Action of 22 September 1914

Overview

The Action of 22 September 1914 was an attack by the German U-boat U-9 that took place during the First World War. Three obsolete Royal Navy cruisers of the 7th Cruiser Squadron manned mainly by Royal Naval Reserve part-timers and sometimes referred to as the Live Bait Squadron, were sunk by U-9 while patrolling the southern North Sea.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Action of 22 September 1914 demonstrated the vulnerability of surface warships to submarine attack in a single, concentrated engagement. Three obsolete Royal Navy cruisers of the 7th Cruiser Squadron, manned largely by Royal Naval Reserve part-timers and sometimes called the Live Bait Squadron, were sunk by the German U-boat U-9 while patrolling the southern North Sea. Of the 2,296 British personnel involved, 1,459 were lost. The engagement underscored the danger of deploying obsolete cruisers in waters accessible to enemy submarines, and forced a reassessment of patrol doctrine and surface vessel exposure in the North Sea during the early phase of the war.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (2)