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Bombardment of Madras
Part of the First World War

Oil tanks on fire in the harbour following the bombardment of Madras by SMS Emden
Date22 September 1914
Location
Result German victory, German raid on oil tanks completed.
Belligerents
 India German Empire Germany
Commanders and leaders
unknown German Empire Karl von Müller
Strength
unknown 1 light cruiser
Casualties and losses
1 steamer sunk
5 killed
26 wounded
none

The bombardment of Madras was an engagement of the First World War, at Madras (now Chennai), British India. The bombardment was initiated by the German light cruiser Emden at the outset of the war in 1914.

With Captain Karl von Müller in command, on the night of 22 September 1914, SMS Emden quietly approached the city of Madras on the southeastern coast of the Indian peninsula. As he later wrote, "I had this shelling in view simply as a demonstration to arouse interest among the Indian population, to disturb English commerce, to diminish English prestige." After entering the Madras harbour area, Müller illuminated six large oil tanks belonging to the Burmah Oil Company with his searchlights, then fired at a range of 3,000 yards. After ten minutes of firing, Emden had hit five of the tanks and destroyed 346,000 gallons of fuel, and the cruiser then successfully retreated.[1]

Soon the word Emden entered the Tamil dictionary and was used to describe someone powerful, frightening and with an wicked intent.[2]

Background

Just prior to the outbreak of World War 1, the German cruiser Emden was the only cruiser stationed at the German concession in Qingdao, China. The rest of the German fleet in the Pacific was under the command of admiral Maximilian von Spee, whose fleet was sailing in the South Pacific. On 31 July, with war days away, the Emden's captain Karl von Müller put to sea to begin commerce raiding once war had been formally declared. Two days later, on 2 August, Germany declared war on Russia, and the following day, Emden captured the Russian steamer Ryazan. The Russian vessel was sent back to Qingdao, and converted into the auxiliary cruiser Cormoran. On 5 August, Spee ordered Müller and the rest of the German fleet at Qingdao to rendezvous at Pagan Island in the Marianas. The Emden and the rest of the Qingdao fleet arrived there on 12 August, where the next day Spee was notified that Japan would join the war on the side of the Allies and sent a fleet to destroy the German fleet in the Pacific. There it was decided that while the majority of the fleet would try to get to Germany via sailing around South America, the Emden and the coiler Markomannia would do commerce raiding in the Indian Ocean in the shipping lanes between Aden, Colombo, and Singapore. On 5 September, Emden entered the Bay of Bengal, achieving complete surprise, since the British assumed she was still with Spee's squadron. Until late September, Müller succeeded in sinking and capturing several Allied merchant vessels until the institution of a blackout and deployment of several enemy vessels to the area.

Bombardment

Prior to the bombardment, the governor of Madras, John Sinclair, 1st Baron Pentland, was staying in Uthagamandalam. In late September, Müller decided to bombard Madras. Müller believed the attack would demonstrate his freedom of maneuver and decrease British prestige with the local population. At around 20:00 on 22 September, Emden entered the port, which was completely illuminated due to the lights from the celebration of Navrati, despite the blackout order.[3] Emden closed to within 3,000 yards (2,700 m) from the piers before opening fire. She set fire to two oil tanks and damaged three others, and damaged a merchant ship, Chupra, in the harbor, destroying nearly 350,000 U.S. gallons (1,300,000 L) of oil stored there by the Burmah Oil Company.[4] Several buildings were also damaged during the raid, including the General Post Office, the Port Trust, High Court Complex, and several others.[5][6] After

Thousands of citizens fled the city to the surrounding suburbs like Perambore, with members of the lower-class leaving via bullock carts and jutkas whereas upper-classmen used the local railway lines.[7]


In the course of the 15 minute-long bombardment, Emden fired 130 rounds. The following day, the British again mandated that shipping stop in the Bay of Bengal; during the first month of Emden's raiding career in the Indian Ocean, the value of exports there had fallen by 61.2 percent.

Aftermath

Legacy

gdjas

Emden Plaque Madras

Footnotes

  1. ^ Keegan 2004, pp. 127–128.
  2. ^ Saini, Ajay (2020-02-22). "How German cruiser 'Emden' struck terror in the heart of the British Empire, and became a Tamil word". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  3. ^ "எம்டன்: சென்னை மாநகரை பத்தே நிமிடங்களில் கதிகலங்கச் செய்த போர்க்கப்பல் - என்ன செய்தது தெரியுமா?". BBC News தமிழ் (in Tamil). 2023-07-16. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  4. ^ "India1914". www.india1914.com. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  5. ^ "108 years of Emden – the only World War I attack on India". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  6. ^ "எம்டன்: சென்னை மாநகரை பத்தே நிமிடங்களில் கதிகலங்கச் செய்த போர்க்கப்பல் - என்ன செய்தது தெரியுமா?". BBC News தமிழ் (in Tamil). 2023-07-16. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  7. ^ "BOMBARDMENT OF MADRAS". Ballarat Courier. 1914-10-15. Retrieved 2023-10-11.

Further reading

  • Frame, Tom. (2004). No Pleasure Cruise: The Story of the Royal Australian Navy. Sydney: Allen & 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.
  • Mücke, 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.
  • Schmalenbach, Paul German Raiders: A History of Auxiliary Cruisers of the German Navy, 1895-1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1979. ISBN 0-87021-824-7.
  • Van der Vat, Dan. Gentlemen of War: The Amazing Story of Captain Karl von Müller and the SMS Emden. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc. 1984. ISBN 0-688-03115-3
  • Walter, John The Kaiser's Pirates: German Surface Raiders in World War One. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1994. ISBN 1-55750-456-3.