"WELL DONE!"

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 187, 27 April 1918, Page 7

"WELL DONE!"

GENERAL COMMENT ON THE NAVAL EXPLOIT GRAPHIC STORIES BY SURVIVORS London,. April 25. The ships returning from the raid had a tremendous reception. The Vindictive arrived with her masts gone and. her sides streaked with white where tiie high explosive- shells hadstrirck. AH who luok part in the raid were granted special leave. Hear-Admir.il Keyes had a great reception at Dover. Further, details show that tho action on the mole began, with a shot from tho Vindictive, which waited until, the beam of the lighthouse crime round. The shot destroyed tho lighthouse. The British, before quitting tho mole, hoisted a Union Jack, which was left Hying. Two officers had a miraculous escape at Zeebrugge. They'graphically describe the raid, prais. ing the conduct of- all ranks, and declared that it "a dashed fine adventure,, carried out with daredevil pluck." After approaching Zeebrugge'in a black smokefog, which extended from Zeebrugge to Ostend, (he Huns, suddenly discovered thexattack, and there was no'alternative but to go ahead- through the smoke.. "Then we got unadulterated, hell. All the Vindictive's men were on deck. Tho Germans shelled them incessantly for twenty minutes, but the men carried on notwithstanding tho terrific fire. When, alongside .the molo wo found that only ) two out of 'fourteen 'gangways were still ; serviceable. The remainder had been! shot away. With a ringing cheer, and . amid cries of "Over you go!' tho stormers j landed on 'the first ledge of the mole. Thev lost heavily in landing in the hail, of shells, and found themselves faced |- with-a drop of. twenty feat, leading to j tho second ledge,.which it was necessary , to negotiato before coming to grips with i tho enemy. Heavv rain only made mat-.; tors worse. The raiders were undaunted, i lowered ropes and ladders, and swarmed I down, whilo three German destroyers on I tho farther side.of tho mole kept,up a vicious fire at short range, It-was'neccs- > Biiry to silence this first, and. the.British | rushed to the attack with a cheer, lho Germans swarmed out to meet the at-1 tack. The cheers seemed to strike terror ; info Fritz, and ho bolted.- The- raiders ; cleared a space, and then dashed for the • nearest' destroyer, and lobbed fifty hand-. bombs on board. There was-a loud ox-i plosion, and the attackers passed on,, leaving her .on lire and sinking. The raid-. ers formed up in line, and proceeded along the mole with bayonets fixed. -They charged the crew of a gun ashore,' killed a number, and scattered'- the-remainder, capturing ihegun.Me'nnwhile all around the incessant din of cannonading and tho cries of the wounded were ghastly; but the British behaved magnificently. The Vindictive Was -a target-for -concen-• trated fire from, guns in every direction, but she keptup'a mosigallant fight with jlhe-shore batteries until a-; syren gave tho signal to'withdraw,'after the. blockships had been sunk. When eke returned the poor old Vindictive was ' a terrible sight. She. had already lost three successive crews at the forward gun before the landing was effected, 'but other gun-, ners stuck it like Britons. .. Throughout .the raid,.tlie Vindictive's captain, fully' exposed on tho bridge, gave his orders with absolute coolness, and skilfully manoeuvred the ship to sea; As he steered down tho channel lor hpniei at daylight ho met Admiral Keyes aboard a warship. Admiral Ke>es signalled: 'Well done, Vindietin;!' and the vessels' crews cheered. til! they wero hoarse as she passed. Survivors on the Vindictive state that two of our submarines got under tho viaduct at Zeebrugge and exploded twenty ions of explosives under the. shore end, blowing it up completely.—Aus.-N ■%. Cable Assn. ; ' '■ ." '■'" STORIES OF THE RAID TOLD BY SOME OF THE OFFICERS. (Rec. April 20, 9.30 p.m.): :; '■'.' l ''V ".'"'. ''(.''London','.April 2s. ' Details' of tlite nayal'rhid dii'Ojtph'd and Zeebruggb disclose 'man'y : iuspirihg incidents. An'officer'*said' that somo of cho landing party wero satisfied. when the job was done. Others, their-blood up, wanted to go on. to tho .mainland and fight tho German batteries. All testify to the gallantry of the commander of the Vindictive. Soon after the German batteries opened fire the Vindictive's bridgoi ■ was blown away, ■with everybody : who was on the bridge except .the commander, who continued to navigate with tho greatest calmness. Encomiums wero lavished on the crew of tho submarine which was blown ■up under the viaduct. An officer of a motorboat which was accompanying tho submarine said that tho submarine attacked the outer side of the mole.' The Germans apparently thought she had lost-her way, and they'sent up a star shell, assisting her. to reach her goal. Those-on board saw two hundred Germans dancing on the bridge connecting the mole and the shore, thinking that'they were going to entrap tho submarine/ "When it was 'exploded beneath the - bridgo,onor can imagine tho extent of .the.damage from the fact that for some time afterwards fragments, of debris and Huns continued falling' on us."' As,a destroyer 'then 'turned. : her searchlight on us we torpedoed and'sank her." '■■' Another motor-boat officer; said .that his boat torpedoed a destroyer alongside the wharf. A second, destroyer was torpedoed by another boat, 'while a third was rammed and sunk. His boat also torpedoed Captain Fryatt's old steamer, the Brussels, which the Germans had been using for a torpedo training school. Tho crews of the blockships stayed on board till tho vessels were almost down.to the water-line, ihen they scrambled on board lho motor-boats and returned to their sliips, just in time, as the blockships touched tho boom'as they ■ left.—Reuter. GREAT CONSTERNATION CREATED . (Rec. April 20, 10.30 p.m.) •■ Amsterdam, April 25; •• The "Telegraaf's" frontier 'correspondent states that the Zeebrugge mole is now entirely separated from tho. shore. The breach is at least twenty-five yards, and is near the coast, proving tliat tho submarine, despite Ihe nets and other ! obstructions, penetrated'far !into the harI hour. On the shore : side lies the wreck !of a two-funnelled torpedo-boat. Tho i German losses undoubtedly were.groat. The entire garrison, was called up, and the noise of the syrens and the ringing of bells 'frightened the inhabitants, who .fled. The; ■ raid has ■ created - tho -. greatest consternation, and caused • a big moral effect in Germany.—Reuter. . ■ ' . EXITS COMPLETELY BLOCKED . (Ecc, April 20, 11.30 p.m.) London, April 25. Naval exports believe that the entrance tostho Bruges Canal has been effectively blocked, compelling the enemy's submarines to find an exit by the Ostend Canal. Although this will bring the Üboaf.s nearer to the entrance of tho channel it will give the Navy a greater chance of dealing with them. An, inopportuneehango pf wind upset the operations off Ostend, dispersing the smoke screen and giving-the enemy an opportunity to destroy tho means previously devised to enable the blockships to make their entrance to the canal. The latest naval records show ''thai the destruction of tho U-boats 'is being satisfactorily ' main-tainetl.—Ams.-N.Z. Cable Assu.-Reuter. AUSTRALIANS AT ZEEBRUGGE. '~ ißec. April 27, 0.10 a.m.) London, April 25... An officer and eleven men brilliantly . represented Australia,.at-Zeebrugge, of which six participated in lho., hand-to--hand fighting at tho iuole. All are alive. GERMANS CLAIM NO TRAFFIC DISLOCATION (Eec. April 20, 0.30 p.m.) London, April 25. A: German-official report states: ''Our naval warfare operating, from the Flanders.coast has not l»e'n disturbed by the liritish attacks on Ostend ami Zeebrugge. on April 23."—Aus.-N.Z. Cablo Assn.Reutev. '