 Barely a week later , on 8 August , the Germans began to sweep the mines defending the Irbe Strait , and Slava , accompanied by the gunboats Khrabry and Groziashchii , sortied to fire on the minesweepers . The German pre @-@ dreadnoughts Elsass and Braunschweig attempted to drive the Russians off , but Slava remained in position despite sustaining splinter damage from near misses . She did not open fire , as her captain did not want to reveal the fact that she was out @-@ ranged by the German battleships . The Germans were not prepared for the number of mines laid by the Russians and withdrew to reconsider their plans . 
