Heritage

132 heritage for peace and reconciliation | manual for teacherContentsZeebrugge and Ostend were compulsory passages for the German submarines based inBruges. The Zeebrugge Raid, which took place on 23 April 1918, was an attempt bythe British Royal Navy to neutralize the port by sinking three older British ships, HMSThetis, Intrepid and Iphigenia, in the canal entrance to prevent German ships from leavingport. Almost 200 crew members died,but two of the three ships were successfullysunk in the correct place (the third sank tooearly), and their wrecks blocked the port ofZeebrugge for two days, after which, Germanforces reopened the passage.SMS Bayern down by the stern and sinkingat Scapa Flow.Courtesy of Imperial War MuseumThe scuttling of the German fleet atScapa Flow (21 June 1919)Finally, the dramatic scuttling of the GermanFleet at Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919,that is, after the armistice of 11 November1918. Rear-Admiral Ludwig von Reuterwas convinced that naval hostilities wouldsoon resume and, therefore, 72 Germanbattleships were scuttled in order to preventthem from falling into the hands ofthe enemy. Many of them were recoveredfrom the sea bed. However, some, including the battleships Kronprinz Wilhelm, Markgraf,König and the light cruisers Karlsruhe, Dresden, Brummer and Cöln have not beenraised, and remain an attraction to scuba divers.***For a day-by-day chronology of First World War naval losses, see the Project ‘LostBeneath the Waves’ by the Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS), an NGO accreditedby the Meeting of States Parties to the 2001 Convention and Official Partner in theUNESCO WWI Research Network: www.nauticalarchaeologysociety.org/lbtw