PART II
"One crowded hour of glorious life
is worth an age without a name"
FOREWORD
A brief introduction to Part II of this book may assist the reader. The previous chapters have dealt with the general idea of the operation, the more important details of the plan, and the preparatory work involved.
We are now approaching the actual events which occurred during the operation itself as carried out at the third attempt.
For reasons stated in Part I, Chapter III, I do not propose to deal further with the enterprise at Ostende; the preparatory work for the blocking of that place has been fairly well covered in the foregoing pages. As a matter of historical interest a list of all vessels employed in the simultaneous operations at Zeebrugge and Ostende is given in the Appendix. Doubtless the Ostende story will be told in due course by one of those who took part in the operations at that place.
Unless the reader's mind has clearly grasped our intentions as portrayed in the Zeebrugge plan it may be difficult to understand the connection between the actual events which occurred. The more important details of the plan have already been described, but chiefly under the consideration of each separate phase of the enterprise, or of the duties of each class of vessel, rather than as related items of one complete operation. It may be advisable, therefore, to describe briefly the various phases, in their proper sequence, showing the relation between them, even if this involves some repetition; thus the way will be paved to a detailed narrative of the several events which occurred, and the reader, whilst following any particular item, will be enabled to keep the whole picture in view.
Briefly, then, the main points of the plan for the blocking of Zeebrugge were as follows: