German gunboat Panther dispatched Morocco Port

Location of Agadir in Morocco

 July 1, 1911: At noon in Paris, Germany's Ambassador to France, announced that Germany had sent a warship, the gunboat SMS Panther and troops, to occupy the port of  Agadir, Morocco. This sparked the second Moroccan Crisis.

A Berber rebellion against the Sultan earlier in 1911, led to the deployment of French troops to protect interests as well as French nationals in Morocco. This move was strongly dissuaded by the British, as this move would encourage the other European powers to also reinforce their colonies with more garrisons. While the French were transporting troops to Morocco, the Spanish used the upheaval to occupy territory in French Morocco. Germany used to opportunity to send the gunboat to protect German citizens, although there were no German citizens in the port of Agadir and the port was closed to European vessels.
 

In a second hand account, published after the death of Alfred von Kiderlen-Waechter,  in 1912 by the New York Times, the then foreign secretary of the German Empire when asked for the reason for sending the Panther, was allegedly quoted as saying: "My reason for sending was simple...In case of conflict, which was very near, the first thing the French would have done should be to attack and capture the Panther. That means that the first shot would have been fired by France, making her the aggressor and Germany the attacked. In such a case our allies would have been bound by their treaties to assist us."

This incident is considered the most famous case of "gunboat diplomacy", in which foreign policy objectives are aided by overt displays of military power.