Service History
In 1909, Scharnhorst was assigned to the Ostasiengeschwader (East Asia Squadron); Gneisenau followed in 1910. The two ships formed the core of the squadron, with Scharnhorst serving as the flagship. They were crack gunnery ships; Gneisenau had won the Kaiser's Cup twice, and Scharnhorst's finished in second place in 1913 and 1914.
In June 1914, the annual summer cruise of the East Asia Squadron began. Gneisenau rendezvoused with Scharnhorst in Nagasaki, Japan, where they received a full supply of coal. They then sailed south, arriving in Truk in early July where they would restock their coal supplies. While en route, they received news of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. On 17 July, the East Asia Squadron arrived in Ponape in the Caroline Islands. Von Spee now had access to the German radio network, and he learned of the Austro-Hungarian declaration of war on Serbia and the Russian mobilization against Austria-Hungary and possibly Germany. On 31 July word came that the German ultimatum that Russia demobilize its armies was set to expire. Von Spee ordered his ships be stripped for war. On 2 August, Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered German mobilization against Russia and its ally, France.
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