Battle of Penang The Battle of Penang occurred on 28 October 1914 , during World War I . It was a naval action in the Strait of Malacca , in which the German cruiser sank two Allied warships . Background . At the time , Penang was part of the Straits Settlement , a British Crown colony . Penang is an island off the west coast of Malaya , now the present day Malaysia . It is only a short distance from the mainland . The main town of Penang , George Town , is on a harbor . In the early months of the war , it was heavily used by Allied naval and merchant vessels . Shortly after the outbreak of the war , the German East Asia Squadron left its base in Tsingtao , China . The squadron headed east for Germany , but one ship , the light cruiser — under Lt . Commander Karl von Müller — was sent on a solitary raiding mission . Battle . At about 04 : 30 on 28 October , " Emden " appeared off the George Town roads and attacked the harbor and vessels lying therein . Captain von Müller had disguised his ship by rigging a false smoke stack , which made " Emden " resemble the British cruiser . Once he had entered the harbor , however , he ran up the German naval ensign and revealed what ship the newcomer actually was . Before any of the Allied naval vessels could respond , a torpedo was fired at the Russia n protected cruiser , followed up with a salvo of shells which riddled the ship . A second torpedo — fired as " Emden " turned to leave — penetrated the forward magazine , causing an explosion that sank the Russian ship . Returning to the harbour from a patrol was the French destroyer " Mousquet " , under the command of a Lt . Théroinne , which then set off in pursuit of " Emden " , but was quickly sunk by the German ship . Casualties amongst " Zhemchug " s crew of 250 amounted to 89 dead and 143 wounded . Aftermath . The " Zhemchug " was tied up in a state of non - readiness while her captain , Cmdr . Baron Cherkassov , went ashore that night to visit his wife ( some sources say mistress ) . The keys for the ship ' s magazine had been taken ashore and no lookouts had been posted . Cherkassov could only watch in helpless horror from the Eastern & Oriental Hotel as his ship sank to the bottom of the Straits . He was court martialled for negligence and sentenced to 3½ years in prison , reduction in rank and expelled from the navy ; his deputy , Lt . Kulibin , was sentenced to 1½ years in prison . However , the Tsar changed both sentences to sending to the front as ordinary seamen . Both later distinguished themselves in combat and were decorated with the Cross of St . George . Lt . Théroinne was amongst the Frenchmen lost aboard the " Mousquet " . Thirty - six French survivors out of a crew of 80 from the destroyer were picked up by the " Emden " , three of whom later died from their injuries . They were buried at sea at the insistence of von Müller . Two days later , the Germans stopped the British steamer " Newburn " and transferred the remaining Frenchmen so that they could be conveyed to Sabang , Sumatra , then part of the neutral Dutch East Indies . " Emden " continued its raiding mission for another 10 days , before being severely damaged and run aground at the Battle of Cocos .