• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Naval Historical Society of Australia

Preserving Australia's Naval History

  • Events
  • Account
  • Members Area
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Contact us
  • Show Search
  • 0 items
Hide Search
Menu
  • Home
  • Research
    • Where to start
      • Research – We can help!
      • Self help
      • Naval Service Records
      • Library
      • Related Maritime websites
    • Resources
      • Articles
      • Videos
      • On This Day
      • Podcasts
      • Australian Military Ship Losses
      • RAN events on a  Google Earth Map
      • RAN Vessels – Where are they now?
      • Related Maritime websites
    • Other
      • Newsletters: Call The Hands
      • Occasional Papers and Historical Booklets
      • Books
      • HMAS Shropshire
      • Book reviews
    • Close
  • Naval Heritage Sites
    • World Heritage Listings
      • Cockatoo Island
    • National Heritage Listings
      • HMAS Sydney II and the HSK Kormoran Shipwreck Sites
      • HMVS Cerberus
    • Commonwealth Heritage Listings
      • Garden Island NSW
      • HMAS Watson
      • HMAS Penguin
      • Spectacle Island Explosives Complex NSW
      • Chowder Bay Naval Facilities
      • Beecroft Peninsula NSW
      • Admiralty House, Garden and Fortifications
      • HMAS Cerberus
      • Naval Offices QLD
      • Garden Island WA
      • Royal Australian Naval College ACT
      • Royal Australian Naval Transmitting Station ACT
    • NSW Heritage Listings
      • HMAS Rushcutter
    • Close
  • Naval Art
  • Tours & Cruises
    • Navy in Sydney Harbour Cruise, East
    • Navy in Sydney Harbour Cruise, West
    • Anniversary Cruise: Sydney under Japanese Attack
    • Tour Bookings
    • Close
  • About us
    • About Us
      • What we do
      • Our People
      • Office Bearers
      • Become a volunteer
      • Our Goals and Strategy
    • Organisation
      • Victoria Chapter
      • WA Chapter
      • ACT Chapter
    • Close
  • Membership
  • Shop
  • Become a volunteer
  • Donate
You are here: Home / Article topics / Battles and operations / WWI operations / Book Review: THE LAST CRUISE OF A GERMAN RAIDER   –  THE DESTRUCTION OF SMS EMDEN

Book Review: THE LAST CRUISE OF A GERMAN RAIDER   –  THE DESTRUCTION OF SMS EMDEN

Book reviewer · Dec 10, 2018 · Print This Page

Author
Book reviewer
Subjects
History - WW1, Book reviews, WWI operations, Naval Engagements, Operations and Capabilities
Tags
SMS Emden
RAN Ships
HMAS Sydney I
Publication
December 2018 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)

THE LAST CRUISE OF A GERMAN RAIDER   –  THE DESTRUCTION OF SMS EMDEN by Wes Olson. Seaforth Publishing, Pen and Sword Books, Barnsley, United Kingdom, 2018. Hard Cover, 274 Pages, illustrated with photos and maps. Price $65.99.

Finally, after 104 years the definitive history of the action between HMAS Sydney and SMS Emden has been written.   The first known published account of the action, in a book, appeared in July 1918 as a chapter titled ‘How the Sydney met the Emden’ in Bennet Copplestone’s The Secret of the Navy.   Over the next one hundred years several books on the action have appeared regularly; ranging from the quite good (such as Mike Carlton’s First Victory 1914 – HMAS Sydney’s Hunt for the German Raider Emden published in 2014) through to the barely readable and often incorrectGuns in Paradise – The Saga of the cruiser Emdenby Fred McClement published in 1968.

Wes Olson has done an outstanding job is detailing Emden’s history from her construction during 1906-1908 to her final action with HMAS Sydney on 9 November 1914 off the Cocos Islands.  The final action is dealt with in great depth with several first hand recollections from both sides – but the story does not end there.  Wes details the extensive activity to recover Emdensurvivors and the subsequent medical work done by both RAN and German medical staff to keep the numerous badly wounded and dehydrated men alive.  Emden’s landing party under Kapitanleutnant Helmuth von Mucke and their epic journey in the schooner Ayeshato the neutral Dutch East Indies and then via steamer, to the Red Sea, and afterwards overland to Constantinople also receives a lengthy analysis.

The story of the wreck of Emden finalises the history of this famous ship.   Several of her guns were recovered and, along with other artefacts, brought to Australia for display with many still visible today in Sydney and Canberra.  In a little known event, in 1933, the Australian Government returned Emden’s name plate to Germany and it was formally presented to the German President Paul von Hindenburg in recognition of the bravery of Emden’s ships company and the chivalry of her commanding officer Karl von Muller.

The book is well illustrated and contains the complete nominal roll of both ships company including the often forgotten civilian canteen staff in Sydney.  The German nominal roll also details the 47 Emdenprisoners of war who were held captive in Australia during the war. If you want to read the complete history of the Sydney – Emden action then this is it!

Reviewed by Greg Swinden

Naval Historical Review, History - WW1, Book reviews, WWI operations, Naval Engagements, Operations and Capabilities SMS Emden

Primary Sidebar

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Categories

Latest Podcasts

  • The Fall of Singapore
  • HMAS Armidale
  • Napoleon, the Royal Navy and Me
  • The Case of the Unknown Sailor
  • Night of the midget subs — Sydney under attack

Links to other podcasts

Australian Naval History Podcasts
This podcast series examines Australia’s Naval history, featuring a variety of naval history experts from the Naval Studies Group and elsewhere.
Produced by the Naval Studies Group in conjunction with the Submarine Institute of Australia, the Australian Naval Institute, Naval Historical Society and the RAN Seapower Centre

Life on the Line Podcasts
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories.
These recordings can be accessed through Apple iTunes or for Android users, Stitcher.

Video Links

  • Australian War Memorial YouTube channel
  • Royal Australian Navy YouTube Channel
  • Research – We can help!
  • Naval Heritage Sites
  • Explore Naval Art
  • Dockyard Heritage Tour
  • About us
  • Shop
  • Events
  • Members Area
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Contact us

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Members Area
  • Privacy Policy

Naval Historical Society of Australia Inc. Copyright © 2025