THE EXPLOSIVE MINE.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 45, 9 October 1914, Page 4

THE EXPLOSIVE MINE.

A special writer in the Press tells us that the mine as an instrument of naval warfare is by no means a modern contrivance. Its first recorded use was at the siege of Antwerp in 1585, when the Dutch employed floating mines, exploded by means of clockwork connected to a matchlock arrangement, against the Spaniards with great success. It is, however, only in comparatively recent years that any great use has been made of mechanical mines, notably i" the Russo-Japanese war, when they played a most prominent part. After the Japanese torpedo attack on the Russian Fleet at Port Arthur on February 7th, 1904, the Russian* realised the likelihood of the Japanese attempting an attack and landing troops (as they ultimately did) at Dalny, and to protect that port, the mine-layer Yenesei proceeded to lay a large number of mines in Talien Bay. On the third day, the Yenesei, while attempting to destroy a mine which had broken loose, was blown up, and lost with over 90 lives. The light cruiser Boyarin, despatched to investigate this occurrence, also struck a mine, and was blown up. The Russians laid some 800 mines in Talien, Kerr, and Deep Bays. In April the Japanese took a hand in tho game, and on April 13th the Russian battleship Petroparlovsk, with Admiral Mnkaroff and nearly 700 men, was blown up, and the battleship Pobieda- was severely damaged by mines. In tho following month the Japanese lost two battleships, a gunboat, and

two torpedo-boats. From February to Noyember the Russians lost one battleship, a cruiser, a gunboat, three destroyers, and a mine-layer, and several other ships were badly damaged. Between May and December the Japanese lost two battleships, two cruisers, four gunboats, and three destroyers, while a number of jther ships were damaged. Many neutral steamers were sunk or damaged by mines during the progress of the war.