This watercolour is by John Allcot depicting the attack on the German light cruiser SMS EMDEN by HMAS SYDNEY in 1914 off the Cocos-Keeling Islands.
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Details
Title: Cigarette card depicting the HMAS SYDNEY fighting the EMDEN
Creator: John Allcot
Type: Painting
Significance: The attack on SMS EMDEN was a decisive victory for Australia and the Allies in World War I. By the end of October 1914 no fewer than 60 allied warships were pre-occupied with the hunt for the EMDEN in the Indian Ocean, so effective had von Muller's command of it been and the exploits of EMDEN's crew were the most successful of the entire Imperial German navy.