[Sailor Steve]

September 11:

General Rennenkampf barely eludes an encirclement by General von Hindenburg, abandoning the Masurian Lakes region and retreating toward the Russian border.

New Zealand light cruisers and transports depart Samoa to join Admiral Patey's fleet at Rabaul, just three days before von Spee's two Armored Cruisers arrive.

En route from Mexico to the Galapagos Islands, SMS Leipzig encounters the 6,542-ton British freighter SS Elsinore. The Elsinore is scuttled after her crew are transfered to the chartered collier SS Marie.

The officers of SMS Emden oversee the division of the goods taken from SS Indus the previous day. According to Prince Franz Joseph, first mate von Mücke "Sat like a Pasha on his treasures, and allotted them to the various divisions." They discovered that many of the articles were of no use, and since they were fast running out of room much of the haul was thrown overboard. As the crew was finishing their lunch another ship was sighted. SS Lovat was a 6,012-ton British freighter equiped as a troop ship and bound for Bombay. The Emden now being loaded with supplies Captain von Müller took only newspapers from this fresh catch. As before the crew of the Lovat were allowed to pack their possessions for transfer to the Markomannia, and the ship was sunk in the same manner as the Indus had been. Like that ship, the Lovat took a very long time to sink. So long, in fact, that she had still not quite gone down when darkness fell and Emden left her behind.

From the captured newspapers the crew of the Emden discovered that the war was almost over, Germany was on the verge of collapse and all that remained was the mopping up. Of course they recognized it for the propaganda it was, since they had previously read about the destruction of their own ship! On the other hand, a conversation overheard on Markomannia between the officers of Indus and Lovat indicated that there were more empty troopships following behind the first two. Emden lay in wait, and sure enough at about 22:00 hours a ship was sighted heading their way, fully lit up as if there were no war.

It was SS Kabinga, 4,657 tons, bound for Bombay, Port Said and eventually New York. The cargo was mostly American, and sinking the ship would mean paying reparations for the lost goods. Also the captain of the Kabinga had his wife and children with him. These two factors convinced von Müller to take the ship as a prize rather than sink her. The growing fleet continued on its way.