Boy Allies with the Victorious Fleets; Or, The Fall of the German Navy

by Clair W. Hayes

  CHAPTER VIII

  THE ATTACK BEGINS

  The main force was divided into three columns. The center column was ledby the Vindictive, with the Brigadier second and the Iris in tow, followedby the five blocking ships and the paddle mine-sweeper Lingfield,escorting five motor launches for taking off the surplus steaming partiesof the blocking ships. The starboard column was led by the Warwick, flyingthe flag of Admiral Keyes, followed by the Phoebe and North Star, whichthree ships were to cover the Vindictive from torpedo attack while thestorming operations were in progress.

  The submarines were towed by the Trident and Mansfield. The Tempestescorted the two Ostend block ships.

  The port column was led by the Whirlwind, followed by Myngs and Moorsom,which ships were to patrol to the northward of Zeebrugge; and theTetrarch, also to escort the Ostend block ships. Every craft was towingone or more coastal motor boats, and between the columns were motorlaunches.

  The greater part of the passage, as Jack had explained, had to be carriedout in broad daylight, with the consequent likelihood of discovery byenemy aircraft or submarines. This risk was largely countered by theescort of all the scouting escort under Admiral Keyes' command.

  On arrival at a certain position, it being then apparent that theconditions were favorable and that there was every prospect of carryingthrough the enterprise on schedule, a short prearranged wireless signalwas made to the detached forces that the program would be adhered to.

  On arrival at a position a mile and a half short of where CommodoreBoyle's force was stationed, the whole force stopped for fifteen minutesto enable the surplus steaming parties of the block ships to bedisembarked and the coastal motor boats slipped. These and the motorlaunches then proceeded in execution of previous orders. On resuming thecourse, the Warwick and Whirlwind, followed by the destroyers, drew aheadon either bow to clear the passage of enemy outpost vessels.

  When the Vindictive arrived at a position where it was necessary to alterher course for the Mole, the Warwick, Phoebe and North Star swung tostarboard and cruised in the vicinity of the Mole until after the finalwithdrawal of all the attacking forces. During the movement and throughthe subsequent operations, the Warwick was maneuvered to place smokescreens wherever they seemed to be most required, and when the windshifted from northeast to southwest, her services in this respect wereparticularly valuable.

  The monitors Erebus and Terror, with the destroyers Termagant, Truculentand Manly, were stationed at a position suitable for the long rangebombardment of Zeebrugge in co-operation with the attack.

  Similarly, the monitors Marshal Soult, General Sraufurd, Prince Eugene andLord Clive, and the small monitors M-21, M-24 and M-26 were stationed insuitable positions to bombard specified batteries. These craft wereattended by the British destroyers Mentor, Lightfoot and Zubian, and theFrench Capitaine Mehl, Francis Garnier, Roux and Bouclier. The bombardmentthat ensued was undoubtedly useful in keeping down the fire of the shorebatteries.

  The attack on the Mole was primarily intended to distract the enemy'sattention from the ships engaged in blocking the Bruges canal. Itsimmediate objectives were, first, the capture of the four 1-inch batteriesat the sea end of the Mole, which were a serious menace to the passage ofthe block ships, and, second, the doing of as much damage to the materialon the Mole as time would permit, for it was not the intention of AdmiralKeyes to remain on the Mole after the primary object of the expeditionhad been accomplished.

  The attack was to consist of two parts: The landing of storming anddemolition parties and the destruction of the iron viaduct between theshore and the stone Mole.

  The units detailed for the attack were:

  H.M.S. Vindictive, Captain Alfred F.B. Carpenter; the Brigadier, CaptainJack Templeton; special steamers Iris, Commander Valentine Gibbs;Gloucester, Lieutenant H.G. Campbell, the latter detailed to push theVindictive alongside the Mole and keep her there as long as might benecessary.

  Submarines C-3 and C-1, commanded by Lieutenants Richard Sanford andAubrey Newbold, respectively, attended by picket boat under LieutenantCommander Francis H. Sanford.

  Besides these, a flotilla of twenty-four motor launches and eight coastalmotorboats were told off for rescue work and to make smoke screens or laysmoke floats, and nine more coastal motorboats to attack the Mole andenemy vessels inside it.

  At 11.40 p.m. on April 22, 1918, the coastal motorboats detailed to laythe first smoke screen ran in to very close range and proceeded to laysmoke floats and by other methods make the necessary "fog." These craftimmediately were under fire, and only their small size and great speedsaved them from destruction.

  At this moment the Blankenberghe light buoy was abeam of the Vindictiveand the enemy had presumably seen or heard the approaching forces. Starshells lighted the heavens. But still no enemy patrol craft were sighted.At this time the wind had been from the northeast, and therefore favorableto the success of the smoke screens. It now died away and began to blowfrom a southerly direction.

  Many of the smoke floats laid just off the Mole extension were sunk by thefire of the enemy, which now began to grow in volume. This, in conjunctionwith the wind, lessened the effectiveness of the smoke screen.

  At 11.56 the Vindictive, the Brigadier close behind, having just passedthrough a smoke screen, sighted the Mole in the semi-darkness about threehundred yards off on the port bow. Speed was increased to full and thecourse of both vessels altered so that, allowing for cross tide, theVindictive would make good a closing course of forty-five degrees to theMole. The Vindictive purposely withheld her fire to avoid beingdiscovered, but almost at the moment of her emerging from the smoke theenemy opened fire.

  So promptly, under the orders of the commander, was this replied to by theport 6-inch battery, the upper deck pompoms and the gun in the foretopthat the firing on both sides appeared to be almost simultaneous.

  The Brigadier, under Jack's command, opened fire at almost the samemoment. Heavy shells flew screaming into the enemy lines. Germanprojectiles began to kick up the water close to the Vindictive and theBrigadier. But in the first few volleys, none of the enemy shells foundtheir marks. Jack was conning the ship from the port forward, theflame-thrower hut. Frank, with directions as to handling of the shipshould Jack be disabled, was in the conning tower, from which theBrigadier was being steered.

  At one minute after midnight on April 23, the program time for attackbeing midnight, the Vindictive was put alongside the Mole and thestarboard anchor was let go.

  At this time the noise of cannonading was terrific. During the previousfew minutes, the ship had been hit by a large number of shells, which hadresulted in heavy casualties.

  As there was some doubt as to the starboard anchor having gone clear, theport anchor was dropped close to the foot of the Mole and the cablebowsed-to, with less than a shackle out. A three-knot tide was runningpast the Mole, and the scene alongside, created by the slight swell,caused the ship to roll. There was an interval of three or four minutesbefore the Brigadier or the Gloucester could arrive and commence to pushthe Vindictive bodily alongside.

  During the interval the Vindictive could not be got close enough for thespecial Mole anchors to hook and it was a very trying period. Many of thebrows had been broken by shell fire and the heavy roll had broken theforemost Mole anchor as it was being placed. The two foremost brows,however, reached the wall and enabled storming parties, led byLieutenant-Commander Bryan F. Adams, to land and run out alongside them,closely followed by the Royal marines.

  It was at this juncture that a slight change was made in the originalprogram. It developed, as the first storming party moved out, thatCommander Adams' men were not in sufficient strength for the work ahead.Captain Carpenter of the Vindictive called for support from the Brigadier.Jack acted promptly.

  "Lieutenant Chadwick!" he called.

  Frank stepped forward and saluted.

  "You will take one hundred men and join the storming party," said Jack.

  At this moment the Brigad
ier was rubbing close to the Vindictive. This wasfortunate at the moment, for there was then no other means by which aparty from the Brigadier could reach the Mole.

  Hurriedly Frank gathered the men, and then leaped from his own vessel tothe deck of the Vindictive. A moment later they joined Commander Adams andhis party.

  Owing to the rolling of the ship, a most disconcerting motion wasimparted to the brows, the outer ends of which were "sawing" considerablyon the Mole parapet. Officers and men were equipped with Lewis guns,bombs, ammunition, etc., and were under heavy machine-gun fire at closerange; add to this a drop of thirty feet between the ship and the Mole,and some idea of the conditions which had to be faced may be realized.

  Yet the storming of the Mole was carried out without the slightest delayand without any apparent consideration of self preservation. Some of thefirst men on the Mole dropped in their tracks under the German fire, butthe others pushed on, with the object of hauling one of the large Moleanchors across the parapet.

  The Brigadier arrived alongside the Mole three minutes after Frank and hismen had leaped to the deck of the other ship, followed by the little Iris.Both suffered less in their approach, the Vindictive occupying all theenemy's attention. The Gloucester also came up now to push the Vindictivebodily on to the Mole to enable her to be secured, after doing which theGloucester landed her parties over that ship. Her men disembarked from herbows on to the Vindictive, as it was found essential to continue to pushthe Vindictive on to the Mole throughout the entire action.

  This duty was magnificently carried out. Without the assistance of theGloucester very few of the storming parties from the Vindictive couldhave landed, or could have re-embarked.

  The landing from the Iris was made under even more trying circumstances.She rolled heavily in the sea, which rendered the use of the scalingladders very difficult. But at this time, according to calculations,enough men had been landed to complete the work.

  The fighting on the Mole became hand-to-hand.