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German East Asia Squadron
The German East Asia squadron was a German Kaiserliche Marine (naval) cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the 1870s and 1914.
The squadron initially had no base. This changed with Germany's annexation and colonisation of Kiautschou in China on November 14, 1897. A German naval base was then built at the fishing village of Tsingtao.
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the squadron — under the command of Vice Admiral Spee — was outnumbered by Allied navies in the region. Spee was especially wary of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Royal Australian Navy — in fact he described the latter's flagship, the battlecruiser HMAS Australia as being superior to his entire force by itself. The German squadron therefore headed towards the eastern Pacific, except for the light cruiser Emden, which was to engage in a raiding campaign in the Indian Ocean.
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