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The Emden – Sydney fight.
Cocos – Iland. Monday 9th November 1914
A beautiful tropical night had just passed.
Aurora in golden rays climbed over the horizon transforming the ocean into a sea of blood. Little did we surmise, that streams of blood would soon flow on our deck.
Majestic the Emden traversed the Indian Ocean towards her destination. Cocos – Island with the object to destroy the wireless station thereon, also to cut the two British cables connecting Australia and Afrika.
At 6.30 a.m. the Emden anchored in the bight of Cocos - Island.
Subsequently a landing corps of 3 Officer 6 Petty Officers and 51 men, armed with machine guns and other fire arms was despatched in 2 life boats towed by a steambarcasse, with the order to destroy the wireless station and cables.
In the meantime our guns of the starboard batterie were trained on the wireless Station in case of resistance, but this was unnecessary, as after a short while we noticed the wireless mast with all his gear collapsing also the blowing up of the station.
After this work was completed, the landing party commenced to cut the cables, when the look-out reported a smoke cloud in the north.
At first sight of this we believed this to be our coal supply ship, which we left behind but we soon found out to