One of the first naval battles of WWI, the Battle of Coronel was fought between Britain's Royal Navy, and the German Empire's Imperial Navy.
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The German squadron leaving port of Valparaiso in Chile after the battle of Coronel, November 2, 1914. The Russians would concede defeat at the Treaty of Portsmouth four months later. Like the Americans at the Battle of Manila, Tsushima proved that the Japanese Empire was a major power. Japanese casualties were just three ships sunk, over 100 dead, and around 530 wounded. Sir George Sydenham Clarke, a British officer and colonial administrator at the time, wrote that "the battle of Tsu-shima is by far the greatest and the most important naval event since Trafalgar." Over 4,000 Russian sailors were killed and 5,000 more were captured. Two-thirds of Russia's fleet, some 21 ships, were sunk in the battle - with six more captured. The Japanese sailors would end up virtually destroying the Russian Navy.
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The stakes were so high that Japanese Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō told his sailors just before the battle, "t he Empire's fate depends on the result of this battle, let every man do his utmost duty." Russia's Navy had prevented Imperial Japan from controlling the sea, and intended to swarm the Japanese Navy with their combined forces, hopefully ending the Russo-Japanese War. Known in Japan as the Naval Battle of the Sea of Japan, the Battle of Tsushima saw the Empire of Japan, then a rising power, take on the combined forces of the Russian Empire's Baltic Fleet and Pacific Squadron. It also enabled the US to occupy Manila which eventually led to Spain surrendering control of the Philippines to the US.Īdmiral Tōgō on the bridge of Mikasa, at the beginning of the Battle of Tsushima in 1905. The battle showed that the US was a global power capable of taking on traditionally powerful European countries like Spain. US casualties were extremely low - only one US cruiser damaged, one sailor dead (reportedly due to heatstroke), and nine sailors wounded. Spanish forces suffered 77 dead and over 200 wounded. Out of the 13 total ships in the Spanish squadron, eight were sunk - seven cruisers and one transport. The first battle of the Spanish-American War, the Battle of Manila Bay saw the c omplete destruction of Spain's Pacific Squadron by the American Asiatic Squadron, led by commodore George Dewey. Though a battle that featured pre-dreadnought ships, the Battle of Manila Bay involved massive steamships with large turrets and guns that were the precursors of those that would be seen on battleships in WWI and WWII.
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Asiatic Squadron in destroying the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay, May 1, 1898.