SMS Scharnhorst

Through these years, new ships were added to the East Asia Squadron.

In 1909, an armoured cruiser, the Scharnhorst.

In 1911, a sister ship, the SS Gneisenau.

They showed their threatening presence on the Australian New Zealand trade routes until this was countered in 1913 by the arrival of HMAS Australia, His Majesty's Australian ship.

We'll cover the incredible actions of the SS Emden and her crew in the next episode.

Minus the Emden, the Asia Squadron now consisted of four cruisers.

the larger sister cruisers, the SMS Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, and lighter cruisers, the SMS Leipzig and Nuremberg.

At the time, the Leipzig was on a visit to San Francisco on the west coast of the United States.