Battle of Penang | |||||||
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Part of the Asian theatre of World War I | |||||||
![]() SMS Emden passing through Penang Straight over the French torpedo boat, behind Russian cruiser Zhemchug (painting by Carl Saltzmann) | |||||||
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The Battle of Penang (Russian: Бой у Пенанга; French: Combat de Penang; German: Schlacht von Penang) was a surprise naval engagement by the Imperial German Navy's East Asia Squadron during the First World War that took place on 28 October 1914. The battle involved the German cruiser SMS Emden in the Penang Strait, which sank two Allied warships as part of its commerce raiding operations throughout the Indian Ocean. During the battle, a total of 135 French and Russian sailors were killed and 157 others were wounded, while the Germans sustained no casualties. It was the only battle of the war fought in British Malaya.