Qualla: Battle of Penang https://qualla.com/battle-of-penang en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:36 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/w/0/z/q/battle-of-penang-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Battle of Penang https://qualla.com/battle-of-penang Battle of Penang: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-penang/ Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. Commander Baron Cherkassov was not aboard his ship on the morning of 28 October 1914. He was ashore at the Eastern & Oriental Hotel, visiting his wife -- or, by some accounts, his mistress. The keys to the magazine had gone with him. No lookouts had been posted. When the German light cruiser SMS Emden ghosted into Penang harbour flying a false fourth funnel to disguise her profile, the Russian protected cruiser Zhemchug lay tied up and utterly defenceless. The only battle of the First World War fought in British Malaya was over almost before it began.

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]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/0/z/q/battle-of-penang-wp/w0zq-battle-of-penang-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Penang: The Lone Wolf of the Indian Ocean https://qualla.com/battle-of-penang/ Photo credit Cmglee, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Emden's solo mission was born from strategic opportunism. When the German East Asia Squadron departed its base at Tsingtao, China, in the war's opening weeks, the main fleet headed east toward home. But Commander Karl von Müller convinced his superiors to let his light cruise...

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Image: Cmglee | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/0/z/q/battle-of-penang-wp/w0zq-battle-of-penang-the-lone-wolf-of-the-indian-ocean.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Penang: Fifteen Minutes of Chaos https://qualla.com/battle-of-penang/ Photo credit Cmglee, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Emden entered the harbour at dawn, her disguise fooling the port's defences long enough to close within torpedo range. The Zhemchug, with a crew of 250 aboard and no ammunition ready, took two torpedoes and sustained devastating gunfire. Eighty-eight Russian sailors died; ano...

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Image: Cmglee | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/0/z/q/battle-of-penang-wp/w0zq-battle-of-penang-fifteen-minutes-of-chaos.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Penang: Honour and Disgrace https://qualla.com/battle-of-penang/ Photo credit Cmglee, CC BY-SA 4.0. The aftermath sorted the battle's participants into sharply different fates. Cherkassov was court-martialled for negligence and sentenced to three and a half years in prison, reduction in rank, and expulsion from the Russian Navy. His deputy, Lieutenant Kulibin, received eighteen...

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Image: Cmglee | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/0/z/q/battle-of-penang-wp/w0zq-battle-of-penang-honour-and-disgrace.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Penang: Ten More Days https://qualla.com/battle-of-penang/ Photo credit Cmglee, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Emden's luck held for just ten more days after Penang. On 9 November 1914, she was intercepted near the Cocos Islands by HMAS Sydney, a Royal Australian Navy light cruiser with heavier guns and longer range. The Sydney's superior firepower tore into the Emden, and von Muller ...

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]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/0/z/q/battle-of-penang-wp/w0zq-battle-of-penang-ten-more-days.mp3 0:06 5 full Battle of Penang: Memory in the Strait https://qualla.com/battle-of-penang/ Photo credit Cmglee, CC BY-SA 4.0. More than a century later, the Battle of Penang remains a vivid episode in the city's layered history. In October 2024, Russian Navy corvettes arrived in George Town for a ceremony marking the 110th anniversary of the engagement -- the first Russian naval visit in twenty years. T...

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]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/0/z/q/battle-of-penang-wp/w0zq-battle-of-penang-memory-in-the-strait.mp3 0:06 6 full