It was commanded by Rear Admiral Sir
Christopher Cradock, a distinguished and popular sailor, who had under
his command one twelve-year-old battleship, the Canopus, two armored
cruisers, the Good Hope and the Monmouth, the light cruiser Glasgow, and
an armed liner, the Otranto. None of these vessels had either great
speed or heavy armament. The equipment of the Canopus, indeed, was
obsolete. Admiral Cradock's squadron arrived at Halifax on August 14th,
thence sailed to Bermuda, then on past Venezuela and Brazil around the
Horn. It visited the Falkland Islands, and by the third week of October
was on the coast of Chile. The Canopus had dropped behind for repairs,
and though reinforcements were expected, they had not yet arrived.
One officer wrote, on the 12th of October, "From now till the end of the
month is the critical time, as it will decide whether we shall have to
fight a superior German force from the Pacific before we can get
reinforcements from home or the Mediterranean. We feel that the
admiralty ought to have a better force here, but we shall fight
cheerfully whatever odds we have to face."
Admiral Cradock knew well that his enemy was superior in force. From
Coronel, where he sent off some cables, he went north on the first of
November, and about four o'clock in the afternoon the Glasgow sighted
the enemy.
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