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First Victory

Mike Carlton

Released: 2013-10-01

A$14.99 0%

6.9 MB

A$14.99 0%

6.9 MB

Released: 2013-10-01

Description

HMAS Sydney's hunt for the German raider, Emden.

When the ships of the new Royal Australian Navy made their grand entry into Sydney Harbour in October 1913, a young nation was at peace.

Under a year later Australia had gone to war in what was seen as a noble fight for king, country and Empire. Thousands of young men joined up for the adventure of having ‘a crack at the Kaiser’. And indeed the German threat to Australia was real, and very near – in the Pacific islands to our north, and in the Indian Ocean.

In the opening months of the war, a German raider, Emden, wreaked havoc on the maritime trade of the British Empire. Its battle against the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney, when it finally came, was short and bloody – an emphatic first victory at sea for the fledgling Royal Australian Navy.

This is the stirring story of the perilous opening months of the Great War and the bloody sea battle that destroyed the Emden in a triumph for Australia that resounded around the world.

In the century since, many writers have been there before Mike Carlton. Most were German, some of them survivors of the battle, others later historians, and they have generally told the story well. British accounts vary in quality, from good to nonsense, and there have been some patchwork American attempts as well. Curiously, there has been very little written from an Australian point of view. This book is – in part – an attempt to remedy that, with new facts and perspectives brought into the light of day.

Apple Books: Customer Ratings

Ratings & Reviews

4.0 of 5 (11 Ratings)

Apple Books: Customer Reviews

2015-01-27

Great account of Australian and German WWI naval history

This book is an eminently readable account of the operations of the Imperial German Navy and Royal Australian Navy in the Indian and Pacific oceans leading up to and after the outbreak of World War One, obviously with an emphasis on the SMS Emden and those who hunted her down. For me this book provided previously unknown insights into the battle that saw the destruction of the Emden and the extraordinary escape across half the planet of some of her crew. This is a scholarly treatment of the subject, but which engages the reader through fascinating primary sources such as personal journals, letters, media and official reports. In characteristic Carlton style he pulls no punches when it comes to certain individuals. Thoroughly recommended for history and naval buffs (who will be pleased by the level of technical and tactical detail)