Battle of Cocos 1687523 226098162 2008-07-16T20:33:30Z Sandpiper 294080 reformat to remove whitespace {{Infobox Military Conflict |conflict=Battle of Cocos |partof=[[World War I]] |image= |caption=''Emden'' after the battle. |date=[[9 November]] [[1914]] |place=[[Cocos (Keeling) Islands|Cocos Islands]], north east [[Indian Ocean]] |result=Australian victory |combatant1={{flagicon|Australia}} [[Australia]]<br/>([[British Empire]]) |combatant2={{flagicon|German Empire}} [[German Empire]] |commander1={{flagicon|Australia|naval}} [[John Glossop]] |commander2={{flagicon|German Empire|naval}} [[Karl von Müller]] |strength1=[[light cruiser]]<br>[[HMAS Sydney (1912)|HMAS ''Sydney'']] |strength2=light cruiser<br>[[SMS Emden (1906)|SMS ''Emden'']] |casualties1=3 men killed<br>8 wounded |casualties2=131 men killed<br>65 wounded<br>''Emden'' scuttled }} {{Campaignbox Command of the Oceans 1914-1915}} The naval '''Battle of Cocos''' took place on [[9 November]] [[1914]] during [[World War I]] off the [[Cocos (Keeling) Islands]], in the north east [[Indian Ocean]]. The [[Imperial Germany|German]] [[light cruiser]] [[SMS Emden (1906)|SMS ''Emden'']] attacked the [[United Kingdom|British]] cable station on [[Direction Island (disambiguation)|Direction Island]] and was engaged several hours later by [[HMAS Sydney (1912)|HMAS ''Sydney'']], an [[Australia]]n light cruiser. The battle was the first ship-against-ship engagement for the [[Royal Australian Navy]]. == Background == ''Emden'' was launched in [[1908]], and became the ''[[Kaiserliche Marine]]'''s representative at the German [[colony]] of [[Qingdao|Tsingtao]], in [[China]], and was part of the [[German East Asia Squadron]]. After war broke out on [[August 4]], 1914, the squadron was ordered to avoid the superior Allied naval forces in the Pacific, and it headed for Germany, by way of [[Cape Horn]]. The sole exception was the ''Emden'', under ''Korvettenkapitän'' (Lt Commander) [[Karl von Müller]], which headed towards the Indian Ocean, with the objective of raiding [[Allied]] shipping. Müller frequently made use of a fake fourth smokestack, which &mdash; when the ship flew the [[Royal Navy]] [[ensign]] &mdash; made it resemble the British cruiser [[HMS Yarmouth (1911)|HMS ''Yarmouth'']] and similar vessels. Within three months, ''Emden'' had sunk 30 Allied merchant vessels and warships. It had also shelled and damaged British oil tanks at [[Madras]], in [[India]]. A [[Collier (ship type)|collier]] named ''Buresk'', was captured with its cargo intact, and was re-crewed with German seamen to accompany the ''Emden'' as a supply vessel. Other victims of the ''Emden'' included an obsolescent Russian cruiser and a French [[destroyer]] off [[British Malaya|Malaya]], at the [[Battle of Penang]], on [[28 October]]. By the end of October, no less than 60 Allied warships were looking for the ''Emden''. Coincidentally, on [[1 November]], a convoy carrying the [[Australian and New Zealand Army Corps]] (ANZAC) to [[Egypt]], left [[Albany, Western Australia]]. The escort was four cruisers: the Australian ''Sydney'' and [[HMAS Melbourne (1912)|HMAS ''Melbourne'']], the British [[HMS Minotaur (1906)|HMS ''Minotaur'']] and the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]]'s [[Japanese cruiser Ibuki|''Ibuki'']]. == The action == [[Image:SMS Emden.jpg|thumb|left|SMS ''Emden'']] The cable and radio station at [[Direction Island (disambiguation)|Direction Island]] was a critical component of Allied communication in and across the Indian Ocean. Müller decided to destroy the station's radio tower and equipment. When ''Emden'' reached the island at 6am on [[9 November]], the [[Eastern Telegraph Company]] staff quickly realised they were under attack and sent a message saying "Strange ship in entrance" and "SOS, Emden here". A German shore party of 50 seamen with small arms, under ''Kapitänleutnant'' [[Hellmuth von Mücke]] was quickly landed. The civilian staff on the island offered no resistance, and Mücke even agreed to take care that the 54 metre (176 ft) tall radio tower did not fall into the island's tennis court, when its base was blown up. ''Emden'' signalled the ''Buresk'' to join it. The ANZAC convoy happened to be only 50 miles (80 km) away and it was decided to detach a vessel in response to the SOS signals. Despite intense lobbying from the commander of ''Ibuki'', the ''Sydney'' was despatched at 7am. The RAN ship was a state-of-the-art [[Town class cruiser (1910)|Town class light cruiser]], commissioned in 1913 and commanded by Captain [[John Glossop]], an [[Royal Navy|RN]] officer. When lookouts on ''Emden'' spotted ''Sydney'' approaching, Müller had no choice but to raise anchor and engage the Australian cruiser, leaving Mücke and his landing party on [[Direction Island (disambiguation)|Direction Island]]. [[Image:Cocos (Keeling) Islands-CIA WFB Map.png|thumb|left|235px|A map of the Cocos (Keeling Islands.]] ''Sydney'' was larger, faster and better armed &mdash; 6 inch (152mm) guns &mdash; than ''Emden'', which had 104mm (4.1 inch) guns. However, the German gunners fired first at 9.40am from 10km away and scored hits soon afterwards, knocking out ''Sydney's'' rangefinder and one gun. After that, Glossop used his speed and the superior range of his guns to stay out of reach of the German guns and avoided further damage and casualties. Meanwhile, his own gunners gradually found their marks, inflicting sustained and increasingly accurate fire on ''Emden''. By 10.20am the Germans had lost their steering, electrics and radio. Nevertheless, the battle went on for almost another hour. After taking extremely heavy damage from almost 100 hits, and suffering dozens of casualties, Müller decided to beach ''Emden'' on [[North Keeling Island]] to avoid sinking at 11.15am. ''Sydney'' then pursued ''Buresk'', which was scuttled to avoid re-capture. Müller had neglected to strike his colours after beaching and when ''Sydney'' returned, Glossop signalled ''Emden'' to surrender. As no reply was received, he ordered his gunners to resume firing, after which a white flag was run up. The survivors from ''Emden'' were then captured and ''Emden'' was destroyed. ''Emden'''s crew suffered 131 killed and 65 wounded, from a total complement of 360. ''Sydney'' had three killed and eight wounded. Glossop later said that he "felt like a murderer" for ordering the last salvoes at the helpless ship, but had no choice under the circumstances. Some 230 of the ''Emden'' survivors were transferred from the ''Sydney'' to the [[RMS Empress of Russia (1913)|SS ''Empress of Russia'']] for transport to [[Colombo]].<ref>Ships List: [http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/descriptions/ShipsE.html Description of ''Empress of Russia'']</ref> In the meantime, Mücke and his men had seized the 123-ton three-masted [[schooner]] ''Ayesha'' and some supplies and made for [[Padang, Indonesia|Padang]] on [[Sumatra]], in the neutral territory of the [[Dutch East Indies]], where they rendezvoused with a German merchant vessel on [[13 December]]. Mücke's party made their way to [[Turkey]] by way of the [[Red Sea]], arriving on [[5 May]] [[1915]]. From there they travelled overland, eventually reaching Germany. ==Notes== {{reflist}} == External links == *[http://www.ezania.net/library/books/cocos/index_contents.htm "The Ayesha: Adventures of the Landing Squad of the Emden" (Book by Kapitaenleutnant Hellmuth von Muecke)] [[Category:Far East naval battles of World War I|Cocos]] [[Category:Military attacks against Australia|Cocos]] [[cs:Bitva u Kokosových ostrovů]] [[pl:Bitwa koło Wysp Kokosowych]]