Battle of Cocos

The Battle of Cocos was a single-ship action that occurred on 9 November 1914, after the Australian light cruiser , under the command of John Glossop, responded to an attack on a communications station at Direction Island by the German light cruiser , commanded by Karl von Müller.

After the retreat of the German East Asia Squadron from Southeast Asia, ''Emden'' had remained behind to function as a commerce raider. During a two-month period, the German cruiser captured or sank 25 civilian vessels, shelled Madras, and destroyed two Allied warships at Penang. In early November, von Müller decided to attack the communications station at Direction Island, in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, to hamper Allied communications and frustrate the search for his ship. Around the same time, a convoy of Europe-bound transports carrying Australian and New Zealand soldiers departed from Albany, Western Australia, with escorts , HMAS ''Sydney'', , and the .

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 North Keeling Island. The Australian warship broke to pursue the collier , which scuttled herself, then returned to North Keeling Island at 16:00. At this point, ''Emden''s battle ensign was still flying, and after no response to instructions to lower the ensign, Glossop ordered two salvoes shot into the beached cruiser. ''Sydney'' had orders to ascertain the status of the transmission station, but returned the next day to provide medical assistance to the Germans.

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 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 Town class light cruiser, of the ''Chatham'' subclass.Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 138 She had a standard displacement of . The cruiser was long overall and long between perpendiculars, with a beam of , and a draught of . A combined coal- and oil-fuelled boiler system allowed the ship to reach speeds over .

The cruiser's main armament consisted of eight BL 6-inch Mark XI guns in single mountings, firing shells.Jose, ''The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918'', p. 183 Secondary and anti-aircraft armament consisted of a single 3-inch quick-firing high-angle anti-aircraft gun and ten 0.303-inch machine guns (eight Lewis guns and two Maxim guns).Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 139 Two 21-inch torpedo tubes were fitted, with a payload of seven torpedoes carried. Two hydraulic-release depth charge chutes were carried for anti-submarine warfare. A single 12-pounder 8-cwt field gun and four 3-pounder Hotchkiss saluting guns rounded out the armament.

''Sydney'' was laid down by the London and Glasgow Engineering and Iron Shipbuilding Company at Glasgow, Scotland, on 11 February 1911. The ship was launched on 29 August 1912 by the wife of Admiral Sir Reginald Henderson. ''Sydney'' was completed on 26 June 1913, and commissioned into the RAN that day. At the time of the battle, Captain John Glossop was in charge of the ship, with 434 personnel aboard.

SMS ''Emden''

''Emden'' was a ''Dresden''-class cruiser. The ship had a displacement of 3,364 tons at normal load, was long, had a beam of , and a draught of .Gröner, ''German Warships: 1815–1945'', p. 105Forstmeier, ''SMS Emden: Small Protected Cruiser 1906–1914'', p. 2 The light cruiser had a maximum speed of . The ship was armed with ten SK L/40 guns in single mountings, and carried two torpedo tubes.

''Emden'' was built in Danzig by Kaiserliche Werft Danzig.Jose, ''The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918'', p. 165Gröner, ''Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815–1945'', p. 133 The ship was laid down on 6 April 1906, launched on 26 May 1908, and commissioned on 10 July 1909. At the time of the battle, the cruiser was under the command of Karl von Müller, with 316 aboard.Stevens, in Stevens, ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 38

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 , 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. 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. Over the next two months, the German ship captured or sank 25 civilian vessels, shelled Madras, and destroyed Russian protected cruiser and French destroyer ''Mousquet'' at Penang.Odgers, ''Diggers'', p. 65 During these two months, none of ''Emden''s personnel were killed. At some point during the deployment, a fake fourth funnel was erected to disguise ''Emden'' as a British cruiser, specifically .Frame, ''No Pleasure Cruise'', p. 110 Military historian George Odgers described ''Emden''s activities as "one of the most daring careers of maritime destruction in naval history". 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.Stevens, in Stevens, ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 39 She was being supported by ''Buresk'', a British collier that had been captured on 27 September. 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.Carlton, ''First Victory'', p. 244

In October 1914, ''Sydney'' and sister ship were assigned to escort the first convoy of Australian and New Zealand soldiers heading for Egypt. Originally, the Japanese armoured cruiser was to be part of the convoy force, but she ran aground on 12 October, and ''Sydney'' was assigned instead. The two cruisers sailed to Albany, Western Australia, where they met the 36-ship convoy and the other two escorts, British armoured cruiser and Japanese battlecruiser . ''Sydney'', ''Melbourne'', ''Minotaur'', and the 36 merchant ships departed from Albany on 1 November, heading for Colombo; ''Ibuki'' had diverted to Fremantle to collect another two transports, and caught up two days later. On 8 November, ''Minotaur'' left the convoy with orders to support operations against German South-West Africa, as the destruction of the South Atlantic Squadron at the Battle of Coronel left both the expedition and the Union of South Africa exposed to naval attack.Jose, ''The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918'', p. 180 After the cruiser's departure, ''Melbourne'' was assigned as lead ship of the convoy.

Battle

Wireless station capture

During the night of 8–9 November, ''Emden'' sailed to Direction Island. 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''. 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. Farrant ordered the telegraphist on duty (already alerted by the German's coded signal) to begin transmitting a distress call by wireless and cable.Carlton, ''First Victory'', p. 245 ''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. ''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.Carlton, ''First Victory'', p. 246 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.

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, plus a dummy cable. 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. At around 09:00, lookouts on ''Emden'' saw smoke from an approaching ship.Carlton, ''First Victory'', p. 250 Initially assumed to be ''Buresk'', by 09:15 she had been identified as an approaching warship, believed to be or another vessel of similar vintage. 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.Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 140

The ANZAC convoy, positioned north-east of the Cocos Islands, heard the coded ''Buresk'' summons, then the distress call from Direction Island.Carlton, ''First Victory'', pp. 254–5 Believing the unidentified ship to be ''Emden'' or (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. Silver quickly realised that as commander of the convoy escort, he needed to remain with the troopships, and he reluctantly ordered ''Sydney'' to detach.Jose, ''The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918'', p. 181 ''Ibuki'' raised her battle ensign and requested permission to follow ''Sydney'', but the Japanese ship was ordered to remain with the convoy. At 09:15, ''Sydney'' spotted Direction Island and the attacking ship. Confident of being able to outrun, outrange, and outshoot the German vessel, Glossop ordered the ship to prepare for action. He agreed with his gunnery officer to open fire at : well within ''Sydney''s firing range, but outside the believed range of ''Emden'' guns.Carlton, ''First Victory'', p. 259

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 rangefinders, while a third punched through the forward rangefinder and through the bridge without exploding. These shots landed at a range of approximately ; the 30-degree elevation of her main guns allowed her to fire much further than British estimates.Frame, ''No Pleasure Cruise'', p. 111 Von Müller recognised that his success in the battle required ''Emden'' to do as much damage as possible before the other ship retaliated, but despite the heavy rate of fire from the Germans over the next ten minutes (at points reaching a salvo every six seconds), the high angle of the guns and the narrow profile presented by ''Sydney'' meant that only fifteen shells hit the Australian warship, of which only five exploded.Jose, ''The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918'', pp. 182–3 As well as the rangefinders, damage was sustained to the S2 gun when a nearby impact sent hot shrapnel into the gun crew then ignited cordite charges being stored nearby for the fight, and another shell exploded in a forward mess deck. Four sailors were killed and another sixteen wounded; the only casualties aboard ''Sydney'' during the entire engagement.Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 141Jose, ''The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918'', p. 182

''Sydney'' attempted to open the gap between the two ships as she opened fire.Carlton, ''First Victory'', p. 271 This was hampered by the loss of both rangefinders, requiring each mounting to be targeted and fired locally. The first two salvoes missed, but two shells from the third struck: one exploding in ''Emden''s wireless office, another by the Germans' forward gun. Heavy fire from ''Sydney'' damaged or destroyed ''Emden''s steering gear, rangefinders, and the voicepipes to the turrets and engineering, and knocked out several guns. The forward funnel collapsed overboard, then the foremast fell and crushed the fore-bridge. A shell from ''Sydney'' landed in the aft ammunition room of ''Emden'', and the Germans had to flood it or risk a massive explosion.Jose, ''The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918'', p. 184

At around 10:20, the manoeuvring of the two ships brought them to within , and Glossop took the opportunity to order a torpedo firing.Carlton, ''First Victory'', p. 273 The torpedo failed to cover the distance, and sank without exploding. The Australian ship sped up and turned to starboard so guns that had yet to fire could engage.Carlton, ''First Victory'', p. 277 ''Emden'' matched ''Sydney''s turn, but by this point, the second funnel had been blasted off, and there was a fire in the engine room. In addition, about half of the cruiser's personnel had been killed or wounded, and the abandoning of the attack party on Direction Island meant there were no reserves to replace them. By 11:00, only one of ''Emden''s guns was still firing.Stevens, in Stevens, ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 40 As the third funnel went overboard, ''Emden'' found herself closer to North Keeling Island, and von Müller ordered the ship to beach there, hoping to prevent further loss of life. ''Emden'' ran aground at around 11:20, at which point, ''Sydney'' ceased fire. After ''Sydney'' contacted the convoy to report "''Emden'' beached and done for", the soldiers aboard the troopships were granted a half-day holiday from duties and training to celebrate.Odgers, ''Diggers'', p. 66

After ''Emden''s beaching

''Sydney'' then turned to pursue and capture ''Buresk'', which had arrived on the horizon during the battle.Carlton, ''First Victory'', p. 280 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. ''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.Jose, ''The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918'', p. 188

The Australian cruiser reached ''Emden'' around 16:00. The Germans' battle ensign was still flying, generally a sign that a ship intends to continue fighting.Frame, ''No Pleasure Cruise'', p. 113 ''Sydney'' signalled "Do you surrender?" in international code by both lights and flag-hoist. The signal was not understood, and ''Emden'' responded with "What signal? No signal books". The instruction to surrender was repeated by ''Sydney'' in plain morse code, then after there was no reply, the message "Have you received my signal?" was sent. With no response forthcoming, and operating under the assumption that ''Emden'' could still potentially fire, launch torpedoes, or use small arms against any boarding parties, Glossop ordered ''Sydney'' to fire two salvoes into the wrecked ship.Jose, ''The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918'', p. 189 This attack killed 20 German personnel. The ensign was pulled down and burned, and a white sheet was raised over the quarter-deck as a flag of surrender.Carlton, ''First Victory'', p. 284 During the battle, 130 personnel aboard ''Emden'' were killed, and 69 were wounded, four of the latter died of their wounds.

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. 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.Jose, ''The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918'', p. 190 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. On arrival, the Australians learned that the Germans had escaped the previous evening in a commandeered schooner. ''Sydney'' embarked the island's doctor and two assistants, then headed for North Keeling Island.

Aftermath

The Australian cruiser reached the wreck of ''Emden'' at 13:00 on 10 November.Carlton, ''First Victory'', p. 292 After sending an officer over to receive assurance that the Germans would not fight, Glossop began a rescue operation. Transferring the German survivors from ''Emden'' to ''Sydney'' took about five hours, with the difficulty of transferring so many wounded, rough seas, and overcrowding aboard the Australian cruiser.Jose, ''The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918'', p. 191 The two Australian medical officers aboard ''Sydney'' and the medical staff from Direction Island worked from 18:00 on 10 November to 04:30 the next morning to clear the most pressing needs for medical attention, with ''Emden'' survivors prioritised. Some of the Germans had swum ashore after the beaching, and the difficulty of recovering them from the beach in the dark meant the rescue of the 20-odd survivors was put off until the morning of 11 November, although personnel from ''Sydney'' and ''Buresk'' were sent ashore the previous evening with supplies. Most of 11 November was spent treating less pressing cases; the Direction Island staff left the ship around midday, and ''Emden''s ship's surgeon, who had previously been unable to assist because of the shock and stress of caring for so many wounded from the battle's end until ''Sydney'' returned, had recovered enough by this point to assist as an anaesthetist.

On 12 November, the auxiliary cruiser 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. ''Sydney'' caught up to the ANZAC convoy at Colombo on 15 November. 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.Jose, ''The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918'', p. 192

After ''Emden''s defeat, the only German warship in the Indian Ocean basin was ; the cruiser had been blockaded in the Rufiji River in October, and remained there until her destruction in July 1915.Odgers, ''Diggers'', p. 67 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.Stevens, in Stevens, ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 41 Over the next two years, troop convoys from Australia and New Zealand to the Middle East sailed without naval escort, further freeing Allied resources. The state of affairs persisted until the raiders and began operations in the region in 1917.Frame, ''No Pleasure Cruise'', pp. 142–44

''Emden''

Von Müller and a small complement of officers were sent to Malta and imprisoned at the Verdala Barracks. The rest of the personnel were taken to Australia and placed in prisoner-of-war camps at Holsworthy, Trial Bay, and Berrima. Five sailors, suffering from long-term effects of wounds and amputations were repatriated to Germany in 1916.

Von Müller was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class for the battle. The Kaiser announced the construction of a new ''Emden'' on 15 November, which would bear an Iron Cross on her bow. A ''Königsberg''-class cruiser laid down in 1914 was named on completion in 1916, and built with an Iron Cross mounted on her stem-head.

Shortly after the battle, the auxiliary cruiser visited the wreck to recover the signal logs from ''Emden''.Jose, ''The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918'', p. 207 In 1915, a Japanese company proposed that the ship be repaired and refloated, but an inspection by concluded that surf damage to ''Emden'' made such an operation unfeasible. By 1919, there were reports that the wreck had disappeared. 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.Gröner, ''German Warships: 1815–1945'', p. 106

''Sydney''

After completing escort duties, the Australian ship was deployed to the North America and West Indies Station for eighteen months, then spent the rest of the war attached to the British Grand Fleet. At the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet, in November 1918, ''Sydney'' was assigned to escort the new ''Emden''.Bastock, ''Australia's Ships of War'', p. 47

''Sydney'' remained in service until 1928, and was broken up for scrap in 1929. For the battle, ''Sydney'' was awarded the battle honour "''Emden 1914''".Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', pp. 143, 247 This was the first honour for a single ship action awarded to a RAN vessel, and one of only three awarded to any British Commonwealth ship during the 20th century. Glossop was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath.Frame, ''No Pleasure Cruise'', p. 115

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. 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. 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. 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.

The schooner initially sailed to Padang, where they were escorted into port on 27 November by the Dutch destroyer ''Lynx'' and only allowed to remain under strict terms, so the Netherlands could maintain their stance of neutrality.Jose, ''The Royal Australian Navy 1914–1918'', p. 206 With the threat that ''Ayesha'' would be seized by Dutch authorities, von Mücke took the schooner out during the night of 28 November, and headed for a rendezvous point he had announced to the German merchant vessels sheltering at Padang. On 14 December, the freighter ''Choising'' arrived at the rendezvous, and the Germans were welcomed aboard. ''Choising'' delivered them to Hodeida on 9 January 1915. After a lack of help and extensive delays, von Mücke marched his force to Sana'a, arriving on 6 February 1915. After another round of delays disguised as hospitality, the Germans returned to Hodeida, hired two sambuks and sailed north along the coast on 14 March.Carlton, ''First Victory'', p. 327 Three days later, one sambuk grounded on a coral reef, then sank with no lost crew. On reaching Al Qunfudhah, von Mücke hired a larger vessel, then sailed to Al Lith, where one of the Germans died from typhus. The Germans headed overland to Jeddah with a party of Turkish and Arab guards, and were forced to fight running battles against Bedouin raiders from 30 March. Another two Germans were killed, and a third wounded before a relief force arrived to escort them to Jeddah. Another chartered sambuk took the party to Al Wajh, arriving on 29 April.Carlton, ''First Victory'', p. 333 They were escorted to the Hejaz Railway, then travelled to Constantinople, reporting to the German admiral stationed there on 23 May.

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 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.Fernando, ''World locations made in Lanka'' Much of the filming occurred in Sri Lanka, with the luxury yacht '' Raja Laut'' used to represent the schooner ''Ayesha''. The film was released in 2012.

Citations

References

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External links

"Cocos"
– a weblog positing diary entries from HMAS ''Sydney'' sailor Richard Horne, including a first-hand account of the Battle of Cocos

— ''History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications'' page with description, photos and links to details on cables at the station

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cocos, Battle Of
Conflicts in 1914
1914 in Australia
Naval battles of the Asian and Pacific Theatre (World War I)
Military attacks against Australia
Naval battles of World War I involving Australia
Naval battles of World War I involving Germany
November 1914 events
Australia–Germany military relations