The Allies and Central Powers employed hundreds of thousands of sea mines during the Great War. These mines were commonly used to defend coastlines and strategic locations from invasion – but they were also used as part of a broader anti-submarine campaign. In 1917, with German submarines sinking many tons of shipping in the Atlantic, the United States Navy working in cooperation with its British counterparts, created a mine barrage in the North Sea that stretched from the Orkney Islands to the coastal waterways of Norway. It was hoped that this barrage would prevent German submarines from reaching the Atlantic shipping lanes. The ultimate effectiveness of the North Sea Mine Barrage is still debated today.

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