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Battle of Penang
	Part of the Asian theatre of World War I
	; SMS Emden passing through the Penang Strait over the French torpedo boat, behind Zhemchug (painting by Carl Saltzmann)
Date	28 October 1914
Location	Penang Strait, off Penang, Straits Settlements, British Malaya5°24′19″N 100°21′9″E / 5.40528°N 100.35250°E
Result	German victory
Belligerents
Russia; France; Great Britain;	Germany;
Commanders and leaders
I. A. Cherkassov; Félix Théroinne †;	Karl von Müller;
Strength
1 protected cruiser; 1 cruiser; 2 destroyers;	1 light cruiser;
Casualties and losses
135 killed; 157 wounded; 1 protected cruiser sunk; 1 destroyer sunk;	None

The Battle of Penang (Russian: Бой у Пенанга; French: Combat de Penang; German: Schlacht von Penang) was a surprise naval engagement by the Imperial German Navy's East Asia Squadron during the First World War that took place on 28 October 1914. The battle involved the German cruiser SMS Emden in the Penang Strait, which sank two Allied warships as part of its commerce raiding operations throughout the Indian Ocean. During the battle, a total of 135 French and Russian sailors were killed and 157 others were wounded, while the Germans sustained no casualties. It was the only battle of the war fought in British Malaya.

Background

At the time, Penang was part of the Straits Settlements, a British Crown colony. Penang is an island off the west coast of Malaya, now the present day Malaysia. It is only a short distance from the mainland. The main town of Penang, George Town, is on a harbour. In the early months of the war, it was heavily used by Allied naval and merchant vessels.^[1]

Shortly after the outbreak of the war, the German East Asia Squadron left its base in Tsingtao, China. The squadron headed east for Germany, but one ship, the light cruiser SMS Emden under Lt. Commander Karl von Müller was sent on a solitary raiding mission.^[1]

Battle

Eyewitness description by a New York Times correspondent

Text: The Emden at Panang (1914)
00:19:16

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At about 04:30 on 28 October, the Emden appeared off the George Town roads to attack the harbour defences and any enemy vessels she might find there. Captain von Müller had disguised his ship by rigging a false smoke stack, which made the Emden resemble the British light cruiser HMS Yarmouth. Once he had entered the harbour, however, he ran up the Imperial German naval ensign and revealed his identity to one and all. He then launched a torpedo at the Imperial Russian protected cruiser Zhemchug, following it up with a salvo of shells which riddled the ship. As the Zhemchug struggled to return fire, von Müller launched a second torpedo. It penetrated the Zhemchug's forward magazine, causing an explosion that sank the Russian warship.^[2] Casualties among the Zhemchug's crew of 250^[3] amounted to 88 dead and 121 wounded.^[4]

The old French cruiser D'Iberville and the French destroyer Fronde by now had opened fire on the Emden, but both were wildly inaccurate and von Müller simply ignored them as he turned to leave the harbour unharmed. While stopping to try to pick up a harbour pilot, he met the French destroyer Mousquet, returning from a patrol. Caught by surprise, the French ship was quickly sunk by the German cruiser's guns.

Aftermath

The Zhemchug had been tied up in a state of non-readiness while her captain, Cmdr. Baron I. A. Cherkassov, went ashore that night to visit his wife (some accounts say his mistress). The keys for the ship's magazine had been taken ashore and no lookouts had been posted. Cherkassov watched in helpless horror from the Eastern & Oriental Hotel as his ship sank to the bottom of the Straits. He was court-martialled for negligence and was sentenced to 3½ years in prison, reduction in rank, and expulsion from the navy. His deputy, Lt. Kulibin, was sentenced to 1½ years in prison. However, Tsar Nicholas II reduced the sentences, and the two former officers were ordered to serve as ordinary seamen. Both would later distinguish themselves in combat and they were decorated with the Cross of St. George.^[5]

Lt. Félix Théroinne, who commanded the Mousquet, was among those killed in the action. Thirty-six survivors out of the destroyer's crew of 80 were rescued by the Emden. Three of the French sailors died from their injuries and were buried at sea with military honours.^[6] Two days after the battle, the Emden stopped the British steamer Newburn and transferred the remaining French prisoners to her. She was then released and conveyed the prisoners to Sabang, Sumatra, then part of the neutral Dutch East Indies.

The Emden continued her successful raiding mission for another 10 days, before she was encountered by the more powerful Royal Australian Navy light cruiser Sydney. The Sydney's heavier and longer range guns enabled her to severely damage the Emden, which had to be run aground and surrendered at the Battle of Cocos.^[1]

Depiction of the battle in a German postcard
Zhemchug, after 1909
Mousquet, undated
Route taken by Emden during her commerce raiding operations

Legacy

A total of 12 Russian sailors are buried at two sites in George Town – the Western Road Cemetery and on Jerejak Island. The monument honoring the sailors of Zhemchug was twice renovated by Soviet sailors in 1972 and 1987 respectively. The battle was mentioned numerous times by Vladimir Putin on his 2003 presidential visit to Malaysia. The Russian embassy in Malaysia holds memorial services twice annually in honor of the fallen sailors.^[2]^[7] In October 2024, corvettes Aldar Tsydenzhapov, Gromkiy and Rezkiy, along with replenishment oiler Pechanga, arrived in George Town where the crews attended a ceremony to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the Battle of Penang.^[8]^[9]

Footnotes

^ ^a ^b ^c Bunich, Igorʹ (2003). Kaiser's Pirates. ОЛМА Медиа Групп. ISBN 9785765424353. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Tragedy in Penang". Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
^ "The war on the sea". The Independent. 9 November 1914. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
^ "Sinking of Zhemchug". Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
^ (in Russian) V.V. Khromov (В.В. Хромов), Kreysera tipa "Zhemchug" (Крейсера типа «Жемчуг»), Morskaya Kollekcya 1/2005
^ "SMS Emden". Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
^ "Memorial service in Penang". Archived from the original on 8 July 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
^ Dermawan, Audrey (15 October 2024). "Russian navy ships in Penang waters". New Straits Times. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
^ Trisha, N. (15 October 2024). "Russian Navy attends WWI memorial in Penang for first time in 20 years". The Star. Retrieved 17 October 2024.

References

Frame, Tom. (2004). No Pleasure Cruise: The Story of the Royal Australian Navy. Sydney: Allen & Unwin ISBN 978-1-74114-233-4 (paper)
Hoehling, A.A. LONELY COMMAND A DOCUMENTARY Thomas Yoseloff, Inc., 1957.
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.
Hohenzollern, Franz Joseph, Prince of EMDEN: MY EXPERIENCES IN S.M.S. EMDEN. New York: G. Howard Watt, 1928.
Lochner, R. K. Last Gentleman-Of-War: Raider Exploits of the Cruiser Emden Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1988. ISBN 0-87021-015-7.
McClement, Fred. Guns in paradise. Paper Jacks, 1979. ISBN 0-7701-0116-X.
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.