Editing Scuttling (section)

=== Zeebrugge Raid (1918) ===
The [[Zeebrugge Raid]] involved three outdated British cruisers chosen to serve as  [[blockship]]s in the German-held Belgian [[port of Bruges-Zeebrugge]] from which German [[U-boat]] operations threatened British shipping. [[HMS Thetis (1890)|''Thetis'']], [[HMS Intrepid (1891)|''Intrepid'']] and [[HMS Iphigenia (1891)|''Iphigenia'']] were filled with concrete then sent to block a critical canal. Heavy defensive fire caused the ''Thetis'' to scuttle prematurely; the other two cruisers sank themselves successfully in the narrowest part of the canal. Within three days, however, the Germans had broken through the western bank of the canal to create a shallow detour for their submarines to move past the blockships at high tide.