Stop the Emden: The day Australia’s fledgling navy defeated Germany’s most successful warship

WE were inches — literally — from utter disaster. Yet imminent defeat became an epic naval victory.

AUSTRALIA was holding its breath.

The war was barely three months old and our first soldiers were steaming north to join the fighting.

It’s got spinning ships ... the interactive read below features 3D models and much more.

But first they had to get past a seemingly insurmountable hurdle: a German raider, skippered by a “gentleman of the sea” who was single-handedly wrecking Britain’s rule of the waves. His gunship had already seized and sunk 25 vessels — and all attempts to catch him had failed.

The massive, slow troop transports carrying the fresh young ANZACs would have been the ultimate target. Their hunter, the Emden, simply had to be found and sunk — or stopped by any other means.

That task would fall to the fledgling Royal Australian Navy, in what was to become its first battle. It would be a furious fight — click on the image below to see what happened (it’s even bigger and better on desktop).

Want to see more? Watch this newly-released footage from the National Film and Sound Archives, called Sea Raider — it’s a 1931 retelling of the Emden’s exploits and fate.

And if you’re interested in the Emden’s target — those fat, vulnerable transports, and the troops aboard — join TV’s Steve Liebmann in the History Channel video below or read “Stew & Spew”, the soldiers’ own accounts, by clicking here.

Originally published as Stop the Emden: The day Australia’s fledgling navy defeated Germany’s most successful warship