WWI – Battle of the Falkland Islands

World War I has become a popular era for historical fiction novels. Smitten Historical Romance has one releasing in June titled Among the Poppies by J’nell Ciesielski. Watch for it!

WWI – The Great War – saw many changes in the way wars were fought with the introduction of airplanes, submarines, and the use of underwater mines. But on December 8, 1914, in the waters around the Falkland Islands off the tip of South America, the last old-fashioned naval battle was waged.

The Germans, fresh off an unexpected naval victory off the coast of Chile where the British fleet received its first defeat in more than a century, approached the Falkland Islands intent on destroying the radio tower there to knock out Brittian’s communication in the South Atlantic.

What they didn’t know was that British reinforcements had arrived before them, re-coaled their ships, and were ready for battle. Instead of a few large, slow British Dreadnoughts, the Germans faced the HMS Inflexible and HMS Invincible,  two swift battlecruisers.

In this final naval battle of just ship against ship, sailor against sailor, the Germans lost four warships and 2,000 sailors. The British lost only 10 sailors and saved their radio communication capability.

Pegg Thomas – Writing History with a Touch of Humor

Managing Editor for Smitten Historical Romance, Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas

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