 After the destruction of the Belgian warship - "Del Commune" and through the actions of a British informant known as Lee and his observations of the two German warships, including the "Hedwig von Wissman", the British Admiralty and Admiral Sir David Gamble decided that a naval expedition was needed to retake the Lake from the Germans.They were unaware of the existence of a much larger German vessel on the lake, the Graf von Götzen.So, in June 1915, a force of 28 men was dispatched from Britain on a long journey.