Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1918-06-07
Hail Of Fire Sent Ship to the
Bottom of 0stend
HarbOr.
SURPRISE IS WELL PLANNED
Attack Comes From Sea, Land and
Air Before Germans Awake-VIn.
dlctiVe, Screened by Smoke
From Launches, Plods 81
lentiy TO to Goal.

raid on Ostend, which resulted In
b%lOckadlng nearly all the entrance to
the U-boat base by the sinking of the
old cruiser Vindlctive across the chan
mel:
1.-THE Sirius lies In the surf some q
900 yards east Of the entrance to Os-
tend harbor, which she failed so gal
lantly to block, and when, in the early
hours of the morning, the Vindictlve
CROPPED her way through the smoke
screen and headed for the entrance It
vas as though the old fighting ship
awOke and looked on.
"A coastal motor boat had visited
her and hung a fare in her stack and
rusty rigging, and that eye Of unsteady
FIRE, pallng in the blaze Of star shells,
or r~eddening through the drift Of
smoke, watched the whole great enter
prise from the moment when It hung
In doubt to its ultimate success.
Depended on Surprise Attack.
1.-THE planning and execution of that
success had been intrusted by Vice
Admiral Sir Robert Reyes to Commo-
dore Hubert Lynes, VINO directed the
previous attempt to block the harbor
with the Sirius and Brilliant. Upon
that occasion a combination of unfore-
seen and unfOreseeable conditions had
fought against him.
upon this, the main problem vas
to obtain the effect of a surprise at
tack upon an enemy who was clearly,
from his ascertalned dispositions, ex-
pectlng him. The Sirius and Brilliant
had been bafled by the displacement
of the StrOOm bank buoy, which marks
the channel to the harbor entrance.
But since then aerial reconnaissance
had established that the Germans had
removed the buoy altogether and that
there now were no guiding marks of
any kind.
"They also had cut gaps In the piers
as a %precautiOn against n landing, and
further, when toward midnight Thurs
day, the Ships moved from their an
chorage, It was known that some nine
German destroyers were out and were
at large upon the coast.
Night Nearly MINDLESS.
1.-THE solution of the problem Is best
indicated by the chronicle Of events.
1t was a night that promised well for
the enterprise-nearly windless-and
what little breeze stirred came a point
or so west of north. The sky n lead
blue, family star-dOtted, with no moon,
and a still sea for small craft. motor
launches and coastal motor boats,
whose work was done close inshOre.
"From the destroyer which served
the commodore for a flagship the re-
mainder OF the force were visible only
as silhouettes Of b~lackness.
"From DunkIrk a sudden brief fur
~ Of gunfre announced that German
airplanes were about. They actually
were on the way to visit Calais, and
wei the invisible coast Of Flanders the
summer lightning of restless artillery
rose and fell m-onotonOusly.
"SThere's the Vindfetfvet' The muf-
fed seamen and marines standing by
the torpedo tubes and guns turned nj
that name to gaze at the great black
ship seen mistiiy through the screen
ing smoke from the destroyers' fun
nels, Flooding silently to her goal and
end.
"She receded into the night astern
as a destroyer raced to lay a light
buoy that was TO be her guide, and
those on board saw her no more. She
passed thence into the hands Of the
small craft whose mission was to guide
her, light her, and hide her in the
clouds of a smoke screen.
'There was no preliminary BON
bardment OF the harbOr and batteries
as before the previous attempt. ThaI
was to be the first element In the sur
prise. A timetable had been laiC
down for every stage Of the operation
and the staff work beforehand ever
included precise orders for laying th'
smoke barrage, with plans calculated
for every direction Of the wind.
Gait Always Solemn.
Monitors anchored I'm firing posi-
lions far seward awaited the signal
The great sea batteries Of the Roya
Marine artillery I'm Flanders, amoni
the largest guns hat were ever place.
ul luHu luOuiluBnf afNoh ~ AhNNin
TO neutralize the bigger German artil
lery along the coast. and the alrmeI
who were TO cOllaborate with an aerl
al bOmbardment Of the town waitel
somewhere In the darkness overhead
Destroyers patrolled to seaward Of tn
small craft.
"The Vindictive, always at tina
solemn gait Of hers, found. the haa
ships light buoy and bore up 10
where a coastal motor boat command
ed by Lieut.. William r. Slayter wa
waiting by a calcium fare upon the oil
position Of the StrOOm bank buoy.
"Four minutes before 1t arrive
there and fifteen minutes only befOr
It was due at the harbOr mouth, tn
signal for the guns to open was giveE
Two mOtOrbOats, under command 0
Lieut.. Albert L. Poland. dashed 4
toward the ends OF the high woode
Dlers and tOrDedOed them. There wa