SMS Gneisenau (1879)
The crew attempted to drop the starboard anchor, but it did not catch in the stony ground. "Gneisenau" was driven into the mole repeatedly, striking it with her stern twice before being turned and pushed bow-first on the starboard side, forcing her aground. A merchant ship attempted to come to the crew's aid, but they were unable to connect a line between the two ships before "Gneisenau" began to list 35 degrees. A boat from shore also attempted to rescue the crew, but it too was forced ashore in the heavy seas. Wave action quickly smashed "Gneisenau"s hull against the mole, and part of her crew attempted to find safety by climbing the rigging. The ship rolled over onto her side, and the surviving crewmen reached shore with a line. Forty-one men were killed in the accident, including Kretschmann and the ship's first officer. "Charlotte" and the British ironclad were sent to aid the wounded. Those killed in the sinking were buried in Málaga's cemetery, and the survivors returned to Germany aboard the HAPAG steamship on 2 January 1901.
SMS Scharnhorst
By this stage of the battle, "Scharnhorst" had a slight list to port and was about a meter lower in the water. Her third funnel had been shot away. "Gneisenau" was briefly obscured by smoke, which led both battlecruisers to target "Scharnhorst". By 16:00, Spee ordered "Gneisenau" to attempt to escape while he reversed course and attempted to launch torpedoes at his pursuers. The port list had increased significantly by this point and she was well down by the bow, with only of freeboard. At 16:17, the ship finally capsized to port and sank; the British, their attention now focused on "Gneisenau", made no attempt to rescue the crew. All 860 officers and men on board, including Spee, went down with the ship. "Gneisenau", "Leipzig", and "Nürnberg" were also sunk. Only "Dresden" managed to escape, but she was eventually tracked to the Juan Fernandez Islands and sunk. The complete destruction of the squadron killed about 2,200 German sailors and officers, including two of Spee's sons.