The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-05-15

Might Prpmlsss Welt.
"The solution of the problenl Is bes1
indicated by. the chronicle Of events
Il was night that promised we'll fOl
the enterprise nearly MINDLESS and
4 what littla bl1a lued seama q sR0in!
or 40 west ofssn0tfh. The sky was
lead blue. s4aintlys star dotted, with
! no moon and = sStill ~. for sm9il
craft. motor launck1s ard cosstaI mo:
tor boats, whose work was, done close
inshOre. III NIX.
"From the destroyer which served
the commodore for q flagship, ,the re
mainder OF the force we're visible
only as silhouettes d blackness.
arisf Furry, ,of Gunfire. 4
.From Dunkirk q sudden brief fur.
~. of Ru6fire announced German air
planes were about They were &C
tually on the way to visit Calais, and
over the invisible coast Of Flanders
the summer lightning OF restless ar
There's the Yindicitive! The NUT
fled seamen and marines standing by
the torpedo tubes and guns turned al
that name to gaze at the great black
shin seen mistily through the screen
inR smoke from the destroyers' fun
nels, plodding silently to her goal.
"She receded into the night astern
as a destroyer raced on 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
het, light her and hide her in the
clouds Of a smoke screen.
No preliminary Bombardment.
s.There was no preliminary lombard
ment Of the, harbor and batteries as
before the previous attempt. That
was to .be. the first element in the
surprise.-e;s-
tions far, seaward awaited the sig
nal. The great sea batteries of the a.
ROYAL marine artillery in Flanders
among the largest guns that we're ever
placed on land mountings, stood Dy
to neutralize the bigger man artillery
along the coast and the airmen who
were to collaborate with an aerla!
bombardment Of the town waited
somewhere in the darkness overhead
Destroyers patrolled to seaward OF
the small craft.
The indVicitive, always at that SOL
emn gait OF hers, found the fiagsnip
light buoy and bore up where 2 coas,
al motor boat was waiting by cal
cium flare upon the old position
of the Stroom Bank buoy.
-Four minutes before she arrived
there and fifteen minutes only before
she was due at the harbor mouth
the signal for the guns to open was
given, Two motorhoats dashed IN to
ward the ends Of the high wooden
piers and torpedoed them. There was
n machine gun on the end Of the wes'
tern pier and that vanished IN 9 roar
and leap Of flames which called 10 tne
Surprise Was Complete.
"Over the town flame suddenly
appeared high in the air and sank
slowly earthwarda-the signal that
the airplanes had seen and under
stood. Almost coincidentally with theil
first bombs came the Hrst shells,
whooping up from the monitors at sea
The surprise, despite the German
vatchfulness, seems to have been com
plete. Up until the moment when
the torpedoes of the motorboats ex
nIoded there had not been shot
from the land-only occasionally rou
tine star shells.
"The motor launches built to either
hand OF the vindicitive's course the
likeness of q dense sea mist, driv
inR landward with the wind. Star
shells paled and were lost as they
sank II. it; the beams Of searchlights
seemed to break off upon its front
Il. blinded. the observers in the great
(Coninnsd % pags twol