Todd war diary, 3 August 1914-29 February 1916 / Arthur Todd - Page 93
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[Page 93]
on the Hills above the town and her more menacing 12 inch were trained over the isthmus which shelters the harbour from the Sea.
Spotting posts were rigged and as many as possible of the islanders armed; as possible trenches were dug and the Harbour entrance mined, in fact how the Huns arrived tho' no doubt they would eventually have captured the islands eventually, they would have had a bitter and costly task before them.
At last all was ready and the people of the Falklands sent down to await the coming of the Germans. A few days later the place was thrown into a panic by the look out's report that warships were approaching but imagine the surprise and joy when it was found that the two battle cruisers Invincible and Inflexible were in sight. With them were the Kent Bristol Glasgow and Carnarvon and now a force was collected which the Huns could not possibly withstand and where before the inhabitants prayed that the Germans might not come they now prayed for their early arrival and found stall seats in the hills were freely booked on the hills surrounding the town.
The day after the arrival of our squadron the Germans appeared and the battle of the Falklands followed. The writer does not intend to describe the battle which has already been done by people who were actively present and described in more than one book by people who were actually present but one or two incidents told by the Admiral and his staff may bear retelling.
The Germans arrived off Port Stanley quite confident and prepared for an easy victory