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 .

Several highways were also flooded Motion during the passage of the storm Catastrophe , most notably , lanes on Interstate 8 and Interstate 15 were washed Removing out .

Despite never making landfall Arriving , the tropical cyclone Catastrophe disrupted Damaging numerous shipping lanes and inflicted Damaging damage Damaging on Bermuda and Newfoundland .

After passing Motion_directional west of Bermuda , the tropical cyclone Catastrophe tracked Self_motion across numerous shipping lanes .

The crowd , larger than anticipated , numbered in the thousands and at times blocked Hindering traffic lanes on the bridge .

Strategically , `` Husky '' achieved Achieve the goals set out Military_operation for it by Allied planners ; the Allies drove Motion Axis air , land and naval forces Motion from the island and the Mediterranean sea lanes were opened Openness for Allied merchant ships for the first time since 1941 .

At that time , the Portuguese had transformed Change Malacca into an impregnable fortress ( the `` Fortaleza de Malaca '' ) , controlling Control access to the sea lanes of the Straits of Malacca and the spice trade there .

In open waters , the storm Catastrophe 's track brought Bringing it across numerous shipping lanes , largely disrupting Damaging shipping primarily in the central Caribbean and damaging Damaging several ships .

Linois raided Attack British shipping lanes and harbours across the region , achieving Achieve limited success against undefended merchant ships but repeatedly withdrawing Escaping in the face of determined opposition , most notably at the Battle Hostile_encounter of Pulo Aura in February 1804 .

The French were able to achieve Achieve control Control of the sea lanes against the British and provided Supply the Franco-American army with siege Besieging artillery and French reinforcements Cause_change_of_strength .