 After the outbreak of World War I in July 1914 , Spee led his squadron across the Pacific to the coast of South America . Here on 1 November , he defeated the British 4th Cruiser Squadron under Rear Admiral Christopher Cradock in the Battle of Coronel , sinking two of Cradock 's cruisers and forcing his other two ships to retreat . A month later , Spee decided to attack the British naval base in the Falkland Islands , though a superior British force surprised him . In the ensuing Battle of the Falkland Islands , Vice Admiral Doveton Sturdee 's squadron , which included two powerful battlecruisers , destroyed the East Asia Squadron . Spee and his two sons , who happened to be serving on two of his ships , were all killed , along with about 2 @,@ 200 other men . Spee was hailed as a hero in Germany , and several ships were named in his honor , including the heavy cruiser Admiral Graf Spee , which was built in the 1930s and was defeated in the Battle of the River Plate during World War II . 
