KING'S CONGRATULATIONS ON GALLANT ENTERPRISE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16833, 25 April 1918, Page 7

KING'S CONGRATULATIONS ON GALLANT ENTERPRISE.

MESSAGE SENT TO THE COMMANDANT AT DOVER. SPLENDID ACHIEVEMENT AGAINST EXCEPTIONAL HAZARDS By Telegraph— Vie.it Association— Australian and N.Z. and Beuter. (Reed. 10.40 p m.) LONDON. April 23. The Press Bureau announces that the King has sent the following message to the Vice-Admiral commanding at Dover station"l heartily congratulate you and your forces on the marked success of last night's operations. The splendid gallantry displayed under exceptionally hazardous circumstances fills me with pride and admiration." Austrian and N.Z. and Reuter. LONDON. April 23 The Admiralty reports that the raid was made early this morning. Ostend and Zeebrugge are destroyer and submarine bases. Our forces have been returning with scanty information, but the report states that this raid met a reasonable measure of success. The force employed, except the covering ships, consisted of auxiliary vessels and six obsolete cruisers. Five of these cruisers were filled with concrete and used as blockships. They were run aground, and, in accordance with orders, were blown up and abandoned by the crews. The mole at Zeebrugge was built on a special plan in order to guard against the accumulation of drifting sand. A solid breakwater, provided with a wide quay furnished with sidings and sheds, and curving round so as to overlap thoroughly the entrance to the canal and shelter a certain water area, is approached by an open metal viaduct extending out 1007 ft from low water into a depth of 20ft. It was so designed in the hope that, by avoiding interference with the littoral drift close to the shore, which com»s mainly from tho west, the accumulation of silt to the west of the harbour and in the harbour itself would be avoided. It is this metal viaduct, apparently, that the submarine loaded with explosives was intended to destroy.