Germans lay mines in the open sea. The sinking of the Königin Luise

During the night of 4–5 August 1914, only a few hours after Great Britain’s declaration of war, the German ship Königin Luise laid a minefield in the open North Sea, about 30 miles off the coast of Suffolk, east of Southwold. The mines threatened the shipping lanes leading to the mouth of the Thames and to the British ports on the east coast.

A pleasure steamer goes to war

Königin Luise was not a warship. Before the war she had sailed as a passenger ship of the HAPAG line, carrying tourists between Hamburg and the island of Heligoland. At the start of the war the Kaiserliche Marine took her over and quickly converted her into an auxiliary minelayer. According to accounts, she was repainted to resemble the British ferries plying the North Sea, which was meant to make it easier for her to operate near the English coast.

The first shot

On the morning of 5 August the suspicious ship was spotted by fishermen and then by ships of the British 3rd Destroyer Flotilla from Harwich, led by the cruiser HMS Amphion. At about 11 a.m. the destroyer HMS Lance opened fire. This is thought to have been the first shot fired by the Royal Navy in the war. After a short chase and bombardment Königin Luise capsized and sank shortly after noon. The British rescued several dozen members of the German crew and took them aboard Amphion.

Victims of the mines

The victory soon turned bitter. On the morning of 6 August, while returning to base, HMS Amphion ran into the minefield laid by Königin Luise. After the first explosion the crew began to abandon ship, but then a second explosion followed and the cruiser sank quickly. About 150 British sailors were killed, along with most of the German prisoners rescued the day before. Amphion was the first Royal Navy ship lost in the First World War.

The mine war

Laying mines in the open sea, far from the enemy’s coasts and ports, was controversial. The Hague Conventions of 1907 restricted the use of naval mines in order to protect neutral shipping, and the British accused Germany of breaking these rules. In the years that followed, however, both sides laid tens of thousands of mines. They became one of the most dangerous weapons of the war at sea, sinking both warships and the merchant ships of neutral countries.