 Complete the following phrase:  Upon commissioning, both ships of the class were assigned to the German East Asia Squadron, with Scharnhorst serving as Admiral Maximilian von Spees flagship. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were regarded as well-trained vessels; both ships won awards for their excellence at gunnery. At the start of World War I, the two ships were in the Caroline Islands on a routine cruise; the rest of von Spees squadron was dispersed around the Pacific. The declaration of war by Japan on Germany convinced von Spee to consolidate his force with the cruisers and from the American station, and head for Chile to refuel. The flotilla would then attempt to return to Germany via the Atlantic Ocean. Admiral von Spee also intended to attack the three British cruisers under the command of Admiral Christopher Cradock, and any British shipping encountered. On 22 September, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau approached the island of Papeete in French Polynesia with the intention of seizing the coal stockpiled in the harbor. The ships 