SMS Emden (1906)

SMS "Emden" was a light cruiser of the German navy. Her raiding cruise in the second half of 1914 was one of the most romanticised incidents of World War I. The "Emden" raided Allied shipping in the Indian Ocean, sinking or capturing thirty Allied merchant vessels and warships before being run aground by her captain to prevent her from sinking, after engaging already patrolling there.

From the Nicobars, working his way south-east, Captain von Müller set his sights upon the British port of Penang in British Malaya. On the morning of 28 October "Emden" entered the harbour at top speed, still disguised as a British cruiser with the fake fourth smokestack. During what became known as the Battle of Penang, she raised the German flag once inside the harbour and fired a torpedo at the Russian cruiser "Zhemchug", a veteran of the Battle of Tsushima, followed up with a salvo of shells which riddled the Russian ship. A second torpedo, fired as the "Emden" turned to leave penetrated the forward magazine, causing an explosion that sank the ship.

As quickly as "Emden" had arrived, she turned around and made good her escape. The French destroyer "Mousquet" followed "Emden", unwisely, and was quickly sunk by "Emden"'s much heavier firepower. Her sister ships, "Pistolet" and "Fronde", also tried to shadow "Emden", but soon lost contact. Thirty-six French survivors from "Mousquet" were rescued by "Emden", and when three died of their injuries, they were buried at sea with full honours. Two days later, the remaining Frenchmen were transferred to a British steamer, "Newburn", which had been stopped by the German ship, but not attacked, so as to enable them to be transported to Sabang, Sumatra, in the neutral Dutch East Indies.

In this period, "Emden" was arguably the most hunted ship in the world; and yet von Müller managed to elude the combined efforts of the Japanese "Yahagi" and "Chikuma", the Russian "Askold", and the British "Hampshire", Yarmouth, HMS "Gloucester", HMS "Weymouth", SS "Empress of Russia" and SS "Empress of Australia". [Frame, Tom. (2004). [http://books.google.com/books?id=YY6CN8wAk4AC&pg=PA110&lpg=PA110&dq=emden+empress+of+australia&source=web&ots=ZGAwXWV7l6&sig=-2du9lQzLk2ADoSoKOKHkPmnNMY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result "No Pleasure Cruise: The Story of the Royal Australian Navy," p. 110.] ]

The end of SMS "Emden"

Captain von Müller took the ship through the Sunda Strait towards the Cocos Islands, where he planned to destroy the Eastern Telegraph Company wireless station at Direction Island, thereby crippling Allied communication in the Indian Ocean. He aimed to make for Socotra afterwards and plague Allied merchant shipping on the Bombay-Aden line. However, this was not to be.

By now, no fewer than sixty Allied warships were combing the Indian Ocean in search of "Emden". "Emden" reached Direction Island on 9 November 1914. Captain von Müller decided to send a landing party ashore to destroy the station's radio tower and equipment under "Emden"'s First Lieutenant Helmuth von Mücke. Fifty seamen with rifles and machine guns were sent ashore. The British civilians did not resist and "Emden"'s landing party even agreed not to knock the radio tower down over the island's little tennis court.

Unfortunately for "Emden", Superintendent Darcy Farrant of the Eastern Telegraph Company had seen "Emden"'s fourth funnel and had sent out a general call of a strange warship in the area. The Australian light cruiser HMAS|Sydney|1912|6, armed with eight 6 inch guns, was dispatched at 0630 hrs from an Australian troop convoy en route to Colombo. Being a mere 55 miles (80 km) north of Direction Island, she arrived there in about three hours.

When lookouts on "Emden" spotted the "Sydney" approaching, Captain von Müller had no choice but to raise anchor, leave his landing party on Direction Island, and engage the Australian cruiser. "Sydney" was larger and faster than "Emden" and outranged her, but still the fight went on for nearly an hour and a half. Early on, "Emden" managed to knock out a gun on "Sydney" and destroy the Australian ship's rangefinder. However, "Emden" herself suffered massive damage, being struck over 100 times by shells from "Sydney". Her firing dwindled and Captain von Müller beached "Emden" on North Keeling Island at 1115 hrs to avoid sinking.

At this point, "Sydney" left the scene to pursue a collier that had been supporting "Emden". Returning at 1630 hrs to the beached cruiser, "Sydney"'s commander, Captain John Glossop, saw that "Emden" was still flying her battle flag, denoting her intention to continue resistance. A signal requesting surrender was sent, but was not answered. "Sydney" re-opened fire on "Emden", causing further casualties before "Emden" finally struck her colours. Glossop later said that he "felt like a murderer" for ordering the last salvos, but had no choice under the circumstances. German losses were 131 dead and 65 wounded. Captain von Müller and the rest of his crew were arrested as prisoners of war. The officers were, however, allowed to retain their swords as a mark of honour. "Sydney" then steamed to Direction Island to verify the state of the wireless station and the cable. However, since it was already too dark to make a landing by then, Captain Glossop had no choice but to lie off until the next morning.

In the meantime, Lieutenant von Mücke, leader of the German landing party had hoisted the Imperial German flag, declaring the island a German possession, putting all Englishmen under martial law and making arrangements for the defence of the beach, installing machine guns and having trenches dug. Having observed the battle between his ship and the "Sydney", he gave orders for an old sailing vessel, the 123 ton, three-masted schooner "Ayesha", to be made ready for sailing. Though she was old and rotten, von Mücke had her repaired so well that, before sunset, all of the German landing party and their weapons boarded her and set sail.

Epilogue

Captain von Müller had the Iron Cross First Class bestowed upon him by Kaiser Wilhelm II, although he and his men remained in captivity in Malta, until the end of the war. As a signal mark of honour, the Imperial Government of Germany allowed all of the surviving officers and men to suffix the word 'Emden' to their names; the honour is remembered to this day in the form of the numerous "'X"-Emdens' amongst German citizens still extant. According to the "Almanach de Gotha", Volume I (2000), one of them was Franz Joseph, Prince of Hohenzollern-Emden (1891-1964).

Lieutenant von Mücke and his landing party made for Padang on Sumatra, in the neutral Dutch East Indies, where they rendezvoused with a German merchant vessel on December 13. The party reached Hodeida, in Turkish-occupied Yemen, from where they undertook an epic overland journey under constant harassment by Lawrence of Arabia's irregular army, [cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=AzvOlkl-DNcC|title=The Kaiser's Merchant Ships in World War I|author=William Lowell Putnam|isbn=0786409231|publisher=McFarland|date=2001] before arriving in Constantinople on May 5, 1915. From there, they travelled overland to Germany.

The mascot of "Emden", a 12 cm bronze figure of a woman, was presented to Sir John Hope Simpson, then acting commander of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

In 1917, a 105 mm gun from "Emden" was installed as a monument in Sydney's Hyde Park. Another is located on display in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, alongside a projected video map of the engagement. The wreck itself was largely salvaged for scrap metal by a Japanese company in 1950, but scattered parts of the wreck remain.

Since the destruction of the "Emden" in 1914, four other warships of the German navy have received the same name. The second "Emden" was built in 1916. She was beached at Scapa Flow in 1919, when much of the High Seas Fleet was scuttled. She, however, did not sink and was given over to the French Navy, which eventually scrapped her in 1926. As Kaiser Wilhelm II also awarded the Iron Cross to the ship herself (the only other instance being U-9), the four later "Emdens" have all carried large symbols of this medal on their bows or forecastles.

References

Further reading

* Frame, Tom. (2004). [http://books.google.com/books?id=YY6CN8wAk4AC&dq=emden+empress+of+australia&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 "No Pleasure Cruise: The Story of the Royal Australian Navy."] Sydney: Allen & Unwin 10-ISBN 1-741-14233-4; 13-ISBN 978-1-741-14233-4 (paper)
*Hoehling, A.A." LONELY COMMAND A DOCUMENTARY" Thomas Yoseloff, Inc., 1957.
*Hoyt, Edwin P. "The Last Cruise of the Emden: The Amazing True World War I Story of a German-Light Cruiser and Her Courageous Crew" The Lyons Press, 2001, ISBN 1585743828.
*Hohenzollern, Franz Joseph, Prince of "EMDEN:MY EXPERIENCES IN S.M.S. EMDEN" G. Howard Watt NY, 1928.
*Lochner, R. K. "Last Gentleman-Of-War: Raider Exploits of the Cruiser Emden" Naval Inst Pr, 1988, ISBN 0870210157.
*McClement, Fred "Guns in paradise" Paper Jacks, 1979, ISBN 077010116X.
*Mucke, Hellmuth Von "The Emden-Ayesha Adventure: German Raiders in the South Seas and Beyond, 1914" Naval Institute Press, 2000, ISBN 1557508739.
*Schmalenbach, Paul "German raiders: A history of auxiliary cruisers of the German Navy, 1895-1945" Naval Institute Press, 1979, ISBN 0870218247.
*Vat, Dan Van Der "Gentlemen of War: The Amazing Story of Commander Karl Von Muller and the S M S Emden" William Morrow & Company, 1984, ISBN 0688031153.
*Walter, John "The Kaiser's Pirates: German Surface Raiders in World War One" Naval Inst Pr, 1994, ISBN 1557504563.

External links

* [http://www.argo.net.au/andre/emdenforwebENFIN.htm "ZHEMCHUG", "EMDEN" AND "SYDNEY"]
* [http://www.fregatte-emden.de/ Cruisers EMDEN, Frigates EMDEN - 5 warships named EMDEN until today] de icon
* [http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/emden.html World War I Naval Combat]
* [http://www.historynet.com/magazines/mhq/7557922.html Karl Friedrich Max von Müller: Captain of the "Emden" During World War I]
* [http://cocossydney.blogspot.com/ Eyewitness account of the "Battle of Cocos"]
* [http://www.steelnavy.com/emden100.htm Excellent Gunter Huff Model in 1/100 scale]