Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1918-05-01
.U-BOATS TRAPPED
At BASE BY THE
BRITISH FLEET
Five Old Cruisers Sunk in Mouth
of HarborS.
H0BS0N FEAT is DUPLICATED
German Submarines Are Blocked Up
at zeebrugae and ostend-Hero of
Action Is KilIed-English De-
stroyer and Small Craft
Are Lost.

London, April 24.--Sir Eric Geddes,
first lord Of the admiralty, told the
house Of commons Of the intrepid raid
in the early morn against Zeebrugge
and Ostend, German U-boat bases on
the Belgian coast, and said in giving
the house such information as had
come TO hand of this extremely gal
liant and hazardous raid"
Reyes in Command.
The raid was undertaken under
command Of Vice Admiral Roger
Reyes, commanding at Dover French
desroyers co-operated with the Brit
ish forces.
six obsolete cruisers, all from TWEEN
ty to thirty years old, took part in the
attack. They were the Brilliant. Sir
ius, Iphigenin, Intrepid, Thetis and
Vindictive.
The first five of these were filed
with concrete and were TO be sunk in
the channel and entrances TO the two
ports if this could possibly be man
aged.
Action Intricate One.
There were light covering forces
belonging to the Dover command and
Harwich forces under Admiral Tyr
whit, covering the operation in the
-th.
Il should like to mention that the
officer who developed the operation
was killed.
The results thus far are known to
be that two block ships were run
ashore and blown up ar Ostend. 1t is
too early to say definitely whether they
accomplished their object, but, so far
as the officers could see in the dark
ness, they were slightly off the course.
AT Zeebrugge two of three block
ships attained their objective, being
sunk or blown up at the entrance of
the canal. The third grounded while
passing in.
Hun Destroyer Torpedoed.
"a certain amount of damage, the
extent at present unknown, was done
by gunfre and torpedo attack on an
enemy destroyer and other craft lying
at the mole.
Coastal mOtorboats report having
tOrpedoed an enemy destroyer which
was trying to escape seward.
"One of the two old submarines
gained its objective and destroyed the
piling approach to the mole.
Foe Loses Heavily.
'Storming parties from the Vindic-
tive and the ferryboats attacked under
an extremely heavy fire and fought
with the greatest gallantry, maintain
ing their position alongside the mole
for an hour and causing, it is believed,
much damage to the enemy and intiict-
ing considerable losses.
1.-THE casualties TO the personnel, as
we had expected in hazardous adven-
ture of the kind, were heavy in proper
ton to the number of men engaged.
Up to today the British losses report
ed are one destroyer sunk by gunfre
and two coastal motorboats and two
launches missing.
I'VE have sufficient information to
show that the entrance to the Bruges
canal probably was effectively blocked,
that material damage was done and
that the greatest credit is due TO all
ranks for their gallantry."
Channel at Zeebrugge Blocked.
London, April 25.-Air observation
shows a clear break of 20 yards in
width in the Zeebrugge mole at the
inner end and that sunken object
blocks the greater portion of the chan
mel in the harbOr of Ostend, according
10 an official bulletin issued by the adj
miralty.
Submarine Crew Saved.
The crew of one of the British sub
marines which was used to destroy the
German piers at Zeebrugge were res
cued, according to a member of the
crew, by an eScorting destroyer. The
sailor said that after the destroyer
slipped the submarine at the entrance
TO the harbor the underwater boat
made straight for the target. A time
fuse was set and the crew abandoned
the craft a few minutes later. The
submarine struck the objective and
blew up. The sailor said the pier was
blown to pieces.
Recalls Hobson Feat.
Nd>AlIIStoI' ApFI -4--1ue exploit
of the British seamen recalls that of
Lieut.. Richard Pearson Hobson of the
United States navy, who took the old
steamer Merrimac into Santiago har-
Der at night. during the war with
Spain, and sank it in the narrow chan
Ael under fire of the Spanish shore
batteries.
Japan's Foreign Chief Out,