Aviation Specials Magazine Zeebrugge 1918 Special Issue

The amphibious assault upon the German-held Belgian port of Zeebrugge by the Royal Navy on 23 April 1918 was not a resounding success, despite considerable efforts in its preparation and heavy casualties in its execution. Though the movements of the German submarines using Zeebrugge as a base for their attacks upon Allied shipping were temporarily restricted, the raid had a negligible effect on the outcome of the First World War. But it was a daring and bold strike which raised the flagging, war-weary morale of the British nation. Coupled with the corresponding attack upon Ostend on 9 May which partially blocked the harbour entrance, it demonstrated to the enemy that nowhere was safe from the long reach of the Royal Navy. Britannia still ruled the waves.

The Zeebrugge and Ostend raids resulted in a wide distribution of awards, including eight Victoria Crosses, twenty-one Distinguished Service Orders, thirty-one Distinguished Service Crosses, sixteen Conspicuous Gallantry Medals and 149 Distinguished Service Medals. This was a remarkable haul for the comparatively small number of men directly involved in the fighting in Zeebrugge, but it signified the intensity of the battle in the close confines of the harbour.

The assault on Zeebrugge exemplified the detailed planning so typical of the Senior Service and the unflinching courage of its officers and men. It is through the words of those men that we can relive the horror and the drama of the desperate battle in the dark, as they manoeuvred their ships into point-blank artillery fire, and stumbled ashore to engage the enemy in a vicious close-quarter struggle. There is no doubt, this was the greatest raid.

John Grehan, Editor