The Ordway new era., 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-
dietive, Screened by Smoke
From Launches, Plods ST.
IentIy to IT. Goal.

The British admiralty Issued the
following graphic story of the recent
raid on Ostend, which resulted In
blockading nearly all the entrance to
the U.boat base by the sinking Of the
old cruiser vindictive across the chan
mel.
"The Sirius lies In the surf some p
600 yards east of the entrance to Os-
tend harbor, which she failed so gal
lantly to block, and when, In the eariy
hours of the morning, the Vindictive
CROPPED her way through the smoke
screen and headed for the entrance II
was ms though the old fighting ship
awoke and looked on.
"A coastal motor boat had visited
her and hung a flare In her stack ana
rusty rigging. and that eye Of unsteady
fire. paling in the blaze Of star shells.
or reddening through the drift OF
smoke, watched the whole great enter
prise from the moment when 1t hung
in doubt to Its ultimate success.
Depended on Surprise Attack.
"The planning and execution Of that
success had been intrusted by Vice
Admiral Sir Robert Keyes to Commo-
dore Hubert Lynes, who directed the
previous attempt to block the harDor
with the Sirius and Brilliant. Upon
that occasion combination of unfore-
seen and unforeseeable conditions had
fought against him.
Upon this, the main problem was
TO obtain the effect of surprise at
tack upon an enemy who wns clearly.
from his ascertalned dispositions. ex-
pecting him. The Sirius and Brilliant
had been bafIied 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 precaution against landing, and
further, when toward midnight Thurs
day, the ships moved from their an
chorage, 1t was known that some nine
German destroyers were out and were
at large upon the coast.
Night Nearly Mindless.
"The solution OF the problem is best
indicated by the chronicle Of events.
1t was night that promised well for
the enterprise-nearly windless-and
what little breeze stirred came point
or so west of north. The sky was lead
blue, family star-dotted. with no moon,
and still sen for small craft. motor
launches and coastal motor boats,
whose work was done close inshore.
From the destroyer which served
the commodore for flagship the re-
as silhOuettes of blackness.
"From Dunkirk sudden brief fur
ry of gunfire announced that German
airplanes were about. They actually
were on the way to visit Calais. and
over the invisible coast Of Flanders the
summer lightning Of restless artillery
rose and fell monotonously.
There's the Vindictive! The muf-
fled seamen and marines standing by
the torpedo tubes and guns turned nj
that nnme to gaze at the great black
ship seen mistily through the screen
ing smoke from the destroyers' fun
nels, plodding silently to her goal and
end.
"She receded into the night asterr
as destroyer raced to lay 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 smoke screen.
There was no preliminary bonn
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 lait
down for every stage of the operation
and the staff work beforehand ever
included precise orders for laying thu
smoke barrage, with plans calculated
for every direction Of the wind.
Gait Always Solemn.
monitors anchored in firing posi-
tions far seaward awaited the signal
The great sea batteries of the Roya
Marine artillery in Flanders. anon
the largest guns that were ever place,
on land mountings, stood by likewis
to neutralize the bigger German artil
lery along the coast. and the airme
who were to collaborate with an aerl
al bombardment of the town waite
somewhere in the darkness overhead
Destroyers patrolled to seaward Of tn
small craft.
1.-THE vindictive, always at tina
solemn gait of hers. found the flaf
ships light buoy and bore up fo
where a coastal motor boat command
ed by Lieut.. William II. Slayter wa
waiting by calcium flare upon the oil
position of the Stroom bank buoy.
"Four minutes before 1t arrive
there and fifteen minutes only befor
1t was due at the harbor mouth, tn