Zeebrugge Raid

The Royal Navy’s attack on the German-held Belgian port of Zeebrugge on 23 April 1918 (St George’s Day), an attempt to block the canal that U-boats and torpedo boats used to reach the sea from Bruges. Under Vice-Admiral Roger Keyes, the cruiser HMS Vindictive landed a storming party on the Mole as a diversion while three blockships, Thetis, Intrepid, and Iphigenia, were scuttled in the canal mouth. The blocking was only partial and short-lived, but eight Victoria Crosses were awarded and the raid lifted Allied morale.