Jackson County journal. (Sylva, N.C.) 19??-19??, 1918-06-28

SAA PA0A' anu tIlat vanished In roar
and leap of flames which called to the
guns.
over the town flame suddenly
appeared high in the air and sank
slowly earthwards-thes signal that the
a1rplanes had seen and understood.
Almost confidently with their first
bombs came the first shells. whooping
up from the monitors at sea. The sur
prise part of the attack was sprung.
1.-The surprise, despite the Germans
watchfulness, seems to have been COM
plete. Up until the moment when the
| torpedoes of the motorboats exploded |
there had not been shot from the
land-only occasional routine star
| shells.
Great Batteries Blinded.
1.-THE motor launches were doing
their work magnifcently. These pock-
ct warships, manned by officers and
men of the Royal Naval volunteers
reserve, are specialists at smoke pro-
duction. They built to either hand Of
the Vindictive's course the likeness of
a dense sea mist driving landward
with the wind. Star shells paled and
were lost as they sank in it; the
beams of searchlights seemed to break
off short upon it's front. It blinded
the observers in the great batteries,
which suddenly, upon the warning Of
tn explosions of guns, roared into &C
ton.
There was a while of tremendous
uproar. The coast about Ostend is
ponderously equipped with batteries.
These now opened fire into the smoke
and over it at the monitors and ma
rines. And the monitors replied.
Meanwhile the airplanes we're bomb
ing methodically, and anti-aircraft
guns were searching the skies for
them. Star shells spouted up and
floated down, lighting the smoke banks
with spreading green fires, and those
strings Of luminous green balls, which
the airmen call flaming onions"
scared up to lose themselves in the
clouds.
Through all this stridency and blaze
Of conflict the old Vindictive, still I'M
hurrying. was walking the lighted wa
f, ters toward the entrance. 1t was then
that those on the destrOyers became
t aware that what seemed to be merely
t smoke was wet and cold; that the rig
$ ging was beginning to drip, and that
!. there were no longer any stars. A sea
e fog had come on.
Air Attack Suspended.
t 1.-THE destroyers had to turn on their
f lights and to use their sirens to keep ir
touch with each other. The air attack
s was suspended, and the Vindictive
d with some distance yet to 60, found
j. herself in gross darkness.
l. "There were motor boats on either
e side of her escorting her to the en-
e trance.
1.-THE Vindictive then put her helm
over and started to cruise to find thu
# entrance Twice she must have
$ washed across, and at the third turn
" upon reaching the positions at which
Il she first lost her way, there came rif
II in the mist and she saw the entrance
4 and the piers on either side, and al
= opening dead ahead. The Vindictiv
NJ steamed in.
q 1.-THE guns found her at once Sh
was hit every few seconds after sh
NJ entered, her SCARED hull broker
o. afresh in a score Of places, her deck
w and upper works swept by machin
guns.
after the control tower was demo-
~ ished by a shell which killed all tn
" occupants, including Sublieut. Angu
n H. MacLachan, who was in comman
10 Of it, the upper and lower bridges an
~ the chartroom, swept by bullets, Con
y mander Godsal ordered the officers
- 20 with him to the coming towe
49, They observed through the observe
~ ton slit in the steel wall of the col
~, ming tower that the eastern pier we
~ preached some 200 yards from the sci
~ ward end as though at some time
- ship had been in collision with 1t.
Nose Against Pier.
IN Immediately after passing tt
hi breach in the pier Commander Gods
nd left the coming tower and went c
he deck, the better to watch the ship
no movements. He chose a position ar
de caheo III through tne sil' VI 'ne W.
no ming tower his order to starboard tt
helm The Vindictive responded ar
m. laid her battered nose to the easter
"a pier and prepared to swing her 800 fe
,ot Of length across the channel.
~. 1T was at that moment that a SHE
aid 1rom the SHORE batteries s'iucA u
On, .~~>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~