EMDEN’S LAST RAID.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVI, Issue 16749, 2 January 1915, Page 3

EMDEN’S LAST RAID.

THE COCOS ISLAND FIGHT.

A SPECTATOR’S STORY.

A resident of Cocos Island, who was a spectator of the light between the Sydney and the Emden. has sent the following interesting account to his brother in Melbourne: —»

“Things were very tranquil from then till war broke out, when we were pretty certain we would he visited )>y the enemy, but time passed and still lie did not appear until the morning of November 9. At ti a.in. we «aw a cruiser racing through the Heads. .Just at first we thought it was a Britisher with four funnels, but someone on the roof with a good pair of glasses saw that the fourth funnel avas a dummy, composed of an air-chute tied to the foremast- Then we knew it was .all ‘ up,’ especially as by this time the cruiser had dropped a pinnace, which was making all speed for the jetty, toning two boats with twenty men and two maxims in each. The pinnace also carried two maxims. All the 'gun** wero trained on the island. We walked to the jetfcv to see them land. -They split into three parties, each under an officer, and doubled off in different directions, taking no notice of us. One party arrested our native servants, and another made straight for the wireless mast. The third went towards the office, but stopped on their way on running into one of our fellows. “Tho officer said to him, Mve hat had blenty trouble mit your Tireless and cables.’

“ Our Man: ‘Yes.’ “ Officer: * Vore is (lo vireless. if you please?’ , “Our Mani: 'Over there, where tho mast is.’ . “ Officer : ‘ Yes, and vere is de house of Herr Director?’ “Our man pointed it out. “‘All ride, tanks very much. They then ran on and left him. But not for long, as we were all soon mustered, some of the fellows from their beds and baths, and lined up near the office under an armed guard and countedIn tho meantime tho wireless party were preparing to blow up tho mast, and some of our guards were told olt to smash up the instrument rooms and workshop, which they did most thoroughly. About seven o’clock we were ordered to go into tho boatsked on the bench, to be out of the way of the falling mast. Somebody asked, the first lieutenant, Von Mueckc, if ho would make the past fall away from tho cement tennis courts, which he did. Preparatory to their arrival on shore we had sent out distress signals by wireless, and had also advised our adjacent stations by cable. A\ e had no sooner reached the boatshed, on which the Germans had trained a. maxim, when off went the first explosion. The mast held until the third explosion, when 176 ft. of timber toppled to the ground. A few', minutes afterwards they blow up our store, containing a littlo spare cablo and some underunning gear. They then set fire to the cable and gear, and it burned merrily for the rest of the day. WRECKING THE OFFICE. The work of wrecking the office still continued, large, unwieldy axes being used. Even the. clocks were destroyed. Tho pinnace during this time was busy tlying to cut our cables about a hundred yards from the beach, in full view of us. Wo were very amused at seeing them cut a dummy shore-end by mistake. When they camo ashore tho officer said, “Vo liaf left you von cable,” but ho was wrong; they had only cut Perth section and a dummy. “By this time wo were feeling hot, hungry and thirsty. I had on a singlet and sarong, with a dressing-gown over all. They wouldn’t let us have any food, breakflistless as we were; only some water to drink. Altogether they were very good to us, and none of us lost much in the way of personal possessions. At about 9 a-ni. they let us have some coffee and sandwiches. At 9.20 a.m. they had done their worst, and wero recalled by the Eniden’s 6iren. They released us, and we went to tho jetty to see them off. They returned all our guns, etc., before leaving, about ten shotguns and a few revolvers. I then went to look at the office. Talk about a bull in a crockery shop! Tables, instruments, chairs, electric lights, wire, glass, clocks were smashed to atoms, and the ruins lay about waist deep on the floor. * THE FIGHT BEGINS.

“I then went down to tho west point of the island to seo the Emden depart. When I got there she had weighed her anchor and was putting out to sea. She had hauled down her dummy funnel; apparently she had scented trouble. The pinnace and boats wero still in the lagoon. She had not gono fivo hundred yards when she hoisted the German flag to tho truck of each mast, and immediately afterwards 1 heard “Booml boom I” just like distant thunder. A few seconds later a

huge spout of water shot up about a mile over the Emden. Then I realised that what we had joked about before was coming true—wo were goiug to see the “Battle of Cocos.” 1 ran along to the ocean side? of tho islaJid, so as to get a view of both ships, and there, about five miles out, I saw a four-funnelled cruiser cutting out the pace at a great speed, and enveloped in dense black smoke. Th© Emden responded, and put on'speed. It was a sight to see her broadside go off—five 4.lin guns—all at once, as though fired by one trigger, again and again, with surprising swiftness. Wo thought that the Britisher was the , which the Germans thought was somewhere around. Ibis probably accounts for their very hurried destruction of our office, etc. Wo continued to watch tho light for somo fifteen minutes, when it suddenly, struck us that the Germans on the boats would be . returning to the island and would probably’ not bo so genial as when they left. However, wo continued to watch tho fight until found Dy them and ordered back to tho boatslied.

“ The Emden’s fire at first was excellent, hut both the shooting and the quality of the. shells fell olf after a while. Tho British firo was very erratic at first-—her. main rangefinder, as wo afterwards learned, having been carried away during tho first few minutes—but afterwards it improved.

EMDEN’S MANOEUVRES. “ Tho Emden tried to got nearer our ship, and, .seeing that thorn was no hope, she made a sudden bolt to the northward, but our ship did a fiuo. sprint across the horizon, and headed her back, thus reversing positions—the Emden now being to windward. Tho Emden’s manoeuvres wero very easy to follow, as sho was using tho best AVelsli coal, which made very little smoke, whereas our ship was enveloped all the time in dense black smoko, which gave one tho impression that sho was on lire. When our ship got the range, wo saw a funnol of tho Eniden’s crumple up. She went away stern on, and when she manoeuvred. round again we were delighted to see that another funnel had gone. She made valiant attempts to get close to our ship, as our guns apparently outranged hers. A few minutes afterwards, when she was bow on to our ship, and at right angles to us, we saw a shell that seemed to bit the foot of her foremast, tear it out and topple it overboard. The Emden then swung away to port, still blazing away merrily at our ship, until a shell struck her aft, and she burst into flames and dense white smoko. The ships were now a long way off. and were gradually going over the horizon. We still kept our glasses on thorn until recalled by the destroying party.

MARTIAL LAW. “ The Germans put us in tho shed again, doubled the guard, flew the German flag, and proclaimed martial law. Tho Germans ashore wero sure that the Emden would return, but said that if sho did not do so by nightfall they would leave in a small schooner belonging to tho Rosses, who own tho islands. The Emden did not return, so off they wont at- 6 p.m.,, taking two months’ provisions, as much water as possible, twenty-four dozen sodas and five dozen hiranos. Tho Sydney came in next morning, haying only been bit twice. One shot killed three and wounded fourteen. She left next day, after visiting North Keeling again and picking up tho wounded Germans. The Emden is- ashore there, a total wreck. North Keeling is 14J miles from us. Captain Mueller and the Kaiser’s nephew were unhurt. On November 13 the came down from Colombo to look around, aud on November 16 our boat the Patrol came in, and is leaving on November .22. On November 18 the gunboat arrived, and is staying some timo to look after us and' salve tho Eniden’s gear,”