Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1918-04-26

| rage AT lcdSC seven tliAcS W Cdl1y q
rades. Twice he was partly buried
anchored in the harbor, taking them
completely by surprise. Some Of the
Germans hurried up to the hatchways
in their night clothes but before they
could reach the decks, the British sail
ors knocked them on the head with
clubs and rifles and sent them tumb
ling down the hatchways.
| Some of the newspapers say that
the officer referred to by Admiral Sir
Eric Geddes, the first lord of the ad.
miralty as having developed the fog
and smoke screen for the British
raiders on the Belgian coast subma.
rine base and as having been killed
in the attack was Acting Wing Com
mander Frank A. Brock. He was the
son of a widely known fireworks man
ufacturer
HAND TO HAND BATTLE
A young marine who took part in
the fighting on the mole at Zeebrugge
described his experiences to Central
| News correspondent at Kentish port
as follows: .
1--WE certainly had hot time. II
was all pitch dark until we got right
into the harbor and then the place
suddenly became a light with star
shells and the fun started.
Looming big ahead of us was a
German destroyer evidently getting
under way. We put on full speed
ahead and rammed her amidships cut.
ting her. in half. AS she sank we
rushed onto the mole. BY that time It
was raining hard. A giant German
! who came out of the semi-darkness
lunged at our nearest man but before
he could get In q blow our captain
knocked him on the head with his
trucheon and he sank down dead.
SLAUGHTER ON MOLE
"Next we saw another German de.
stroyer, tied up on the other side Of
the mole. This we destroyed. We
knocked on the head all who attempt
ed to oppose our program. Then came
an order to charge along the mole.
We rushed ahead, bayonetting or
shooting all we came across.
by this time we were fairly mad
and In high glee. The noise Of the
firing, mingling Of the shouts and cries
OF the men was terrifying. It was
slaughter"
The marine said that when the or.
der came to return to the ship they re.
traced their steps along the mole
which was Uttered with the dead and
dying, and re-embarked safely.
NOT ERC0NFIpENT
Young Brock entered the naval air
service in January, 1916, as flight
lieutenant. became flight command
er in 1915 and received the order Of
the British Empire this year.
Admiral Lord Beresford in an in
terview on the raid on German, sum-
marine bases, while eulogizing the
Zeebrugge achievement as a splendid
thing and quite worth attempting,
warns against disappointment II the
results do not reach the most san
guine expectations. He says that the
blocking Of harbor is a most diff
cult undertaking and 1t never can be
placed just right. Moreover. Lord
Beresford says, there is always the
possibility of dredging a channel
around the obstacles or finding pas
sage between them.
BRIToNs PROUD OF FEAT.
Articles by naval writer's and edi-
torials in the morning newspapers
eulogize with natural pride the vol
unteers who carried out the raid
against Zeebrugge and Ostend, and
discuss the probable importance of
the enterprise. Lieutenant Hobson's
feat at Santiago and Admiral Togo's
exploit at Port Arthur are recalled as
notable presidents, but the landing
on the beach at Gallipoli Is regarded
by some writers as the only real paral-
lei.
Curiosity is expressed as to the fate
of the crews Of the two old subma-
rines which were assigned to blow
up the piling at the approach to the
mole at Zeebrugge. Their devotion to
duty appeals to the imagination of the
writer's for it Is assumed they volun-
tarily accepted almost certain death
and that only by something akin to
miracle could those who remained
aboard to explode the charges have
survived.
DAMAGE NOT KNOWN
Stories Of survivors who have ar
IlNcu d. bONcI lluSucu Will DCllCl III
the full success Of the expedition are
not corroborated in every detail by
the official account. The reported
destruction of the lock gates and the
consequent draining of the Bruges
canal lack confirmation. If substan-
tiated, this presumably will be the
greatest achievement of the raiding
squadron.
Estimates vary as - the time the
Germans will need to remove the OBJ
structions from the channel and re-
pair the damaged mole. Some assume
that many days will intervene, others
many weeks. while still others seem
to suppose that the damage cannot be
repaired for very long time.
H.. POLLING SENT EAST
H. L. Polling of the ordnance depart
ment, who has been stationed at San
Antonio, Tex, arsenal, has been trans