The experiences of the Emden make a more dramatic story. She left Tsing-tau at the be ginning of the war and joined a German squadron under Admiral von Spee in the southern Pacific. A few days later she wa.s de tached for separate duty and proceeded to the lanes of commerce off the southeastern coast of Asia. The consternation that ensued was like that created by the Confederate States raider, Alabama, during the American Civil War. In the course of two months the Emden captured 17 ships, most of which were sunk. The total loss amounted to several millions of dollars. Captain Mueller, her commander, proved himself a brave and resourceful man on many occasions. On one occasion he .sailed boldly into the harbor of Penang flying a neu tral flag, the ship disguised by the erection of a dummy fourth smokestack made of canvas. In the early dawn she entered the harbor un challenged. A Russian cruiser was anchored by the side of the channel. Two torpedoes and several round.s of shell finished her. Observing that other ships were corning into the harbor Captain Mueller turned to escape. He en countered a French torpedo boat and sunk her with three broadsides. Picking up her survi vors he hastened to the open sea, the whole af fair having occurred within a half-hour. By this time all the Allied naval ships in the East were searching for the raider, and it was not safe for Muelkr to remain in the ordinary sea lanes. Other dangers occurred also in the capture of the Emden's collier and supply ship in Sumatran waters. Standing out into the Indian Ocean she appeared on 9 November off the Cocos, or Keeling, Islands, 550 miles southwest of Sumatra. A party went ashore to destroy the cable and wireless stations. The operator managed to send a message, (Strange warship off entrance,) which brought the Aus tralian cruiser Sydney to the scene. Abandon ing his shore party Captain Mueller tried to elude the Sydney in a running battle that had la'sted less than two hours, when the Emden was forced on a reef in a sinking condition, her decks covered with dead and wounded. Captain Mueller was taken prisoner along with the other survivors. In her hasty depar ture from Keeling Island the Emden abandoned her landing party, headed by Lieutenant Mficke. The series of events which marked the home ward journey of this party make one of the most exciting stories of the war. Their first action was to fortify themselves and proclaim martial law. Then fearing the Sydney would retum and make them prisoners they took pos session of a small schooner and set sail for the Sumatran Coast, where the Dutch authorities gave them scant welcome and sent them on their way with few supplies. Turning prow west ward they finally encountered a small German trading vessel, which was still dodging the British and Japanese patrol on the Asiatic Coast. She took them on board and landed them in Arabia at Hodeidah on the lower part of the Red Sea. They tried to cross the desert to Medina but were opposed by Arabs and forced back to the sea. After many adventure.s on native boats and fighting against the Bed ouins on the shore they at last reached El Ula on the railroad that ran south from Damascus and were thus able to reach Germany by way of Turkey after five months of wandering. Lieutenant Miicke's exploits in this long. trip made him a hero in his own country and won the admiration of many people of other lands.
When the Emden set out on her career as a raider she was detached from a German squad ron in the Pacific cotrunanded by Admiral von Spee, and bound for the western coast of South America to destroy such Allied mer chantmen as it encountered. Two large and fast armored cruisers, the Gneisesan and Scharnhorst, and three fast light cruisers, the Dresden, Leipzig and Niirnberg, composed the squadron. They found such a welcome ht the harbors of Colombia and Ecuador that the British government made emphatic protest to the governments of these cotmtries against the violation of neutrality. Passing down the coast von Spee came to Coronei, a few miles south of Concepcion, Chile. Here on 1 Nov.
1914 he encountered a British squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradocic, sent out to protect the trade routes on the two sides of the southern part of South America. The British squadron consisted of two armored cruisers, the Good Hope and the Monmouth, a light cruiser, the Glasgow, and an armed liner, the Otranto. In armament the British ships were inferior, but in speed were superior to the Germans; and Admiral Cradock would have been justified in avoiding an engagement But he chose to accept battle and allowed the Ger mans to take position to his east, so that his ships were clearly outlined for the Germans against the long afterglow of the sunset sky. In two hours the Good Hope and the Mon mouth had gone down with their crews, includ ing the commander of the squadron. The Glasgow and the Otranto had been ordered to fall out of line before the battle and escaped to safety. The conflict was really a duel be tween two British and two German armored cruisers with the advantages of speed, range of guns, thickness of armor and atmospheric con ditions in favor of the latter. Probably Admiral Cradock was to blame for failing to recognize these facts. The battle seems to have gone against him from the beginning; for von Spee got the range first and damaged the best guns of the Good Hope before they could be brought into action.
The news of the engagement seemed to show the superiority of German ships and offi cers, and the pride of the British was touched to the quick. Immediately a squadron of supe rior strength was sent out under Rear-Admiral Sturdee, consisting of two battle cruisers, the Invincible and the Inflexible, armed .with 12 inch guns and capable of a speed of 28 latots, and three armored cruisers, the Cansarvon, Kent and CornwalL With the Glasgow this squadron was in the south Atlantic by the end of November, whither von Spee had come to escape the Japanese, who were combing the Pacific to discover his whereabouts. By a ruse Rear-Admiral Sturdee enticed him to the Falkland Islands and met him there when he arrived on the morning of 8 December. He came expecting to find an unsupported British warship which was to become an easy prize. To his surprise he saw a superior squadron steam out of a landlocked harbor and fled, Sturdee coming dose behind him. At 2 P.M. the Brit ish battle cruisers had the range and opened a deadly fire. Von Spee realized that the game was up and turned to fight for his life. The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were opposed by the Invincible, the Inflexible and the Cartiarvon and sank, the first at 4 P.M. and the second at 6 P.M. The light cruisers, the Niirnberg, the Leipzig and the Dresden did not stand for the battle but turned southward, pursued by the Kent, the Glasgow and the Cornwall. By 9 P.M. the first and second were below the waves, but the Dresden managed to escape in the night She was souen relentlessly and finally discov ered and sunk by the Kent and the Glasgow cm 14 March 1915 at Juan Fernandez. In the bat tie of the Falkland Islands the Germans, like the British at Coronel, fought bravely against a superior force and went down with their ships. But in one respect there was a difference: At Coronel the victors were unable to save any of the defeated crew from the water because of a very heavy sea; at Fandand Islands the vic tors gave themselves to saving life as soon as the defeated enemy vessel hauled down their ensigns. Unfortunately it was a difficult mat ter. The British sailors did what they could by throwing ropes, logs of wood and mats to the Germans in the se_a. But the water WAS icy cold and many of the unfortunate ones became numb and relaxed their hold before they could be reached. It is reported, also, that many were attacked by the albatrosses who picked at their eyes. While they fought off these vul tures, numbed hands lost their holds and the victims slipped off and were lost. About 200 men were rescued from the waters, but Admiral von Spee and two of his sons were lost As at Coronet no ship on the victorious side was damaged and but few men were lost.