Battle of Cocos
Battle of Cocos | |||||||
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Part of World War I | |||||||
Japanese poster depicting the Battle of Cocos | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Australia | Germany | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
John Glossop | Karl von Müller | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Light cruiser Sydney |
Light cruiser Emden Collier Buresk | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
4 killed 16 wounded Sydney damaged |
134 killed 69 wounded 157 captured Emden wrecked Buresk scuttled |
The Battle of Cocos was a
After the retreat of the German
During the night of 8–9 November, Emden reached the islands and sent a party ashore at around 06:00 to disable the wireless and cable transmission station on Direction Island. The station was able to transmit a distress call before it was shut down. Melbourne received the message and ordered Sydney to investigate. The Australian ship arrived off Direction Island at 09:15, spotting and being spotted by Emden; both ships prepared for combat. Emden opened fire at 09:40, surprising those aboard Sydney as the range was greater than British intelligence thought Emden was capable of. The German ship scored several hits, but was unable to inflict disabling damage to the Australian cruiser before Sydney opened up with her more powerful main guns. At 11:20, von Müller ordered that the heavily damaged Emden beach on
Of Emden's crew, 134 were killed and 69 wounded, compared to only 4 killed and 16 wounded aboard Sydney. The German survivors were taken aboard the Australian cruiser, with most transferred to the auxiliary cruiser Empress of Russia on 12 November. Sydney rejoined the troop convoy in Colombo, then spent the rest of the war assigned to the North America and West Indies Station, then the British Grand Fleet. Von Müller and some of his officers were imprisoned on Malta, with the rest of the crew being sent to prisoner-of-war camps in Australia. The 50 men of the German shore party on Direction Island commandeered the schooner Ayesha and escaped, eventually reaching Constantinople. The defeat of the last German ship in the region allowed RAN warships to be deployed to other theatres, and troopships were able to sail unescorted between Australia and the Middle East until renewed raider activity in 1917.
Ships
HMAS Sydney
Sydney was a
The cruiser's main armament consisted of eight
Sydney was laid down by the
SMS Emden
Emden was a Dresden-class cruiser. The ship had a displacement of 3,364 tons at normal load, was 118 metres (387 ft) long, had a beam of 13.4 metres (44 ft), and a draught of 5.3 metres (17 ft).[6][7] The light cruiser had a maximum speed of 24.5 knots (45.4 km/h; 28.2 mph).[8] The ship was armed with ten 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/40 guns in single mountings, and carried two torpedo tubes.[6]
Emden was built in Danzig by Kaiserliche Werft Danzig.[8][9] The ship was laid down on 6 April 1906, launched on 26 May 1908, and commissioned on 10 July 1909.[9] At the time of the battle, the cruiser was under the command of Karl von Müller, with 316 aboard.[10][11]
Background and leadup
Prior to World War I, Emden was operating as part of the German East Asia Squadron. Shortly after the war began, the threat of the Australian battlecruiser HMAS Australia, plus the likelihood that Japan would join the Allies, prompted the German squadron to head into the Pacific Ocean, as the first stage of a retreat to Germany.[12][13] Unlike the rest of the force, Emden, on von Müller's suggestion, was ordered to head into the Indian Ocean and commence a raiding campaign, as she was the most modern vessel in the East Asia Squadron.[14] Over the next two months, the German ship captured or sank 25 civilian vessels, shelled Madras, and destroyed Russian protected cruiser Zhemchug and French destroyer Mousquet at Penang.[10][15] During these two months, none of Emden's personnel were killed.[16] At some point during the deployment, a fake fourth funnel was erected to disguise Emden as a British cruiser, specifically HMS Yarmouth.[16] Military historian George Odgers described Emden's activities as "one of the most daring careers of maritime destruction in naval history".[15] Aware of the increasing efforts to find his ship, von Müller selected the wireless station at Direction Island as his next target, with the hope that, in addition to hampering communications between Australia and the United Kingdom, disabling it would frustrate efforts to coordinate the search for Emden (which by this point included sixteen warships from five Allied nations), and direct them away from the Aden-India shipping route, which was where he intended Emden to operate next.[5][16] She was being supported by Buresk, a British collier that had been captured on 27 September.[17] Although operating independently at the time under a prize crew, Emden had arranged to transmit a signal summoning the collier to the Cocos Islands, allowing the cruiser to refuel before heading west.[18]
In October 1914, Sydney and
Battle
Wireless station capture
During the night of 8–9 November, Emden sailed to Direction Island.[5] At 06:00 on 9 November, the ship anchored in the Cocos lagoon, deployed a steam pinnace (to tow a 50-strong landing party in two boats, led by Emden's first officer, Hellmuth von Mücke, ashore), and transmitted the coded summons for Buresk.[5][18][22] The ship was spotted by off-duty personnel at the cable and wireless station, and although the ship was initially suspected to be Minotaur, the station's medical officer observed that the foremost funnel was false, and informed superintendent Darcy Farrant that it may be Emden in the bay.[23] Farrant ordered the telegraphist on duty (already alerted by the German's coded signal) to begin transmitting a distress call by wireless and cable.[24] Emden was able to jam the wireless signal shortly after it began, while the cable distress call continued until an armed party burst into the transmission room.[4][5] Minotaur heard the wireless call and acknowledged, but von Müller was unconcerned, as the signal strength indicated that Minotaur was at least 10 hours away.[25] Von Mücke instructed Farrant to surrender the keys to the station's buildings and any weapons, which the superintendent handed over, along with news that the Kaiser had announced awards for Emden's actions at Penang.[26]
After taking control of the station and its 34 staff, German personnel smashed the transmitting equipment and severed two of the station's three undersea cables, as well as a dummy cable.[4][5][27] They also felled the main wireless mast; although taking care at the request of the staff to avoid damaging the station's tennis court, the mast landed on a cache of Scotch whisky.[4] At around 09:00, lookouts on Emden saw smoke from an approaching ship.[28] Initially assumed to be Buresk, by 09:15 she had been identified as an approaching warship, believed to be HMS Newcastle or another vessel of similar vintage.[28][29] As Emden was prepared for battle, several signals were sent to the shore party to hurry up, but at 09:30, the raider had to raise anchor and sail to meet the approaching hostile ship, leaving von Mücke's party behind despite their best efforts to catch up.[30][31]
The ANZAC convoy, positioned 80 kilometres (50 mi) north-east of the Cocos Islands, heard the coded Buresk summons, then the distress call from Direction Island.[32] Believing the unidentified ship to be Emden or Königsberg (also believed to be at large in the region), Melbourne's captain, Mortimer Silver, ordered his ship to make full speed and turn for Cocos.[29][32] Silver quickly realised that as commander of the convoy escort, he needed to remain with the troopships, and he reluctantly ordered Sydney to detach.[29] Ibuki raised her battle ensign and requested permission to follow Sydney, but the Japanese ship was ordered to remain with the convoy.[33] At 09:15, Sydney spotted Direction Island and the attacking ship.[29] Confident of being able to outrun, outrange, and outshoot the German vessel, Glossop ordered the ship to prepare for action.[29][34] He agreed with his gunnery officer to open fire at 9,500 yards (8,700 m): well within Sydney's firing range, but outside the believed range of Emden's guns.[35]
Combat
Emden was the first to fire at 09:40, and scored hits on her fourth salvo: two shells exploded near the aft control station and wrecked the aft
Sydney attempted to open the gap between the two ships as she opened fire.
At around 10:20, the manoeuvring of the two ships brought them to within 5,500 yards (5,000 m), and Glossop took the opportunity to order a torpedo firing.
After Emden's beaching
Sydney then turned to pursue and capture Buresk, which had arrived on the horizon during the battle.[40][50] The cruiser caught up shortly after 12:00 and fired a warning shot, but on closing with Buresk, Sydney found the collier had already commenced scuttling.[40][48] Sydney recovered the boarding party and the crew from Buresk, fired four shells to hasten the collier's sinking, then once she had submerged, turned back towards North Keeling Island.[51]
The Australian cruiser reached Emden around 16:00.
Glossop had orders to ascertain the status of the transmission station, and left with Sydney to do so, after sending a boat with Buresk's crew to Emden with some medical supplies and a message that they would return the next day.[48][54] In addition to checking on Direction Island, there was also the potential that Emden and Königsberg had been operating together and that the second ship would approach to recover the attack party from the island, or go after the troop convoy; consequently, Sydney could not render assistance to Emden's survivors until such threats had passed.[48][55] It was too late to make a landing on Direction Island, so the cruiser spent the night patrolling the islands, and approached the wireless station the next morning.[55] On arrival, the Australians learned that the Germans had escaped the previous evening in a commandeered schooner.[55] Sydney embarked the island's doctor and two assistants, then headed for North Keeling Island.[55]
Aftermath
The Australian cruiser reached the wreck of Emden at 13:00 on 10 November.
On 12 November, the auxiliary cruiser Empress of Russia arrived, and the majority of the German personnel (excluding the officers and those too injured to be moved) were transferred over for transportation to Colombo.[61] Sydney caught up to the ANZAC convoy at Colombo on 15 November.[62] There were no celebrations of Sydney's success as the cruiser entered harbour: Glossop had signalled ahead to request that the sailors and soldiers aboard the warships and transports refrain from cheering, out of respect for the German wounded being carried aboard.[49][63]
After Emden's defeat, the only German warship in the Indian Ocean basin was SMS Königsberg; the cruiser had been blockaded in the Rufiji River in October, and remained there until her destruction in July 1915.[64] Australia was no longer under direct threat from the Central Powers, and many of the RAN ships designated for the nation's defence could be safely deployed to other theatres.[64][65] Over the next two years, troop convoys from Australia and New Zealand to the Middle East sailed without naval escort, further freeing Allied resources.[65] The state of affairs persisted until the raiders Wolf and Seeadler began operations in the region in 1917.[66]
Emden
Von Müller and a small complement of officers were sent to Malta and imprisoned at the Verdala Barracks.[67] The rest of the personnel were taken to Australia and placed in prisoner-of-war camps at Holsworthy, Trial Bay, and Berrima.[68] Five sailors, suffering from long-term effects of wounds and amputations were repatriated to Germany in 1916.[69]
Von Müller was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class for the battle.[70] The Kaiser announced the construction of a new Emden on 15 November, which would bear an Iron Cross on her bow.[70][71] A Königsberg-class cruiser laid down in 1914 was named SMS Emden on completion in 1916, and built with an Iron Cross mounted on her stem-head.[72]
Shortly after the battle, the auxiliary cruiser Empress of Japan visited the wreck to recover the signal logs from Emden.[73] In 1915, a Japanese company proposed that the ship be repaired and refloated, but an inspection by HMAS Protector concluded that surf damage to Emden made such an operation unfeasible.[73] By 1919, there were reports that the wreck had disappeared.[73] The wreck was eventually broken up in situ in the early 1950s by a Japanese salvage company; parts of the ship remain scattered around the area.[74][75]
Sydney
After completing escort duties, the Australian ship was deployed to the
Sydney remained in service until 1928, and was
Landing party
After being abandoned, the German shore party returned to Direction Island, placed the territory under German martial law, and set up weapons on the beach to oppose a potential landing.[79] They witnessed the first stages of the battle, but by the time the combatants disappeared from view, it was clear that Emden had been seriously damaged, and if she survived, von Müller's priority would be heading to a neutral port to effect repairs.[80] Unlikely to hold the beach against any investigating Allied warships, von Mücke decided to commandeer the 97-ton schooner Ayesha, which had been anchored in the lagoon, and attempt to sail to the neutral Dutch East Indies.[81] With the willing assistance of the station staff, the Germans loaded Ayesha with half the island's food supply, then towed the schooner out of the lagoon with the steam launch that evening.[30][82]
The schooner initially sailed to
In popular culture
How We Fought the Emden (1915) and The Exploits of the Emden (1928) were two Australian silent films depicting the battle and the events leading up to it.
In 2010, German director Berengar Pfahl began work on Die Männer der Emden (The Emden Men), a film based on the story of the 50 German sailors left behind on Direction Island and their voyage home.[91] Much of the filming occurred in Sri Lanka, with the luxury yacht Raja Laut used to represent the schooner Ayesha.[91] The film was released in 2012.[91][92]
Citations
- ^ a b c Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 138
- ^ Cassells, The Capital Ships, pp. 138–9
- ^ a b Jose, The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918, p. 183
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 139
- ^ a b c d e f Stevens, in Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, p. 39
- ^ a b Gröner, German Warships: 1815–1945, p. 105
- ^ Forstmeier, SMS Emden: Small Protected Cruiser 1906–1914, p. 2
- ^ a b Jose, The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918, p. 165
- ^ a b Gröner, Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815–1945, p. 133
- ^ a b Stevens, in Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, p. 38
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, p. 299
- ^ Stevens, in Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, pp. 33–4
- ^ Frame, No Pleasure Cruise, p. 106
- ^ Stevens, in Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, p. 34
- ^ a b Odgers, Diggers, p. 65
- ^ a b c Frame, No Pleasure Cruise, p. 110
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, p. 185
- ^ a b Carlton, First Victory, p. 244
- ^ Jose, The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918, p. 158
- ^ Jose, The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918, p. 161
- ^ a b Jose, The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918, p. 180
- ^ Cassells, The Capital Ships, pp. 139–40
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, pp. 244–5
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, p. 245
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, p. 246
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, pp. 246–7
- ^ "From Australia to Zimmermann: A Brief History of Cable Telegraphy during World War One" (PDF), Innovating in Combat (Draft ed.), Museum of the History of Science, pp. 6–9, 20 September 2013, retrieved 16 December 2013
- ^ a b Carlton, First Victory, p. 250
- ^ a b c d e Jose, The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918, p. 181
- ^ a b Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 140
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, pp. 250–1
- ^ a b Carlton, First Victory, pp. 254–5
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, pp. 256–7
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, pp. 258–9
- ^ a b Carlton, First Victory, p. 259
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, pp. 264–5
- ^ a b Frame, No Pleasure Cruise, p. 111
- ^ Jose, The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918, pp. 182–3
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, pp. 269–71
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 141
- ^ Jose, The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918, p. 182
- ^ a b Carlton, First Victory, p. 271
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, pp. 267, 271
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, pp. 274–5
- ^ a b c d e Jose, The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918, p. 184
- ^ a b Carlton, First Victory, p. 273
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, p. 277
- ^ a b c d e f Stevens, in Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, p. 40
- ^ a b Odgers, Diggers, p. 66
- ^ a b Carlton, First Victory, p. 280
- ^ a b c d Jose, The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918, p. 188
- ^ a b c d e f Frame, No Pleasure Cruise, p. 113
- ^ a b Jose, The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918, p. 189
- ^ a b Carlton, First Victory, p. 284
- ^ a b c d Jose, The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918, p. 190
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, p. 292
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, pp. 292–3
- ^ a b Jose, The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918, p. 191
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, pp. 297–9
- ^ Jose, The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918, pp. 190–1
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, pp. 300–1
- ^ Jose, The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918, pp. 192, 204
- ^ Jose, The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918, p. 192
- ^ a b Odgers, Diggers, p. 67
- ^ a b Stevens, in Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, p. 41
- ^ Frame, No Pleasure Cruise, pp. 142–44
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, p. 306
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, p. 313
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, p. 318
- ^ a b c Frame, No Pleasure Cruise, p. 115
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, p. 312
- ^ Gardiner & Gray (eds.), Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921, p. 162
- ^ a b c Jose, The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918, p. 207
- ^ Gröner, German Warships: 1815–1945, p. 106
- ^ von Mücke, The Emden–Ayesha Adventure: German Raiders in the South Seas and Beyond, 1914, p. 96
- ^ Cassells, The Capital Ships, pp. 139, 141
- ^ Bastock, Australia's Ships of War, p. 47
- ^ a b Cassells, The Capital Ships, pp. 143, 247
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, p. 262
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, p. 286
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, pp. 286–7
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, pp. 288–9
- ^ a b c d Jose, The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918, p. 206
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, p. 323
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, pp. 324–6
- ^ a b c Carlton, First Victory, p. 327
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, p. 328-9
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, pp. 329–32
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, p. 333
- ^ Carlton, First Victory, pp. 333–4
- ^ a b c Fernando, World locations made in Lanka
- ^ "Die Männer der Emden". Die Männer der Emden.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
References
Books
- Bastock, John (1975). Australia's Ships of War. Cremorne, NSW: Angus and Robertson. OCLC 2525523.
- Carlton, Mike (2013). First Victory: 1914. Australia: William Heinemann. ISBN 978-1-74275-763-6.
- Cassells, Vic (2000). The Capital Ships: Their Battles and their Badges. East Roseville, NSW: Simon & Schuster. OCLC 48761594.
- Forstmeier, Friedrich (1972). "SMS Emden, Small Protected Cruiser 1906–1914". In Preston, Antony (ed.). Warship Profile 25. Windsor, UK: Profile Publications. pp. 1–24.
- OCLC 55980812.
- Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. OCLC 12119866.
- Gröner, Erich (1982). Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815–1945 (in German). Vol. I. Bernard & Graefe. OCLC 157015400.
- Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9.
- OCLC 215763279.
- OCLC 31743147.
- Stevens, David (2001). "World War I". In Stevens, David (ed.). The Royal Australian Navy. The Australian Centenary History of Defence. Vol. III. South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press. OCLC 50418095.
- ISBN 1-55750-873-9.
News articles
- Fernando, Susitha R. (3 August 2011). "World locations made in Lanka". The Sunday Times. Sri Lanka. Retrieved 18 January 2012.
External links
- "Cocos" – a weblog positing diary entries from HMAS Sydney sailor Richard Horne, including a first-hand account of the Battle of Cocos
- Direction Island Cable Station and the Battle of Cocos — History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications page with description, photos and links to details on cables at the station