Emden attacks Penang

At dawn on 28 October 1914 the German light cruiser Emden entered the roads of the port of George Town on the island of Penang in the Strait of Malacca. She sank the Russian cruiser Zhemchug lying there, and soon afterwards, after leaving the harbour, also the French destroyer Mousquet. It was the most daring exploit of the raid of Fregattenkapitän Karl von Müller.

The fourth funnel

After shelling Madras, Emden spent several weeks hunting ships west of India and around Ceylon. At the end of October Müller decided to attack the port of Penang, part of the British Straits Settlements. He hoped to find Allied warships there. To avoid being recognised, Emden once again rigged a dummy fourth funnel, which made her resemble a British Town-class cruiser.

In the harbour lay the Russian protected cruiser Zhemchug. She had arrived on 26 October for a boiler overhaul and only one boiler was working, so she could not get under way quickly. Her captain, Captain 2nd Rank Baron Ivan Cherkasov, was ashore, and no proper watch had been set on board. Only a small amount of ammunition was ready for use.

Attack at close range

Emden closed to within a few hundred metres of Zhemchug, hoisted the German ensign and fired a torpedo. It hit the after part of the ship. The Germans opened fire with their guns, and the Russians tried to reply from their few manned positions. After a while Müller turned and fired a second torpedo. This one hit near the forward magazine. A tremendous explosion tore the cruiser apart, and she sank within moments.

Casualty figures differ from source to source. Most often it is said that 81 Russian sailors were killed and more than 120 wounded, of whom several later died. Some sources give a total of 88 or 89 dead. The French warships in the harbour, the cruiser D’Iberville and destroyers, opened fire but did not hit Emden.

The sinking of Mousquet

Leaving Penang, Emden encountered the French destroyer Mousquet, returning from patrol. The small ship took up an unequal fight and was sunk within a few minutes. Several dozen French sailors were killed, including her commander, Lieutenant Félix Théroinne. Emden stopped to pick up survivors. One officer and 35 men were taken out of the water. Several of them died of their wounds on board the cruiser and were buried at sea with military honours. On 30 October Müller transferred the rest to the captured British steamer Newburn.

Consequences

The attack on Penang shook the Allies. It showed that Emden could still strike anywhere in the Indian Ocean. A Russian court martial found Cherkasov and his second-in-command guilty of negligence. Both were sentenced to prison and reduction to the ranks, but Tsar Nicholas II commuted their sentence to service at the front as ordinary sailors. Emden, for her part, headed south after Penang. Müller’s next target was the British telegraph station on the Cocos Islands.