Happy St George's Day

On this day in 1918, the Royal Navy and Royal Marines conducted one of its most daring raids in history, after which eight VCs were awarded. The target was the entrance of the canal from Zeebrugge to Bruges in Belgium. By blocking the exit from the canal with sunken blockships the Admiralty hoped to prevent the German flotillas of U-boats and destroyers based in Flanders from gaining access to the Channel and southern North Sea. 25% of all Allied shipping losses were due to German units operating from Flanders. Several attempts to shut the exit by bombardment had failed.

Admiral Roger Keyes was tasked with responsibility for planning and executing the operation. The canal entrance was protected by a mile-long curved mole on which the Germans had placed artillery to prevent the approach of enemy ships aiming to destroy the lock gates. Keyes realised that his blockships would be annihilated well before they could reach the gates by this artillery unless he could first secure the mole and disable the artillery. Accordingly, he had an old cruiser, HMS Vindictive, specially fitted out to carry a landing force capable of capturing and silencing the German batteries prior to the arrival of the blockships. To prevent reinforcements from the mainland, he planned for two elderly C-class submarines packed with explosive to ram the girder bridge linking the mainland and mole. The crews would then set the charges and abandon the submarines. To maintain an element of surprise he planned for the newly-formed RAF to launch diversionary bombing raids on the town of Zeebrugge and for smoke to be laid from destroyers, motor launches and the new (and top secret) Coastal Motor Boats (CMBs). I describe the advent of the CMBs and the planning and conduct of the operation in my novel, The Suicide Club. For more effective methods of producing smoke he turned to a director of Brock’s Fireworks, Frank Brock.

For the smoke screens to mask the approach of the fleet of 77 ships and vessels forming the raiding force it was essential to have an onshore wind. Two attempts were made, but on each occasion the direction of the wind changed. However, conditions remained favourable for the third attempt on 23 April. Unfortunately, as Vindictive approached the outer side of the mole to land her 200 sailors and marines, the wind changed again and the German gunners spotted the ship. She came under murderous fire and was forced to come alongside the wrong part of the mole. A pitched battle ensued in which many British casualties were suffered and the German batteries were still able to pour fire on the now approaching blockships. Only one of the submarines made it to Zeebrugge, but was able to destroy the viaduct from the shore to the mole. As a result of the withering artillery fire none of the blockships was sunk in exactly the right spots, but two, nevertheless, were able to block the canal entrance partially. Their scuttling charges set, the ship’s volunteer crews were evacuated and the fleet was able to retire from the action and make it back to Britain.

227 sailors and marines were killed in the raid and another 356 wounded. Unfortunately, whilst the German units were initially only able to exit the canal at high tide, it didn’t take long for an alternative exit to be constructed. On this basis it might be thought that the operation was a failure. However, the news of the raid caused a tremendous boost in British morale just as food rationing was being introduced, and led to a feeling that with such pluck and daring, Britain could still win the war. Moreover, following the failures at Jutland, it helped restore the reputation of the Royal Navy.