East Asia Squadron - Part II: The Battle of the Falkland Islands

Sailing against the odds, the German East Asia Squadron made it from their base in China across the Pacific to neutral Chile. There, they inflicted upon Great Britain its first naval defeat in over 100 years.

However, the tide was still against East Asia Squadron, as the British were not going to take the defeat lying down. The fate of East Asia Squadron would be decided in the next showdown with the British fleet: The Battle of the Falkland Islands.

Background

On November 3, 1914, three of East Asia Squadron's cruisers (SMS Scharnhorst, SMS Gneisenau, and SMS Nürnberg) entered Valparaíso harbor, where they were welcomed by the local German-speaking population. 

However, the squadron's commander, Maximillian von Spee, was in no mood for revelry. Despite his resounding victory over the British squadron sent to destroy him two days earlier, he was still pessimistic about his chances of making it back to Germany alive. When presented with a bouquet of flowers by the grateful German people, he declined them, commenting that "these will do nicely for my grave".

SMS Scharnhorst, flagship of East Asia Squadron

After leaving Valparaíso the next day, East Asia Squadron received two pieces of bad news. First, one of their cruisers, the SMS Emden, which had recently been sent to the Indian Ocean on a commerce raiding mission, had been caught by the Australian Royal Navy and destroyed. Second, East Asia Squadron's home port in Qingdao, China, had fallen to the Japanese.

Spee and his officers soon met to discuss what to do next. Most of the officers still wanted to make a run to Germany, but their ships were low on ammunition and badly in need of maintenance following the Battle of Coronel. Spee agreed, but he insisted (against the objections of his captains) on first raiding the British fueling base at Stanley harbor in the Falkland Islands before setting sail for Germany.

Vice Admiral Doveton Sturdee, commander of the second British naval squadron sent to destroy East Asia Squadron

Meanwhile, the British were organizing their response to the defeat at Coronel. Having recovered from the initial shock of the loss, the British Admiralty dispatched the battlecruisers HMS Invincible and HMS Inflexible, two of the most advanced combat ships in the world, to the Falkland Islands under the command of Vice Admiral Doveton Sturdee. There, they met up with other British cruisers, giving Sturdee a formidable complement of warships:

- HMS Invincible (flagship)

- HMS Inflexible

- HMS Glasgow (survivor of the Battle of Coronel)

- HMS Bristol

- HMS Cornwall

- HMS Kent

- HMS Macedonia

- HMS Carnarvon

Additionally, HMS Canopus, an outdated battleship that had been a part of Vice Admiral Cradock's squadron but had not participated at the Battle of Coronel due to mechanical issues, was beached at Stanley harbor to be used as a makeshift shore defense battery while the rest of the squadron laid in wait in the harbor.

Once the battle group was assembled, British Intelligence cryptographers sent out a fake signal which indicated that Stanley harbor was devoid of any armed British naval presence, suggesting the base was defenseless. It was this signal that convinced Spee that Stanley harbor was a prime target to raid, essentially serving as bait that would lure East Asia Squadron into a British trap.

The Battle of the Falkland Islands

On December 8, Spee made his move. That morning, he sent two of his cruisers, Gneisenau and Nürnberg, to approach Stanley harbor. Spee had no idea about the presence of Sturdee's squadron in the harbor, which was at anchor at that time and not expecting combat.

German map of the Battle of the Falkland Islands

While East Asia Squadron had caught the British fleet unprepared, it was an encounter that the Germans were not expecting, and Spee's cruisers soon received fire from an surprising source: The beached Canopus. This unanticipated resistance gave the German cruisers pause and kept them at bay while Sturdee's squadron prepared for battle.

Once Spee realized that he was outnumbered 7-5 in terms of main warships (including two British battlecruisers, the most powerful warships afloat at the time), he ordered his force to make a desperate dash out into the open ocean, where he hoped to lose the British ships. Unfortunately for East Asia Squadron, not only were the British ships faster, but the seas were calm and it was still morning, giving them plenty of daylight to work with. At 10:00, the British fleet left port and gave chase.

The Invincible and Inflexible give chase. Painting by William Lionel Wyllie.

At 1:00, the Invincible and Inflexible opened fire on East Asia Squadron. Realizing he couldn't outrun the British, at 1:20 Spee ordered Scharnhorst (his flagship) and Gneisenau to turn and fight, in an effort to give the other ships an opportunity to escape.

Scharnhorst and Gneisenau proceeded to exchange fire with Invincible and Inflexible. At first, the German ships managed to land several hits on Invincible, but the damage was minimal. Before long, the British battlecruisers began striking major blows against their German adversaries. The East Asia Squadron flagship Scharnhorst sustained several hard hits and began to list heavily at 4:04. At 4:17, she sank with all hands, including Spee. Gneisenau continued to fight on until her ammunition ran out at 5:15. Sturdee ordered a cease fire at 5:50, and the Gneisenau's crew allowed her to sink at 6:02, of which 190 were rescued by the British.

The Scharnhorst sinks while the Gneisenau fights on. Painting by William Lionel Wyllie.

Meanwhile, Sturdee dispatched Kent to run down Nürnberg, and Glasgow and Cornwall were sent to chase Leipzig. At 5:00, the Kent caught the Nürnberg, at which point the Nürnberg turned to fight (the slower Cornwall lagged behind). The two ships exchanged fire until 6:35, when the Nürnberg sustained so much damage she could no longer fire. The Nürnberg sank at 7:26; only twelve of her crew were rescued by the Kent.

Earlier, at 2:40, Glasgow caught up to the Leipzig and began firing. Leipzig responded with fire of her own, and both ships were damaged. Glasgow temporarily retreated, regrouping with Cornwall and Kent before re-engaging Leipzig. Leipzig fought on until 7:20, at which point the captain ordered the crew to scuttle the ship. At 9:05, Leipzig sank; only eighteen men were rescued. The Battle of the Falkland Islands was over.

The Inflexible rescues survivors from the Gneisenau

Like the Battle of Coronel, the outcome of the Battle of the Falkland Islands was disproportionate. East Asia Squadron lost 4 of 5 cruisers and 2,086 men (1,871 killed, 215 captured). Meanwhile, the British lost no ships and suffered only 29 casualties (10 killed, 19 wounded).

The Battle of Más a Tierra

Of the five cruisers of East Asia Squadron, only the Dresden successfully evaded the pursuing British ships and escaped destruction. The Dresden would remain at large until March 14, 1915, when she was cornered by the Glasgow, Kent, and Orama at Cumberland Bay, Chile. 

In the short Battle of Más a Tierra, the Dresden briefly exchanged fire with her pursuers before the crew scuttled her and escaped to shore, where they would spend the rest of the war in Chilean captivity. Such was the end of East Asia Squadron.

The Dresden, pictured here in Cumberland Bay just before her crew scuttled her. Note the white flag flying on the foremast.

Interestingly, the Dresden and the Glasgow were the only two ships to take part in all three battles of the East Asia Squadron campaign, with the Glasgow being the only ship to survive all three engagements.

Aftermath

With the destruction of East Asia Squadron, Germany no longer possessed any major overseas naval forces. From that point on, direct naval action between German and Allied warships would be restricted to the waters around Europe.

Following his victory in the Battle of the Falkland Islands, Sturdee quickly rose through the ranks of the British Admiralty, becoming a full Admiral on May 17, 1917. He would command his own squadron at the Battle of Jutland (the largest naval battle of World War I) and retire as Admiral of the Fleet on July 5, 1921.

Scan-generated image of the SMS Scharnhorst wreck. Note that the barrels on the forward turret are fully elevated, indicating she was firing as maximum range when she sank.

On December 9, 2019, the wreck of the Scharnhorst was discovered, resting about 98 miles southeast of Stanley at a depth of 5,280 feet.

My Take

The story of East Asia Squadron is an interesting one to me. This motley collection of warships, cut off and half a world away from their home, nearly made it all the way back, inflicting a major defeat upon the world's most powerful navy (the first in over 100 years) along the way. Had it not been for Spee's single mistake of choosing to raid the Falkland Islands instead of sailing straight to Germany, East Asia Squadron may have done the impossible and made it all the way back to home.

That, I believe, is worth remembering.

East Asia Squadron - Part I: The Battle of Coronel

In the discussion of World War I's naval battles, much is said about the sinking of the Lusitania, the massive Battle of Jutland, and the emergence of submarine warfare. However, one often overlooked chapter involves the German overseas fleet, the East Asia Squadron.

The story of the East Asia Squadron is a remarkable one. It was this motley collection of cruisers that scored what was perhaps Germany's greatest naval victory of the war, one that was started by a chance encounter in a remote, neutral harbor.

Let's review the story of the East Asia Squadron and the Battle of Coronel.

East Asia Squadron in harbor at Valparaíso, Chile

Background

At the outbreak of World War I, the British Royal Navy was by far the largest and most advanced navy in the world. However, Germany had been making strides to catch up (as part of the Anglo-German naval arms race), and the German fleet stood as the first real challenge to British naval superiority since the Napoleonic Wars.

However, the vast majority of the German Fleet was based in the North Sea, between Germany and Britain. As a result, Germany had few naval vessels stationed elsewhere around the globe, and those were mostly older, outdated vessels that were no match for modern British battleships. The one exception was Germany's East Asia Squadron.

Outbreak of World War I

Germany's only major overseas naval force, the East Asia Squadron was formed in 1881 to protect German interests in Asia. Based in Qingdao, China, the East Asia Squadron consisted of five major warships at the outbreak of World War I: 

- SMS Scharnhorst (flagship)

- SMS Gneisenau

- SMS Emden

- SMS Leipzig

- SMS Nürnberg

Accompanying these ships were numerous smaller gunboats and support auxiliaries.

Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee, commander of East Asia Squadron

When war broke out in August 1914, the East Asia Squadron, commanded by Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee, found himself outnumbered and outgunned by the Allied navies in the region. Caught squarely between the Japanese and Australian navies, Spee and the German High Command believed that the East Asia Squadron would be quickly destroyed if they stayed in the Pacific. As a result, Spee decided to make a run home for Germany, though he knew the odds were against him.

Race Across the Pacific

Spee decided to cross the Pacific (where the vastness of the ocean would protect him from Allied naval forces) to neutral Chile and then round Cape Horn (the southernmost tip of South America) into the Atlantic. From there, he would fight his way north up the Atlantic to Germany. 

In October 1914, East Asia Squadron made it across the Pacific to Chile, where they met up with the German cruiser SMS Dresden, bringing the squadron's total number to major warships to six.

Rear Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock, commander of the Royal Navy's South American Station

That same month, the British learned of Spee's plan. In response, the British Admiralty assigned Rear Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock and his naval squadron (based in the Falkland Islands, just to the east of Cape Horn) to search the west coast of Chile for the East Asia Squadron.

Cradock's squadron consisted of four cruisers:

- HMS Good Hope (flagship)

- HMS Monmouth

- HMS Glasgow

- HMS Otranto

Unfortunately for the British, Cradock's squadron, consisting of outdated ships and inexperienced crews, was outmatched by East Asia Squadron. Furthermore, there was a misunderstanding regarding Cradock's orders: Cradock believed that his orders were to locate and engage East Asia Squadron, while the British Admiralty only wanted him to locate East Asia Squadron and engage only if the situation was advantageous.

Since Chile was neutral in World War I, both sides used Chilean ports to refuel and to collect mail, though they were permitted to stay in harbor no longer than 24 hours. On October 31, while searching for East Asia Squadron along the west coast of Chile, Cradock sent one of his cruisers, the Glasgow, into Coronel harbor to collect mail from the British consul. 

By chance, also in the harbor was the SMS Göttingen, one of East Asia Squadron's supply ships. Upon sighting one another, both the Glasgow and the Göttingen radioed to their respective fleets. Soon, both naval squadrons were racing to Coronel.

The next morning, the Glasgow left Coronel harbor and rejoined Cradock and the rest of the fleet. At 4:17 that afternoon, both squadrons sighted one another. The Battle of Coronel had begun.

The Battle of Coronel

North of Coronel, five cruisers of East Asia Squadron were arrayed against the four cruisers of Cradock's squadron, located south of Coronel (one German cruiser, the Nürnberg, was delayed and would not arrive until late in the battle). Immediately realizing that he was overmatched, Cradock faced a choice: He could take his three faster cruisers (Good Hope, Monmouth, and Glasgow) and make a run for it while his slower cruiser, Otranto, fought a delaying action, or he could stand and fight with his full force.

Relief map of the Battle of Coronel

At 5:10, Cradock chose the latter, drawing his ships in close for what he believed to be his last stand. The newer ships of East Asia Squadron had, on average, superior range to the British guns, and could better handle the rough seas in which the battle was fought. Initially, Cradock attempted to compensate for this disadvantage by quickly closing into firing range with East Asia Squadron. However, Spee kept his distance, staying just out of range of Cradock's ships. When the sun set at 6:50, Spee finally decided to engage and closed in on Cradock's squadron before opening fire.

HMS Good Hope, Cradock's flagship

Five minutes after the Germans ships began firing, Cradock's flagship, the Good Hope, was hit. Soon after, the Otranto, being poorly suited for such an engagement, retreated at full speed. As the ships continued to maneuver into position, it was the Good Hope and the Monmouth facing off against the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Emden, while the Glasgow engaged the Leipzig and Dresden.

SMS Scharnhorst, Spee's flagship

Now under fire, Cradock tried once again to close on East Asia Squadron. By 7:30 he had gotten his ships within range, but the German fire became more accurate; both the Good Hope and the Monmouth were hit several times. 

By the time darkness fell, both Good Hope and Monmouth were on fire, presenting easy targets for the German gunners, who proceeded to score more direct hits. By 7:50, Good Hope and the Monmouth, both heavily damaged, had stopped firing. At 7:57, the Good Hope exploded and sank, lost with all hands.

Meanwhile, the Gneisenau moved to join the Leipzig and Dresden, who were engaging the Glasgow. The Glasgow suffered several minor hits, while inflicting none. At 8:05, realizing the situation was hopeless, the Glasgow broke off the engagement and went to render assistance to the wounded Monmouth. However, upon arriving, it was determined that there was nothing the smaller Glasgow could do for the sinking Monmouth. The Glasgow then retreated south.

Later that night, the Germans conducted a search for the Monmouth, which they had lost track of in the darkness. Eventually, she was found by the cruiser Nürnberg (which had finally joined the battle). The Monmouth was extended an invitation to surrender, which she refused. The German ships then proceeded to open fire, sinking her at 9:18. Almost exactly five hours after the fleets had sighted one another, The Battle of Coronel was over.

Aftermath

As a result of the battle, the British had lost two cruisers, the Good Hope (Cradock's flagship) and the Monmouth. Both ships were lost with all hands, totaling about 1,600 officers and men, Admiral Cradock among them. Both the Glasgow and the Otranto escaped. The Germans, on the other hand, suffered only three wounded and light battle damage.

The Battle of Coronel by Hans Bohrdt

The victory of East Asia Squadron over Cradock sent shockwaves through both the British Admiralty and the general public, as it was Britain's first naval defeat in over 100 years (The Battle of Plattsburgh in the War of 1812). With the victory at Coronel, it seemed as if Spee's plan to escape to Germany with East Asia Squadron just might work after all.

However, despite this defeat, the British had no plans on letting East Asia Squadron make it back to German waters. Read the conclusion of the story in my next blog post, East Asia Squadron Part II: The Battle of the Falkland Islands.

537

Elections are no strangers to controversy. However, perhaps no election in recent history was as controversial as the 2000 United States Presidential election. Decided by a margin so small it defies belief, this election (and the controversy surrounding it) still stirs up debate and consternation to this day.

Let's get to the bottom of what happened in that election.

Let's revisit the recount controversy of the 2000 United States Presidential Election.

Election Night

On November 7, the night of the 2000 Presidential Election between Vice President Al Gore (D) and Texas Gov. George W. Bush (R), Florida was a closely-contested state: Final polls leading up to the election had Gore leading Bush between 2-4 percentage points, within the margin of error. 

County vote map of Florida from the 2000 Presidential Election

Soon after the polls closed in the Florida peninsula (which is in the Eastern time zone), the Associated Press called the state for Gore (based on result tallies and exit polling). However, as results continued to come in throughout the night (especially from the Florida panhandle counties in the Central time zone), the margin began to tighten. Several news networks proceeded to reverse their call, moving from "Gore" to "too close to call".

By the end of the evening, it became apparent that the winner of Florida would be the next President of the United States. At the end of the election-night vote count, Bush led in Florida by 1,784 votes. Under Florida state law, the small margin initiated an automatic statewide machine recount.

The Recount(s)

The recount was completed on November 10, after which Bush's lead was reduced to 327 votes. Following the recount, the Gore campaign requested a manual recount in four counties: Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Volusia.

The Florida Supreme Court building, where much of the drama played out

Under Florida state law, when a candidate requests a recount in a particular county, it is up to the county to decide whether to approve or deny the request. In response to the Gore campaign's request, Volusia began a recount on November 12. However, state law also required that all counties report and certify their returns by 5:00 PM on November 14. This was a problem, as manual recounts were very slow. Thus, there was a very real danger that the recount would not be complete by the deadline.

By November 14, Volusia had completed its recount, after which Bush held a 300-vote lead. Palm Beach had decided to perform a recount, but had not yet started, while Broward and Miami-Dade were still considering the Gore campaign's request. However, with the deadline past and the recounts in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties having not yet started, it was up to the courts to decide whether the recounts in those counties could be included in the final tally.

Over the next few days, the courts ultimately decided that the recounts could continue, but that the Florida Secretary of State, Katherine Harris, could refuse to allow subsequent recounts to be included in the final tally. However, this ruling was put on hold while the Florida Supreme Court considered an appeal by the Gore campaign. Meanwhile, recounts began in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

On November 21, in response to the Gore campaign's appeal, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that ongoing recounts in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties must be included in the final tally and gave the counties until November 26 to complete them. The next day, Miami-Dade County suspended its recount, saying it didn't have enough time to complete it before the deadline (the Gore campaign unsuccessfully sued Miami-Dade County to continue its recount).

By November 26, the recounts in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties were still incomplete. At that time, Harris proceeded to certify the statewide vote count as it stood then, which gave Bush the win in Florida by a margin of 537 votes.

On December 8, in a surprise ruling, the Florida Supreme Court ruled against the use of a manual recount in just the four counties that the Gore campaign had requested and instead ordered a statewide manual recount of all "undervotes" (ballots where no vote for President was recorded). This recount had the potential to alter the outcome of the election, as about 45,000 ballots were classified as "undervotes".

However, the next day, in response to an appeal by the Bush campaign, the US Supreme Court overruled state court's decision, ordering that the recount be halted and that the results certified on November 26 should stand as the final tally.

On December 13, in a nationally-televised address, Gore officially conceded the election to Bush.

My Take

In the years since the election, it has been debated as to whether Bush or Gore really "won" Florida. Some say that because Bush was the official leader at end of the election night count and at the end of each subsequent recount, he was the undisputed winner of the state of Florida. However, others point out that the manual recounts of Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties (which were very friendly to Gore) were never completed, and that Gore would have likely won if they were.

The infamous "Butterfly Ballot", which the Gore campaign claimed caused many voters to accidentally vote for Pat Buchanan

Additionally, it's become a common misconception that the US Supreme Court "overturned" the result of the election in Florida, giving it to Bush when it was "rightfully" won by Gore. However, as you can see from this timeline, that is not what happened at all. The Supreme Court simply ended the "undervote" recount, allowing the results certified on November 26 to stand as the final tally.

Personally, I approach this like a filmmaker. When you're a director trying to get the perfect shot, you may find it or you may not. However, what you can't do is spend too much time searching for it. Eventually, you've got to take what you have, perfect or not, and move on. Otherwise, the movie won't be finished.

In the election in Florida, we could have spent weeks or months performing recount after recount with the final tally changing each time. However, certification deadlines exist for a reason. At a certain point, you've got to declare a winner and move on. You can only reasonably count votes so many times.

In this instance, we had four different counts:

The election night count (Bush won +1,784)

The machine recount (Bush won +327)

The Volusia recount (Bush won +300)

The Broward recount (Bush won +537)

In most elections, there is only one count before a winner is declared. In 2000, Florida got four, with the same winner each time. I know the margin is close, but after four counts, it's time to move on. Besides, by all rights, the winner should have been declared on November 14, the original deadline. It was a courtesy to the Gore campaign that it was extended to November 26, at which point Bush still won.

Over the years, the vote count in Florida has been debated ad nauseum, but it's all purely academic. After all, Monday morning quarterbacks don't win games.

The Killian Documents

The 2020 Presidential election is upon us and, as expected, controversy has ensued. However, rather than focus on this election, I would like to revisit a controversy from a past election, an affair that rocked the 2004 Presidential race and effectively ended the career of one of the most celebrated names in news journalism.

Let's revisit the Killian Documents.

1st Lt. George W. Bush in the Texas Air National Guard (TexANG).

Background

In August 2004 (three months before the 2004 Presidential election), Lt. Col. Bill Burkett, a former US Army National Guard officer, made contact with CBS News producer Mary Mapes, claiming to have documents proving that President George W. Bush received improper treatment during his time in the Texas Air National Guard (TexANG).

The documents were memos supposedly written in 1973 by Bush's then-commanding officer, the late Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian. They claimed that Bush had disobeyed orders and that outside influence had been exerted on his behalf to improve his record. Burkett claimed that he obtained the documents from Killian's personal files via a former TexANG Warrant Officer.

Burkett had previously made multiple unsubstantiated allegations against Bush, one of which he later retracted. This led to many media outlets considering him an 'anti-Bush zealot' and an unreliable source.

In early September, Burkett provided photocopies of the documents to Mapes. Mapes informed CBS News anchor Dan Rather of the story and together they planned to air it on September 8.

CBS Investigation

Before airing the story, CBS conducted an investigation to determine if the documents were authentic. This investigation consisted of two interviews with individuals who knew Killian and an analysis of the documents by four forensic experts.

Both interviewees, Robert Strong (Killian's friend and head of the TexANG administrative office) and General Robert Hodges (Killian's immediate superior at the time), maintained that the documents could have been legitimate based on their content, but they had no first-hand knowledge that could verify their authenticity.

Opinion was split among the document experts. Two said that the documents had outstanding issues that called their authenticity into question, while the other two experts cautiously believed that the documents were authentic based on the document signatures.

Breaking the Story

Despite the mixed findings from the investigation, Mapes and Rather decided to push forward with breaking the story on September 8.

Immediately after the story was aired, several bloggers began discussing and analyzing the documents. By the next day, claims that the documents were forgeries had spread across the internet.

Animated GIF comparing one of the documents to a copy made in Microsoft Word

On the night of September 9, CBS News released a statement saying that the documents were "thoroughly investigated by independent experts, and we are convinced of their authenticity" and "this report was not based solely on recovered documents, but rather on a preponderance of evidence, including documents that were provided by unimpeachable sources", though the latter claim was soon dropped.

By September 10, other news outlets such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the Associated Press were openly questioning the documents. The Dallas Morning News pointed out that one of the officers mentioned in one of the documents was discharged a year and a half before the document was supposedly written.

Nevertheless, CBS News continued to defend the authenticity of the documents.

CBS's Defense

Media coverage of the story intensified daily. CBS attempted to have additional experts verify the authenticity of the documents, but the results continued to be inconclusive.

Meanwhile, the original document examiners began to speak publicly. The two who had expressed doubts to CBS about the documents continued to do so, while the other two stated that they had only been asked to verify the signatures on the documents, not the documents themselves.

On September 15, CBS interviewed Killian's former secretary, Marian Knox. During the interview, Knox made contradictory statements about whether she believed in the authenticity of the documents themselves and the information they contained.

The next day, September 16, Rather acknowledged that the documents could be fake, stating: "If the documents are not what we were led to believe, I'd like to break that story."

CBS Apologizes

On September 20, CBS reported that their source, Bill Burkett, admitted that he had lied about where he had obtained the documents. Burkett now claimed that the documents were not obtained from Killian's personal files, but were instead given to him by a person named "Lucy Ramirez" (multiple subsequent investigations failed to produce any evidence that "Lucy Ramirez" was a real person). Additionally, Burkett claimed that he destroyed the original documents after faxing copies to Mapes.

In an official statement, CBS News president Andrew Heyward stated that "Based on what we now know, CBS News cannot prove that the documents are authentic, which is the only acceptable journalistic standard to justify using them in the report. We should not have used them. That was a mistake, which we deeply regret".

Aftermath

Following an extensive internal investigation, Mapes was terminated, and resignations were demanded of several other CBS News staff. Rather retired in March 2005; it's unknown if his decision to retire was a result of the controversy surrounding the Killian documents.

To this day, no generally recognized document expert has positively authenticated the documents. The widely accepted view among experts is that the documents are forgeries, compiled on a modern computer using a word processing application (such as Microsoft Word), printed out, and run through a copier for several generations to make them appear older.

Despite not being directly involved with the controversy, it is believed that the presidential campaign of John Kerry was damaged by the fallout, ultimately leading to Bush's reelection in November. Some Left-leaning conspiracy theorists, including then-Democratic National Committee chair Terry McAuliffe, suggested (without evidence) that the documents were plants by Bush campaign strategist Karl Rove. Rove denied any involvement.

Nevertheless, Mapes and Rather still maintain to this day that they believe the documents to be authentic.