Battle of Penang
Battle of Penang | |||||||
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Part of the Asian theatre of World War I | |||||||
Depiction of the battle in a German postcard | |||||||
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The Battle of Penang (
Background
At the time, Penang was part of the Straits Settlements, a British Crown colony. Penang is an island off the west coast of Malaya, now the present day Malaysia. It is only a short distance from the mainland. The main town of Penang, George Town, is on a harbour. In the early months of the war, it was heavily used by Allied naval and merchant vessels.[1]
Shortly after the outbreak of the war, the German East Asia Squadron left its base in Tsingtao, China. The squadron headed east for Germany, but one ship, the light cruiser SMS Emden under Lt. Commander Karl von Müller was sent on a solitary raiding mission.[1]
Battle
At about 04:30 on 28 October, the Emden appeared off the George Town roads to attack the harbour defences and any enemy vessels she might find there. Captain von Müller had disguised his ship by rigging a false smoke stack, which made the Emden resemble the British light cruiser
The old French cruiser D'Iberville and the French destroyer Fronde by now had opened fire on the Emden, but both were wildly inaccurate and von Müller simply ignored them as he turned to leave the harbour unharmed. While stopping to try to pick up a harbour pilot, he met the French destroyer Mousquet, returning from a patrol. Caught by surprise, the French ship was quickly sunk by the German cruiser's guns.
Aftermath
The Zhemchug had been tied up in a state of non-readiness while her captain, Cmdr. Baron I. A. Cherkassov, went ashore that night to visit his wife (some accounts say his mistress). The keys for the ship's magazine had been taken ashore and no lookouts had been posted. Cherkassov watched in helpless horror from the
Lt.
The Emden continued her successful raiding mission for another 10 days, before she was encountered by the more powerful Royal Australian Navy light cruiser Sydney. The Sydney's heavier and longer range guns enabled her to severely damage the Emden, which had to be run aground and surrendered at the Battle of Cocos.[1]
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Zhemchug, after 1909
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Mousquet, undated
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Route taken by Emden during her commerce raiding operations
Legacy
A total of 12 Russian sailors are buried on
See also
Footnotes
- ^ ISBN 9785765424353. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ^ a b "Tragedy in Penang". Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ^ "The war on the sea". The Independent. 9 November 1914. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
- ^ "Sinking of Zhemchug". Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ^ (in Russian) V.V. Khromov (В.В. Хромов), Kreysera tipa "Zhemchug" (Крейсера типа «Жемчуг»), Morskaya Kollekcya 1/2005
- ^ "SMS Emden". Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ^ "Memorial service in Penang". Archived from the original on 8 July 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
References
- Frame, Tom. (2004). No Pleasure Cruise: The Story of the Royal Australian Navy. Sydney: ISBN 978-1-74114-233-4(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 1-58574-382-8.
- Hohenzollern, Franz Joseph, Prince of EMDEN: MY EXPERIENCES IN S.M.S. EMDEN. New York: G. Howard Watt, 1928.
- Lochner, R. K. Last Gentleman-Of-War: Raider Exploits of the Cruiser Emden Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1988. ISBN 0-87021-015-7.
- McClement, Fred. Guns in paradise. Paper Jacks, 1979. ISBN 0-7701-0116-X.
- Mücke, Hellmuth von. The Emden-Ayesha Adventure: German Raiders in the South Seas and Beyond, 1914. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2000. ISBN 1-55750-873-9.