent a radio message to von Spee informing him of the presence of a lone British cruiser.

Location: South America

Nov 01, 1914

von Spee defeats Rear-Admiral Cradock at Coronel

Location: South America

Nov 03, 1914

The East Asia Squadron gets into port at Valparaiso where they are welcomed as heroes by the Germans living there. As this is a neutral port they are required to leave again within 24 hours.

Location: South America

Nov 09, 1914

A landing party from SMS Emden lands to the Cocos Islands to destroy a wireless station, resulting in it getting caught by HMAS Sydney.

Location: Indian Ocean

Nov 11, 1914

HMS Invincible and HMS Inflexible leave Devonport under the command of Vice-Admiral Doveton Sturdee in order to hunt down von Spee.

Location: Plymouth

Nov 12, 1914

HMS Canopus sets herself up to defend Stanley from an attack by von Spee. Her top masts are removed and she is camouflaged to prevent her her being seen at her firing position. An observation post is set up ashore, connected to the ship by telephone so that she can fire over the island against approaching ships without being visible.

Location: Falkland Islands

Nov 15, 1914

von Spee is awarded with a an Iron Cross First Class, and 300 of his crew are awarded the Iron Cross Second Class

Location: Pacific ocean

Nov 17, 1914

Lieutenant Hirst of HMS Glasgow hears the locals talking about the incoming arrival of Vice-Admiral Doveton Sturdee's squadron, despite the attempts at secrecy around his mission.

Location: South America

Nov 26, 1914

The East Asia Squadron sets out for Cape Hope in order to cross into the Atlantic and then home to Germany.

Location: Pacific ocean

Dec 06, 1914

HMS Glasgow and Bristol arrive in the Falkland Islands in order to meet up with Vice-Admiral Sturdee's squadron.

Location: Falkland Islands

Dec 07, 1914

Vice-Admiral Sturdee's squadron arrives in the Falkland Islands

Location: Falkland Islands

Dec 08, 1914

von Spee si defeated by the British squadron at the Falkland Islands

Location: Falkland Islands

Dec 18, 1914

HMS Canopus leaves the Falkland Islands to return to its normal patrol routes the South American Station near Abrolhos Rocks

Location: South America

Mar 1915

SMS Dresden reaches Robinson Crusoe Island in the south Pacific. Her engines were worn out and she had almost no coal left for her boilers, so the ship's captain contacted the local Chilean authorities to have Dresden interned.

Location: Pacific ocean

Mar 14, 1915

The British attack and sink SMS Dresden

Location: South America

May 1915

The men of the Emden manage to travel 20000 miles across the Indian Ocean to their Ottoman allies

Location: Red Sea