Out of a crew of 376, 133 were killed in the battle. The survivors were taken prisoner. The 50 man strong landing party however, led by Helmuth von Mücke (seen on photo#2 arriving at Direction Island and on photo #2 departing with the Ayesha in the background) took over the schooner Ayesha laying at anchor just off Direction Island (photo #3 is a later photo of the Ayesha taken in the 1930s) and managed to reach Arabia. (see part of the journey on a map on photo #4).

From there they marched on and tried to reach Istanbul by land. However, anarchic conditions prevailed on the Arabian Peninsula. There were raids and an invitation from a local sheikh, which resembled a hostage situation. Some men were killed.

In addition, the British did put up a bounty of 5,000 English pounds in gold to catch Mücke and his team. But the escape (turned into a film called "13.000 Kilometer in 2012 which unfortunately is not dubbed into English yet see photo #1) goes on: on Arabian ships, on foot and with camels through the desert. The whole book of von Mücke is to be found under this link:

Ayesha-Emden-von-Muecke-book.pdf (cdvandt.org)

Finally, the men arrive at a railway line that was built by the Ottoman Empire. In May 1915 the sailors reached Istanbul.

In June they arrived back in Germany. At home the returning men of the SMS Emden awake confidence and pride once again. Mücke and his men are celebrated as heroes.

Mücke, who was loyal to the Emperor, later turned away from Wilhelm II in disappointment when the Kaiser went into exile in Holland at the end of the war. Von Mücke becomes a member of the NSDAP, but leaves the party before it seizes power. He later fell out of favour with the Nazis and, according to his son, escaped the concentration camp.

After the Second World War, the former war hero turned into a pacifist and agitated against German rearmament. "He saw the mistakes in politics and, in view of the nuclear threat in the Cold War, distanced himself from the military," says his son.

The remarkable journey of the landing party was turned into a film called "13.000 Kilometer" in 2012 which unfortunately is not dubbed into English yet see photo #7