The change of plan meant that the British squadron comprised obsolete or lightly armed vessels, crewed by inexperienced naval reservists. "Monmouth" and "Good Hope" had a large number of 6-inch guns but only "Good Hope" was armed with two 9.2-inch guns mounted in single turrets. Spee had a superior force of five modern vessels (the armoured cruisers and and the light cruisers , and ), led by officers hand-picked by Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz. "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" carried eight 8.2-inch guns each, which gave them an overwhelming advantage in range and firepower; the crews of both ships had earned accolades for their gunnery before the war. The Admiralty ordered Cradock to "be prepared to meet them in company", with no effort being made to clarify what action he was expected to take should he find Spee. On receiving his orders, Cradock asked the Admiralty for permission to split his fleet into two forces, each able to face Spee independently. The two groups would operate on the east and west coasts of South America to counter the possibility of Spee slipping past Cradock into the Atlantic Ocean. The Admiralty agreed and established the east coast squadron under Rear-Admiral Archibald Stoddart, consisting of three cruisers and two armed merchantmen.