HIDDEN IN THE MIST OF HISTORY: WHEN THE GERMANS ATTACKED MADRAS

Flashing lights of the lighthouse in the grounds of Madras High Court made the task of the Germans easier.

- SHRIDHAR NAIK

Little known, and more or less forgotten by both global and Indian war historians, is an incident that brought the repercussions of World War I to the shores of India. A one-time attack by a German cruise ship on the port city of Madras, now rechristened Chennai, sent panic waves not only throughout the city but also large parts of the Madras Presidency. The involvement of the British Indian troops in the War, especially in the Mesopotamian, North African, and European theaters, though downplayed in international history, is now reasonably well known. A case in point is the superlative role played by the Indian troops in the historic liberation of Haifa, now nationally acclaimed by both the Governments of India and Israel.

Against this backdrop, however, forgotten and buried in the annals of war history, lies the narrative of this attack on Madras. The attack caused substantial damage long before the Imperial Government had perhaps begun the process of mobilizing Indian troops for service in the theaters of war. Less than two months into the war, when the Indian population and the Imperial Government in India were complacent that guns, bombs, and action were still far away, the German cruise ship SMS Emden struck the port city on the night of 22nd September 1914, having silently entered the dark waters of the Bay of Bengal.