The 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade was tasked Request to cross Motion_directional the about five kilometers south of Bruges at the small village of Oostkamp in early September 1944 .

Ostend was attacked Attack in conjunction with the neighbouring harbour of Zeebrugge on 23 April in order to block Hiding_objects the vital strategic port of Bruges , situated inland and ideally sited to conduct Action raiding Attack operations on the British coastline and shipping Self_motion lanes .

Bruges and its satellite ports were a vital part of the German plans in their war on Allied commerce ( `` Handelskrieg '' ) because Bruges was close to the troopship lanes across the English Channel and allowed Preventing_or_letting much quicker access Having_or_lacking_access to the Western Approaches for the U-boat fleet than their bases in Germany .

Bruges and its satellite ports were a vital part of the German plans in their war on Allied commerce ( `` Handelskrieg '' ) because Bruges was close to the troopship lanes across the English Channel and allowed Preventing_or_letting much quicker access Having_or_lacking_access to the Western Approaches for the U-boat fleet than their bases in Germany .

The plan Arranging of attack Attack was for the British raiding Attack force to sink two obsolete cruisers in the canal mouth at Ostend and three at Zeebrugge , thus preventing Preventing_or_letting raiding Attack ships leaving Departing Bruges .

The Ostend canal was the smaller and narrower Expansion of the two channels giving Giving access to Bruges and so was considered a secondary target Aiming behind the Zeebrugge Raid .

Three weeks after the failure of the operation , a second attack Attack was launched Motion which proved Statement more successful in sinking Motion a blockship at the entrance Arriving to the canal but ultimately did not close Process_end off Bruges completely .

Further plans to attack Attack Ostend came to Self_motion nothing during the summer of 1918 , and the threat from Bruges would not be finally stopped Process_end until the last days of the war Hostile_encounter , when the town was liberated by Allied land forces .