The naval
Battle of Cocos took place on 9 November 1914 during
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
off the
Cocos (Keeling) IslandsThe Territory of Cocos Islands, also called Cocos Islands and Keeling Islands, is a territory of Australia. There are two atolls and twenty-seven coral islands in the group...
, in the north east
Indian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by South Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean...
.
The German
light cruiserA light cruiser is a warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armoured cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armour in the same way as an armoured cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
SMS
Emden attacked the
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
cable station on Direction Island and was engaged several hours later by
HMAS SydneyHMAS Sydney was a Chatham class light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy. Her crew made history in 1914, during World War I, when Sydney took part in the RAN's first ship against ship battle, the Battle of Cocos.-Construction:Sydney was laid down by the London and Glasgow Engineering Company at...
, an
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n light cruiser. The battle was the first ship-against-ship engagement for the
Royal Australian NavyThe Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following federation of the Australian Colonies in 1901, the former colonial navies merged to become the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
.
Emden was launched in 1908, and became the
Kaiserliche MarineThe Kaiserliche Marine or Imperial Navy was the German Navy created by the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded the Navy, causing a naval arms race between the German...
s representative at the German colonyIn politics and in history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their...
of Tsingtao' , best known in the West by its postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a major city in eastern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders Yantai to the northeast, Weifang to the west and Rizhao to the southwest. Lying across the Shandong Peninsula while looking out to the Yellow Sea,...
, in ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, and was part of the German East Asia SquadronThe German East Asia Squadron was a German Kaiserliche Marine cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the 1870s and 1914...
.
Discussion
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The naval
Battle of Cocos took place on 9 November 1914 during
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
off the
Cocos (Keeling) IslandsThe Territory of Cocos Islands, also called Cocos Islands and Keeling Islands, is a territory of Australia. There are two atolls and twenty-seven coral islands in the group...
, in the north east
Indian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by South Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean...
.
The German
light cruiserA light cruiser is a warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armoured cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armour in the same way as an armoured cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
SMS
Emden attacked the
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
cable station on Direction Island and was engaged several hours later by
HMAS SydneyHMAS Sydney was a Chatham class light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy. Her crew made history in 1914, during World War I, when Sydney took part in the RAN's first ship against ship battle, the Battle of Cocos.-Construction:Sydney was laid down by the London and Glasgow Engineering Company at...
, an
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n light cruiser. The battle was the first ship-against-ship engagement for the
Royal Australian NavyThe Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following federation of the Australian Colonies in 1901, the former colonial navies merged to become the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
.
Background
Emden was launched in 1908, and became the
Kaiserliche MarineThe Kaiserliche Marine or Imperial Navy was the German Navy created by the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded the Navy, causing a naval arms race between the German...
s representative at the German colonyIn politics and in history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their...
of Tsingtao' , best known in the West by its postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a major city in eastern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders Yantai to the northeast, Weifang to the west and Rizhao to the southwest. Lying across the Shandong Peninsula while looking out to the Yellow Sea,...
, in ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, and was part of the German East Asia SquadronThe German East Asia Squadron was a German Kaiserliche Marine cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the 1870s and 1914...
. After war broke out on 4 August 1914, the squadron was ordered to avoid the superior Allied naval forces in the Pacific, and it headed for Germany, by way of Cape HornCape Horn island is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile....
. The sole exception was the Emden
, under Korvettenkapitän
(Lt Commander) Karl von MüllerKarl Friedrich Max von Müller was Captain of the famous German commerce raider, the light cruiser SMS Emden during World War I.- Early life and career :The son of a Prussian Army Colonel, he was born in Hanover...
, which headed towards the Indian Ocean, with the objective of raiding Allied shipping. Müller frequently made use of a fake fourth smokestack, which — when the ship flew the Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
ensignAn ensign is a distinguishing flag of a ship or a military unit; or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office. The word has also given rise to the military rank of "ensign", a rank of junior officer once responsible for bearing the ensign of his unit.The word is derived...
— made it resemble the British cruiser HMS Yarmouth
HMS Yarmouth was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 12 April 1911 from the yards of the London & Glasgow Co. She was part of the Weymouth subgroup....
and similar vessels.
Within three months, Emden
had sunk 28 Allied merchant vessels and 2 warships. She had also shelled and damaged British oil tanks at Madras, in IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
. A collierCollier is a historical term used to describe a bulk cargo ship designed to carry coal, especially for naval use by coal-fired warships.-See also:* SS River Clyde* USS Merrimac* SS Ulysses* USS Cyclops* SS Bengrove* USS Langley...
named Buresk
, was captured with her cargo intact, and was re-crewed with German seamen to accompany the Emden
as a supply vessel. Naval victims of the Emden
were an obsolescent Russian heavy cruiser and a French destroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range but powerful attackers .Before World War II, destroyers were light vessels without the endurance...
off MalayaBritish Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula that were colonized by the British from the 18th and the 19th until the 20th century. Before the formation of Malayan Union in 1946, the colonies were not placed under a single unified administration...
, at the Battle of PenangThe Battle of Penang occurred on 28 October 1914, during World War I. It was a naval action in the Strait of Malacca, in which the German cruiser sank two Allied warships.-Background:...
, on 28 October. By the end of October, no less than 60 Allied warships were hunting the Emden
.
Coincidentally, on 1 November, a convoy carrying the Australian and New Zealand Army CorpsThe term ANZAC originated as an acronym for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, an army corps of Australian and New Zealand troops who fought against the Turks in 1915 at the Battle of Gallipoli during World War I...
(ANZAC) to EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
, left Albany, Western AustraliaAlbany is located in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, situated around a port on the southern coast.Its metropolitan area has a population of 25,196 as of the 2006 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state....
. The escort was four cruisers: the Australian Sydney
and HMAS Melbourne
HMAS Melbourne was a Town class light cruiser laid down by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead in England on 4 April 1911, launched on 30 May 1912 by Mrs. F. Braund, daughter of Mr. Barry Smith of Adelaide, and commissioned on 18 January 1913....
, the British HMS Minotaur
HMS Minotaur was the lead ship of the Minotaur-class of armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy, launched in 1906.-Career:She served in the First World War with her sisters, taking part in convoy duties from Australia to the Mediterranean. She fought at Jutland as part of the Second Cruiser Squadron. ...
and the Imperial Japanese NavyThe Imperial Japanese Navy , literally Navy of the Empire of Greater Japan was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
's Ibuki
was the lead ship in the 2-vessel Ibuki class of armoured cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Ibuki was named after Mount Ibuki located between Gifu prefecture and Shiga prefecture in Honshū...
.
The action
The cable and radio station at Direction Island was a critical component of Allied communication in and across the Indian Ocean. Müller decided to destroy the station's radio tower and equipment.
When Emden
reached the island at 6am on 9 November, the Eastern Telegraph Company staff quickly realised they were under attack and sent a message saying "Strange ship in entrance" and "SOS, Emden here". A German shore party of 50 seamen with small arms, under Kapitänleutnant
Hellmuth von MückeHellmuth von Mücke was a legendary German naval officer in World War I.-Early life:Von Mücke was born in on June 21, 1881 in Zwickau, Saxony. He was a son of an Army Captain who later joined the Imperial Civil Service. At the age of 18, von Mücke became a naval cadet and served on the schoolship...
was quickly landed. The civilian staff on the island offered no resistance, and Mücke even agreed to take care that the 54 metre (176 ft) tall radio tower did not fall into the island's tennis court when its base was blown up. Emden
signalled the Buresk
to join it.
The ANZAC convoy happened to be only 50 miles (80 km) away and it was decided to detach a vessel in response to the SOS signals. Despite intense lobbying from the commander of Ibuki
, the Sydney
was despatched at 7am. The RAN ship was a state-of-the-art Town class light cruiserThe Town class was a group of twenty-one light cruisers built for the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy . These vessels were long-range cruisers, suitable for patrolling the vast expanse covered by the British Empire...
, commissioned in 1913 and commanded by Captain John Glossop, an RNThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
officer.
]
When lookouts on Emden
spotted Sydney
approaching, Müller had no choice but to raise anchor and engage the Australian cruiser, leaving Mücke and his landing party on Direction Island.
Sydney
was larger, faster and better armed — 6 inch (152mm) guns — than Emden
, which had 104mm (4.1 inch) guns. However, the German gunners fired first at 9.40am from 10km away and scored hits soon afterwards, knocking out Sydney's
rangefinder and one gun. After that, Glossop used his speed and the superior range of his guns to stay out of reach of the German guns and avoided further damage and casualties. Meanwhile, his own gunners gradually found their marks, inflicting sustained and increasingly accurate fire on Emden
.
By 10.20am the Germans had lost their steering, electrics and radio. Nevertheless, the battle went on for almost another hour. After taking extremely heavy damage from almost 100 hits, and suffering dozens of casualties, Müller decided to beach Emden
on North Keeling Island to avoid sinking at 11.15am. Sydney
then pursued Buresk
, which was scuttled to avoid re-capture. Müller had neglected to strike his colours after beaching and when Sydney
returned, Glossop signalled Emden
to surrender. As no reply was received, he ordered his gunners to resume firing, after which a white flag was run up.
The survivors from Emden
were captured and Emden
was destroyed. Emdens crew suffered 131 killed and 65 wounded, from a total complement of 360.
Sydney had three killed and eight wounded. Glossop later said that he "felt like a murderer" for ordering the last salvoes at the helpless ship, but had no choice under the circumstances. Some 230 of the
Emden survivors were transferred from the
Sydney to the SS
Empress of Russia for transport to
ColomboColombo is the largest city and commercial capital of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the capital city of Sri Lanka. Colombo is a busy and vibrant city with a mixture of modern life and colonial buildings and ruins and a city...
.
In the meantime, Mücke and his men had seized the 123-ton three-masted
schoonerA schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being shorter or the same height as the rear masts...
Ayesha and some supplies and made for
PadangPadang is the capital and largest city of West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is located on the western coast of Sumatra at . It has an area of and a population of over 750,000 people.-History:...
on
SumatraSumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world .-Etymology:Sumatra was known in ancient times by the Sanskrit...
, in the neutral territory of the
Dutch East IndiesThe Dutch East Indies, or Netherlands East Indies, was the Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II.It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the former Dutch East India Company that came under the administration of the Netherlands in 1800...
. where they rendezvoused with a German merchant vessel on 13 December. Mücke's party made their way to
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
by way of the
Red SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez,...
, arriving on 5 May 1915. They then travelled overland, eventually reaching Germany.
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