ZEEBRUGGE

Hokitika Guardian, 27 April 1932, Page 6

ZEEBRUGGE

naval raid retold

A ST. GEORGE DAY ENTER PR LSI

Fourteen years ago on Saturday last, St. George’s Day. die great naval raid on Zeebrugge took place. Although M did not IV.I succeed in its purpose, this

gallant enterprise will ever rank high in the annals of the Koval Navy and the Royal Marines. It was a very brilliant feat of arms, in which superb courage and dauntless heroism were displayed by till who .took part in i.. The n’.an was to storm the Mole at, Zeebrugge. and thus distract the attention of the Germans from the real

object of the expedition—namely, to seal up the canal leading to Bruges, 1 v Flanders headquarters and depot of their submarines. As a secondary operation, Ostend Harbour was also to be blocked.

i Tin* composition of the expedition i was unlike? anything else in British . naval history. There were monitors with heavy guns to engage the numerous and powerful shore batteries of - the enemy; destroyers to provide a cover for the attacking ships; motor- - boats and launches to >av smoke set’, (fens, rescue the crews from the block ships, and engage enemy destroyers and 'V:her emit found in the hurbours; five obsolete cruisers f 01 ’ use as block ships, tilled with cement ; two obsolete submarines to be exploded under the viaduct connecting the Mole with the shore approaches; and, finally, the old cruiser Vindictive, speciV.ly equipped and shepherded by the Mersey ferry-boats Daffodil and Lis fT carrying the forming party, “ST. GEORGE FOR FAG LX AD." After several false starts, the expedition left port, at 5 p.m. on April 22, 1918. Rear-Admiral Keyes How his flag in the destroyer Warwick, and just before darkness sot in he made the signal, “'St. George for England a stirring reminder that ‘the fighting would begin on St. George's Day. At 11.10 p.m. the attack opened with a 'bombardment from the monitors. Twenty minutes later laying the smoke screen began, and behind it coastal mojor-boats crept inside the Mole, to put the enemy destroyers out ol action before they had a chance to .torpedo the Lock-ships. Roused by the bombardment ami :h“ appearance of the light craft, the G> l mans sent up star shells which ilhi- j initiated the whole place. At this time, by a. very unfortunate mischance, ‘hwind veered round, blowing the blinding* smoke clouds riglu, across the route of approach. It was well then that every miff had been trained to act to a caret'ul'y-prepared plan and time-table. STORMING the MOLE. Just before- midnight -the Vindictive ■emerged from the smoke-screen and saw Uho lighthouse at the end of the Mole 400 yards off. She- held her tire j until the German battery opened ,fire., j when she replied with every gun the. would bear. The- havoc on board. the ship to both men and material was tremendous, but affected neither Ihe determination of the commander. Captain A. F. B. Carpenter, nor the valour j of'those he commanded. The excellent service of the ferry-boat Daffodil,, Lieutenant H. G. Campba’l (who was j wounded), was of the greatest value. | She would have proceeded to la"d her own men but contrived to push Vindictive iu alyng+ddo the Aide against a (strong ebb tide and bold her in position while the storming gang- ! ways were got into place. An rnoieation of the devastating fire of the enemy guns i" afforded by the fact that a big -.shell hurst on hoard the Vindictive at a point where 56 Marines were waiting to land; 49 were killed and the other 'seven wounded. Net the other parties carried on and laud- j e,l in the face of a terrific artillery | and machine-gun fire, while the Vm- , •dietive’s upper works were pounded. INSIDE THE HARBOUR, '[Tie main purpose of the Vindictive, to ,-reate- a. diversion on the Mole to In Ip the block-ships was amply Unfilled. The Thetis was the first of those to enter the harbour. She. fouled the wire net defence, received 'Lc'criblci IpmriislimcMit ait point-Liana range from the enemy guns on Uie Mole, drifted to the eastern side of the channel, and there grounded. Her I commandin' signalled timely warning to the Intrepid and Iphigenia, which had followed, and which passed on to their appointed positions, sunk tliom■s'ldves. and were abandoned by their crew according to plan. No doubt the hlockshipis wore materially assisted by the time chosen for the submarine attack. Between tho moment they apnciired oil the head ol the Mole mid. that at which they wore scuttled, Submarine C 3 was driven by her commander under the viaduct and .iamked tight between 'the girders; the fuses to the mass of explosives with which slit' was loaded were lighted, and the | crew left her ill a tiny motor-ski If which had to In* rowed, as its propeller was damaged, lit a lew minutes Uii> submarine exploded wit'll tremendous force, blasting away 160 feel of ihe viaduct and cutting all emniittitiical ions with the shore. Ibe , crews of flic block-ships were got a wav iu lauiielios under a hurricane J of shrapnel ami machine-gun fire. j

Nearly an hour after the Vindictive had got alongside the Mole, or about 1 0 .m.. Captain Carpenter gave the i-eeall signal through the Daffodil, bis own ship, terribly damaged in her up-per-works. having; neither seni-e!i-lights left to Hash the signal nor siren upon which to sound them, lie kept bis ship alongside lor 2-> minutes alter 111,. |, ei-a !| had been made, until the

la ,t survivors of the devoted storming paiti<?s hud struggled back on board.

VICTORIA CROSS AVON AT OSTEND The attack on (Astern! that nfgnt failed. A second' attempt, made on May 9. was more successful, the battered Vindictive being the block-ship on this occasion. Enveloped in a dense mist as she neared the harbour mouth, the old cruiser became the target for the concentrated fire of every enemy battery that could register on her. The captain and the navigating officer were put out of action, the. former being killed. Lieutenant V. A. C. Crutrhley took command, but before lie could swing the ship back into position she grounded forward and could not be worked across the fairway. Lieutenant Orutcldey ordered everybody to leave, the engine-room and then fired the sinking charges. When the Vindictive- sank she was lying very obliquely across to the axis of tin', channel, but was by no means blocking it. The rescue launches suffered badly in taking off the A indictive’s crew under a heavy fire, the survivors under Lieutenant Crutrhley being picked no later by the "Warwick. Lieutenant Cnitchlcy, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for bis part in tin' expedition, is now commander oi II.Af.S Diomede in the Now Zealand Division of the Royal Navy.