The Emden was the last warship of the German East Asia Squadron under Admiral Graf Von Spee that had been operating in South East Asian waters. While the rest of the squadron steamed across the Pacific in a bid to reach Germany via Cape Horn, the Emden had been detached to carry out raids on merchant vessels and shore facilities. Between September and October 1914 she had been responsible for the sinking or capture of 25 merchant vessels and two Allied warships at Penang. On the night of 8-9 October Emden’s captain, Lieutenant Commander Karl von Muller decided to attack a radio station on Direction Island, one of the Cocos-Keeling Islands group. Staff of the radio station managed to send off an SOS message before a 53-man shore party destroyed the facility. The light cruiser HMAS Sydney under Commander John Glossop was detached from convoy duty to deal with Emden. At that time Sydney was escorting the large convoy taking the first contingent of Australian and New Zealand soldiers to the Middle East. In the ensuing engagement on 9 November, Emden was destroyed and beached on North Keeling Island, suffering 134 killed, 69 wounded and 157 men became POW. Sydney suffered four killed and 16 wounded. Emden’s shore party escaped by commandeering a local schooner, the Ayesha and after epic adventures, arrived in Constantinople (now Istanbul) in May 1915 to a tumultuous welcome before proceeding to Germany. Meanwhile the iconic action between Sydney and Emden had been widely reported around the world as an Allied victory and became known as the Battle of Cocos.
