Life Before The World War
Although he was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, the counts von Spee belonged to the prominent families of the Rhenish nobility. He joined the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) in 1878. In 1887–88 he commanded the Kamerun ports, in German West Africa. He was first officer of the battleship SMS Brandenburg when it was sent to East Asia in 1899 during the Boxer Rebellion. Before World War I he held a number of senior positions relating to weapons development, before being appointed Chief of Staff of the North Sea Command in 1908, rising to Rear Admiral on 27 January 1910.
He was given command of the German East Asia Squadron in 1912 with the rank of Vice-Admiral, based at Tsingtao within the German concession in China. The armored cruisers of his squadron were among the newest in the fleet. However, his ships would soon be made obsolete by the creation of the battlecruiser.
Read more about this topic: Maximilian Von Spee
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