Abstract
The exploits of Great War German surface raiders in various parts of the world, often in waters far distant from the main European theatres of action, have long fascinated writers and readers. Not least amongst these vessels was the SMS Emden, whose relatively brief but intensely active war-time career was ended when it was attacked by HMAS Sydney in the Cocos Islands. The warship’s story is the subject of this new book by Wes Olsen.
The light cruiser Emden was commissioned in 1909 but was at first placed in reserve due to crew shortages. The following year it was repainted for tropical service and despatched by way of South America to join with the East Asia Squadron and arrived in September 1910 at Tsingtau in China, a German naval base since the late 1890s and, nicknamed the Schwan des Ostens (Swan of the East), still remained in the region when the Great War began. The Emden was in action almost from the opening of hostilities, seizing a fast Russian cargo liner, Ryazan, on the 3 August 1914, the day after Germany had declared war on the Tsar’s government. The Ryazan was taken back to Tsingtau and converted into the armed merchant raider Cormoran II.
It was evident that this relatively powerful but rather isolated German South East Asia Squadron would soon face the unwelcome attentions of British, Australian, Russian and French warships and its position became seemingly more acute when the commander, Admiral Von Spee, learned that the Japanese were likely to enter the war against Germany in the near future. Conscious of the threat posed to their trade in the Indian and Pacific oceans by the East Asia squadron, this formidable array of enemies would soon be intent on eliminating their German opponents. Hardly had the Emden returned to Tsingtau when its commander, Karl Von Muller, received orders to join the rest of the German Squadron, by now gathered at the Pagan Islands in the Marianas Archipelago. Here Admiral Von Spee formulated a plan to cross the Pacific to South America where there seemed to be much more likelihood of obtaining crucial coal supplies with which he intended to attempt a run back to Germany by way of Cape Horn and the Atlantic whilst causing maximum disruption to the mercantile fleets of Britain and her allies during the voyage. Von Spee was originally keen to keep his squadron intact for this enterprise but Von Muller was able to persuade the Admiral to detach the Emden for independent operations in the Indian Ocean.
Von Spee and his squadron, of course, crossed the Pacific and enjoyed an initial victory over inferior British naval forces at the Battle of Coronel off the coast of Chile on 1 November 1914 but, after entering the Atlantic, much of his Squadron was destroyed when engaged by Royal Naval forces under the command of Vice-Admiral Doveton Sturdee in the Battle of the Falkland Islands on 8 December 1914.
Before the German Squadron reached South America, the Emden had already embarked on its short career as an independent raider, initially making the most of the element of surprise as the British and allied forces had assumed the light cruiser was still with the main German squadron. During the next few months, as Olson vividly relates, the Emden was responsible for disrupting and dislocating maritime activities across the Indian Ocean, intercepting no less than twenty-nine merchant ships and eliminating two enemy warships whilst also destroying oil storage facilities at Madras.
The need to counter the presence of this rampaging enemy vessel tied up numerous allied warships in guarding ports and escorting shipping. The Emden’s depredations not only disrupted regular trade routes but also had an adverse effect on insurance premiums. In the longer-term, of course, the chances of this single light cruiser escaping destruction were slim with so many naval resources deployed in hunting it down. The light cruiser’s end came at the Cocos Islands on the 8 November 1914, just a week after Von Spee’s victory at the Battle of Coronel. A landing party from the warship, commanded by Kapitanleutnant von Mucke, went ashore on an operation to destroy the telegraph and wireless station on Direction Island but arrived too late to stop a radio message being sent out from the islands warning of the approach of a strange warship. The Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney, on convoy escort duty, picked up a message, steamed over fifty miles at full-speed and closed on Direction Island. A bitter battle lasting over two hours ensued: the badly battered Emden was beached by its commander on a reef and eventually surrendered. Though the surviving crew of the Emden who had taken part in the battle, not least Von Muller, were taken prisoner, the landing party who were still ashore during the engagement, escaped, the first part of their flight being aboard the Ayesha, a leaky schooner, and, after an epic journey, by way of the Indian Ocean, Red Sea and the Middle East, they reached Constantinople in June 1915.
Olson has written a riveting, thoroughly readable as well as accurate account of the Emden’s story, making use of a wide range of primary and secondary sources. His book is well illustrated, contains some useful maps and ample references. The appendices provide much additional related information. Olson not only brings us the story of the events leading up to the battle and provides much detail of the action and its effects on those involved as well as its aftermath but he also furnishes us with an account of the remarkable journey of von Mucke and the escaping landing party as they made their way from the island to Constantinople. It is to be recommended to readers who have an interest in Great War naval history, particularly the activities of German surface raiders.