Königsberg turns the Rufiji Delta into a naval siege

HMS Chatham, later joined by HMS Dartmouth and HMS Weymouth, blockaded Königsberg in the Rufiji Delta. Their draft kept them outside the sandbars, while bombardment, aircraft, and even the pre-dreadnought HMS Goliath failed to solve the combined shallow-water and range problem. Germany sent a resupply ship with a crew chosen for its Danish language skills, but the attempt failed to reach the cruiser. Some of the cargo later travelled overland to Königsberg, while much of the rest supported German forces in East Africa. The naval siege called for the Humber class's shallow draft and 6-inch guns.