Today 22 September marks the 102 anniversary of an incident which reads like an Alistair MacLean maritime-world war novel. It happened during The Great War or World War I as was called later.
On 22 Sep 1914, the German Light Cruiser SMS Emden let loose a barrage on the City of Madras. She fired 130 rounds with her 105 mm (4.1 in) naval guns, targeting the Oil Tanks in the Port of Madras, and the old Light House which was situated at the present site of Madras High Court.
The Bombardment of Madras shook the then population, and many evacuated from the city, fearing the return of the Emden. The German Light Cruiser, named for the City of Emden, was laid down in 1906 and was commissioned in 1909.
In 1914, she was based at the German leased Chinese Territory around Qingdao (Tsingtau). In August, Japan entered the WW1 in alliance with Triple Entente (later called Allied Powers), against the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. The German East Asia Squadron withdrew from Qingdao to attempt a breakthrough to Germany via South America, but Emden was detached to act as independent raider.
Thus, SMS Emden was let loose in the Bay of Bengal and adjoining Indian Ocean. In her 3 month career as raider, SMS Emden accounted for more than 70,000 GRT of shipping, cruising over 30,000 nautical miles (56,000 km). She single handed brought down the exports from the Bay of Bengal region by more than 60%.
On 9 Nov 1914, SMS Emden met her match in HMAS Sydney at the Battle of Cocos. HMAS Sydney let loose 670 rounds with her 152 mm (6 in) naval guns, scoring over 100 hits. SMS Emden was forced to breach to save her crew, and ended the terror of the people of Madras.
Thus we have the Tale of Three Cities stretched across 3 continents, and a very small monument pointed out by my father in 1977-78 in the walls of Madras High Court.
Interestingly, today, in 2016, there are no naval ships named after Emden or Sydney. The last Emden was the Bremen class frigate F210, decommissioned in 2013. The last Sydney was the Adelaide class frigate decommissioned in 2015.
But there is the INS Chennai, a Kolkata class destroyer, the first ship to be named after Chennai, and set to be commissioned later this year. There is also Qingdao, a Luhu class destroyer of the PLAN.
Another interesting thought is that the present INS Chennai or the future namesakes of Chennai, Emden, and Sydney meet, they will do so as a part of combined Allied Battle Group and hunt the present or future Quindao.
Since there are no go decent images of INS Chennai, here is instead a photo of ICGS flotilla based in Chennai. The OPVs have been identified by their Pennant Numbers. Image from Indian Coast Guard website. Some interesting pictures from the archives of The Hindu [http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/discovered-pictures-of-madras-after-emden-struck/article3804481.ece]
On 22 Sep 1914, the German Light Cruiser SMS Emden let loose a barrage on the City of Madras. She fired 130 rounds with her 105 mm (4.1 in) naval guns, targeting the Oil Tanks in the Port of Madras, and the old Light House which was situated at the present site of Madras High Court.
The Bombardment of Madras shook the then population, and many evacuated from the city, fearing the return of the Emden. The German Light Cruiser, named for the City of Emden, was laid down in 1906 and was commissioned in 1909.
In 1914, she was based at the German leased Chinese Territory around Qingdao (Tsingtau). In August, Japan entered the WW1 in alliance with Triple Entente (later called Allied Powers), against the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. The German East Asia Squadron withdrew from Qingdao to attempt a breakthrough to Germany via South America, but Emden was detached to act as independent raider.
Thus, SMS Emden was let loose in the Bay of Bengal and adjoining Indian Ocean. In her 3 month career as raider, SMS Emden accounted for more than 70,000 GRT of shipping, cruising over 30,000 nautical miles (56,000 km). She single handed brought down the exports from the Bay of Bengal region by more than 60%.
On 9 Nov 1914, SMS Emden met her match in HMAS Sydney at the Battle of Cocos. HMAS Sydney let loose 670 rounds with her 152 mm (6 in) naval guns, scoring over 100 hits. SMS Emden was forced to breach to save her crew, and ended the terror of the people of Madras.
Thus we have the Tale of Three Cities stretched across 3 continents, and a very small monument pointed out by my father in 1977-78 in the walls of Madras High Court.
Interestingly, today, in 2016, there are no naval ships named after Emden or Sydney. The last Emden was the Bremen class frigate F210, decommissioned in 2013. The last Sydney was the Adelaide class frigate decommissioned in 2015.
But there is the INS Chennai, a Kolkata class destroyer, the first ship to be named after Chennai, and set to be commissioned later this year. There is also Qingdao, a Luhu class destroyer of the PLAN.
Another interesting thought is that the present INS Chennai or the future namesakes of Chennai, Emden, and Sydney meet, they will do so as a part of combined Allied Battle Group and hunt the present or future Quindao.
Since there are no go decent images of INS Chennai, here is instead a photo of ICGS flotilla based in Chennai. The OPVs have been identified by their Pennant Numbers. Image from Indian Coast Guard website. Some interesting pictures from the archives of The Hindu [http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/discovered-pictures-of-madras-after-emden-struck/article3804481.ece]
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