And the war was not a day old
between England and Germany before the German ship _Koenigin Luise_
was caught sowing mines off the eastern English ports by the British
destroyer _Lance_.
* * * * *
CHAPTER XXXIII
FIRST BLOOD--BATTLE OF THE BIGHT
The Germans had taken heed of the value of mines from lessons learned
at the cost of Russia in the war with Japan, and set about distributing
these engines of destruction throughout the North Sea. The British
admiralty knowing this, sent out it fleet of destroyers to scour
home waters in search of German mine layers.
About ten o'clock on the morning of August 5, 1914, Captain Fox,
on board the _Amphion_, came up with a fishing boat which reported
that it had seen a boat "throwing things overboard" along the east
coast. A flotilla, consisting of the _Lance, Laurel, Lark_ and
_Linnet_, set out in search of the stranger and soon found her. She
was the _Koenigin Luise_, and the things she was casting overboard
were mines. The _Lance_ fired a shot across her bow to stop her,
but she put on extra speed and made an attempt to escape. A chase
followed; the gunners on the British ship now fired to hit. The
first of these shots carried away the bridge of the German ship,
a second shot missed, and a third and fourth hit her hull. Six
minutes after the firing of the first shot her stern was shot away,
and she went to the bottom, bow up.
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