The Last Corsair: The Story of the Emden

by Dan van der Vat

The crew of the World War I German surface raider Emden had one of the greatest adventures in naval history. The outbreak of war found the Emden off the coast of British India. Under the command of Captain Karl von Muller, the Emden for three months seriously impeded British operations in the Indian Ocean. The Emden sank two warships and sixteen merchantmen, captured four colliers, shelled the harbor at Madras and raided Penang. In the end seventy-eight British ships were required to run her down. Even being captured left the gallant crew undaunted. Fifty crew members hijacked a schooner and sailed to the coast of Turkish-controlled Arabia. The crew fought its way through Lawrence's tribesmen to the Turkish railway at Jiddah and thence to Constantinople, where they reported for duty to the German naval attache, having conducted one of the most extraordinary operations of the war.

205 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1983

About the author

Daniel Francis Jeroen van der Vat, born in Holland and educated in Britain he worked as a journalist for British newspapers including The Times and The Guardian.

His books on twentieth-century history include many works on Naval history.