So far as can be gathered, the naval action near the entrance to the Dardanelles on Sunday ended in an eminently satisfactory way. The light cruiser Breslau was sunk, and the battle cruiser Goeben, after making her way back through the Straits, has been beached at Nagara Point, close to the exit into the Sea of Marmora. The stranded Goeben has already been attacked by naval aircraft, and it may prove possible to destroy her by long-range fire across the Gallipoli Peninsula. Our losses consist of the monitor Raglan and a smaller craft. Captain Viscount Broome, commander of the Raglan, and a nephew of the late Lord Kitchener, is, it is hoped, among the large number of those rescued. The details issued last night by the Admiralty show that on coming out the enemy steamed north-westward and engaged our naval forces to the north of the island of Imbros. They sank the two monitors, and then came south of the island, where the Breslau was sunk by a mine, whereupon the Goeben steamed off at full speed for the Dardanelles, thereby maintaining her unique and unbroken record of flight from every action in which she has been engaged. Near the entrance to the Straits she struck a mine, and presumably was beached to avoid sinking, only to become an excellent target for our aircraft. The two vessels were accompanied by Turkish destroyers, but it seems unlikely that they had in view any larger purpose than a brief raid. On the other hand, it is conceivable that the Turks are not sorry to see these warships disappear. Their guns dominated Constantinople, and were meant to back up a waning influence which is now detested.
No two warships have had such an important effect upon the war as the Goeben and the Breslau. The story of their escape from Messina represents one of the greatest of our blunders. It is also the first of a series of unfortunate episodes about which the public have been told that no one was to blame, while the suppression of the facts has prevented any opportunity of forming an independent judgment. The mistake made outside the Straits of Messina led straight to the splendid failure at Gallipoli and to the siege of Kut. Very rarely in war has a single error had more far-reaching consequences.