caravan of sailors

8/14/2019 caravan of sailors

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Notes for Caravan of Sailors

In August 1914, at the beginning of WWI, the German Light Cruiser SMS Emden was in the Paifi

!ean" #he shi$ immediate%& began o$erations against the A%%ied $owers, sin'ing merhant shi$s anddestro&ing undersea te%egra$h ab%es"

(ut the A%%ies were a%so ati)e in the Paifi, and had shi$s from Eng%and, *ussia, +a$an, and Austra%ia

out %oo'ing for the Emden and other German shi$s" #he Emden $%a&ed a dead%& at and mouse gamewith the shi$s hunting her, tr&ing to sin' merhant shi$s whi%e a)oiding the enem& shi$s with their

bigger guns"

In o)ember 1914 the Emden was ordered to destro& the (ritish te%egra$h station on a )er& sma%%is%and a%%ed -iretion Is%and" When the shi$ arri)ed the a$tain sent a grou$ of ./ men in three sma%%

boats to the is%and" #he men were ner)ous0 the& did not 'now what to e$et when the& got to the

is%and" Wou%d the (ritish fight to defend their station2 #he %eader of the grou$, Lieutenant 3e%mut )onMu'e was not ha$$& his sai%ors had on%& rif%es and four mahine guns, but he a%so ounted on the

Emdens guns to he%$ them if needed"

#he sai%ors were $%eased to find the is%and was undefended" #he (ritons on the is%and were i)i%ian

wor'ers of the te%egra$h om$an&, and did not tr& to sto$ the Germans from destro&ing the te%egra$he5ui$ment and ab%es" E)er&thing was going we%%, but then disaster ame"

Whi%e the men were finishing their tas' the Emden b%ew her whist%e, te%%ing the men to return to the

shi$ immediate%&" #he men got ba' in their boats as 5ui'%& as $ossib%e and set off to return to theshi$" (ut the& were too %ate0 before the& ou%d reah her, the Emden sai%ed awa&, %ea)ing the sai%ors

behind"

Lieutenant )on Mu'e didnt ha)e to wait %ong to see what the emergen& was" In the distane he ou%dsee the b%a' smo'e of another shi$, this one a%so a ruiser but definite%& not friend%&" #he ruiser

Mu'e saw was the 3MAS S&dne&, from the Austra%ian na)&" #he ruiser had diso)ered the Emden

and was now firing on her" #he Emden was a%so firing ba', but the batt%e was ta'ing the Emden

farther and farther from -iretion Is%and and the ./ German sai%ors %eft behind there"#he batt%e did not go we%% for Emden" After se)era% hours the S&dne& fina%%& san' the German ruiser"

After resuing the sur)i)ors from the Emden, it was too dar' for the S&dne& to send an&one to he'

on the te%egra$h station on -iretion Is%and"As the sun went down, )on Mu'e had a $rob%em" 3is ride home was sun', and he and his men were

stranded on -iretion Is%and with an enem& shi$ that wou%d a$ture or 'i%% him and his men when the

sun ame u$" What ou%d he do2

The Ayesha

6on Mu'e 'new he ou%d not fight the enem& shi$, but the three boats he had were too sma%% to tra)e%

on the o$en sea" In the harbor was an o%d sai%ing shi$, a shooner named A&esha" #he (ritish on theis%and to%d him the A&esha was in terrib%e ondition and ou%d ne)er ma'e it aross the sea" (ut )on

Mu'e had no hoie" 3e and his men wor'ed hard through most of the night tr&ing to re$air the shi$"

#he $eo$%e on the is%and ga)e him food and water for 4 wee's and, not %ong before the sun ame u$,

wathed as )on Mu'e and his men sai%ed awa& in the dar'ness"!ne the& were on the sea, the sai%ors wor'ed hard tr&ing to 'ee$ the A&esha from sin'ing" #he shi$

%ea'ed )er& muh, and water had to be onstant%& $um$ed out to 'ee$ the A&esha af%oat" #he wood was

a%so rotten in man& $%aes, and $iees of the shi$ bro'e off when the& were hit b& big wa)es" S%ee$ingwas a%so a $rob%em, as the A&esha was designed for a rew of fi)e" Instead ./ men were on board, and

the& had to s%ee$ where e)er the& ou%d find room to %ie down"

#o 'ee$ %ean, the rew too' showers in the rain, and the& a%so used the A&eshas %ifeboat as a bathtub"Coo'ing was a%so a $rob%em" #he sma%% 'ithen was not big enough to oo' for so man& men, so the

sai%ors made a fire$%ae on de' out of o%d meta% torn from the shi$" It was dangerous oo'ing on an

o$en fire with the shi$ ro%%ing on the wa)es, but the& managed it, and the men ate we%%"


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#he men a%so had to fight with the weather" -uring the da& the tro$ia% sun ba'ed the de', and the

men had to sta& o)ered under and o%d sai%" !n most e)enings a thunderstorm ame, and the men had

to fight to 'ee$ the A&esha from sin'ing"

With these worries, Lt )on Mu'e a%so had to deide where he shou%d ta'e his %itt%e shi$" #he %osest$orts were in the hands of the enem&" #he on%& $%ae %eft was Padang, on the is%and of Sumatra, whih

was a -uth o%on&" #he -uth were neutra% in this war, and so )on Mu'e deided to go to Patang"

!ne he had deided on a destination, the net $rob%em ame7 no ma$s" #he on%& ma$ on board theshi$ was a wor%d ma$, and was not usefu% for na)igating at a%%" So a%% na)igation had to be done b& the

stars" (ut an e)en $rob%em was there were no harts on board either" Whi%e ma$s show where %and is,

harts are im$ortant beause the& show where reefs are" Sai%ing the Paifi without harts is )er&dangerous indeed, and the men on A&esha had to wath arefu%%& for an&thing that %oo'ed %i'e a reef" If

the& had hit a reef, the A&esha wou%d ha)e been sun' and the men thrown into the shar' in)ested sea"

8ina%%&, after 1 frightening da&s at sea, the %itt%e A&esha anhored in the harbor of Padang" It was amira%e the sai%ors had made it this far, but the tri$ was on%& beginning"

Padang

#hough the -uth were not ha$$& to see in their neutra% $ort a boat%oad of German sai%ors, the& agreedto %et them sta& for a short time" In the harbor were three German merhant shi$s and one from Austria"

#hese shi$s sent as muh food, offee and tea as the& ou%d, but the men from the Emden sti%% didnt

ha)e enough for another %ong sea )o&age"6on Mu'e ontated the -uth harbor master, and as'ed him to send them materia% to re$air their

shi$, food, %othes, water, ombs and tooth brushes" #he tooth brushes were )er& im$ortant to the men,

as the& had not brushed their teeth in a%most three wee's" As for the ombs, on board the A&esha the ./men had to share one omb:

Later that afternoon the harbor master ame with bad news" #he materia% for re$airing the shi$ was

de%i)ered, but the -uth go)ernment refused to gi)e the Germans food, water, ombs and toothbrushes"

#he neutra% -uth wanted the A&esha out of their harbor, but did not want to ma'e the (ritish angr& b&he%$ing the Germans im$ro)e their hea%th"

#he men ou%d get food from the sea, and water from the rain, but what rea%%& hurt them was not

getting the ombs and es$eia%%& the toothbrushes" (ut )on Mu'e and his men did not %et this badnews de$ress them" Later in the e)ening the %itt%e A&esha sai%ed out of the harbor and one again into

the o$en sea"

Again at Sea

#he %itt%e shi$ rode the wa)es da& after da&" As before, water fi%%ed the shi$, but the men were ab%e to

$um$ it out fast enough to sta& abo)e the water" #he tro$i sun was hot, and the storms were hard"Added to that was a new danger0 enem& warshi$s" After %ea)ing Padang the men saw se)era% enem&

shi$s searhing for them" Lu'i%&, most of these shi$s $assed b& them at night, and didnt notie the

sma%% shi$ in the dar'" It was %u'& the A&esha was a sai% boat without an engine" In those da&s shi$s

were $owered b& oa%, and the smo'e the& made ou%d be seen for man& 'i%ometers around" (ut theA&esha had on%& her white sai%s, whih %oo'ed )er& muh %i'e wa)es from far awa&"

(ut then one da&, four wee's after the& had %eft Padang, the A&esha ame fae to fae with a big

steamer" A thi' fog surrounded the A&esha, and sudden%& out of the fog a big shi$ ame heading rightat them" #he Germans 5ui'%& tried to a)oid the strange shi$ and the& were )er& ha$$& to see it go $ast

them, ;ust a few meters awa&" #he wa)es the shi$ made near%& san' the sma%% A%e&sha" After the shi$

$assed, it sto$$ed, and began to %ower some sma%% boats into the water" Was this shi$ a friend orenem&2, the& a%% wondered on board the A%e&sha"

#he men waited ner)ous%&, not 'nowing whether the& were being resued or a$tured" 8ina%%&, as the

boats ame near, the& heard the men in them ta%'ing" #he& were s$ea'ing German, the sai%ors were


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being resued:

#he German steamer, named Choising, too' on board the sai%ors from A&esha" #hough the men were

ha$$& to be on a big modern shi$, the& were a%so sorr& to %ea)e the %itt%e sai%ing shi$ that had been their

home for a%most two months" #he& wathed from the Choising as the A&esha f%oated off awa& fromthem" #hen the& were sho'ed as a big wa)e hit the shi$ hard, and the A&esha bro'e a$art san' %i'e a

stone beneath the sea" It was %i'e the shi$ had been 'ee$ing herse%f af%oat unti% the men had been

resued" #he sai%ors %oo'ed out to the $%ae where the A&esha had been, and then the& a%% ga)e threeheers for the ga%%ant %itt%e shi$ that had sa)ed their %i)es"

The Choising

!ne safe%& on board the Choising, the men of the Emden were gi)en hot food and mattresses were

$%aed on the f%oor for them to s%ee$ on" #his was %uur& to them after suh a diffiu%t time at sea" (ut

des$ite this omfort, there was sti%% the hane the& had gone out of the fr&ing $an and into the fire"#he worst thing about the A&esha was a%so the best thing0 she was sma%%" 3er sma%% si


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destro&er" (oth ountries were at war with German&, and )on Mu'e was ;ust a few hundred meters

from them with the sun rise fast on its wa&"

6on Mu'e was in a $i'%e" 3e ou%dnt go to the $ort beause of the enem& shi$s, but he ou%dnt go

ba' to the Choising beause those same shi$s wou%d soon see the steamer, and then 5ui'%& sin' her"3e had no hoie but to signa% to the Choising to ma'e a run for it, whi%e he and his men deided to

head north of the $ort to an em$t& beah" !ne again, the men of the Emden had the unha$$& sight of

wathing their shi$ sai% awa& without them"#he mens bad %u' ontinued when the& ame to within =// meters of the beah" #here the water was

too sha%%ow for the boats, and a%% their e5ui$ment had to be arried to the shore" Whi%e this was going

on, )on Mu'e saw a man in uniform riding towards them on a ame%" 6on Mu'e had no idea whatarm& the man be%onged to, so he deided to as' him" Eah time )on Mu'e wa%'ed towards the man,

the man wou%d raise his rif%e and $oint it at him" 8ina%%& the man on the ame% raised his hand in a sign

that meant )on Mu'e and his men shou%d sta& where the& were, and he then rode awa& towards the$ort"

3a)ing no intention of waiting to be a$tured, )on Mu'e and his men wor'ed 5ui'%& to get their

things on shore so the& ou%d marh into the desert, where the& intended to hide during the da&" (ut

;ust as the& were beginning their marh, a %arge grou$ of 1// (edouins a$$eared on the sand dunes infront of them, and a%% arried rif%es"

#he Germans formed a defensi)e %ine and then waited" #here were two (edouins for eah German, but

the Germans had four mahine guns to he%$ e)en things u$"After se)era% tense minutes, 1 (edouins ame out without wea$ons, and wa)ed for )on Mu'e to ;oin

them" #here began a on)ersation that was made diffiu%t beause neither side ou%d understand the

other" #he Germans showed the (edouins their f%ag, the& shoo' their fists at the 8renh warshi$, the&used hand gestures, but sti%% the& ou%d not find out if the (edouins were friends or enemies"

#hen )on Mu'e too' from his $o'et a go%d oin" #o this the (edouins beame 5uite eited, and

when )on Mu'e showed them the $ortrait of the Baiser on the oin the& 'new immediate%& the men of

the Emden were German" Go%d was something the (edouins 'new a %ot about"!ne the& had diso)ered who the strangers were, the (edouins %aid down their wea$ons and began to

offer a%% t&$es of he%$ to the Germans" 6on Mu'e was $%eased to diso)er that 3odeida was sti%% in

#ur'ish hands and that the enem& warshi$s were $art of a b%o'ade"6on Mu'e and his men, a%ong with 1// (edouins, set off for 3odeida" A%ong the wa& more (edouins

a$$eared" 8irst it was a grou$ of about 1// (edouins, and the& thought the Germans were their

enemies, and wanted to atta' them" #he (edouins tra)e%ing with )on Mu'e had to on)ine the newgrou$ that the Germans were friends" !ne this was done, the new grou$ ame a%ong with the others on

the wa& to the $ort"

8arther a%ong, another grou$ of (edouins was met, this time about // men" #he same thing ha$$enedas before, and one the new grou$ understood the Germans were friends, the& too ;oined them on their

;ourne&" #he ha$$ened se)era% more times, and b& the time the Germans had reahed the outs'irts of

3odeida, the& were being esorted b& o)er =// (edouin warriors"

When the #ur'ish garrison saw this %arge grou$ oming towards them, the& too thought it was anenem& atta'" A %arge grou$ of #ur'ish so%diers was sent out to defend the town, om$%ete with

annons" !ne the& had understood there was no danger, the& too ;oined the Germans and the& a%%

marhed into the it& together with musi and singing" It was a g%orious moment for the men of theEmden"

The Caravan of Sailors

In 3odeida the men s$ent their first night on %and sine the war began fi)e months before" #he& were

ab%e to hange into uniforms better suited for the desert, and were gi)en a%% the fresh fruit and

)egetab%es the& ou%d eat" (ut though the& were safe and omfortab%e, the& were sti%% far from their


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goa% of (er%in"

With the %uur& of 3odeida a%so ame bad news7 there was no train from 3odeida, and with the enem&

warshi$s off the oast there was no wa& the Germans ou%d tra)e% b& sea" #he on%& hoie was to go

aross the desert to Medina, from where the& ou%d ta'e the train to Constantino$%e"So after two wee's in 3odeida, the sai%ors were gi)en horses, mu%es, don'e&s and ame%s, and awa&

the& went to Medina"

6on Mu'e and his offiers rode the horses, whi%e the men rode the mu%es and don'e&s" #he ame%swere used to arr& their e5ui$ment"

As the strange ara)an of sai%ors rossed the desert, there were man& de%a&s when one of the sai%ors

wou%d fa%% off his ride" *iding anima%s is not something usua%%& done b& sai%ors, and for the men of theEmden it was not an eas& tas'" uite often one of the offiers wou%d ha)e to use his horse to a$ture a

runawa& anima% and re0unite it with its rider"

#he ara)an tra)e%ed b& night, beause the heat was too great during the da&" #he night s'& in thedesert is simi%ar to that of the oean, and the sai%ors fe%t omfortab%e riding under the stars"

After three da&s the desert ga)e wa& to mountains" 8rom there the terrain was )er& diffiu%t, with

narrow roads that were onstant%& being bombarded b& fa%%ing ro's" #he roads were )er& narrow, with

the mountain on one side and nothing on the other ee$t instead death if an&one shou%d fa%% there"A wee' into their tri$ the strange ara)an reahed the it& of Sanaa, high in the mountains" #he men

were treated )er& we%% there, and the %i)ing onditions were better than an& $%ae the& had been before"

(ut the da&s were oo% and the nights were o%d, and one b& one the men beame i%%"After two wee's the men were ab%e to tra)e% again, but one again, )on Mu'e was to%d some bad

news" Aording to the ommander of the town, the road from Sanaa to Medina was b%o'ed b& an

a)a%anhe, and there was no wa& the men ou%d ma'e it through" Sad%&, the men had no hoie but toturn around and go ba' the& wa& the& had ome, three %ong wee's before"

Back to Sea

#he ara)an of sai%ors made its wa& ba' to the $ort of 3odeida" #he on%& differene this time was thata%% the men had beome e$ert riders, muh %i'e -a%ibor and his )io%in"

(ut one the& had arri)ed in 3odeida the& were sti%% stranded" #here were no shi$s in the $ort, whih

wasnt a $rob%em beause the enem& shi$s were sti%% guarding the $ort" What to do26on Mu'e arranged for two sma%% sai% boats to be made read& in a sma%% ba& to the north a%%ed

?abana" (eause there were man& s$ies in the area, )on Mu'e %et it be 'nown that his grou$ was

sai%ing from Isa, a sma%% ba& to the south, on Marh 1D" Sure enough, at Isa on that da& a (ritishgunboat was in the ba& waiting for them" Meanwhi%e the net da& the men of the Emden sai%ed safe%&

from ?abana in their two sma%% boats"

(& now the origina% grou$ of fift& men had grown to se)ent&, as twent& Arabs had ;oined them" #heArabs he%$ed the Germans arr& things and guided them through the dangerous waters, a%% for a $rie of

ourse"

3owe)er the Arab guides fai%ed terrib%& on the night of Marh 1" As the& were a$$roahing a sma%%

is%and where the& were going to anhor for the night, one of the boats hit a reef" #he night was b%a'and with a strong wind, so no %anterns ou%d be %it" #he boat san' 5ui'%&, and the water was fi%%ed with

sai%ors tr&ing to find the other boat in the in'& dar'ness" #he water was a%so fu%% of shar's"

Without a %ight man& of the sai%ors wou%d not find the boat and wou%d either drown or be dinner for theshar's, so the men 5ui'%& made a fire$%ae from meta% and $ut whate)er wood the& ou%d find on it"

#hen the& $oured $etro%eum from the %anterns onto the wood and set it on fire" #his was 5uite

dangerous but there was no other wa& to sa)e the men in the water"#he fire burned bright%& and a%% of the sai%ors managed to ma'e it to the boat" (ut with / $eo$%e in a

boat that ou%d hard%& ho%d D., their on%& boat was in danger of sin'ing as we%%" #o %ighten the %oad, the

men threw e)er&thing the ou%d o)erboard, in%uding their food" #he on%& things the& had %eft were the


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wea$ons and water for three da&s"

With the da&%ight a%so ame a strong wind that arried the rowded boat 5ui'%& aross the sea" (& the

e)ening the o)er%oaded boat had arri)ed at the $ort of Coonfidah" -es$ite the %oss of one boat, the

grou$ had been )er& %u'& to ma'e it safe%& to $ort without the %oss of a sing%e man"At Coonfidah the men were gi)en food and were ab%e to rest after their dangerous ;ourne&" Whi%e there

)on Mu'e and his men were ;oined b& a #ur'ish go)ernment wor'er and his wife" #he #ur'ish offiia%

was )er& usefu% to the grou$ as a inter$reter"8rom Coonfidah the grou$ too' a %arge sai%boat to the $ort of Leet" It was here that )on Mu'e reei)ed

bad news" #he (ritish had set u$ a tight b%o'ade to the north, and no further tra)e% b& sea was

$ossib%e" #he& wou%d now ha)e to tra)e% o)er%and to -;idda, from where the& ou%d fina%%& ath thetrain to Constantino$%e"

A da& after the& had arri)ed in Leet ame the first death in the grou$" !ne of the sai%ors had been

suffering from t&$hus, and the diffiu%t tra)e% was too muh for him and he died not %ong after reahingthe $ort"

#he net da& the ara)an of sai%ors, with the two #ur's, ontinued on their wa& into the desert" It was

Marh =, the 1D=thda& of their ;ourne&"

Another Caravan of Sailors

#he men and their e5ui$ment were %oaded onto 9/ ame%s" Most%& the ame%s arried water, as the men

wou%d meet )er& %itt%e water a%ong the wa&" #he ara)an tra)e%ed b& night and the ;ourne& was )er&s%ow"

#he desert was infested with bandits and the men were onstant%& on the %oo'out for an& troub%e" It was

not %ong before troub%e found them"!ne morning the ara)an was riding aross the desert, $re$aring to sto$ for the night" Sudden%&, as the

sun was oming u$, the& were atta'ed on a%% sides b& (edouin bandits" #he air was fu%% of bu%%ets as

the men grabbed their rif%es and ;um$ed from the ame%s"

#he (edouins were used to atta'ing ara)ans that were not we%% $roteted, so the& were 5uitesur$rised to find the Germans had mahine guns" #he bandits numbered about D// to on%& ./ in the

ara)an, but the mahine guns hanged e)er&thing"

Whi%e the (edouins were hiding from the mahine gun fire, )on Mu'e ordered his men to $utba&onets on their rif%es and harge the enem&" At that $oint the bandits %ost interest in the fight and

5ui'%& ran off into the desert" 8ortunate%&, the bandits were not good shots, and on%& one sai%or was

wounded" #he worst $rob%em was that some of the ame%s had been 'i%%ed, and so arr&ing the su$$%ieswas more diffiu%t"

#hough the bandits had run awa& the& had not gi)en u$ the fight" As the ara)an of sai%ors rossed the

ro%%ing dunes of the desert, the (edouins again atta'ed" #his time there were man& more than before,and this time the Germans were not so %u'&" #wo men were 'i%%ed and a few wounded" #he sai%ors

bui%t a fort out of sadd%es and bags of rie, and $ut the ame%s and wounded sai%ors in the enter"

#he atta' ontinued through the da& but the sai%ors were safe within the fort" (ut their ammunition

was running %ow, so the& had to be arefu% not to waste it" #hat night the sai%ors dug trenhes aroundtheir $arameter and used dead ame%s to ma'e the wa%%s of their fort stronger"

With first %ight the fight ontinued" It was now %ear to )on Mu'e that the& were not being atta'ed b&

bandits, but rather b& men sent b& the (ritish to 'i%% them" !n one dead (edouin the& found a modern(ritish rif%e, and on the sea in the distane the& ou%d see more (edouins arri)ing on boats" -uring the

fighting another sai%or was 'i%%ed, and se)era% more wounded" (ut the (edouins ou%d sti%% not get

inside the fort"(esides the (edouins, the sai%ors had to fight three other enemies7 the heat, insets, and the sme%% of

dead ame%s" #he heat made the wea$ons a%most too hot to touh, and made it diffiu%t for the men to

see %ear%&" Large b%a' beet%es had ome into the am$, and raw%ed a%% o)er the men as the& tried to


7/8

shoot" #he sme%% from the ame%s made the men si', and a%so brought )u%tures that ir%ed abo)e the

am$" #he situation was a%most to the brea'ing $oint" (ut the men fought on"

!n the morning of the third da& the (edouins ontinued the atta'" #he sai%orss situation was

des$erate0 the& were a%most out of water and ammunition" 6on Mu'e deided that in the e)ening themen wou%d ha)e to tr& to brea' through the (edouins and ma'e a run for -;ibba" #he wounded and

si' wou%d ha)e to be %eft behind"

(ut then the firing s%owed down, and a short time %ater sto$$ed om$%ete%&" #he sai%ors raised theirheads and %oo'ed out at the desert" #here was no (edouin to be seen" 6on Mu'e sus$eted a tra$, and

to%d his men to sta& where the& were" Soon it was %ear wh& the (edouins had run awa&7 o)er the

hori


8/8

dangerous seas, and %ost on%& four men" A%% the members of the grou$ were awarded the Iron Cross"

!ne in (er%in the men were gi)en a $arade and thousands of $eo$%e %ined u$ to see these ama

caravan of sailors

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