The Great War at Sea: A Naval Atlas 1914-1919 by Marcus Faulkner

Author:Marcus Faulkner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HISTORY / Military / World War I
ISBN: 9781848323629
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2015-09-22T16:00:00+00:00

THE AMRUM BANK MINEFIELD OPERATION, 10–12 SEPTEMBER 1915

AS THE YEAR progressed the mine war in the southern North Sea intensified and both sides increasingly made use of moonless nights to undertake minelaying operations. Already on two occasions the British had laid large fields in the area of the Amrum Bank deep inside the Heligoland Bight. This third operation, known as CY, was to be the largest to date and also one of the largest of the war. It also very nearly coincided with another German operation to lay mines off the Dutch coast that was designed to catch British light forces attempting to operate in the approaches to Heligoland.

The British plan encompassed the use of three large minelayers, each escorted by two destroyers. All three ships had been converted for this role earlier in the year and could carry large payloads of between 300 and 600 mines. Orvieto was a steamer first taken into naval service as an armed merchant cruiser before being converted, while Angora was a reasonably new merchant vessel. Princess Margaret was a new coastal ferry requisitioned by the Admiralty before entering service. The Harwich Force would directly cover the minelayers on most of their voyage and Rear-Admiral Beatty’s battlecruisers would also be deployed relatively far south in the event that a German force sortied. Six submarines were deployed in case the Germans tried to block the withdrawal.

As the operation commenced, early on 10 September, difficulties were encountered that could have had a significant impact on its success. First, the conditions were uncharacteristically clear and there was no cloud to offer cover from any Zeppelins on patrol. Then Orvieto could not make her best speed, so restricting the squadron to around 15½ knots. Nor were there sufficient destroyers to escort the force. In the event the operation passed off as planned and only a single German trawler was encountered. Early on 11 September radio traffic indicated that the High Sea Fleet was about to sail and the Grand Fleet was ordered to have steam at two hours’ notice, but then ordered to stand down when no further activity was detected on 13 September. In fact, as it turned out the entire High Sea Fleet had come out and returned to base over the period.

The German operation during the night of 11–12 September laid a field far further to the south, nearer the Dutch coast than on previous similar operations. The intention had been to mine much closer inshore, but the Marinekorps in Flanders complained because its U-boats needed a safe route for their deployments. This German operation too encountered no enemy activity because the British submarines in the area had been withdrawn. However, on the final leg of its return the High Sea Fleet skirted the newly laid British minefield. This route had been taken as British submarines were often sighted on the southern route passing Norderney. The Germans were very fortuitous as a number of mines had failed to keep their depth and were floating on the surface.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.