Norwich bulletin., 1918-05-02
FACTS AND COMMENT

Zeebrugge means to the Germans can understand why the British took the fearful risk involved in the naval raid on that port. There are but forty miles of the Belgian coast in all, then Holland extends for more than 200 miles along the North Sea, and not until the German port of Emden is reached is there another possible base for the submarine. 2 But Zeebrugge, | not forty miles from the coast of England, has been ideal for the pur- pose hence the desperate effort to de- stroy it's usefulness. Zeebrugge is not a natural harbor but has a great curv | ed mole nearly two miles long ex- l tending out into the sea in a north westerly direction. In the shelter of | this lie the docks and most important, of all, the terminus of the canal lead- ] ing from Bruges. Submarines manu- | factured in Germany are shipped to this point by rail. there assembled and within a couple of hours are in the l open sea ready to do their f1endisl1 work. Needless to say, Zeebrugge is strongly fortified, and it was into this | aarbor that the British forced their way in the endeavor to block the mouth of the canal,
 The raid was most carefully planned to allow for every imaginable situa- tion., Dozens of craft large and small | took part. manned by volunteer crews. l The difficulty was not to find the men, but to select the most useful from those who volunteered To block the canal three obsolete cruisers loaded with cement were to be sunk at its
 mouth. All the other vessels that took part were merely to divert the enemy's attention from the canal, and 4 4I. II .,Ir <,1,1 Under cover of a smoke screen that
 they spread for miles along the Bel gian coast, the whole f1otilla crept up as close as they could and then made the dash. Instantly the barber was all alight with star shells sent up by
 the Germans, but into this blaze of light, and right in the face of the
 concentrated fire of hundreds of guns the old cruiser Vindictive steamed her
 way and lay alongside the outer end
 of the Mole. Then while her consorts
 held her against it, landing party ot
 five hundred swarmed onto the great
 pier and fought it out hand to hand
 with the German defenders. For ar
 hour the Vindictive lay alongside, hel
 hull protected by the mole but her up.
 pre- works riddled with shot and shell
 Meantime the cement-lade1A .blocl
 ships steamed into the harbor, ant
 though one ran afoul of an underwater } net and could not reach her goal, shi | signalled the others to steer theil , course right into the mouth of thu , canal. There their crews blew then Up and there they now lie, their car
 goes of cement hardened into rocl and furnishing apparently a very sat : isfactory stopper to the mouth of tn 3 canal And in the glare of the search
 lights and star shells, two American
 built launches ran in and took off tn
 heroic crews of the. sunlzen block ship
 and carried them out of the melee t . the waiting destroyers.
 The Vindictive's landing party con tInued their bloody fight on the Mol f recalled by their vessels siren, the s they regsfned her deck and the bat h tered cruiser withdrew from the har ', bor along with her badly punishe II consorts. The British loss in killed e wounded and missing was nearly 60t t a heavy toll but not too much to pa
 if only the canal at Zeebrugge t blocked for some time. The fact tha e of the above total only sixteen ar : named as missing, shows the wonder # ful planning that was done for the res , cue of the crews of the block shiI
 and the plucky way in which this wa 5 carried out by the. men on the lahnche 't All in ali it was heroic adventur is and well sustains the best tradition sl of the British navy.
 1t After a Hull in the great battle - Flanders which the Germans in bring V up heavy artillery and replacing the i+ shattered divisions, the assaults c ~ the northern side Of the river Lys sa el T I,'cL le days of feroeious fighting, they wel l. able to surround Kemmel hill and isC l. late the defenders. The hero
 French regiment fought te the la 1t man, and it was up slopes slipper
 with blood and over the bodies of the v own dead that the enemy finally scals S' the important summit. For kemnd III is the highest point in all that regio a and from it's top there is a view f; m and wide over the plains of Flande1 D. The loss of the position is undeniab m serious and will doubtless bring abo III the evacuation of Ypres within fe a days. Net the way to the coast !" by no means clear to the advancir l. e1femy. There are other hills stretel IS ing westward from Kemmel and eat if of these must be taken at enormo " cost before the path to Calais i'll open. On the south shoulder of t ra salient the British have. held thei
 ground and even improved their pos
 ton somewhat. while Vimy, Arras al
 Albert stand like rocks in the way
 any further German progress yves to ward. In the extreme south of t ne great battlefield the French have h
 to give up the town of Hangard, t
 miles southeast of AIniens, but t b. British, though driven out of Viller to BretonneuX, regained the place by a. vigorous counter attack with Austrs
 ian troops and have since been al
 to maintain their ground. Altogeth sa it has not been a successful week 90 the German offensive, which is da T. behind it's schedule of advance. Or op the German high command knows ht
 frightfully costly each day of delay
 proving,
 ew The senatorship recently left Vaes a by the death of Senator Stone of M