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The Battle of Más a Tierra was a World War I battle fought on 14 March 1915, near the Chilean island of Más a Tierra, between a British squadron and a German light cruiser.[1] The battle saw the last remnant of the German East Asia Squadron destroyed, after the SMS Dresden was cornered and sunk in Cumberland Bay.
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After escaping the Battle of the Falkland Islands, the SMS Dresden and several auxiliaries retreated into the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to commence commerce raiding operations against Allied shipping. These operations did little to stop shipping in the area, but still proved a menace to the British, who had to expend resources to counter the cruiser. On 8 March, low on supplies and in need of repairs, the captain of the Dresden decided to hide his vessel and attempt to coal in Cumberland Bay near the neutral island of Más a Tierra. By coaling in a neutral port rather than at sea, Dresden's Captain Lüdecke gained the advantage of being able to intern the ship if caught by enemy vessels. British naval forces had been actively searching for the German cruiser, and a squadron made up of HMS Kent, HMS Glasgow, and HMS Orama cornered the Dresden in the bay on 14 March, challenging it to battle.[2]
The Glasgow opened fire on the Dresden, damaging the vessel and setting it afire. After returning fire for a short period of time, the captain of the Dresden decided the situation was hopeless as his vessel was vastly outgunned and outnumbered, while stranded in the bay with empty coal bunkers and worn out engines. Captain Lüdecke gave the order to abandon and scuttle his vessel. The German crew fled the cruiser in open boats to reach the safety of the island, which was neutral territory. The British cruisers kept up their fire on the Dresden and the fleeing boats until the light cruiser eventually exploded, but it is unclear whether the explosion was caused by the firing from the British ships or from scuttling charges set off by the Germans. After the ship exploded, the British commander ordered his ships to rescue any survivors from the Dresden. Three Germans were killed in action and fifteen wounded. The British suffered no casualties.[3]
With the destruction of the Dresden, the last remnant of the German East Asian Squadron was destroyed, as all the other ships of the squadron had been sunk or interned. The only German presence left in the Pacific Ocean was a few isolated commerce raiders, such as the SMS Seeadler and SMS Wolf. Because the island of Más a Tierra was a possession of Chile, a neutral country, the German Consulate in Chile protested that the British had broken international law by attacking an enemy combatant in neutral waters. The wounded German sailors were taken to Valparaiso, Chile for treatment, where one later died of wounds received during the action. The 315 of Dresden's crew who remained were interned by Chile until the end of the war, when those who did not wish to remain in Chile were repatriated to Germany.[4]
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