Emden - The Swan of the East (World War 1)

 

The world is on the brink of war.

 The last 15 years have been marked by the Anglo-German naval arms race.

 By 1914, the British Royal Navy remains the largest in the world.

 The Imperial German Navy is its' biggest rival.

 During this naval arms race between the two great powers the epic saga of SMS Emden begins.

 Under the leadership of her dashing captain, 41-year-old Karl von Müller, the Emden's exploits will soon earn her the admiration of the world.

 Known as the "Swan of the East ", SMS Emden is a German Dresden-class light cruiser.

 She is part of the German East Asia squadron under Rear Admiral von Spee.

 In July 1914 she is the only ship from the squadron stationed in Tsingtao, a German colonial concession in China.

 As war clouds gather, Müller prepares the Emden for action and takes her to sea , not wanting to risk being cornered in the harbor by enemy ships.

 Then come news by wireless that war is declared between Russia and Germany, France is mobilizing, and England will probably be drawn in.

 Müller addresses his men : "We will prove ourselves worthy of our ancestors, and resist to the end - even though the entire world rises against us".

 Born in Hannover , in 1873, Karl Friedrich Max von Müller follows in his father's footsteps and joins the Prussian military academy but transfers to the Imperial German Navy in 1891.

 After several posts he is promoted to Korvettenkapitan in 1908.

 In 1913, he is given command of the Emden.

 She prowls the trade route , looking to capture the Russian cruiser Askold. But after failing to locate her, she captures the Ryazan instead, still without ammunition and guns fitted.

 While returning with her prize, she receives news that England entered the war.

 Müller promptly heads south-east, accompanied by the coaler Marcomannia -- ordered to randezvous with the East Asia Squadron in the Mariana Islands.

 von Spee plans to take the East Asia squadron to South America and then back to Germany.

 But Müller persuades the admiral to detach the Emden and give her free reign to raid Allied shipping in the Indian Ocean.

 And after the meeting the Emden parts ways with the squadron.

 Determined to remain undetected she heads south-by-west through the Dutch East Indies where she stops to meet with coalers to replenish her supplies.

 However, the Emden is ordered to leave Dutch waters - their neutral government refusing to show favoritism to German ships, fearful of Japanese aggression.

 Müller steams on, frustrated at being barred from using Dutch ports for supplies and repairs during his mission.

 Entering the Bay of Bengal, the crew disguises the Emden by rigging a false fourth funnel, out of wooden framing and sailcloth, making her appear like a British cruiser.

 Rebuffed by the Dutch, Emden's luck changes when she intercepts a Greek coaler Pontoporros Prohibited by the Hague Convention to confiscate a neutral ship, Müller  charters the coaler, solving his fuel problem for now.

 Over the following days , Emden's dummy fourth funnel lures in five British ships.

 Müller issues strict orders to take onboard all enemy survivors before scuttling their ship, giving fallen foes a burial at sea with full honors.

 Müller ensures that the personal honor of captured crews remains intact, treating all detainees with courtesy while they are in German custody, until they are put ashore at neutral ports or transferred to non-belligerent ships.

 As the small German convoy nears Calcutta, the Italian freighter Loredano is stopped.

 Müller  offers to pay her captain to transport all captured crews to port, wanting to scuttle the British owned Kabinga.

 But the Italian captain refuses.

 Respecting Italy's neutrality, Müller releases the Loredano.

 Ironically, once in Calcutta, the Italian captain would break his neutrality by reporting the Emden's presence.

 Meanwhile, Müller detaches the Kabinga to Calcutta, setting free all captured crews, displaying yet again his gentlemanly character.

 Three cheers are given by British crewmen as the two ships part ways.

 For the Emden, daily newspapers from captured vessels become a priceless source of information.

 Müller learns that the British Admiralty halted merchant shipping in the Bay of Bengal, after receiving information on Emden's position from the captain of the Loredano.

 What's worse, dispatched from Singapore, three cruisers steam towards the Emden, with additional auxiliary vessels.

 M�ller turns west , aware that the British will be patrolling the entrance to the Bay of Bengal.

 One of the Emden crew that used to work in Madras informs the captain of the British oil tanks situated in the harbor.

 Müller  immediately lays out plans to attack Madras.

 With the false fourth funnel raised Müller brazenly steers his ship into the brightly lit Madras harbor.

 He briefly turns on the searchlights and fires two broad sides to find the range. A barrage of shells follow, landing on the oil tanks, setting them ablaze.

 Nearly half a million gallons of oil are destroyed.

 Shore batteries open fire as Emden retires at full speed.

 But their shells fall short.

 Ironically , just 12 hours before the attack on Madras, the Bay of Bengal had been declared safe for shipping by the British Admiralty.

 With the glare of the fire at Madras visible on the horizon, Müller  turns to his next target - the shipping west of Ceylon .

 A number of ships fall prey to the Emden over the next couple of days .

 She retains the coaler Buresk , carrying 6,000 tons of coal .

 As the hunt intensifies, the Emden hides in the vastness of the Indian Ocean .

 Ten days later , she appears at Diego Garcia, a British possession that still hasn't received news that war broke out.

 Müller helps the locals by sending his engineers to repair the island's motor boat, before departing.

 The Emden continues to evade British cruisers.

 She starts her second raid west of Ceylon.

 A number of vessels are captured and sunk.

 The Troilus becomes Emden's biggest prize - the ship and cargo worth a staggering £1,000,000 (equivalent to more than £100,000,000 today).

 Müller then decides to head back east to raid Penang, after reading in recent newspapers about the capture of German merchant ships there.

 Coaler Buresk is detached to wait at a randezvous point, as she can only manage a speed of 10 knots and can't keep up with the nimble cruiser.

 Out from the new day's mist the Emden heads straight into the port, disguised with her false fourth funnel.

 As she closes the distance, several ships are spotted .

 She hoists the German flag, sets her sights on the Russian cruiser Zhemchuk and fires a torpedo.

 But the moored Russian cruiser is not combat-ready.

 She had just returned from a patrol and her captain is ashore, rumored to be visiting his mistress.

 What's worse he took the keys to the ammunition magazine with him, leaving his ship with only 12 available gun shells.

 Meanwhile, the crew are being entertained below deck, and no lookouts are posted.

 The torpedo hits the Zhemchuk, causing her to sink slightly.

 Another torpedo is fired at closer range, followed by a barrage of shells.

 Moments later, the second torpedo hits the Zhemchuk's frontal magazine.

 A terrible explosion rips the cruiser apart, sending her under.

 Across the bay, the torpedo gunship D'Iberville is moored and cannot give chase, but she fires a few salvos.

 Unwilling to risk his ship in the narrow strait, Müllerturns to make his escape, having destroyed the most dangerous ship in the harbor.

 Shells from the French gunship overshoot the German cruiser and hit the cargo ships behind her.

 Emerging from the harbor the Emden runs into the British liner Glenturret.

 With her cargo of ammunition and gunpowder, she is a prime target for Müller.

 But before the Germans can inspect the ship, the French destroyer Mousquet is sighted, returning from a patrol.

 Emden opens fire.

 The Arquebuse class destroyer is no match for the German cruiser.

 She is wrecked by direct hits to her engine room.

 Seeing that the Glenturrent had escaped during the confusion, the Emden stops only to pick up survivors from the Mousquet and steams out to sea.

 After her brazen attack on Penang harbor, the Emden slips away - hunted by up to 16 Allied warships.

 Müllerheads south to destroy an important British wireless station in the Cocos Island group.

 In early morning on November 9th the Emden drops anchor off the tiny Direction Island.

 As the 47-man landing party sets off and disembarks unopposed, Buresk is signalled to approach for coaling.

 But the Germans fail to jam radio transmissions from the island, and just before the landing party captures the wireless station, a quick witted British operator starts to transmit: "S.O.S.

 Emden is here".

 Just beyond the horizon, the ANZAC convoy, heading to Egypt, receives the distress call.

 HMAS Sydney is sent to investigate.

 At first the Emden lookouts mistake the Sydney for Buresk, but soon identified her as a cruiser.

 Caught off-guard, Müller recalls the landing party.

 But he is forced to pull out of the lagoon without them.

 Unable to reach the ship in time, the men on the beach can only watch.

 The Emden opens fire with her starboard guns.

 Faced against a superior ship, she tries to overwhelm the Sydney with a barrage of shells.

 Ten minutes later - at 10,000 yards - her third salvo scores a hit, knocking out Sydney's range finder.

 Demonstrating her superior gunnery, the Emden continues to score hits, knocking out one of Sydney's guns, causing a fire.

 But Müller sees that his shots mostly cause only superficial damage to the heavily armored Sydney.

 He moves to close the distance to get into torpedo range.

 But the Sydney eventually finds her range and starts battering the German cruiser with her superior guns.

 The Emden loses her wireless station and a forward gun.

 Nevertheless, Müller is determined to get closer to the Sydney, aware that scoring a torpedo hit is his only chance.

 However, Sydney keeps the range open, scoring more devastating hits, knocking out Emden�s electrics and steering.

 Müller can now only steer his ship using her propellers.

 Another hit to the shell hoist causes a fire on the starboard side.

 It's followed by a direct hit to the front funnel - which falls across the deck, engulfing the ship in smoke and reducing her speed.

 With over a third of his crew dead and many wounded, Captain Müller runs his crippled ship aground to save the lives of his men before she sinks.

 A white flag is raised, bringing the Emden's daring career to an end.

 Over a period of two months SMS Emden was the scourge of Allied navies.

 She attacked ports and captured no fewer than 23 ships.

 The value of captured shipping and cargo is estimated at £3,650,000 (equivalent to over £400,000,000 today).

 Moreover, the Emden tied down over 20 Allied warship and single-handedly reduced British shipping in the Indian Ocean by around %60, a truly staggering figure considering that almost half of the world's trade was carried on British shipping in 1914.

 Such was Emden's impact that when she was finally defeated Winston Churchil himself, then First Lord of the Admiralty, sent a message to the Sydney:

 "Warmest congratulations on the brilliant entry of the Australian Navy into the war, and the signal service rendered to the Allied cause and to peaceful commerce by the destruction of the Emden".

 Captain Müller and most of the survivors were taken prisoner.

 After the war they were repatriated in Germany.

 All crewmen from the Emden were permitted to add "Emden" to their surname - a singular distinction they could pass on to their descendants.

 Hailed as a hero, Captain Müller was awarded the Iron Cross 1st class, and Pour de Merite.

 His kind disposition to both friend and foe and his practice of ensuring the safety of captured enemy crews became legendary.

 His actions of fairness and chivalry earned him the nickname "Gentleman of the War".

 After retiring he settled in a quiet life in Blakenberg, until his death in 1923.