Nelsonian hero Roger Keyes. Served with distinction in the Boxer Rebellion in 1899 and two World Wars |
In the early days of 1918 the war position
was, in several ways, very different from one year earlier, but in others
depressingly familiar. On 2nd January the new Air ministry was established in London,
and on 4th January a hospital ship was torpedoed in the English
Channel. A fog of revolution and instability covered the Eastern Front, and a
winter calm on the Western Front concealed massive German preparations for a
coming storm. The British Government was trying to keep the Arabs onside to
help its Palestine and Syria campaign, following the shock of the Balfour
Declaration in November*, and the British army continued to make steady
progress in the middle east. But what was happening at sea?
The post on 3/9/2017 (UUW Part 2) described
how by late 1917 Britain had overcome the existential threat posed by UUW, and
that of 21/12/2017 (End of 1917 Position: Part 2) covered the change of
personnel at the top of the Admiralty. It was tough on Jellicoe, but probably
stemmed from the different perceptions of the British Navy and Army held by
politicians and public alike. Since Trafalgar in 1805 Britain collectively had
rested secure in the primacy and invincibility of the Royal Navy (RN). Even
with the late 19th century build up of Japanese, American and
(particularly) German fleets, there remained in 1914 a conviction that the RN could not be
challenged. Instead, WW1 had brought initial embarrassments; the unspectacular
(though highly effective) blockade of Germany; the indeterminate outcomes of
Jutland, and the terrible 1917 merchant losses of UUW. The Army, on the other
hand, had been traditionally small, and now its new legions were seen to be
fighting heroically against a mighty military machine – albeit with terrible
losses.
1918 would at last bring a Nelsonian style operation to warm British
hearts ahead of final victory.
The first two actions of 1918 occurred 2000
miles apart. On 14th January German destroyers (for the third time) bombarded
the east coast town of Yarmouth. But in the eastern Mediterranean on 20th
January a symbolic success took place. Go back to the first days of the war in
1914 (see Post 17/2/2015) and the escape of the German battle cruiser Goeben and the cruiser Breslau across the Mediterranean to the Black
Sea. This embarrassingly incompetent episode was the first to reveal how weakened the RN had
become after 100+ years of complacency, bureaucracy and nepotism. Now more than
three years later, after a war spent in the Black Sea under the Turkish flag (but German command),
the two ships re-appeared in the Mediterranean Aegean sea. Early in the morning the
British destroyer HMS Lizard spotted
them heading for moored British ships in the island harbour of Imbros (today
Gokcheada) west of Gallipoli. A brief action ensued, in which two moored
British monitors were sunk before the German ships turned away. The Breslau promptly ran into a mine and was
sunk. The damaged Goeben was listing,
and ran for cover in the Dardanelles, where she ran aground in the narrows. In
this case British revenge was certainly a dish enjoyed cold.
Zeebrugge 1918. The grounded Thetis lies beyond Iphigenia and Intrepid in the canal mouth |
After some predictable delays for inclement
weather the attacking armada left Dover late evening on 22nd April.
Keyes led the flotilla in the destroyer HMS
Warwick and there were two other destroyers; the cruiser HMS Vindictive with two ferry boats for
the landing parties and attack on the mole, and an assortment of monitors and
smaller boats to make smoke and cause confusion. The stars of the show were the five block ships - old cruisers, full of explosive and weighed down with concrete – three
were for Zeebrugge and two for Ostend.
At midnight the diversionary attacks on the
mole began, along with aerial attacks and bombardment, and as much smoke as
could be generated. All went well for the three block ships initially, as they
rounded the lighthouse at the top of the mole. Then, unluckily, the wind
changed, the smoke cleared and they were seen. Although most of the mole’s guns
had already been put out of action, heavy fire from the shore batteries damaged
the first block ship Thetis and
grounded her. The two others – Iphigenia and
Intrepid – ploughed on, belching smoke
with all guns firing, and managed to position themselves near perfectly across
the canal entrance before scuttling. The crews escaped in small boats to be
picked up by destroyers, and the landing party scrambled to re-embark via the
ferries and make their exit. By 2am all were safely in English waters –
complete success with negligible casualties.
HMS Vindictive lying along- side the pier at Ostend May 1918 |
The Ostend attack was a different story.
With no diversionary attack to protect them, the two block shops, Brilliant and Sirius, were wholly reliant on surprise and effective smoke cover.
Unfortunately, the wind direction worked against them – they were visible but
their target was obscured. In the chaos they found themselves almost beached
well to the east of the harbour piers, and were forced to scuttle and abandon
the mission. Still, the larger port of Zeebrugge had been completely closed
off, and the operation was hailed as a major victory at home. The Germans
immediately strengthened their position at Ostend, and posted a guard of nine
destroyers. It seemed to make a further attempt almost impossible, and yet this
is precisely what Keyes attempted some two weeks later on 9th May.
One of the two new block ships did not make it to the attack zone, but the
other was the Vindictive - hero of
the landing party actions at Zeebrugge - now on her final voyage. Supported by
destroyers, air cover and fog, she ran the gauntlet and did manage to ram one
of the entrance piers. She sunk at an angle that caused major obstruction.
Again, the skeleton crew escaped in motor launches and were picked up by
destroyers.
These two victories (small strategically) helped restore the faith of the British public in the RN and raised morale amongst
naval staff and civilians. Perhaps more significant was the effect on the German
navy. U-boat strategy took another hit, and the morale of the German navy, already
low, took another fall. Cooped up since Jutland, the German fleet was now subject
to more restrictions, as destroyers from Dover and Harwich were free to cause more
damage amongst the light craft and defences of the Heligoland Bight area. Mutiny
was stirring in the German navy, and within months it would become reality.
* Balfour’s famous/infamous statement in November 1917 indicated British
Government support for a post war establishment of a national home for Jewish
people in Palestine – apparently contradicting assurances given to the Arab
leader King Feisal in 1916. We all know what followed.
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