SMS Panther (1901) in the context of "Gunboat"

Gunboat diplomacy is the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of naval power, implying or constituting a direct threat of warfare should terms not be agreeable to the superior force.

The term originated in the 19th century, during the age of imperialism, when Western powers, especially the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the United States would use their superior military capabilities, particularly their naval assets, to intimidate less powerful nations into granting concessions. The mere presence of warships off a country's coast was often enough to have a significant effect, making the actual use of force rarely necessary.

The Iltis class was a group of six gunboats built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The class comprised Iltis, the lead ship, Jaguar, Tiger, Luchs, Panther, and Eber. The ships were built to modernize the German gunboat force that was used to patrol the German colonial empire. They were ordered in three groups of two ships, each pair incorporating design improvements. The first pair, Iltis and Jaguar, were armed with a main battery of four 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns and had a pronounced ram bow. The next pair, Tiger and Luchs, received two 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns instead of the 8.8 cm weapons, and adopted a straight stem. Panther and Eber were similar, but had modifications to their hull form to improve handling.

The first four members of the class were deployed to China as part of the East Asia Squadron after entering service, which was based in Qingdao. They were part of the Eight Nation Alliance that responded to the Boxer Uprising in China in 1900–1901, and Iltis saw significant action at the Battle of the Taku Forts where she led the Allied attack on the forts. The other members of the class were used to guard Europeans in various ports or patrol the region and did not take part in any fighting. Their subsequent careers were largely uneventful, apart from Jaguar's suppression of uprisings in German colonial holdings in the central Pacific in 1908–1909. At the start of World War I, Iltis, Tiger, and Luchs were disarmed to convert merchant ships into auxiliary cruisers, while Jaguar remained in service and fought in the Siege of Qingdao. All four ships were scuttled over the course of the siege, between September and November.

SMS Eber was the last of the six gunboats of the Iltis class built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The ships were built to modernize the German gunboat force that was used to patrol the German colonial empire. They were ordered in three groups of two ships, each pair incorporating design improvements. Eber, along with Panther, was armed with a main battery of two 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns, had a top speed of 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph), and could cruise for 3,400 nautical miles (6,300 km; 3,910 mi).

Eber was completed in 1903, but spent the next seven years in reserve. She was activated for her first overseas deployment in 1910, to be sent to patrol the colonies in German West Africa. The next four years passed largely uneventfully for Eber, though in 1911, she participated in the Agadir Crisis in Morocco. After the start of World War I in July 1914, Eber left Africa to find a German ocean liner suitable for use as an auxiliary cruiser; she met Cap Trafalgar in late August, and she transferred both of her 10.5 cm guns to Cap Trafalgar, along with most of her crew. Eber thereafter sailed for then-neutral Brazil, where she remained until the Brazilian government entered the war on the side of the Triple Entente. To prevent her capture, the ship's remaining crew scuttled the ship on 26 October.