AFVOA Newsletter 03 of 2020

Section 5 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 03 / 2020 Page 88 of 167 unguarded moment. It had no problem identifying the cluster of British Burmah Oil storage tanks. When darkness enveloped the distant sea, Emden opened up, took its aim and fired around 130 rounds. Some shells hit the oil tanks and set them aflame immediately; while a few more destroyed a parked streamer. At final count, Emden assault had destroyed 3,46,000 gallons of fuel; killed five men, wounded twenty six and destroyed the streamer. When news spread next morning panic gripped Madras city, as rightly anticipated by Capt Muller. There was complete breakdown of law and order. The nefarious elements used the pandemonium and confusion for loot and arson. Thousands fled the city. Real estates touched rock bottom, throw away prices. (You and I could have purchased palatial buildings for a month’s present pension, were we living then. Curse your stars, we are born unlucky!) Let me add a curious interlude. There appears to be a Tamil connect to this sordid episode. Champakaraman Pillai, a Tamil freedom fighter and revolutionary, was said to be on board Emden and to have directed fire on Madras. This is more likely to be true, but there is no direct evidence of the same. There is a funny side too, to Emben bombing. The term Emden ( எம்டன் ) entered the Tamil and Malayalam lexicons, as reference to over clever or over smart guys and to some petty rowdies. Usages in Tamil like ‘That guy is a big Emden ‘ ( அவன் ஒ� ெபரியஎம்டன்டா !! ) had become common place in Madras province. Since poetry is in our Tamil blood, many folk songs with Emden as central theme also sprang up. No surprise, that!!! Before I move on to the Second World War scenario, I must tell you about the end of Emden era. Emden later moved on towards Cocos Island / Direction Island (en route to Australia) where the ship met its nemesis in a surprise attack from the Australian war ship Sydney in November 1914. The German cruiser Emden was no match to the powerful guns of Sydney. Emden lost 134 men and had 65 wounded. Capt Karl Muller was taken prisoner of war. He died a few years later in 1923 in his native Germany. He is lovingly remembered even by his enemies as an oxymoron combination of a fierce warrior and a warm kindly gentleman. That done, let us now cut to 1943; to our next Madras episode set in the thick of Second World War. It is another new generation growing up in Madras. Emden had faded in the