Bombardment of Madras
Introduction The '''bombardment of Madras''' was an engagement of the First World War, at Madras (now Chennai), British India. The bombardment was initiated by the German light cruiser ''Emden'' at the outset of the war in 1914.With Captain Karl von Müller in command, on the night of 22 September 1914, SMS  ''Emden'' quietly approached the city of 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 Madras harbour area, Müller illuminated six large oil tanks belonging to the Burmah Oil Company with his searchlights, 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.Soon the word Emden entered the Tamil dictionary and was used to describe someone powerful, frightening and with a wicked intent.Madras
Footnotes
References and external links **''The Last Corsair: The Story of The Emden'' by Dan van der Vat, 1984. *''The Last Gentleman of War. The Raider Exploits of the Cruiser Emden'' by R. K. Lochner, Naval Institute Press:. 1988. *''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 ** ''Karl Friedrich Max von Müller: Captain of the Emden During World War I'' by John M. Taylor* ''New York Times'': "German Cruiser Emden Destroyed", November 11, 1914 a PDF of ''NYT'' report on ''Emden'' sinking along with some praise for its captain. * ''New York Times'': "Captain of Emden Killed? ", a PDF of a ''NYT'' article dated April 13, 1921** Cruisers EMDEN, Frigates EMDEN - 5 warships named EMDEN until today * World War I Naval Combat* Karl Friedrich Max von Müller: Captain of the ''Emden'' During World War I* How German cruiser ‘Emden’ struck terror in the heart of the British Empire, and became a Tamil word. The Hindu. February 23, 2020.
Further reading * Frame, Tom. (2004). ''No Pleasure Cruise: The Story of the Royal Australian Navy''. Sydney: Allen & Unwin  (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..*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..*McClement, Fred. ''Guns in paradise''. Paper Jacks, 1979..*Mücke, Hellmuth von. ''The Emden-Ayesha Adventure: German Raiders in the South Seas and Beyond, 1914''. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2000..*Schmalenbach, Paul ''German Raiders: A History of Auxiliary Cruisers of the German Navy, 1895-1945''. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1979..*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. *Walter, John ''The Kaiser's Pirates: German Surface Raiders in World War One''. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1994..