Fanning Raid
{{Infobox military conflict
|conflict=Fanning Raid
|partof=World War I
|image=Destroyed dynamo-room at Fanning cable station during the Fanning raid, September 1914.png
|image_size=
|caption= Dynamo-room at Fanning cable station destroyed during the raid
|date=7 September 1914
|place=Fanning Island, Pacific Ocean
|result=German victory
|combatant1={{flagcountry|size=23px|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}}
|combatant2={{flag|German Empire}}
|commander1={{flagicon|British Empire}} Superintendent A. Smith {{cite book |last1=Taltavall |first1=J.B. |title=Telegraph and Telephone Age |volume=32 |edition=21 |chapter=How the Fanning Island Cable Station Was Captured and Destroyed by the Germans |location=New York, New York |date=1 Nov 1914 |page=586 }}
|commander2={{flagicon|German Empire|naval}} Maximilian von Spee
|strength1=Unknown
|strength2=Light cruiser {{SMS|Nürnberg|1906|2}}
|casualties1=Communications station destroyed
2,000 pounds in material damage
|casualties2=None
}}
{{Campaignbox Asian and Pacific Campaign}}
The Fanning Raid was an action of the First World War involving a successful German attack on the Fanning island cable relay station. Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee sent the light cruiser {{SMS|Nürnberg|1906|6}} along with the collier Titania to attack the station on 7 September 1914 while his East Asia Squadron was crossing the Pacific, en route to South America.
Background
Fanning island was annexed by Great Britain in 1888.
The British communications company, Cable and Wireless, built a relay station for its central Pacific underwater telegraph cable on the island. The station was a part of the All Red Line, connecting Australia, New Zealand, and Canada to Great Britain.{{cite web|url=http://www.fanning-island.com/fanning_history.html|title=Fanning Island History|access-date=26 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140830003447/http://www.fanning-island.com/fanning_history.html|archive-date=30 August 2014|url-status=dead}}{{unreliable source?|date=September 2014}}
At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, the German East Asia Squadron, commanded by Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee, departed from its base at Qingdao. Spee intended to take his ships to South America, where British merchant shipping might be easily raided.Herwig, pp. 155–156 While crossing the Pacific on 6 September, Spee detached the light cruiser {{SMS|Nürnberg|1906|6}} and the auxiliary cruiser Titania to investigate the British installation at Fanning and to destroy the wireless station there.Halpern, p. 88
Raid
In the early morning of 7 September 1914, the German cruiser SMS Nürnberg, approached Fanning flying a French flag. Noticing the French flag the staff hoisted a British flag on the flagstaff. By the time the employees noticed the deception, German sailors already landed on the island. Shortly before being arrested operators managed to send a warning to Suva: "It's the Nürnberg; they are firing."{{cite web|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15552312|title=Australian Newspaper Article|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald |date=22 October 1914 |access-date=26 August 2014}}
The Germans then severely damaged the cable station, rendering it inoperable, and cut the island's undersea communications cables. They also smashed spare parts and instruments. The engine was completely destroyed with the use of small arms fire and explosives.{{cite web|url=https://www.samfoundation.ca/Electronic%20Warfare%20In%20WWI.pdf |title=Cable War |access-date=26 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903145328/https://www.samfoundation.ca/Electronic%20Warfare%20In%20WWI.pdf |archive-date=3 September 2014 }}{{unreliable source?|date=September 2014}} Documentation as well as a cache of rifles and ammunition was confiscated. The flagstaff was also cut down. Islanders remarked on the professionalism and courtesy of the German force. Material damage totaled $150,000.{{cite book |last1=Taltavall |first1=J.B. |title=Telegraph and Telephone Age |volume=32 |edition=21 |chapter=How the Fanning Island Cable Station Was Captured and Destroyed by the Germans |location=New York, New York |date=1 Nov 1914 |page=587 }}
Footnotes
{{Reflist}}
References
- {{cite book |last=Halpern|first=Paul G.|title=A Naval History of World War I|year=1995|location=Annapolis, MD|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=1-55750-352-4}}
- {{cite book |last=Herwig|first=Holger|title="Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918 |year=1980|location=Amherst, NY|publisher=Humanity Books|isbn=978-1-57392-286-9}}
Further reading
- Gray, J.A.C. Amerika Samoa, A History of American Samoa and its United States Naval Administration. Annapolis: United States Naval Institute. 1960.
{{World War I}}
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