In his quest for images of both World Wars, Britain at War contributor Chris Goss often chances across unusual photographs illustrating extraordinary stories. Here, he presents the background to a unique German photograph relating to a daring Great War raid.
During the First World War, the Belgian port of Zeebrugge was important to the Germans as it allowed warships and particularly U-boats to access the English Channel and North Sea via the Bruges Canal. As a result, it was an important target for the British who, on a number occasions, attempted to block the harbour and the canal, but none was as dramatic as the major operation which occurred there on St George’s Day, 23 April 1918. (See feature article in Britain at War Magazine, May 2017)
The Zeebrugge Raid was led by the old cruiser HMS Vindictive, together with two Mersey ferries Dafodil and Iris II. These three ships were meant to be accompanied by HM Submarines C1 and C3 which had been filled with explosives and were intended to destroy the viaduct connecting the Zeebrugge Mole to the shore. The Vindictive was also to land a force of Royal Marines to silence the German shore batteries, a tactic which failed when the Marines were forced to land in the wrong location.
