down with illness
and was invalided by medical authority. Admiral de Roebeck, second in
command, who had been very active in the operations, was appointed to
succeed him. Admiral de Roebeck was in cordial sympathy with the
purposes of the expedition and determined to attack on the 18th of
March. At a quarter to eleven that morning, the Queen Elizabeth,
Inflexible, Agamemnon, Lord Nelson, the Triumph and Prince George
steamed up the straits towards the Narrows, and bombarded the forts of
Chanak. At 12.22 the French squadron, consisting of the Suffren,
Gaulois, Charlemagne, and Bouvet, advanced up the Dardanelles to aid
their English associates.

Under the combined fire of the two squadrons the Turkish forts, which at
first replied strongly, were finally silenced. All of the ships,
however, were hit several times during this part of the action. A third
squadron, including the Vengeance, Irresistible, Albion, Ocean,
Swiftshore and Majestic, then advanced to relieve the six old
battleships inside the strait.

[Illustration: THE LOSS OF THE "IRRESISTIBLE"

During an attack on the Dardanelles the British battleship
"Irresistible" struck a Turkish mine and sank in a few minutes. Severe
losses of similar character demonstrated that it would be impossible to
force the strait by naval attack.]

As the French squadron, which had engaged the forts in a most brilliant
fashion, was passing out the Bouvet was blown up by a drifting mine
and sank in less than three minutes, carrying with her most of her crew.
At 2.36 P.M. the relief battleships renewed the attack on the forts,
which again opened fire. The Turks were now sending mines down with the
current. At 4.09 the Irresistible quitted the line, listing heavily, and
at 5.50 she sank, having probably struck a drifting mine. At 6.05 the
Ocean, also having struck a mine, sank in deep water. Practically the
whole of the crews were removed safely. The Gaulois was damaged by
gunfire; the Inflexible had her forward control position hit by a heavy
shell, which killed and wounded the majority of the men and officers at
that station and set her on fire. At sunset the forts were still in
action, and during the twilight the Allied fleet slipped out of the
Dardanelles.

Meantime, an expeditionary force was being gathered. The largest portion
of this force came from Great Britain, but France also provided a
considerable number from her marines and from her Colonial army. Both
nations avoid