Action of 22 September 1914
| The Action of 22 September 1914 | |||||||
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| Part of the First World War | |||||||
 North Sea, showing the Dogger Bank and Broad Fourteens |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 British Empire
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 German Empire
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Captain John Edmund Drummond Captain Wilmot Nicholson Captain Robert Warren Johnson † |
Kapitänleutnant Otto Weddigen | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 3 armoured cruisers | 1 submarine | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1,459 killed 3 armoured cruisers sunk |
none | ||||||
The Action of 22 September 1914 was a German U-boat ambush that took place during the First World War, in which three obsolete Royal Navy cruisers, manned mainly by reservists and sometimes referred to as the livebait squadron, were sunk by a German submarine while on patrol.
Approximately 1,450 sailors were killed and there was a public outcry in Britain at the losses. The sinkings eroded confidence in the British government and damaged the reputation of the Royal Navy, at a time when many countries were still considering which side they might support in the war.
The cruisers were part of the Southern Force (Rear-Admiral Arthur Christian) composed of the flagship Euryalus, the light cruiser Amethyst and the 7th Cruiser Squadron (7th CS, also known as Cruiser Squadron C, Rear-Admiral H. H. Campbell), comprising the Cressy-class armoured cruisers Bacchante, Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy, the 1st and 3rd Destroyer flotillas, ten submarines of the 8th Oversea Flotilla and the attached Active-class scout cruiser, HMS Fearless. The force was assigned patrol duties in the North Sea, supporting destroyers and submarines of the Harwich Force to guard against incursions by the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) into the English Channel.
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