ZEEBRUGGE AND OSTEND

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 254, 15 July 1918, Page 6

ZEEBRUGGE AND OSTEND

IMPRESSIONS OF A VISIT IN WAR TIME

THE GERMAN DEFENCES

(By Poland F, Hill.)

As seen from the inside Zeebrugge is doubtless of exceptional interest ai the moment, iu view of the recent wonderiui doings of our Navy, wiio Have accomplished what many were tempted to believe the seemingly impossible. It is but a matter of a lew months since the mail steamer un which 1 was ciossing iroiu Holland to England was "held up" but a short distance from tne Dutch coast by German seaplanes, until such t.me as three German destroyers came alongside and decided to take the steamer into Zeebrugge—this in spite of the protestations of the captain, who framed his defence on violation of neutrality, but without avail.

" We were convoyed through the mined waters by these destroyers, and soon approached the Mole, whoro our fate appeared as swing-ng in the balance. The slow pace at which we were conducted enabled a very fine view to be obtained of tho Mole and its defences. Every few yards, pointing seawards, poked out the nose of what seemed to be a longrange gun, and equally prominent were the aircraft defences to be seen, towering their nose to skywards, forming, from Buch a- view as presented me, what might constitute a formidable defence. We now proceeded at a slower pace to the waters at the bnck of the Moio, which constitute the harbour, and there was to be seeu a defensive system consisting of submarines, torpedo-boats, destroyers, seaplanes, and many other craft used in the German methods of warfare, including tho never-to-be-forgotten s.s. Brussels. Her appearance! however, Had entirely changed 6ince ,last I saw her, with tho lato Captain Fryatt directing her course. She appeared to havo beeu through very rough times, and unmistakable signs were in evidence that demonstrated clearly what some of her work had consisted of since the days that her gallant oaptain had directed her movements. Now, bruised and battered, she was almost unrecognisable, her splintered bow almost obliterated the name given her by tho Germans, her broken stern and injured sidea made her indeed loos like a light of other days. Sho was anchored alongsido a railway trackage, cunningly constructed on tho harbour side of the Mole, on which stood a long string of German freight cars, whore a number of Germans, in dilapidated naval uniform were unloading and transferring their cargo to the Brussels. I remarked on this to ono of tho Dutch officials on board,'and as he had beeu taken into Zeebrugge before, he replied: "Yes, that ia how they consign their war materials for all operations on this section of their defence of the Flanders coast." It was doubly interesting to mo, for I was ever a keen student of men and matters on every North Sea crossinz. which now totalled some 500 journeys sinco the commencement of war operations. The next moment I was conscious of the fact that wo were now boing approached by a small steamer, carrying. a small "fleet" of othcors, and quickly boarded our steamer. Tho ordeal which followed was such that it produced the thought—if ever ono could honestly say they were not haters of Germany and German methods and manners, well, it simply entered your system from that moment; to hate suelt Prussianism could not bo otherwise. Tho' repeated examinations, carefully planned to catch one off his guard, outraged my sonse of honour and decency. Tho wxuro machinery and methods here adopted might well have stimulated one to accept any opportunity which ever presented itself to read; against them, for thw absurd so-called control, the psychology that dictated it, and the stupid method of its carrying out were inexpedient, ineffective, and totally unnecessary. I was not a spy, and tho German officials knew it, and, 'knowing my mission and that 1 was not spying, yet the over-oager officers hunted for proof, that proved tiiey had the machinery but not the* brains, and wheels can never really replace braincells in human functioning. This prolonged process of digestion did not help in any way to change the conception of the whirring interior of tho creaking machinery, for certainly what went in always came out after being whirled mound in a totally different form, twisted an.d distorted to be anything but a revelation of simple truth, which incidentally happened to be all that was really necessary in my case. At this ,«tagc one had time to glance towards the lock-gates and channel »vhich form the entrance to the canal system to Bruges. What a brilliant piece of woil: was accomplished by our Navy in Ui». placing of their concrete boats in this waterway only those who have been inside the harbour and have personally seen tho difficulties of such, a task can fully appreciate. In Ostent). Wo wefo now given quite a shock, for our captain whispered to me confidentially that ho was ordered to take his steamer into Ostend for further examination, and in fifty minutes' time were were hugging tho shoro line. It was to bo noted that Blankenberghe and all tho littl-3 hamlets nestling on tho sand dunes were devoid of civil life; only a few naval men were to be seen here and there small coastal defences were constructed, "camouflaged" by alleged growth of small clusters of (torse, rarely, if ever, to bo seen on the dunes. On (ion, and in fifty minutes, time we were in for further experiences. Our steamer was promptly moored to a landing quay, find immediately boarded by another "fleet" of naval and military officers, headed by Vice-Admiral von Schroder. Their methods and manners presented another lorm of Germnu Ivultur; theattitude would convineo the most generous that such forms of were a menace to the whole civilised world. Santries and naval guards were placed on board, and immediately a "raid" wus made upon the mail carried by this mail steamer. Hero was displayed every ioim of cunning to find that portion which appeared of value, and eventually some hundreds of sacks were taken off and placed in a depot alongside. (It was giiid to bo transferred to Berlin for examination.) The ordeal was superintended by an officer wearing an Iron Cross, .whom I immediately recognised as tlio captain of one of the Hamburg-American steamers in pre-war days. Tho appoaranco of Ostend would certainly shock those who knew it in peace time. Its front is now boarded up, that portion not shot away; grass growing in the streets, only to be worn away by soldiers and sailors; few civilians am to be seen, and the few that do remain are absorbed by naval authorities. The town has undoubtedly suffered severely 'from the visits of our flyers. I saw one building close to the quay, used by CusI toms, railway, and naval officials, that hail simply thousands of glass panes broken and considerable structural damage, the result of a direct hit by one of our airmen. Much evidence was available as to our success in that direction. One feature that much impressed me was the starved appearance of the Guards. They were willing to "swap" any of their belongings tor food, and some interestinc souvenirs could have h«cn secured. Their clothing suggested dire need. Can you imagine on a penetrating cold day, with much wind, and snow falling, finding most of these men in old duck suits and rubber-soled canvas shoes, many with the sole wo.-n oil', toes peeping out, and practically walking on canvas, placed inside to protect the skin, some in Babots, (quite in Dutch style). Every appearance of the meu presented a serious shortage of food, foolwear, and clothing. After many other experiences the steamer wns 'eventually liborafpd, and [ urn perhaps the only British subject who has been inside Zeebrugge andOslnucl during the war and whom the German'had not flung into their prison; vet. in spite of that fact, which mav sounil * little ungenerous, I unhesitatingly say, it fas such experiences as these and many other forms of Kultur thai: helped to turn my colleagues, a group of once neulril Americans working in the cause of humanity in the occupied territories of Belgium and Northern France, into a shocked, then bitter, and ovontually a fighting band.