The cruisers of the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserlische Marine) were
active throughout the First World War and saw action all around the globe, tying
up valuable Allied naval resources out of all proportion to their number.
Drawing on first-hand accounts and original research in German archives, the
author here describes in detail some of their most significant and/or audacious
battles. Some are well known, such as their role at Jutland, Goeben's attack on
the Russian fleet (which brought Turkey into the war) and the sagas of Konigsberg
and Emden; but
others have been unduly neglected. Gary Staff deliberately focuses on the latter
to bring new material to the attention of the reader and to demonstrate the
global span of the cruisers' activities. The blow-by-blow accounts of the action
(drawing heavily on first-hand Allied and especially German accounts) are
supported by dozens of photographs, many previously unpublished, from the
author's own impressive collection.
The battles described include: Helgoland Bight, August 1914; Coronel,
November 1914; Falklands December, 1914; Doggerbank, January 1915; Goeben and
the Russian fleet, Black Sea, May 1915; Ostergarn July 1915; Jutland, 1916;
Second Heligoland Bight, November 1917; Imbros, January
1918.
