 In December 1897 , Spee was stationed in Germany 's East Asia Squadron after it seized the concession at Kiautschou Bay , with its port at Tsingtao . Here , he served on the staff of Vizeadmiral Otto von Diederichs . During the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900 , Spee saw action at Tsingtao and on the Yangtze . After arriving back in Germany , he was promoted to the rank of Korvettenkapitän ( Corvette Captain ) and assigned as the first officer aboard the pre @-@ dreadnought battleship Brandenburg . Between 1900 and 1908 , Spee held command of several ships , including the aviso Hela , the minelayer Pelikan , and finally the pre @-@ dreadnought Wittelsbach . During this period , he was promoted to Fregattenkapitän ( Frigate Captain ) on 27 January 1904 and to Kapitän zur See ( Captain at Sea ) exactly a year later ; his command of Wittelsbach followed the latter promotion . In 1908 , he was assigned as the chief of staff to the commander of the North Sea Station , and in 1910 he was promoted to the rank of Konteradmiral ( <unk> – Counter Admiral ) . Spee was then assigned as the deputy commander for the reconnaissance forces of the High Seas Fleet . 
