IN THE PRUSSIAN NAVY n

army lay heavy on the-navy. In addition, our inactive war service in the outer roads had been a heavy strain. We were prepared for an attack at any time under unfavourable conditions. Our mine barrier troubled us more than the enemy; the bad mines broke loose in a heavy sea and drifted about in the roads. For months I went on the watch for four hours every night on the projecting ram of the Konig Wilhelm, to look out for our own mines, although this would have been just as useless for catching loose mines in the misty autumn weather as the floating wooden barricade attached to the bowsprit of the ship.

The greatest achievement of our squadron, however, was its entry into the locks of Wilhelmshaven when the winter compelled us to leave the outer roads. The harbour was unfinished; sheep were still grazing on the bottom of the basins on July i6th. The fairway into the harbour had not yet been dredged sufficiently; therefore in order to enter we had to abandon munitions and coal to lighten the vessel. During a lull in the weather on December 22nd, a heavy ice-drift set in and the floes rose as high as the batteries and cut the anchor chains. It was impossible for coal-barges to come into the roads. The entry had to be attempted, for apart from the fact that the exit from the roads at Wangeroog was dangerous, we had no more fuel on board to take us to Norway.

The entry was effected with great difficulty: on December 23rd everything that we possessed lay in