BLOCKING THE HARBOR.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 April 1918, Page 5

BLOCKING THE HARBOR.

conceltl iSJiirs sink. Received April 25, 8.15 p.m. Loudon, April 2-1. Participators in lhe raid slate ihaf ihe coiicrele-ladeu ships v.ere anchor. ; in (he eniraivc lo lhe ■ h.irikir. ami swung round and sank within .'.'.l minutes of anchoring. DESTRUCTION OF MILITARY WORKS. GALLANT BEHAVIOUR. CONFLICTING STORIES OF ENEMY LOSSES. Received April 25, 10.-10 p.m. London, April 2'f. Oilier survivors state thai, before destroying the guns on the mole, the landing party turned them against the enemy fortifications. The Vindictive left a number on the mole. Sonic of those were subsequently taken oil' by patrol boats and launches. The others remained to complete the task of the destruction of ihe military works, knowing they would bo killed or prisonered. The British destroyer which was reported lost received a salvo of guns in ihe engine room, and dashed ashore in a sinking condition. Ultimately she was beached, another destroyer took off the survivors and then blew up the stranded vessel. There are conflicting stores of the enemy losses. Some of the, survivors state that, in addition to ihe destroyer rammed, two destroyers were sunk in the harbor, one was sunk alongside the mole, and other smaller craft, including submarine., are reported to have beer sunk. BOMB ATTACKS. ON INJURED WORKS. OSTEND FAIRWAY BLOCKED, / Received April 25, 11.30 p.m. London, April 21. The Press Bureau reports that ViceAdmiral Keyes has been promoted aridmade a 'Commander of the Bath, in recognition of his services at Zeebrugge. Lieutenant Carpenter, commander of the Vindictive, has been promoted to be captain. . Following yesterday's operations, aircraft carried out observations and bomb attacks. Owing to the clouds, the machines descended to fifty feet, and ob- | served a clear break of twenty yards on the side and inner end of the Zeebrugge •mole. '' j j A sunken object was seen lying between the piers at Ostein!, blocking (he greater part of lhe fairway. Numerous uombs were dropped on objectives on shore. DAMAGE MINIMISED. BY THE GERMANS. Received April 25, 11.30 p.ui. London, April 21. A German official message claims that the Intrepid and Sirius and two other boits of similar construe!inn were sunk dose on the coast, while three destroyers and a considerable number of torpedo boats were also sunk by artillery lire. Only a. few of the crews could be saved. Beyond the damage to the mole by torpedo, the harbor works and coast batteries were undamaged. One of our torpedo boats suffered, slight damage. Our casualties wcr*, slight. A GERMAN RIOPORT. A German official fncssago claims, inter alia, that the Germans sank thr<<.> destroyers and three small cruisers in the attack on Zeebrugge and Ostend on the 23rd. Received April 20, 1.25 a.m. London. April 25. Berlin reports thai: a patrol encountered a small enemy warship on the 20th April northward of Terschellins. After a short fight, the enemy retired at full speed, and was hit several times. There were no German losses. DUTCH SHIPPING. STOPS RUNNING TO ANGLO-AMERI-CAN PORTS, Received April 25. 5.5 p.m. Batavia, April 21. . Dutch shipping from the Indies to British-American ports has been absolutely stopped by the Dutch steamship companies, who declare the, seizure of the Dutch steamers is .1 violation of the alleged agreement with the, BritishIndia Government, wherein they guaranteed the non-seizure of the llotterdaiii. Lloyd's, Netherlands and Paketvaart fleets in exchange for .supplying Dutch tonnage at a low rate. The British-Indian Government contradicts the companies' version of the agreement. Sugar, rubber, and tobacco growers are suffering badly owing to the stoppage of export. BEGINNING OF ANTI-SUBMARINE CAMPAIGN. New York, April 21. Navy officials, commenting on the hoi fling up of Zeebrugge, o-qiross 'he belief that the Allies have begun an offensive against submarines which will include the, blocking of tho German bases, increasing the minefields, also new detection device, and the increased utilisation of aircraft. ATLANTIC TRAFFIC GROWING. New York, April 2-1. Seventeen liners from European ports arrived here recently. This is a record since America's entry into the war. and indicates decreased U-boat efficiency.