The Battles of Coronel and the Falklands: British Naval Campaigns in the Southern Hemisphere 1914-15 tells the story of British cruiser warfare and naval strategy in the Southern Atlantic during the First World War. This was the last naval campaign that was fought just by surface ships without the intrusion of modern technology such as aircraft, submarines and mines. German commerce raiders had been at large in the southern oceans since the declaration of war on 4 August 1914 and it was imperative that British forces should hunt and destroy them before they caused untold damage to British trade. The campaign to bring a German squadron to battle met with disaster (The Battle of Coronel) before final victory at the Falkland Islands. Individual raiders such as the Emden, Dresden and Konigsburg were also hunted and destroyed in a fascinating series of actions where bravery and courage were displayed by both sides.