f worn out soldiers, of sick and wounded men, to
be transported?

Once again France answered. France held Tunis, France held Bizerta.
Tunis and Bizerta would shield temporarily the remains of Serbia. From
the end of November, 1915, the smaller French ships, torpedo boats,
trawlers and transports made the trip from Durazzo to San Giovanni di
Medua to embark the Serbian Army. Great steamers, such as the _Natal_,
_Sinai_, and _Armenie_, and a flotilla of armored cruisers followed
them. Thirteen thousand men were transported in this fashion.

But the situation grew worse. The Serbs along the seacoasts were
pressed harder and harder by the Austrians and by Albanian bands.
Besides, the transporting to Tunis was too slow when the progress of
the enemy was considered. Finally the appearance of typhus and cholera
rendered more dangerous the removal of the unfortunate troops to a
great distance. A new plan was arranged. The remaining Serbs were to
be transported not into Tunis, which was so far away, but to a land as
near as possible to the scene of disaster. Corfu was there; Corfu,
only sixty miles away from the farthest point of debarkation; Corfu,
whose climate was marvelously suited to the recovery of sick men;
Corfu which offered a very safe harbor. It was decided to occupy
Corfu, prepare the island, transport the entire Serbian Army thither
and assure that this army would be built up there. And France was
charged with carrying out this operation.

On the seventh of January, 1916, the first French organization of ten
trawlers set out from Malta to make a preliminary reconnoissance
around Corfu, to drag for mines and to clear out the submarines. A
second flotilla followed it forty-eight hours later. On the eighth of
January the armored cruisers _Edgar Quinet_, _Waldeck-Rousseau_,
_Ernest Renan_, _Jules Ferry_ and five torpedo boats, which were
located at Bizerta, received orders to embark a battalion of Alpine
chasseurs with their arms, baggage and mules and to take up their
positions to be ready at the first signal.

On the night of the tenth, the French consul at Corfu woke up the
Greek prefect in order to announce to him the imminent arrival of our
squadron and what it was going to do. After he had received the formal
protest of this functionary, he went down to the port, where there was
no longer any doubt in anyone's mind of what was going to happen. With
him went guides and automobiles to finish everything quickly b