Todd war diary, 3 August 1914-29 February 1916 / Arthur Todd - Page 241
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[Page 241]
less and cable stations and whom there was no time to re-embark. Captain von Müller probably did not really know what his chances were in the action which was about to begin. A light cruiser of the Sydney class should in all circumstances defeat an Emden. Although the Emden had ten guns, they were only 4.1-inch calibre throwing a shell weighing thirty-five pounds; so with six guns in the broadside - the forward and after gun working on either beam - she would have a total weight of 210 pounds every time she turned to bring her guns to bear. Against this, the Sydney's guns - five 6-inch on either beam - with their 100 pound projectile had 500 pounds. In addition, the Sydney was probably three or four knots faster and had some thin but useful armour on her sides. The Germans, however, as we learned later, thought she was a training ship with officers and men new to their jobs and probably inefficient, and on this they staked their hope of victory. In point of fact, with the exception of fifteen or sixteen boys from the training ship Tingira all our people were fully trained and quite fit to take their places in the big line-up in the North Sea, as indeed they subsequently did.
About half-past nine the action began, and at ten thousand yards the first shells arrived, shrieking through the air and falling all round the ship. The Germans, getting the range quickly, hit us with the third salvo and knocked out the after control. This was a raised steel platform on which were stationed an officer and four men, all save one of whom