On 7 December, the main British squadron, commanded by Vice Admiral Doveton Sturdee, arrived in Stanley and began coaling, with the intention of departing two days later to search for Spee. Instead, on the morning of 8 December, the German squadron arrived off Stanley; at 07:50, lookouts aboard "Canopus" raised the alarm. Shortly after 09:00, by which time the German cruisers— and —had approached to within , "Canopus" fired two salvos, both of which fell short. Observers stated that fragments from the second salvo hit one of "Gneisenau"s funnels, though according to modern historians, including Robert Gardiner and Randal Gray, Hew Strachan, and Paul Halpern, "Canopus" made no hits with either salvo. Under fire from "Canopus" and spotting the tripod masts of Sturdee's battlecruisers, Spee called off his force's planned attack on the Falklands. At 09:31, "Canopus" ceased firing, as the Germans had begun to withdraw. Sturdee's battlecruisers, much faster than Spee's ships, eventually caught and destroyed the East Asia Squadron, with the exception of the light cruiser , which was able to outrun the British pursuers. "Canopus", still moored in the mud, remained behind at Stanley and missed the rest of the battle. "Canopus" left the Falklands on 18 December 1914 to return to her South American Station duties at the Abrolhos Rocks.