Bombardment of Madras

Overview

The bombardment of Madras was an engagement of the First World War, at Madras, British India. The bombardment was initiated by the German light cruiser Emden at the outset of the war in 1914.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The bombardment of Madras, carried out by the German light cruiser Emden under Karl von Müller in September 1914, represented one of the earliest direct strikes against British India during the First World War. The attack demonstrated the capacity of German surface raiders to project force into imperial waters far from the European theater, threatening British maritime security and colonial stability at the outset of the war. As one of the Emden's early operations, it signaled the disruptive potential of lone commerce raiders operating in the Indian Ocean, a challenge Britain would need to address to maintain confidence in its command of imperial sea lanes.

Commanders (1)