The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1918-04-26
Associated Press Correspondent Hears How One
Ship Held Another Against Zeebrugge Mole
While Boarding Party Attacked Enemy

! three gangways were smashed, but the
third held and 500 men swarmed up
this up onto the mole. This gangway
was two feet wide and 80 feet long
THE men who went up included 500
marines and $50 stormins seamen from
the vindictive and 90 or so from the
Daffodil. They swarmed up the steel
gangway carrying hand grenades and
Lewis guns. No Germans succeeded i'll
approaching the gangway. but hard
hand to hand fight took place about
zoo yards up the mole toward the
shore
HULL WAS PROTECTED
THE Vindictive's bow was pointed
| toward the shore SO the bridge got The
! full effect of enemy fire from the
shore batteries. One she'll exploded
| against the pilot house, killing nearly
all of its 10 occupants. Another burst
in the fighting top, killing lieu
tenant and eight men. who were do
| ing excellent work with two POM
poms and four machine guns.
"The battery of 11-inch guns at the
| end of the Mole was only 800 yards
away and it kept trying to reach us.
! The shore batteries also were diligent.
| Only few German shells hit our hun
because it was we'll protected by the
wall of the mole. but the upper struc-
| ture. masts. stacks and ventilators
| showed above the wall and were
riddled considerable proportion Of
! our casualties were caused by sp1inters
from these upper works.
IF DAFFODIL HAD FAILED
| meanwhile the Daffodil continued
! to push us against the wall as il M
| battle was on. and if the Doffodil had
! failed to do this none of the members
| of the landing party would have been
4 able to return to the ship.
Twenty-Five minutes after the Vim
| dictive reached the walls the first
| blocks passed in and headed for the
canal Two others followed in leisure
| ly fashion, while we kept up the fight
| on the mole. One of the block ships
| stranded outside the canal. but the
| two others got 200 or 800 yards in
| side where they were successfully
sunk across the entrance.
| zone difficulty we had in preparing
| in this expedition was that we could
| not have open practicing which we
| contemplated for fear the enemy might
| get information of the plan. Our prepar-
ations, therefore, were limited to a GER
| tain amount of intensive training at
night fighting and bombing, while Off
GERS Were carefully drilled in dealing
| with all exigences likely to occur.
MEN AT HIGH PITCH
"All the men were tuned up to high
! pitch and it was with very anxious
hearts that we waited for a suitable
time to strike, knowing that every Gay
We waited there was a greater chance
of our secret leaking out.
Fifteen minutes after the Vindic-
tive arrived alongside the mole pui
submarine exploded under the viaduet
connecting the mole with the mainland.
The Germans had sent considerable
force to this vaduct as soon as the cub
marine arrived and these men were
gathered on the viaduct attacking out
submersble with machine guns. When
the explosion occurred the viaduct and
Germans were blown up together. The
crew of the submarine, consisting of six
men, escaped on board a dingy to a
motor launch.
HOWITZER DISABLED
early in the fighting German shell
knocked out our howitzer, which had
been getting IN some good shots on q
big German seaplane station on the
mole half a mile away. This is the
largest seapane station in Belgium
Unfortunately, our other guns could moi
be brought to bear effectively upon it
1.-The shell which disabled the how1tzer
killed all the members of the gun crew
Many men also were killed by a German
shell which hit the mole close to our
ship and scattered fragments of Steel
and stone among the marines assembling
on the deck around the gangway.
THE German fire was very hot all the
time we lay alongside the mole. Al
times the German guns reached as higr
as 40 shots a minute During the not
test part of the fighting I left my sta
tion in the flamehouse and went al
around the ship to see how things wers
going. The spirit of the men was ex-
eellent. All they asked was, Are we
Winnng?"
"Half an hour after the block ships
went in we received the signal to with
draw. The Vindictive's siren was blown
and the men returned from all parts oil
the mole and thronged down the gang
way. We put off after having LAID
alongside just about an hour. The Ger.
mans made no effort to interfere witt
our getaway other than to continue
. their heavy fiving."
The Vindictive was provided will
, plenty of defensive equipment in cast
the Germans attempted to board her.
The heaviest casualties of the eXpe
NE d e -! .