The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1918-04-26
BRAVE COMMANDER
Continued from First PaGe.)

mole with her nose against the OPP
posite side of our ship.
I'm tho fairly heavy sea. two Of our
three ganSwayS were smashed. but the
third held and five hundred men swarmcd
up this on 10 the mole. This gangway
was two feet wide and thirty feet long.
The men who went up it included
600 marines and l5n Storming scarnen
from the Eindictive and fifty or so from
,the paffodil They Swarmed un the
steel gangway. carrying hand grenades
and Lewis guns No Germans succeed
ed in approaching tho EanGway. but
hard hand TO hand fight took place
about 200 yards UP the mole toward
the shore.
The Eindictiye's bow was pointed
toward the shore. so the bridge got the
full effect Of enemy fire from the shore
batteries. One shell exploded against
the pilot house. killing nearly all of it's
ten occupants. Another burst IN the
fighting top. killing lieutenant and
eight men who were doing excellent
work with two pompoms and four ma
chine guns.
The battery Of elevcn-inch guns at
the end of the mole was only 800 yards
away. and it kept trying to reach us.
Tho shore batteries also were dihgent.
ONLY 2 few German shells hit our hull
| because il was we'll protected by the
wall of the mole. but the upper struc-
ture. maStS. stacks and EcntlatorS
showed above the wall and were rid
died. 4 considerable proportion of our
casualties w"rc caused oy spitnIcrS
from these upper works.
: meanwhile tho Daffodil continued 10
! push US against the wall ~ II no battle
was on, and if the Daffodil had failed 20
,,n this mono of the members Of the land
! ing marty would have been able TO re-
turn to the ship.
"Twcnty-tive minutes after the Vim
dictive had REACHED tho wall me hrSt
blockade ship passed in and headed Tor
the canal Two others followed IN lelS-
urc,v fashion while We kept M the
! fight on the mole. One Of the block
ships stranded outside OF IN" canal out
tho two others got two or three hunhrro
wards inside. where they were success
! fully sunk across the entrance
! .'.irtecn minutes after the ElnAic-
! tive arrived alongside the mole our
submarine exploded under the viaduct
connecting the mole with the main
,o,d Tho Germans had sent a con-
! aiderablc force to this viaduct w soon
ne the submarine arrived and the men
! ,,.orc f,thnrrd Oh the Viaduct attack
ing our sub,rcrsible with machin" guns
When the explosion occurred IN" VIA
duct and Germans were blown up TO-
. rethcr The crew of n" submarine
consisting of six men. escaped on board
, dinrv - a motor launch.
..F,ariy in tho fighting German shell
knocked out our howitzcr. which had
becn getting in some good shots on
hie German scaplanc station on the
rnole half n . mile away. This Is th'
largest s"rplane station in h"lSiun'
unfortunately. our other guns could not
he brought 70 hear effectively upon IT.
Tho shell which disabled the howit'
zer killed ali the members Of tho sur
crow. Many mon also were Killed ny Z
German shell which hit the mn!r close
to our ship and scattered fragments 81
steel and stone among the marines ns
sembling on the deck around IN" gang
way.
THE German fire was very hot AL iH'
time we my alongside tho mole. ~
t:rncs the German guns reached as hiGs
as forty. shots n minute. During tn
hottest part OF tho lighting I left my
station in the flame house and went nj