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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_von_Spee http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_East_Asia_Squadron http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Emden_(1908)
I'm currently reading "Castles of Steel" which is about the naval war in WW1 and have reached the section about von Spee's voyage. The author posits that had the East Asia squadron been composed of 9 light cruisers instead of 3 light and 2 armored cruisers, that von Spee could have broken up his fleet into individual commerce raiders and terrorized the whole Pacific and Indian ocean, in effect having 9 Emdens sailing around and creating havoc. Obviously not all could have been as successful as the Emden, but what could have been achieved had 9 German light cruisers been pirating the waters of the Pacific?