The Blocking of Zeebrugge - Operation Z-O 1918 by Stephen Prince

Author:Stephen Prince
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: The Blocking of Zeebrugge: Operation Z.O. 1918
ISBN: 9781780964294
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Published: 2012-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

The delay did provide an opportunity for more training for the ships and particularly for the assault forces that would attack the Mole. The RMLI trained at Deal, the RMA practised with their wide range of weapons at Shoeburyness and the seaman assault parties honed their skills at Chatham. In the assault it was envisaged that Vindictive would come alongside the Mole at the far end of the Mole proper and the seamen would then assault the adjacent German guns on the Mole extension, which were assessed to be the main threat to the blockships. The RM storming parties were intended to proceed down the Mole towards the shore destroying German facilities, though the battalion’s orders were clear that, ‘It must be firmly impressed on all ranks that the capture of the fortified zone at the seaward end of the Mole is the first essential to ensure the success of the entire enterprise.’ The training of the storming parties has been criticized, with the mixture of sailors and marines being seen as ‘a curious, antique throwback to the nineteenth century and a potential source of muddle and command and control snags’. It has also been suggested that there was an overemphasis on the use of the bayonet and the application of sheer will, in a manner that seems somewhat pre-1914 in its philosophy. 17 The 4th Battalion’s Order Number Two for Operation Z.O. stated that:

Officers commanding units are to imbue their commands with the idea of carrying the operation through with the bayonet; rifle fire, machine gun fire and bomb throwing are only to be resorted to when necessary to break down enemy opposition.

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