No one expected that the battle for Emden port would unfold between minesweepers and minelayers.
Major Bernhard became famous overnight.
His minelayer approached the enemy's minesweepers and deployed all 150 mines it carried into the water.
The mines drifted downstream, alternately submerging and surfacing, propelled by the wind and current.
The ten British minesweepers were completely unaware of them, continuing their operations back and forth across the sea.
…
Mines are typically anchored to the seabed with cables, keeping the mine body suspended at a certain depth in the water.
This makes the surface look calm, but when a deep-draft warship passes over them, they explode, sinking the ship.
Minesweepers, with their shallow draft, do not trigger the mines even if they pass over their tops.
Thus, they can confidently sail back and forth with a "dragging knife" at the stern.
