The last gentlemen of war - the Sydney Emden battle

Australia’s first navy arrived in Sydney Harbour with great ceremony in 1912. Among those warships was HMAS Sydney, soon to become the victor in Australia’s first major sea battle. In 1914 the Germans had a large fleet based in the western Pacific. Among this fleet was SMS Emden, a light cruiser. When the German admiralty determined that the best course of action was to get their fleet back to Germany, Emden’s captain asked if he could operate as a commerce raider independent of the main fleet. This was agreed to, and Emden began a meteoric career in which many merchant ships and two warships were sunk by her guns. By late 1914 the first AIF convoy was steaming across the Indian Ocean.

When a signal was received from the settlement on the Cocos Islands that a strange warship was entering the harbour HMAS Sydney was detached to check. While Sydney was on heading north the German demolition party dynamited the wireless masts, very decently, so that they would fall away from the island’s tennis courts, allowing the locals to maintain their main source of leisure. The demolition party commandeered a schooner and eventually got back to Germany. When the naval battle began, Emden scored several hits on Sydney and a potential disaster loomed. However, Sydney, being larger and more powerfully armed, was able to dominate the situation and mortally damage Emden, forcing the captain to run the ship aground.

Bronze fitting recovered from the SMS Emden.
Credit: WA Museum Collections, EMD6304

The wreck of the German light cruiser SMS Emden after action with HMS Sydney (I), 1914.
Credit: Australian War Memorial