Bombardment of Fort San Carlos

The Bombardment of Fort San Carlos occurred during the Venezuelan Crisis on January 17, 1903, when two warships of the Imperial German Navy tried to penetrate into Lake Maracaibo but were repulsed by the garrison of Fort San Carlos after a brief exchange of fire.

Bombardment
On January 17, SMS Panther and SMS Falke were chasing a merchant schooner who had evaded the blockade and entered the lake. Both ships intended to enter the lake and blockade the city of Maracaibo.

Guarding the entrance that connects the lake with the Gulf of Venezuela was the castle of San Carlos de la Barra. The shallow waters that connected lake Maracaibo with the sea were only passable for major ships in the strait that separated San Carlos from the island of Zapara, yet even there it was needed the help of a local pilot to sort the sand banks and shallow waters of the passage.

The battle started when the fort's gunners opened fire on the Panther when she was crossing the bar. The captain Richard Eckermann replied the fire but the shallow waters prevented the Panther from making an effective bombardment. Inside the fort, two of the gunners, Manuel Quevedo and Carlos José Cárdenas, managed to score several hits at the Panther with their 80-millimeter Krupp gun, causing considerable damage to the ship. After half an hour of exchanging fire, the Germans retreated.

Aftermath
Four days later the Panther returned to reduce the fort, accompanied by the protected cruiser SMS Vineta, with a much larger armament. A typical bombardment ensued for 8 hours, although outgunned the Venezuelan garrison attempted to resist with their cannon but by the end of the conflict, Fort San Carlos was in ruins and burning. Shells also hit the nearby port; whether intentional or not, the bombardment killed 25 civilians, prompting the seizure of German and British citizens by Venezuelan authorities.