SMS Emden

“ The Emden was a light cruiser of 3,544 tons displacement, and she dated from 1908. She had a speed of 25 knots, and her armament consisted of ten 4.1-inch guns, four 2.1-inch guns, and four machine guns, as well as two torpedo tubes. Her captain, was Commander Karl von Müller, who has thus been described: "Picture a young man of about thirty, tall, clean-shaven, with closely-cropped hair and keen eyes, a neatly-proportioned figure, a man with the manners of a drawing-room, possessed of a keen sense of humour and an extensive knowledge of the sea and its affairs." ”

“ Two of his smaller cruisers—the Königsberg and the Emden—were, however, detached to prey on British commerce in the East. You have read [136] how the Königsberg caught H.M.S. Pegasus unawares, in Zanzibar harbour, and disabled her. I shall tell you later how this vessel was finally destroyed. In this chapter we will learn something of the career of the Emden.
A ship of war can do as much mischief amongst peaceful merchantmen as a cat among pigeons. Ordinary trading ships are entirely at the mercy of a fast cruiser armed with big guns. ”

“ The German cruiser Emden was at Tsingtau on the outbreak of war and got to sea before the blockade.
The Emden had a short but by no means inglorious career. Under her resourceful, gallant and courteous Commander, Von Müller, she cruised the Bay of Bengal and destroyed British shipping to the value of over £1,000,000; she bombarded Madras, causing appreciable damage, and her final exploit of note was to steam boldly into the British port of Penang, disguised by rigging up a dummy extra funnel and flying the Japanese flag, where she sank a Russian cruiser and a French torpedo-boat destroyer. ”

“ In the event of Emden being captured before this concentration is complete, all these vessels should be sent to assist in the hunt for Königsberg, or, conversely, if Königsberg is caught, the three Light Cruisers should turn over to the Emden. It is no use stirring about the oceans with two or three ships. When we have got Cruiser sweeps of 8 or 10 vessels ten or fifteen miles apart there will be some good prospect of utilising information as to the whereabouts of the Emden in such a way as to bring her to action. ”

“ Machinery, cement, cordage, wire ropes, tobacco, leather, &c. are manufactured. Emden is also of importance as the station of the submarine cables connecting Germany with England, North America and Spain. It has a regular steamboat service with Borkum and Norderney.
Emden (Emuden, Emetha) is first mentioned in the 12th century, when it was the capital of the Eemsgo (Emsgau, or county of the Ems) , one of the three hereditary countships into which East Friesland had been divided by the emperor. ”

“ As regards the battle itself, no one in the Sydney has anything but admiration for the pluck and skill with which the Emden fought a losing battle against a faster and more heavily gunned ship. But perhaps the one thing which they do hold most heavily against Von Müller personally is for the characteristically Prussian way he tried to bluff them, after he had run his ship aground, into allowing him to leave his flag flying when the Emden had been put completely out of action and was out of the running for good and all. ”

“ From the top of the Ayesha’s mast I could at first see only the thick cloud of black smoke that the Sydney’s smoke stack was belching forth, but soon the masts, smoke stacks and upper deck came in sight. Of the Emden I could see only one smoke stack and one mast; the rest of the ship was below the horizon. Both cruisers were steering an easterly course, and both were still firing their guns.
Suddenly, at full speed, the Sydney made a dash at the Emden. “Now,” thought I, “the Emden’s last gun has been silenced, and the Sydney is running at her to deal her her death blow.” ”

“ Von Spee was left but a month in which to enjoy his triumph over Cradock; Emden was defeated and captured by Sydney; Karlsruhe vanished as by enchantment from the sea; and Von Hipper’s battle-cruisers, going once too often near the British coast, had been driven in ignominious flight across the North Sea and paid for their temerity by the loss of Blücher. Three months of the Fisher-Churchill régime had seemingly put the Navy on a pinnacle that even the most sanguine—and the most ignorant—had hardly dared to hope for in the early days. ”

“ On the 15th, the old British cruiser Hawke was torpedoed in the North Sea and nearly five hundred men were lost. On the other hand, on the 17th of October, the light cruiser Undaunted, accompanied by the destroyers, Lance, Legion and Loyal, sank four German destroyers off the Dutch coast. But the opening of November turned the interest of the navy to the Southern Pacific. When the war began Admiral von Spee, with the German Pacific squadron, was at Kiaochau in command of seven vessels. Among these was the Emden, whose adventurous career has been already described. ”

“ Whether, in the long run, it would not have been to Germany's advantage for these cruisers to have played their lone hands on the commercial trade routes; to have followed the example of the Emden and Karlsrühe rather than to have formed a fighting squadron, is a matter for argument. ”

“ A ship carrying contraband could only be condemned if the contraband formed more than half its cargo. A belligerent warship could destroy a neutral vessel without taking it into a port for a judgment. The transfer of an enemy vessel to a neutral flag was presumed to be valid, if effected more than thirty days before the outbreak of war. Belligerents in neutral vessels on the high seas were exempt from capture. The Emden could justify its sinking of British ships, but the English were handicapped in their endeavor to prevent neutral ships from carrying supplies to Germany. ”

“ The decks were unbearably hot. The German shells were falling very short, the [53] guns no longer accurate. The Sydney had ceased to fire salvos, and for the last half-hour individual gun fire had been ordered. The end came when the Emden, already headed for the shores of the north Keeling Island, struck on the reef and remained with her bows firmly embedded in the coral. It was just 11.20, and while the Emden's flag was still flying Captain Glossop decided to give the foe two more salvos, and these found a target below the waterline. Still the German ensign flew at the after mast-head. ”

“ Now, realizing that escape was impossible, the Emden turned.
Brought to bay, Captain von Mueller had decided to give battle.
"Will we go into action, sir?" asked Jack of Lord Hastings eagerly.
"Not unless it is absolutely necessary," replied the commander of the Sylph. "The Sydney can handle the Emden alone."
Both lads were disappointed, for they had felt certain, that when the Emden was brought to bay they would have a hand in putting an end to her.
"Well," said Jack, "we can at least see the battle."
"Right," said Frank, and fortifying themselves with glasses, they took posts of vantage. ”

“ From various members of the crew I gathered some details of the running fight with the Emden. The Sydney, having an advantage in speed, [24] was able to keep out of range of the Emden’s guns, and to bombard with her own heavier metal. The engagement lasted eighty minutes, the Emden finally running ashore on North Keeling Island, and becoming an utter wreck. Only two German shots proved effective, one of these failed to explode, but smashed the main range finder and killed one man, the other killed three men and wounded fourteen. ”

“ I hurry up to the bridge, see the flag ‘Anna’ go up. That means weigh anchor. We ran like mad into our boat, but already the Emden’s pennant goes up, the battle flag is raised, they fire from starboard. The enemy is concealed by the island, and therefore not to be seen, but I see the shell strike the water. To follow and catch the Emden is out of question. She is going twenty knots, I only four with my steam pinnace. Therefore I turn back to land, raise the flag, declare German laws of war in force, seize all arms, set out my machine guns on shore in order to guard against a hostile landing. ”

“ Lord Hastings' account of the brief history of the Emden made quite an impression on Frank and Jack. The brief though active career of probably the greatest of German sea fighters interested them greatly, as it should all young readers.
The boys talked much of the gallant German captain as the Sylph II continued on her course from the Adriatic into the sunny Mediterranean once more, through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea, after a stop for coal at Port Said, and on into the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. ”

“ An authentic story of this epic of the seas is told by Lieutenant Captain von Mücke, of the Emden in a volume relating its exploits. He has also written a book bearing on the adventures of the landing squad in "The Ayesha." There is nothing more sensationally adventuresome in fiction than these voyages. The most improbable romance is outdone by the exploits of the gallant German seamen. Commander von Müller of the Emden is a prisoner of war in England at the time that these accounts are written. ”

“ Lying in the harbor was the Russian cruiser Jemchug and three French destroyers and a gunboat. The watch on the Russian ship questioned her, and was told by the wireless operator on the Emden that she was the Yarmouth returning to anchor. By this ruse the German ship was enabled to come within 600 yards of the Russian ship before the false funnel was discovered. Fire immediately spurted from the Russian guns, but a torpedo from the Emden struck the Jemchug's engine room and made it impossible for her crew to get ammunition to her guns. ”

“ A fresh burst of fire had greeted the Australian cruiser, which continued to pour salvo after salvo into her foe, sweeping the decks and riddling her sides until she crawled with a list. Early in the action a lucky shot had flooded the Emden's torpedo chamber, and in this regard she was powerless. Fires now burst from her decks at all points, and smoke indeed covered her from stem to stern. For one period she was obscured from view by a very light yellow smoke that seemed to the Sydney's gunners as if the ship had disappeared, as she had stopped firing. ”

“ He combats especially the idea of making Emden (the nearest to our shores) the port of departure. I mention this because, since his own scheme was adopted, it is instructive to note that Emden had been used (with caution) as a red herring by the inspired German press, when the subject was mentioned at all, and industriously dragged across the trail. His objections to the North Sea ports apply, he remarks, in reality to all schemes of invasion, whether the conditions be favourable or not. One is that secrecy is rendered impossible—and secrecy is vital. ”

“ Under way again, the fleet steered a west-nor'-westerly course for Aden, and the men, none the worse for a little joy in Colombo, settled again to ship routine. Six German sailors from the Emden had been placed on board the Tahiti at Colombo; and from them Mac heard something of the battle—how the Sydney had surprised them when they had some boats' crews away destroying the wireless and cable stations at Cocos Islands; how the Emden had been beached and raked by the Sydney's terrible broadsides ”

“ We stop her. She proves to be a Greek tramp, chartered from England. On the next day we met the Indus, bound for Bombay, all fitted up as a troop transport, but still without troops. That was the first one we sunk. The crew we took aboard the Markomannia. 'What's the name of your ship?' the officers asked us. 'Emden! Impossible. Why, the Emden was sunk long ago in battle with the Ascold!'
Capturing ships a habit.
Provisions secured.
"Then we sank the Lovat a troop transport ship, and took the Kabinga along with us. One gets used quickly to new forms of activity. ”

“ From Document C-190, which is the conversation on 2 November 1934 aboard the Emden between you and Hitler, Sir David has held up to you that Hitler, in a discussion with you and Göring, said that he considered the expansion of the Navy in the planned manner an absolutely vital necessity, since war could not be conducted unless the Navy safeguarded the ore imports from Scandinavia. ”

“ I shall speak to Captain Dreyfuss at once."
"Is Lieutenant Hetherington alive?" asked Jack suddenly.
"No," replied Lord Hastings sadly, "we three are the sole survivors of the Sylph."
"But what are you doing in these waters?" demanded Frank.
"Well," replied Lord Hastings, "it's somewhat of a secret, but I don't mind telling you. I am on the trail of the German cruiser Emden."
"The Emden!" ejaculated both lads.
"Exactly. She has become a terrible menace to British shipping. ”

“ The suffering of the crew of the Emden on their perilous voyage is here told in the captain's words: "We had an excellent cook aboard; he had deserted from the French Foreign Legion. We had to go sparingly with our water; each man received but three glasses daily. When it rained, all possible receptacles were placed on deck and the main sail was spread over the cabin roof to catch the rain.
"At length as we came in the neighborhood of Padang, on the 26th of November, 1915, a ship appeared for the first time and looked for our name. ”

“ Douglas, having come to an agreement with the firm of Dunbar and Eyre, filled in the forms on his own responsibility, and two privateers were sent out with these fraudulent credentials.
Shortly afterwards, one of these ships, the Lissa, put into Emden with a rich Swedish prize. Lying in the harbour was an English man-of-war, and the captain of this ship, declaring that the English sailors on board the Lissa were all either deserters or men who had bound themselves to serve in the British Navy, required that they should be given up to him. ”