1 blockship 4 monitors 8 destroyers 5 motor launches Aerial support
Shore defences
Casualties and losses
1 motor launch sunk 8 dead 10 missing 29 wounded
3 killed 8 wounded
v
t
e
North Sea 1914–1918
U-Boat Campaign
1st Heligoland Bight
22 September 1914
Texel
1st Yarmouth
Scarborough/Hartlepool/Whitby
Cuxhaven
1st Dogger Bank
Noordhinder Bank
2nd Dogger Bank
29 February 1916
2nd Yarmouth
Jutland
19 August 1916
1st Dover Strait
16 March 1917
2nd Dover Strait
4 May 1917
Lerwick
2nd Heligoland Bight
11–12 December 1917
Action of 15 February 1918
Zeebrugge
1st Ostend
2nd Ostend
Mine Barrage
Tondern
24 October 1918
The Second Ostend Raid (officially known as Operation VS) was the later of two failed attempts made during the spring of 1918 by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy to block the channels leading to the Belgian port of Ostend as a part of its conflict with the German Empire during World War I. Due to the significant strategic advantages conferred by the Belgian ports, the Imperial German Navy had used Ostend as a base for the U-boat campaign during the Battle of the Atlantic since 1915.
A successful blockade of these bases would have forced German submarines to operate out of more distant ports, such as Wilhelmshaven, on the German coast. This would expose them for longer to Allied countermeasures and reduce the time they could spend raiding. The ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge (partially blocked in the Zeebrugge Raid three weeks previously) provided sea access via canals for the major inland port of Bruges. Bruges was used as a base for small warships and submarines. As it was 6 mi (5.2 nmi; 9.7 km) inland, it was immune to most naval artillery fire and coastal raids, providing a safe harbour for training and repair.
The First Ostend Raid on 23 April 1918 was largely a failure, the blockships grounded too far from the channels to obstruct them. The second attempt also failed, due to heavy German resistance and British navigational difficulties in poor weather. In anticipation of a raid, the Germans had removed the navigation buoys and without them the British had difficulty finding the narrow channel into the harbour in poor weather. When they did discover the entrance, German resistance proved too strong for the operation to be completed as originally planned: the obsolete cruiser HMS Vindictive was sunk, but only partially blocked the channel.
Despite its failure, the raid was presented in Britain as a courageous and daring gamble that came close to success. Three Victoria Crosses and numerous other gallantry medals were awarded to sailors who participated in the operation. British forces had moderate casualties in the raid, while German losses were minimal.
and 24 Related for: Second Ostend Raid information
The SecondOstendRaid (officially known as Operation VS) was the later of two failed attempts made during the spring of 1918 by the United Kingdom's Royal...
OstendRaid may refer to: OstendRaid (1798), combined Royal Navy British Army attack to disrupt French invasion preparations First OstendRaid (23 April...
to their bases. A second attempt was made on 23 April, in conjunction with a raid on the neighbouring harbour of Ostend. The raid began with a diversion...
HMS Broke. On 9 May 1918, his ship took part in the SecondOstendRaid, a follow-up to the Zeebrugge Raid, for which he was mentioned in despatches. Ramsay...
The First OstendRaid (part of Operation ZO) was the first of two attacks by the Royal Navy on the German-held port of Ostend during the late spring of...
World War, and was awarded the VC for his part in the SecondOstendRaid. On 9/10 May 1918 at Ostend, Belgium, Lieutenant Drummond commanding HMML (Motor...
First OstendRaid on 23 April 1918. In the early hours of 10 May 1918 he was killed in action commanding HMS Vindictive during the SecondOstendRaid. This...
awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Crutchley volunteered for the SecondOstendRaid on 9 May, and was posted to the cruiser Vindictive, again commanded...
then provided part of the escort to the blockship Vindictive in the SecondOstendRaid but again saw no action. After the Armistice, Nugent was placed in...
First and SecondOstendRaid) but soon recovered. "UNLOCODE (BE) - BELGIUM". service.unece.org. UNECE. Retrieved 17 April 2020. "Port of Ostend, Belgium"...
Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was a disastrous Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World...
at Buckingham Palace on 31 July 1918. He was also involved in the SecondOstendRaid on 9 May 1918, for which he received a Mention in Despatches and a...
Alfred Godsal who was killed commanding HMS Vindictive during the SecondOstendRaid on May 9, 1918. Godsal started his military career in 1869 with the...
intercept German convoy and sink a corvette and freighter 1–16 March Second Indian Ocean Raid – Japanese heavy cruiser Tone sinks British freighter Behar. The...
of rear admiral Sir Roger Keyes, during the SecondOstendRaid in May 1918. He was killed during the raid, when he was shot in the head by an accidental...
with the force that led the attack on Zeebrugge and Ostend. At the secondOstendRaid during the night of 9/10 May 1918, Lieutenant McBean commanded and...
British capture Kirkuk. May 9 – WWI – SecondOstendRaid: The British Royal Navy unsuccessfully attempts, for a second time, to seal off the German U-boat...
The Ostend Manifesto, also known as the Ostend Circular, was a document written in 1854 that described the rationale for the United States to purchase...
September 1918 and on 17 October, Ostend was captured. Dover Patrol Zeebrugge Raid First OstendRaidSecondOstendRaid From 30 January 1916, each British...
Arrogant-class protected cruiser scuttled as a blockship at Ostend, Belgium, during the SecondOstendRaid. 51°14′22″N 2°55′32″E / 51.2393734°N 002.9256020°E...
failed First and SecondOstendRaids in 1918, bombarding the defending coastal artillery as the British attempted to block the Bruges–Ostend Canal. Later...
Operation Struggle SecondOstendRaid Battle of Paardeberg Perak War Battle of Ratsua Samarrah Offensive Battle of Sattelberg Second Battle of Heligoland...
Launches in the Dover Patrol, taking part in the Zeebrugge Raid and the First and SecondOstendRaids. He was Mentioned in Despatches three times, and on 20...
18 May the British launched a combined Royal Navy and British Army raid on Ostend to destroy the lock gates of the Bruge Canal and to burn the French...
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Roger Keyes