 Also in November , the British sought to use the 12 @-@ inch ( 305 mm ) guns of the old battleship Goliath to sink the cruiser . The attempt was unsuccessful , once again because the shallow waters prevented the battleship from getting within range . In December , Oberstleutnant ( Lieutenant Colonel ) Paul von Lettow @-@ Vorbeck requested as many crew members from the ship as possible for the East Africa Campaign against the British ; a total of 220 men were left aboard to keep the ship in fighting condition . This was not enough , however , to permit the ship to go to sea . Königsberg moved further up the river on 18 December . On 23 December , the British used a pair of shallow @-@ draft ships to sail up the delta . They hit Somali once before German defensive fire forced them to retreat . 
