Windows on the Zeebrugge Raid 1918: With Rare Photographs of the Mole
()
About this ebook
The Zeebrugge Raid that occurred on St George’s Day 1918 forms one of the pivotal moments of World War 1, where within a mere hour, hundreds of allied naval marines gave their lives to subjugate the mighty Flanders flotilla that threatened to starve Britain out of the war.
Inspired by rare photographs taken by German naval officers on the Mole salvaged from craft fairs and flea markets, read about how and why the raid took place as well as the tragic outcome of that fateful day.
Rachel Shirley
I have practiced oil painting from the age of six and have since been involved in countless projects and commissions. A graduate from Kingston University, Surrey and with a PCET teaching qualification from Warwick University, I have won competitions, taught life drawing and have written several books and many articles on oil painting and teaching art.
Read more from Rachel Shirley
Draw What You See Not What You Think You See: Learn How to Draw for Beginners Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOil Painting the Angel within Da Vinci’s the Virgin of the Rocks: Unleash the Right Brain to Paint the Three-quarter Portrait View Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBegin Drawing with 8 Exercises and 8 Projects: Achievable Goals To Get You To Draw Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/510 Bite Sized Oil Painting Projects: Book 1 Practice Colour Mixing and Technique via Landscapes, Animals, Still Life and More Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ultimate Oil Painting Solution – for Landscape Art, Portraiture and Still Life (Three Books in One) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNo Need for an Easel or a Mahl Stick: Oil Painting for the Absolute Beginner Made Simple Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKatie's Magic Teapot Omnibus Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings10 Bite-Sized Oil Painting Projects: Book 3 Practice Mark-Making & Alla Prima via Still Life, Animals, Woodlands & Skies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Windows on the Zeebrugge Raid 1918
Related ebooks
Sailor in the Desert: The Adventures of Philip Gunn, DSM, RN in the Mesopotamia Campaign, 1915 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dover and Folkestone During the Great War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Germans in Flanders, 1915–1916 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Coastal Britain: England and Wales: Celebrating the history, heritage and wildlife of Britain's shores Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBurke and Wills: The Scientific Legacy of the Victorian Exploring Expedition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ypres and the Battles of Ypres Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReading at War, 1939–45 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsObservers and Navigators: And Other Non-Pilot Aircrew in the RFC, RNAS and RAF Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Letters Written by Lieut.-General Thomas Dyneley, C.B., R.A.: While on Active Service Between the Years 1806 and 1815 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Best of Fragments from France Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Death Was Their Co-Pilot: Aces of the Skies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhaling and Fishing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Companion to Renaissance and Baroque Art Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMenin Gate North: In Memory and In Mourning Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSailor in the Air: The Memoirs of the World's First Carrier Pilot Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Kingsnorth Airship Station: In Defence of the Nation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDiscovering Yorkshire's History: A Guide to Places and People Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPlace-Names of Flintshire Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBirds, Illustrated by Color Photography, Vol. 1, No. 6 June, 1897 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thomas Nast, Political Cartoonist: Political Cartoonist Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMR JW Lewin, Painter & Naturalist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5English Painters with a chapter on American painters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Steam on the Eastern & Midland: A New Glimpse of the 1950s & 1960s Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMiners' Battalion: A History of the 12th (Pioneers) King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry 1914–1918 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings1918: The Decisive Year in Soldiers' Own Words and Photographs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsU.S. Army Ford M8 and M20 Armored Cars Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSettlement in the Irish Neolithic: New discoveries at the edge of Europe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYearbook of Astronomy, 2019 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
European History For You
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dry: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oscar Wilde: The Unrepentant Years Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mein Kampf: English Translation of Mein Kamphf - Mein Kampt - Mein Kamphf Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Quite Nice and Fairly Accurate Good Omens Script Book: The Script Book Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Killing England: The Brutal Struggle for American Independence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forgotten Highlander: An Incredible WWII Story of Survival in the Pacific Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 – 1066 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Queer City: Gay London from the Romans to the Present Day Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jane Austen: The Complete Novels Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Celtic Mythology: A Concise Guide to the Gods, Sagas and Beliefs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Law Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rise of the Fourth Reich: The Secret Societies That Threaten to Take Over America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Psychedelic Gospels: The Secret History of Hallucinogens in Christianity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Violent Abuse of Women: In 17th and 18th Century Britain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of English Magic Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Victorian Lady's Guide to Fashion and Beauty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Six Wives of Henry VIII Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Queens: The Bloody Rivalry That Forged the Medieval World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Windows on the Zeebrugge Raid 1918
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Windows on the Zeebrugge Raid 1918 - Rachel Shirley
Windows on the Zeebrugge Raid 1918
With Rare Photographs of the Mole
Written, Produced & researched by Rachel Shirley
Photos Collected and Researched by Raymond Shirley
Acquisitions by Christine Rowley
All rights reserved. The Right of Rachel Shirley to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 Section 77 and 78. Smashwords Edition License Note: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
ISBN: 9781310458750
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 The Zeebrugge Raid Story
Chapter 2 Admiral Keyes’ Challenge
Chapter 3 The Storming Strategy
Chapter 4 The Zeebrugge Mole Fortress
Chapter 5 The Flotilla Menace
Chapter 6 Blocking the Bruges Canal
Chapter7 Preparations for the Raid
Chapter 8 When the Raid was Aborted
Chapter 9 The Zeebrugge Raid Resurrection
Chapter 10 Breaching the Mole Viaduct
Chapter 11 The Blockships Sneak In
Chapter 12 The Siren Sounds at Almost One
Chapter 13 The Journey back to Dover
Chapter 14 Legacy of the Surviving Raiders
Chapter 15 The Photographic Collection in Detail
Chapter 16 Public Domain Photo Credits
Afternote
Reference Material
Introduction
LEARN THE STORY of what happened during the Zeebrugge Raid that occurred on St George’s Day, 23 April 1918, inspired by rare photographs salvaged from flea markets and craft fairs.
Twelve of these photographs would appear to have been taken by German naval officers on Zeebrugge and its mole in and around 1918. Had these photographs not been retrieved, they would unlikely have been published or find themselves within the reaches of the public.
Collectively, these rare photographs comprise mostly of battery guns on the Mole, scuttled ships in the Bruges canal and views of the Mole after the raid.
Due to these acquisitions, I have conducted research on the Zeebrugge Raid in order to create some context for the pictures. The aim is an easy read of a difficult situation endured by the naval men selected for the mission.
The remainder of the photographs within this book have been sourced from the public domain in order to illustrate the bigger story. Credits and further details for all photographs can be found at the back of this book.
The works within are my responsibility and will put right omissions or errors if notified.
Rachel Shirley
Chapter 1: The Zeebrugge Raid Story
ON 23 April 1918, ST GEORGE’S DAY, the British forces went on a suicidal mission to raid the German occupied ports of Zeebrugge and Ostend to the north of Bruges. The images within this book relate chiefly to those of the Zeebrugge Raid.
By the closing of 1917, the menace of the German flotilla had taken a stranglehold over Britain as they patrolled the English Channel and the North Sea, sinking Allied vessels by torpedoes or mines. Deprived of vital supplies that supported the war effort, Britain was under siege and on the verge of capitulation.
The crews of the German U-boats and destroyers that comprised the flotilla demonstrated disturbing efficiency, sinking over 2,500 Allied vessels in total during the war. But those responsible were seen as little more than pirates for torpedoing passing vessels indiscriminately from the concealment of the deep. Public condemnation loomed after the sinking of the Cunard liner, Lusitania on the