Siege of Tsingtao

27 August – 7 November 1914, Tsingtao (Qingdao), German Kiautschou

Japanese and British victory

Japan entered the war to take Germany's base in China. Its fleet blockaded Tsingtao while the army besieged it, joined by the British battleship Triumph. Seaplanes from Wakamiya made the first ship-launched air raids. The German torpedo boat S90 slipped out at night and sank the old cruiser Takachiho with 271 men. The German and Austro-Hungarian ships in the harbour were scuttled one by one, and the fortress surrendered on 7 November.

Britain + Japan

7+ ships, 2 lost

Royal Navy

1 ship, none lost

Ship	Type	Outcome
HMS Triumph Slightly damaged by a shore battery	Pre-dreadnought battleship Swiftsure class	Damaged

Ship

Type

Outcome

HMS Triumph

Slightly damaged by a shore battery

Pre-dreadnought battleship

Swiftsure class

Damaged

Imperial Japanese Navy

6+ ships, 2 lost

Ship	Type	Outcome
IJN Suwo Also known as Pobeda flagship of the blockade	Pre-dreadnought battleship Peresvet class	Survived
IJN Kawachi	Dreadnought battleship	Survived
IJN Kongō	Battlecruiser Kongō class	Survived
IJN Wakamiya	Auxiliary	Survived
IJN Takachiho Torpedoed by S90; 271 killed	Protected cruiser	Sunk
IJN Shirotae Ran aground; destroyed by Jaguar	Destroyer	Wrecked

Flotillas and other craft	Number	Lost
Other warships Including the dreadnought Settsu, the battlecruiser Hiei, and older battleships and cruisers.	many	0

Flotillas and other craft

Number

Lost

Other warships

Including the dreadnought Settsu, the battlecruiser Hiei, and older battleships and cruisers.

many

Germany + Austria-Hungary

7 ships, 6 lost

Imperial German Navy

6 ships, 5 lost

Ship	Type	Outcome
SMS S90 Scuttled after her escape	Torpedo boat	Survived
SMS Jaguar On the day of the surrender	Gunboat	Scuttled

Flotillas and other craft	Number	Lost
Gunboats and old cruiser Iltis, Luchs, Tiger and the old cruiser Cormoran, all scuttled in the harbour.	4	4

Flotillas and other craft

Number

Lost

Gunboats and old cruiser

Iltis, Luchs, Tiger and the old cruiser Cormoran, all scuttled in the harbour.

Austro-Hungarian Navy

1 ship, 1 lost

Ship	Type	Outcome
SMS Kaiserin Elisabeth Guns taken ashore	Protected cruiser	Scuttled

Fleet Ledger