https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Bombardment_of_MadrasBombardment of Madras - Revision history2026-07-31T12:35:32ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Bombardment_of_Madras&diff=450513&oldid=prevMvjceng at 20:49, 25 February 20262026-02-25T20:49:30Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|1914 engagement of World War I}}<br />
{{for|the earlier French bombardment in 1746|Battle of Madras}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2025}}<br />
{{Infobox military conflict<br />
|conflict = Bombardment of Madras<br />
|partof = the [[Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I]]<br />
|image=Bombardment of Madras by S.S. Emden 1914.jpg<br />
|image_size=300px<br />
|caption=Oil tanks on fire in the harbour following the bombardment of Madras by SMS ''Emden''<br />
|date=22 September 1914<br />
|place=[[Chennai|Madras]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British Raj|India]]<br />
|result=German victory<br />
|combatant1={{flagcountry|size=23px|British India}}<br />
|combatant2={{flagicon|German Empire}} [[German Empire|Germany]]<br />
|commander1=Unknown <br />
|commander2={{flagicon|German Empire|naval}} [[Karl von Müller]]<br />
|strength1=Unknown <br />
|strength2=Light cruiser {{SMS|Emden|1906|2}}<br />
|casualties1=1 steamer sunk<br />5 killed<br/>26 wounded<br />
|casualties2=None<br />
|notes=<br />
}}<br />
{{campaignbox Asian and Pacific Campaign}}<br />
{{Campaignbox Command of the Oceans 1914-1915}}<br />
The '''bombardment of Madras''' was an engagement of the [[World War I|First World War]], at [[Madras]] (now Chennai), [[British Raj|British India]]. The bombardment was initiated by the [[German Empire|German]] [[light cruiser]] [[SMS Emden (1908)|''Emden'']] at the outset of the war in 1914.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Rangan | last=Datta |title=108 years of Emden – the only World War I attack on India |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/places/emden-attack-a-german-cruiser-that-rocked-madras-india-during-world-war-i-in-september-1914/cid/1888328 | newspaper=The Telegraph | location=India | date=23 September 2022 | access-date=29 March 2025}}</ref><br />
[[File:Emden Plaque Madras.jpg|thumb|right|Emden Plaque at [[Madras High Court]], Chennai,[[Chennai|Madras]]]]<br />
With [[Captain (naval)|Captain]] [[Karl von Müller]] in command, on the night of 22 September 1914, SMS ''Emden'' quietly approached the city of [[Chennai|Madras]] on the southeastern coast of the [[Indian peninsula]]. As he later wrote, "I had this shelling in view simply as a demonstration to arouse interest among the Indian population, to disturb English commerce, to diminish English prestige." After entering the [[Chennai Port|Madras harbour]] area, Müller illuminated six large [[fuel oil|oil]] tanks belonging to the [[Burmah Oil Company]] with his [[searchlight]]s, then fired at a range of 3,000 yards. After ten minutes of firing, ''Emden'' had hit five of the tanks and destroyed 346,000 gallons of fuel, and the cruiser then successfully retreated.{{sfn|Keegan|2004|pp=127-128}}<br />
<br />
Soon the word Emden entered the Tamil dictionary and was used to describe someone powerful, frightening and with a wicked intent.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Saini |first=Ajay |date=2020-02-22 |title=How German cruiser 'Emden' struck terror in the heart of the British Empire, and became a Tamil word |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/how-german-cruiser-emden-struck-terror-in-the-heart-of-the-british-empire-and-became-a-tamil-word/article30881258.ece |access-date=2022-07-15 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref><br />
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== Footnotes ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
{{Portal bar|India}}<br />
<br />
== References and external links ==<br />
*{{cite book|last1=Keegan|first1=John| author-link = John Keegan|title=Intelligence in War|date=October 2004|publisher=Vintage Books|location=New York|isbn=0-375-70046-3|edition=1}}<br />
*''The Last Corsair: The Story of The Emden'' by [[Dan van der Vat]], 1984. {{ISBN|0-586-06265-3}}<br />
*''The Last Gentleman of War. The Raider Exploits of the Cruiser Emden'' by R. K. Lochner, [[Naval Institute Press]]:. 1988. {{ISBN|0-87021-015-7}}<br />
*''The Last Cruise of the Emden: The Amazing True WWI Story of a German-Light Cruiser and Her Courageous Crew'' by [[Edwin Palmer Hoyt]], Globe Pequot Press, 2001 {{ISBN|978-1-58574-382-7}}<br />
*{{cite book<br />
|title=The Emden<br />
|author=[[Hellmuth von Mücke]], Helene Schimmelfennig White<br />
|year=1917<br />
|publisher=Ritter<br />
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tPUMAAAAYAAJ&q=hellmuth+von+m%C3%BCcke+emden<br />
}}<br />
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080308150544/http://www.historynet.com/air_sea/naval_battles/7557922.html ''Karl Friedrich Max von Müller: Captain of the Emden During World War I'' by John M. Taylor]<br />
*[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1914/11/11/100113006.pdf ''New York Times'': "German Cruiser Emden Destroyed", 11 November 1914 a PDF of ''NYT''{{'s}} report on ''Emden''{{'s}} sinking along with some praise for its captain.]<br />
*[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/04/13/98669624.pdf ''New York Times'': "Captain of Emden Killed?", a PDF of a ''NYT'' article dated 13 April 1921]<br />
*{{cite magazine<br />
|title=Junk-Emden<br />
|date=1929-05-06<br />
|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]<br />
|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,732301,00.html<br />
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027181703/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,732301,00.html<br />
|url-status=dead<br />
|archive-date=27 October 2010<br />
|access-date=2008-08-08<br />
}}<br />
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160505013839/http://fregatte-emden.de/ Cruisers EMDEN, Frigates EMDEN - 5 warships named EMDEN until today] {{in lang|de}}<br />
*[http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/emden.html World War I Naval Combat]<br />
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080116052635/http://www.historynet.com/magazines/mhq/7557922.html Karl Friedrich Max von Müller: Captain of the ''Emden'' During World War I]<br />
*[https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/how-german-cruiser-emden-struck-terror-in-the-heart-of-the-british-empire-and-became-a-tamil-word/article30881258.ece How German cruiser ‘Emden’ struck terror in the heart of the British Empire, and became a Tamil word. The Hindu. 23 February 2020.]<br />
<br />
== Further reading ==<br />
<br />
* Frame, Tom. (2004). [https://books.google.com/books?id=YY6CN8wAk4AC&dq=emden+empress+of+australia&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 ''No Pleasure Cruise: The Story of the Royal Australian Navy'']. Sydney: [[Allen & Unwin]] {{ISBN|978-1-74114-233-4}} (paper)<br />
*Hoehling, A. A. '' Lonely Command a Documentary'' Thomas Yoseloff, Inc., 1957.<br />
*Hoyt, Edwin P. ''The Last Cruise of the Emden: The Amazing True World War I Story of a German-Light Cruiser and Her Courageous Crew''. The Lyons Press, 2001. {{ISBN|1-58574-382-8}}.<br />
*Hohenzollern, Franz Joseph, Prince of ''Emden: My Experiences in S.M.S. Emden''. New York: G. Howard Watt, 1928.<br />
*Lochner, R. K. ''Last Gentleman-Of-War: Raider Exploits of the Cruiser Emden'' Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1988. {{ISBN|0-87021-015-7}}.<br />
*McClement, Fred. ''Guns in paradise''. Paper Jacks, 1979. {{ISBN|0-7701-0116-X}}.<br />
*Mücke, Hellmuth von. ''The Emden-Ayesha Adventure: German Raiders in the South Seas and Beyond, 1914''. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2000. {{ISBN|1-55750-873-9}}.<br />
*Schmalenbach, Paul ''German Raiders: A History of Auxiliary Cruisers of the German Navy, 1895-1945''. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1979. {{ISBN|0-87021-824-7}}.<br />
*Van der Vat, Dan. ''Gentlemen of War: The Amazing Story of Captain Karl von Müller and the SMS Emden''. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc. 1984. {{ISBN|0-688-03115-3}}<br />
*Walter, John ''The Kaiser's Pirates: German Surface Raiders in World War One''. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1994. {{ISBN|1-55750-456-3}}.<br />
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{{World War I}}<br />
{{Chennai Topics}}<br />
{{coord missing|Chennai}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Madras, Bombardment of}}<br />
[[Category:Naval battles of World War I involving Germany]]<br />
[[Category:India in World War I]]<br />
[[Category:Burmah-Castrol]]<br />
[[Category:Conflicts in 1914]]<br />
[[Category:September 1914 in Asia]]<br />
[[Category:Naval bombing operations and battles of World War I]]<br />
[[Category:Ship fires]]<br />
[[Category:20th century in Chennai]]<br />
[[Category:Military history of the Madras Presidency]]<br />
[[Category:Gas explosions in India]]<br />
[[Category:Naval history of India]]<br />
[[Category:Vehicle fires in India]]<br />
[[Category:Attacks on energy sector]]</div>Mvjceng