Which german ship bombarded madras

This story is from September 22, Some historians say Fort St George was the main target of the German warship but the sailors proved to be poor marksmen. By the time the British responded, Emden had left the area after destroying the oil tanks and merchant ships inside the harbour.

The Emden had already destroyed several merchant vessels of Italy, Briton and Australia within 15 days before it approached Madras. An attack by a German warship was the last thing that overconfident British navy officers in Madras expected. When the Emden pulled out of the harbour, huge plumes of smoke billowed from the Madras coast. The British later claimed that Emden left quickly because they had responded strongly. Those who could not get the train took the road, leaving on carts and on foot.

Prices of commodities shot up. There were fears that the Emden would return. A plaque on the Eastern wall of the Madras High Court building still today marks the spot hit by an Emden shell. The residents of Madras would not forget the day that German guns attacked their city. To me, it was a European war, in which I took an academic interest. In any case, it was the literature of the period that appealed more to me than the tales of battles lost and won.

And therein lay a link. It is nearly two years ago, that my dear eldest son went out to the War for the last time and the day he said goodbye to me Would it be asking too much of you, to tell me what book I should find the whole poem in? It was the poetry of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon that brought out the human tragedy of the war.

The soldiers were mostly illiterate and came from remote villages in India. They did not carry the poetry of Tagore with them, but they had their own poetry and composed their own songs. Today, few in India know about them. The eternal flame that burns below — Amar Jawan Jyoti — is associated today with the twentieth century conflicts of post-Independence India. The memorial to the Unknown Soldier, the jawan, has been the site for all large-scale protests and demonstrations in the capital.

Respond to this article with a post Share your perspective on this article with a post on ScrollStack, and send it to your followers. Copyright , Daily Thanthi. Powered by Vishwak. Share Tweet Comments. Mail Print A A. Recipient's Name. Your Name. Your Email Id. Message in details. Chennai : In the early s, when World War I was raging, Madras was one of the safest places to live in the British empire.

The last time the city had been attacked was a century and a half before when the French laid siege to Fort St. George in In spite of a resolute five-day bombardment, the French had failed to make the fort fall. Historians would say India was not involved in World War I. But though far away from the theatre of war, India sent a staggering 1. As many as 75, of those men lay buried in some remote corner of the world far from home.

So, to the distant German enemy, India was a key menace but then distance makes the heart grow more complacent and Indian cities had the least inkling they would be attacked.