A problem he faced was that the merchant ships were mainly carrying inferior coal which often could not be used. Max Looff, the Konigsberg’s captain would need to replenish fuel supplies by raiding merchant ships. Raiding the key shipping route from India to Britain via the Suez Canal was seen as a way to disrupt the British war effort and destroy key supplies. Within days she was off Aden and was threateningly placed in the shipping lane of freighters heading for the Suez Canal. The availability of coal and its quality would affect both the Konigsberg and the British ships, limiting the effectiveness of their operations. Admiralty correspondence shows that on 1 August 1914 the Konigsberg slipped her escort as ‘it was not possible to shadow her for any time as Hyacinth had very little coal, and with the fuel (patent) in use, could not get more than 16 Knots at full speed’ ( ADM 137/8). The Sydney crew returned the following day to assist any injured members of the German crew.The Konigsberg left Dar-es-Salaam, German East Africa on 31 July 1914, tracked by a combination of three British warships: Astraea, Hyacinth and Pegasus. The HMAS Sydney was among a group of Australian, British and Japanese ships sent to investigate the communication post, and the Sydney rendered Emden disabled for battle purposes in under two hours of sea battle. It had completed the destruction of two Allied warships in the Straits of Malacca near Penang, Malaysia as well. Prior to this, Emden had sunk 25 other civilian ships and shelled Madras, India. News of the victory was greeted with much celebration by the Australian troops and public.Įmden: The SMS Emden, a Dresden-class light cruiser of the Imperial German Navy, attacked a communication post on Direction Island in the Cocos region between Australia and Sri Lanka, on November 9, 1914. Only 12 Australians were killed in the battle while Emden suffered over 100 casualties. HMAS Sydney, with superior speed, gun range and weight, defeated the Emden. It was discovered to be a German Cruiser, Emden, which had been attacking and destroying parts of the British Imperial communication system on the Island. On 9 November, the Sydney was ordered to leave the convoy and investigate reports of an unknown ship near the Cocos Islands.
The HMAS Sydney was one of the Australian ships escorting the first convey from Albany in November 1914.
HMAS Sydney defeats the German cruiser Emden
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