On 9 November 1914, off the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney sank the German cruiser SMS Emden, the last active German warship in the Indian Ocean. For about two months the Emden had raided Allied shipping, sinking or capturing dozens of merchant ships and shelling the port of Madras, and Allied navies had searched for it across the ocean. Emden's captain, Karl von Müller, sent a landing party to destroy the radio and cable station on Direction Island. Its distress call brought Sydney, which was faster and better armed, and the battle ended with Emden driven ashore, burning. It was the Royal Australian Navy's first ship-to-ship victory.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.