Why the first Ostend blockship attack failed

Ostend and Bruges mattered because their canal connections supported German operations on the Flanders coast. Roger Keyes's April 1918 plan placed the bombardment force under Rear Admiral Hubert Lynes and relied on ships and long-range artillery rather than an air attack. Heavy naval fire was meant to suppress as much of the German shore defence as possible. The obsolete cruisers Sirius and Brilliant were then to be sacrificed across the canal outlet. Fog and mud left both ships grounded away from the intended blocking position, so substantial firing did not produce the planned closure.