Which naval battle in December 1914 resulted in the destruction of the German East Asia Squadron?

The Battle of the Falkland Islands in December 1914 resulted in the destruction of Germany’s East Asia Squadron.

Fought on December 8, 1914, in the South Atlantic, the battle pitted a British force led by Vice Admiral Doveton Sturdee against the German squadron commanded by Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee. The British force included the modern battlecruisers HMS Invincible and HMS Inflexible, whose speed and heavy guns proved decisive.

Von Spee had recently defeated a British squadron at the Battle of Coronel and moved toward the Falklands, apparently expecting to find a vulnerable British base. Instead, Sturdee’s ships had arrived shortly beforehand. The German armored cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and light cruisers Leipzig and Nürnberg were sunk; only Dresden escaped temporarily.

The Battle of Coronel is the common mix-up because it involved the same German squadron, but it was a German victory rather than its destruction. The Falklands battle effectively ended Germany’s regular overseas cruiser presence in the South Atlantic.