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november 1914 - australia’s first victory at sea 277 Arrived in Colombo to find everybody in a wild state of excitement … We can hardly believe that Australia’s first naval engagement could have been such a sensational win, for our people are not seagoing people and our navy — which some of us used to call a pannikin navy — was never taken very seriously. And now we have actually sunk a German ship! 4 Both sides agreed that Emden’s men had displayed consummate bravery when faced with almost certain defeat. Unusually, for a war marked by so much hatred, the general opinion in the Allied press had been that Emden’s actions against shipping were ‘sportsmanlike’ rather than indiscriminate. Admiration naturally found its focus in the character of her captain, whose chivalrous behaviour was said to have ensured that no non-combatant life was lost during the raider’s rampages. With Emden’s exploits singled out for praise, the quality of Sydney’s victory against a brilliant and cunning foe was deemed all the greater. The world’s press remarked on the far-sighted statesmanship that had seen the creation of the RAN, while the journal Punch even depicted Emden as a fox in the jaws of an Australian lion. Reflecting the importance attached to the battle, both Australia and Germany did their best to ensure that the names of the two ships lived on. The Germans soon christened a second Emden and allowed her to display an Iron Cross at her bow in honour of her illustrious predecessor. The RAN plans to commission a fifth Sydney in 2017. Yet, however much the battle is portrayed as confirmation of the Australian sailor’s fighting spirit, the strategic context must not be forgotten. At the cost of a handful of lives, sea power had removed the only immediate threat to Australia’s oceanic links. In direct consequence, troop convoys were able to cross the Indian Ocean without escort for more than two years and no Australian soldier was ever lost to enemy action on his passage to the Middle East. In any accounting, this was an extraordinary achievement. Australia’s strategic geography does not change over time and, as the 2009 Defence White Paper reminds us, establishing sea control remains a necessary part of any Australian attempt to project power over the sea.
278 australian maritime issues 2009: spc-a annual Notes 1 JS Corbett, Some Principles of Maritime Strategy, edited by E Grove, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1988, p. 343. 2 Department of Defence, Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030, Canberra, 2009, p. 64. 3 A Jose, The Royal Australian Navy 1914-1918, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1935, p. 567. 4 AB Paterson, Song of the Pen: Complete Works, 1901–1941, Lansdowne, Sydney, 1983, p. 646.
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