Ostend
West Flanders, Belgium
Mentioned: 1918
Other Fronts (news only) A port city on the Belgian coast. Named three times across 1918, tracking the same story to its end: news of a British raid to block the harbour against German U-boats (April 25, using obsolete blockships), a report that the raid's flagship, the Vindictive, had been towed back and scuttled to finish the job (May 12), and finally, October 18, news that the Navy had "landed at Ostend" outright as Allied forces occupied the town on October 17: the same day as Lille and Douai. A distant news reference throughout; Robertson never visits it himself.
View on the map →Mentioned in the diary · 3 entries
1918
- 25 April 1918… Found them all buried too deep to bother about & no one seemed at all worried. Papers report naval raids on Ostend & Zeebrugge, hot stuff. – Landing parties etc.
- 12 May 1918… of an R.E.8 coming in isn’t a speedboat on the lake. – Not much doing. – Papers report that the blocking of ostend has been completed by taking the “Vindictive” back & sinking her, – Pretty nearby to go b …
- 18 October 1918… ridge material going up. – Went over to Bde & had lunch there. News in that we have Lille. – Navy landed at Ostend which with DOUAI makes a great days work.