Coronel

Coronel , city (1990 est. pop. 74,090), S central Chile, a port on the Pacific Ocean. It is a major coaling station and a shipping point for lumber and the coal from nearby mines. In a naval engagement off Coronel on Nov. 1, 1914, during World War I, German Admiral Graf von Spee defeated a British squadron under Sir Christopher Cradock, a triumph offset later by the battle of the Falklands.

Coronel, battle of, 1914. At the outbreak of the First World War, the German Pacific squadron, commanded by Admiral von Spee, steamed across the Pacific with the intention of rounding Cape Horn and returning to Germany. On 1 November 1914 von Spee was intercepted by a British squadron commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Craddock off Coronel on the Chilean coast. The Germans had more modern vessels armed with heavier guns and within an hour they had sunk most of Craddock's ships and resumed their voyage. They were themselves sunk at the battle of the Falkland Islands in December.

David French

Coronel, battle of, 1914. At the outbreak of the First World War, the German Pacific squadron, commanded by Admiral von Spee, steamed across the Pacific with the intention of returning to Germany. On 1 November 1914 von Spee was intercepted by a British squadron commanded by Rear‐Admiral Sir Christopher Craddock off Coronel on the Chilean coast. The Germans had more modern vessels armed with heavier guns and within an hour they had sunk most of Craddock's ships. They were themselves destroyed at the battle of the Falkland Islands in December.