The Raid on St. Naza ire
After Bruneval on the Normandy coast, St. Nazaire in the estuary of the Loire ; and after that, it may be, any one of a thousand points on the long coast-line where Germans hence- forward will be anxiously on the look-out. The raid of last Saturday morning was a daring and brilliant action, executed by anal, land and air for..es against a strongly guarded military objective. The ramming of the main lock-gate by the old destroyer Gunpbeltown,' laden with delay-action explosive, re- calls the famous attack on Zeebrugge. By this means the entrance. to the large dry-dock was destroyed. Simultaneously 'Wu' service troops were landed, and headed straight for the Pumping station and the dock operating gear, and carried out a Pie-arranged plan of destruction. The entrance to the U-boat
basin was also damaged by torpedoes from a motor torpedo-boat. The German defending forces, taken by surprise, were thrown into the utmost confusion, firing and shelling indiscriminately, though they were able to cut off a party of the raiders who fought desperately and apparently to good purpose before they were overpowered. But though the losses were heavy, the raid achieved its end, and abundantly justified itself. It has put out of action for some time at least an important U-boat base and a dock capable of berthing the battleship Tirpitz.' It shows the Germans that they must look to their defences at all points on their coast-line from northern Norway to southern France. If raids on this scale can be frequently repeated the effect will be to turn this long coast into a real front-line which the Germans will be compelled to man in strength. That must keep hundreds of thousands of Germans immobilised on defensive duties, and to that extent prevent them from reinforcing their armies in Russia.
