The Stranded Emden Landing Party’s Odyssey
Out of the 376 man crew of the Emden, 133 were killed in the battle with HMAS Sydney, and most of the remainder were captured. The exception was the landing party in Direction Island, commanded by Hellmuth von Mucke, stranded when the Emden sailed away when she was surprised by the Sydney. Ashore, the German crewman watched the battle between their ship and the enemy, and realized that the Emden was outmatched and bound to lose.
Their situation seemed hopeless, with eventual capture and a POW camp all but inevitable. However, the intrepidity and determination of the marooned von Mucke and his men spared them that fate, and they set off on an epic and hazardous odyssey that finally took them back home to Germany. It began when they looked around in Direction Island’s harbor, and spotted the 95 ton schooner Ayesha – a dilapidated old freight hauler, sitting at anchor. They seized it, and hastily prepared it for sailing before the Sydney returned from wrecking the Emden to round them up.
Just before sunset, von Mucke and his men sailed the requisitioned and rechristened SMS Ayesha out of Direction Island and towards freedom, setting course for Padang, a port in the neutral Dutch East Indies. They braved storms, skirted dangerous shoals and reefs, and had a close call with an enemy destroyer that passed within yards of the Ayesha without realizing she was an enemy vessel. Finally, they reached Padang on November 27th.
However, they were unable to linger for long: the Ayesha was now a Germany navy ship, and under international law, it could not stay in a neutral port such as Padang for more than 24 hours. However, while in port, von Mucke got in touch with the German consul, and passed him a note with coordinates for a meeting with a German ship. On December 16th, after a 1709 mile journey, the rickety Ayesha finally met a German merchant steamer, the Choising. The Germans transferred to the Choising, whose command von Mucke assumed, and the Ayesha was abandoned and scuttled. Disguising the Choising as the British steamer Shenir, the Germans then embarked on another hair raising journey, this time to Yemen, controlled by the Ottoman Turks who by then had joined the war on Germany’s side.
Avoiding well travelled sea lanes, the Germans took a circuitous route around the Indian Ocean that finally brought them to Hodeida, Yemen, in January of 1915. Spotting a French warship in the vicinity, however, von Mucke and his men left the Choising in longboats, and rowed ashore. From Hodeida, they took a pair of dhows – small Arab sailing vessels – which took them part way to Jeddah, avoiding British patrols along the way. They finished trip to Jeddah by land, riding donkeys and camels, and survived a running fight with hostile tribesmen en route. They resumed the journey from Jeddah in dhows, again evading British naval patrols, before continuing their journey overland until they finally reached a Turkish railhead. From there, they made it to Istanbul, and finally, to a hero’s welcome in Germany.
____________
Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources & Further Reading
Military History Now – The Kaiser’s Pirate Ship: The Astounding Voyage of SMS Emden
Naval Encyclopedia – SMS Emden’s Incredible True Odyssey
Naval History Net – HMAS Sydney v SMS Emden Action, November 9, 1914
New South Wales State Library – HMAS Sydney and SMS Emden
Parramatta Heritage Center – the Exploits of the German Cruiser SMS Emden
War History Online – An Australian Navy Ship Sent this WWI Crew on an Epic Journey Home