At the start of World War One the Imperial German Navy had a large number of surface warships deployed around the world. These posed a considerable threat to British mercantile interests particularly the import of food & fuel supplies. Their elimination was a matter of urgency. This book covers the major actions &
Includes:: the following: The escape of the Goeben & Breslau to Turkey where they became units of the Turkish Navy serving in the Black & Aegean Seas. The remarkable cruise of the Emden. Detached from the German East Asia Squadron she sank a Russian cruiser a French destroyer 21 merchant ships & destroyed cargo valued at GBP3 million. She was cornered & sunk by the Australian cruiser Sydney while raiding the Cocos Islands. The mystery of the Karlsruhe destroyed by an internal explosion. The German East Asiatic Squadron consisting of the armoured cruisers Schanhorst & Gneisienau & several light cruisers made passage across the Pacific to the west coast of South America where they encountered & sank two British cruisers the Monmouth & Good Hope. The Konigsberg operated from Germany's colony of Tanga. After sinking a British cruiser she hid in the upper reaches of the Rufiji River. After a lengthy naval & air campaign by British forces she was finally destroyed by the indirect fire from two RN Monitors. By the middle of 1915 the high seas had been mostly cleared of German surface warships but two armed German ships dominated Lake Tanganyika. Two British armed motor boats were shipped to the West African coast from England & made their way by river & overland haulage to the lake a 400 mile journey. The result was the destruction of the German lake boats & the invasion of Tanganyika by British forces. This operation became the inspiration for CS Forester's novel The African Queen & the film that followed.