The German East Asia squadron was a German Kaiserliche Marine (naval) cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the 1870s and 1914. The Kaiserliche Marine or Imperial Navy was the German Navy created by the formation of the German Empire and existed between 1871 and 1919; it grew out of the Prussian Navy and the Norddeutsche Bundesmarine. ... The USS Port Royal (CG-73), a Ticonderoga class cruiser. ... A Squadron is a grouping of aircraft, naval vessels, armoured fighting vehicles or soldiers. ... Events and Trends Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) results in the collapse of the Second French Empire and in the formation of both the French Third Republic and the German Empire. ... 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

The squadron initially had no base. This changed with Germany's annexation and colonisation of Kiautschou in China on November 14, 1897. A German naval base was then built at the fishing village of Tsingtao. In politics and in history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a geographically-distinct state (or city, in ancient times). ... Jiaozhou Bay is located in northeastern China, on the southern coast of the Shandong peninsula. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... 1897 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Qingdao (Simplified Chinese: 青岛; Traditional Chinese: 青島; pinyin: Qīngdǎo; Wade-Giles: Ching-tao; Postal System Pinyin: Tsingtao) is a port sub-provincial city in the Shandong province of China, a naval base, and a major industrial city located at the southern tip of the Shandong Peninsula, in Jiaozhou Bay...

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the squadron — under the command of Vice Admiral Spee — was outnumbered by Allied navies in the region. Spee was especially wary of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Royal Australian Navy — in fact he described the latter's flagship, the battlecruiser HMAS Australia as being superior to his entire force by itself. The German squadron therefore headed towards the eastern Pacific, except for the light cruiser Emden, which was to engage in a raiding campaign in the Indian Ocean. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Vice Admiral is a naval rank of three star level, equivalent to Lieutenant General in seniority. ... Count (Graf) Maximilian Johannes Maria Hubert von Spee (22 June 1861 – 8 December 1914) was a German naval officer, born in Copenhagen, Denmark, who joined the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) in 1878. ... The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) (大日本帝國海軍 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kaigun or 日本海軍 Nippon Kaigun) was the navy of Japan before 1945. ... The Royal Australian Navy (or RAN) is the navy of Australia and part of the Australian Defence Force. ... HMS Invincible, one of Britains first battlecruisers Battlecruisers (short for battleship-cruisers) were large warships of the early 20th century. ... HMAS Australia was an Indefatigable class battlecruiser laid down by John Brown and Company of Clydebank at Glasgow in Scotland on 26 June 1910, launched on 25 October 1911 by Lady Reid, wife of Sir George Reid, the Australian High Commissioner in London and former Prime Minister. ... A light cruiser is a warship that is not so large and powerful as a regular (or heavy) cruiser, but still larger than ships like destroyers. ... SMS Emden underway The cruise of the German light cruiser SMS Emden was among the most romanticized and notable incidents of World War I. In the latter half of 1914 Emden raided Allied shipping in the Indian Ocean, sinking or capturing thirty Allied merchant vessels and warships before being run...