The 'Vindictive' at Zeebrugge: The storming of Zeebrugge Mole

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Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
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Description

Object description

image: A high stone sea-defence wall ('mole') on the left borders a choppy sea. In the centre of the painting lies a cruiser, flying the British naval ensign. The vessel lies up against the mole and is seen from the stern where a Lewis gun is mounted. A file of armed figures climbs up a gangway from the cruiser's deck to the top of the mole, silhouetted against glowing clouds of smoke. To the right of the cruiser lies a smaller ferryboat, its deck lined with troops. The sky is filled with dark smoke from the ships' funnels. The funnel of a third vessel is faintly visible in the distance.

Label

The British naval raid on German submarine activity at Zeebrugge on the Belgian coast was a propaganda success despite failing to secure its military objective. By 1918 British sea power was hard-pressed by Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare against both Royal Navy and Merchant Navy shipping. Vice-Admiral Roger Keyes, the commander of the Dover Patrol, devised a plan to trap the German U-boats by blocking their access to the North Sea at Zeebrugge and Ostend. Zeebrugge Mole provided shelter for U-boats in the harbour and protected access to their inland base. The plan called for Marines and demolition parties to attack the mole while three British ships were deliberately sunk in the harbour to block U-boat access. De Lacy has chosen to show the dramatic moment when British troops land from HMS 'Vindictive' to storm the mole, while troops on the ferryboats 'Iris' and 'Daffodil' are poised to follow. The raid did not succeed in blocking the submarine canal but was hailed in Britain as a daring and courageous attack, raising public morale. Also known as the 'St George's Day Raid' (23 April) it made a deliberate appeal to English patriotism. Contemporary posters used the name of the 'Vindictive' as a powerful rallying cry; a symbol of undaunted British spirit. De Lacy's high drama and academic approach illustrates the popular appeal of the raid which restored public confidence in the might of the British Navy. This work is a copy of a painting originally at the Admiralty. It was also reproduced as an etching by Howarth for wider distribution, an example of which is also in the Museum's collection, IWM ART 1862.

Inscription

CHARLES J. DE LACY. 1918.

Object Details

Category

Art

Creator

de Lacy, Charles John

Production date

1918

Place made

Great Britain, United Kingdom

Materials

Support: panel

medium: oil

Dimensions

Support: Height 215 mm., Width 368 mm.

Frame: Depth 50 mm., Height 300 mm., Width 450 mm.

Catalogue number

Art.IWM ART 871

Object associations

Associated people and organisations

Royal Navy, VINDICTIVE (HMS), cruiser (1897)
Royal Navy, Royal Marine Light Infantry
Associated events

Raid on Zeebrugge 1918, North Sea, First World War
Associated places

Great Britain GB
Germany (pre 1945 and post 1990) DE
Belgium
Zeebrugge, West Flanders, Belgium
Zeebrugge Mole, Zeebrugge, West Flanders, Belgium
Associated keywords

shipping
Military Personnel
Action
Associated themes

Royal Navy 1914-1918
Amphibious Warfare
Naval Warfare 1914-1918
Royal Marines

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The 'Vindictive' at Zeebrugge: The storming of Zeebrugge Mole

Description

Object description

Label

Inscription

Object Details

Object associations

Associated people and organisations

Associated events

Associated places

Associated keywords

Associated themes

Our collections information

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