"I trust I shall not suffer the fate of poor Troubridge."
-Sir Christopher Craddock
Craddock's fate was sealed earlier in the year when Admirals Milne and Troubridge were court-martialed for letting Goeben escape to Turkey. He knew that he had to stop Spee, and he knew he would probably fail.
The best book I have read on the subject was
Graf Spee's Raiders, by Keith Yates.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw...ee%27s+raiders
In 2004 I did a series of articles on the naval and air war in 1914 for another forum. Lots of interesting stories there.