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.[3]
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.[3]
BattleEdit
Map from 1914 New York Times
Eyewitness description by a New York Times correspondent
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 HMS Yarmouth. Once he had entered the harbour, however, he ran up the Imperial German naval ensign and revealed his identity to one and all. He then launched a torpedo at the Imperial Russianprotected cruiserZhemchug, following it up with a salvo of shells which riddled the ship. As the Zhemchug struggled to return fire, von Müller launched a second torpedo. It penetrated the Zhemchug's forward magazine, causing an explosion that sank the Russian warship.[1] Casualties among the Zhemchug's crew of 250[4] amounted to 88 dead and 121 wounded.[5]
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 FrenchdestroyerMousquet, returning from a patrol. Caught by surprise, the French ship was quickly sunk by the German cruiser's guns.
AftermathEdit
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 Eastern & Oriental Hotel as his ship sank to the bottom of the Straits. He was court-martialled for negligence and was sentenced to 3½ years in prison, reduction in rank, and expulsion from the navy. His deputy, Lt. Kulibin, was sentenced to 1½ years in prison. However, Tsar Nicholas II reduced the sentences, and the two former officers were ordered to serve as ordinary seamen. Both would later distinguish themselves in combat and they were decorated with the Cross of St. George.[6]
Lt. Félix Théroinne, who commanded the Mousquet, was among those killed in the action. Thirty-six survivors out of the destroyer's crew of 80 were rescued by the Emden. Three of the French sailors died from their injuries and were buried at sea with military honours.[2] Two days after the battle, the Emden stopped the British steamer Newburn and transferred the remaining French prisoners to her. She was then released and conveyed the prisoners to Sabang, Sumatra, then part of the neutral Dutch East Indies.
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.[3]
Zhemchug, after 1909
Mousquet, undated
Route taken by Emden during her commerce raiding operations
A total of 12 Russian sailors are buried on Jerejak and Penang island. The monument honouring the sailors of Russian cruiser Zhemchug was twice renovated by Soviet sailors in 1972 and 1987 respectively. The battle was mentioned numerous times by Vladimir Putin on his 2003 presidential visit to Malaysia. The Russian embassy in Malaysia holds memorial services twice annually in honour of the fallen sailors.[1][7]
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. ISBN1-58574-382-8.
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. ISBN0-87021-015-7.
McClement, Fred. Guns in paradise. Paper Jacks, 1979. ISBN0-7701-0116-X.
Mücke, Hellmuth von. The Emden-Ayesha Adventure: German Raiders in the South Seas and Beyond, 1914. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2000. ISBN1-55750-873-9.
External linksEdit
Discussion of Mousquet history, specifications and crew (mostly in French) 1 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
battle, penang, occurred, october, 1914, during, world, naval, action, strait, malacca, which, german, cruiser, emden, sank, allied, warships, part, world, iemdendate28, october, 1914locationoff, penang, straits, settlementsresultgerman, victorybelligerentsrus. The Battle of Penang occurred on 28 October 1914 during World War I It was a naval action in the Strait of Malacca in which the German cruiser SMS Emden sank two Allied warships Battle of PenangPart of World War IEmdenDate28 October 1914Locationoff Penang Straits SettlementsResultGerman victoryBelligerentsRussia FranceGermanyCommanders and leadersI A Cherkassov Felix Theroinne Karl von MullerStrength1 protected cruiser 1 cruiser 2 destroyers1 light cruiserCasualties and losses1 protected cruiser88 killed 121 wounded 1 1 destroyer47 killed 36 wounded 2 none Contents 1 Background 2 Battle 3 Aftermath 4 Legacy 5 See also 6 Footnotes 7 References 8 External linksBackground EditAt 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 3 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 Muller was sent on a solitary raiding mission 3 Battle Edit nbsp Map from 1914 New York Times nbsp Eyewitness description by a New York Times correspondent source source Text The Emden at Panang 1914 00 19 16 Problems playing this file See media help 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 Muller had disguised his ship by rigging a false smoke stack which made the Emden resemble the British light cruiser HMS Yarmouth Once he had entered the harbour however he ran up the Imperial German naval ensign and revealed his identity to one and all He then launched a torpedo at the Imperial Russian protected cruiser Zhemchug following it up with a salvo of shells which riddled the ship As the Zhemchug struggled to return fire von Muller launched a second torpedo It penetrated the Zhemchug s forward magazine causing an explosion that sank the Russian warship 1 Casualties among the Zhemchug s crew of 250 4 amounted to 88 dead and 121 wounded 5 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 Muller 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 EditThe 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 Eastern amp Oriental Hotel as his ship sank to the bottom of the Straits He was court martialled for negligence and was sentenced to 3 years in prison reduction in rank and expulsion from the navy His deputy Lt Kulibin was sentenced to 1 years in prison However Tsar Nicholas II reduced the sentences and the two former officers were ordered to serve as ordinary seamen Both would later distinguish themselves in combat and they were decorated with the Cross of St George 6 Lt Felix Theroinne who commanded the Mousquet was among those killed in the action Thirty six survivors out of the destroyer s crew of 80 were rescued by the Emden Three of the French sailors died from their injuries and were buried at sea with military honours 2 Two days after the battle the Emden stopped the British steamer Newburn and transferred the remaining French prisoners to her She was then released and conveyed the prisoners to Sabang Sumatra then part of the neutral Dutch East Indies 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 3 nbsp Zhemchug after 1909 nbsp Mousquet undated nbsp Route taken by Emden during her commerce raiding operationsLegacy Edit nbsp Zhemchug memorial at the Western Road Cemetery Penang nbsp Mousquet memorial at the Church of the Assumption Penang A total of 12 Russian sailors are buried on Jerejak and Penang island The monument honouring the sailors of Russian cruiser Zhemchug was twice renovated by Soviet sailors in 1972 and 1987 respectively The battle was mentioned numerous times by Vladimir Putin on his 2003 presidential visit to Malaysia The Russian embassy in Malaysia holds memorial services twice annually in honour of the fallen sailors 1 7 See also EditBombardment of Madras Battle of Cocos Weeratunge Edward PereraFootnotes Edit a b c Tragedy in Penang Archived from the original on 2 April 2017 Retrieved 26 August 2014 a b SMS Emden Archived from the original on 23 July 2008 Retrieved 26 August 2014 a b c Bunich Igorʹ 2003 Kaiser s Pirates ISBN 9785765424353 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 V V Hromov Kreysera tipa Zhemchug Krejsera tipa Zhemchug Morskaya Kollekcya 1 2005 Memorial service in Penang Archived from the original on 8 July 2013 Retrieved 26 August 2014 References EditFrame Tom 2004 No Pleasure Cruise The Story of the Royal Australian Navy Sydney Allen amp Unwin 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 Mucke 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 External links EditZhemchug Emden and Sydney Discussion of Mousquet history specifications and crew mostly in French Archived 1 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine5 26 N 100 20 E 5 433 N 100 333 E 5 433 100 333 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle of Penang amp oldid 1174826141, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
